Michael McCleary

Washington, D.C.

What kind of reputation does Major League Soccer have in England? Are any matches or highlights ever shown?

JS: Obviously, MLS is a new entity, but there’s a lot of excitement over here about the league, a lot of curiosity. I think Europe was really taken by storm with how well the U.S. hosted the World Cup and how well the U.S. team did. Just the number of spectators that were at the World Cup and now at MLS games is really shocking to the people here, especially because they pride themselves on having created the game and having one of the strongest competitive leagues in the world. So they’re excited about MLS. There are highlights on Eurosport, which is similar to our ESPN at home, and CNN International, and sometimes Sky Sports will do a special on MLS and U.S. qualifying games. It hasn’t gotten to the point where they show 90 minutes, but there are extended highlights, and it’s always in the paper — the scores of games and our qualifiers. I know a lot of the players here would be very interested to go over and play in MLS. I get asked by a lot of my teammates to tell them about MLS, some of the coaches, this team, that team, what’s it like. A lot of these players and their families have been to the States on vacation and really enjoy the U.S. and would like to play in MLS. I know as the league continues to grow and become more popular, a lot of these big-name players are going to be looking to go over there. Not just for the money; they just want to go play in a new competitive league and have some new world experiences. As a player, the more experiences you can get in different parts of the world, the better you’re going to become and the more soccer knowledge you can gain.

PB: How about for you, do you see MLS in your future?

JS: Well, that’s a question I’ve thought about quite a bit. I’ve learned and gained a lot of experience here in England, and I’ve enjoyed it. I’m under a great contract here with QPR and I’m pretty happy. But I hope I can also sometime in the future look to coming back. I haven’t really been approached by anyone in MLS to make a move at this point. I think it would be an exciting place to play, and I hope that I will have the chance to play there in the near future — we’ll have to see what happens with QPR over the next year or two, or even over the summer.

Meaghan & Amanda Edwards

Yukon, Okla.

How do think the new FIFA rule changes (no throw-in to the keeper’s hands and the new 5- to 6-second time limit for handling the ball) will affect keepers and the game. Do you feel this is a positive change?

JS: I think they are positive changes. They’re going to speed the game up and try to cut out a lot of the timewasting that can happen with goalkeepers, but I just don’t see that there’s that much time being wasted. Obviously, it’ll make our jobs a lot harder, and it’ll pretty much just cut us out of the game altogether — I mean it’s pretty much just going to be end-to-end stuff. It’s going to add a new element to the game where an athlete who’s a good runner, a fast runner is going to have a lot more opportunities. I just hope it doesn’t take away from the creativity of the game by making it a racehorse kind of game. We’ll have to wait and see if it turns out to be a positive or a negative, but I’m pretty good with my feet, so it doesn’t really bother me.

Holley Roosa

Ravenna, Ohio

What’s the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you during a game?

JS: It happened over here in the 1994 FA Cup semifinal that Luton was playing against Chelsea at Wembley. There was a male streaker that had run onto the field and was streaking across, and he made a beeline right for me. I just panicked; I didn’t know what to do — I thought the guy was gonna jump on me or something. So I sort of ran over to the side and pulled one of my teammates in front of me hoping this guy would jump on him instead, but he just ran by us and got tackled by the police on the field. I thought that was pretty funny.

PB: And this was at Wembley? Wow, what was the crowd’s reaction?

JS: They were pretty good; they have a good sense of humor over here. They were just laughing and the guy was down there sidestepping and dodging all the police and officials and stewards that were trying to get him off the field. He was pretty good actually. He practically ran from end to end through all the stewards and police, and I thought there was no way he’d make it to the end. I thought he’d go slide into the goal or something.

PB: It sounds similar to that time when that lady streaked across Centre Court at Wimbledon.

JS: Oh yeah, she’s around. She’s made a few more appearances at other games. In fact, they had a televised snooker tournament (which is sort of an English version of pool, I think), and she streaked across the pool table. That was pretty funny…they kind of like that stuff over here.

Richard Groff

Doylestown, Pa.

As the father of an 11-year-old fanatical goalkeeper, how would you recommend developing his skills? What would you say to your own son?

JS: I’d have to say that at eleven years old, don’t push him too hard. Watch him and see that he really enjoys and loves the game. I know I didn’t become a goalkeeper until I was 13, 14, and I didn’t think of it seriously until I was a sophomore in high school. He’s got a long way to grow, so just make sure he plays the game because he loves it. That way, he’ll spend the extra time that he needs to become a good player. Make sure he plays as many games as he can, and get him in as many clubs, leagues, teams and games as possible, and hook him up with the best teams and coaches you can as well. The better players you’re competing with, the higher you raise your level of play. It’s so important to play a lot of organized games — that’s a great learning experience and a great way for young players to develop. But don’t push him too hard; he’s young mentally and physically, so I’d provide him with a good environment to grow and enjoy playing the game. The skills will come.

PB: And also, with MLS here now, he’s got an opportunity to watch some very good keepers on a regular basis.

JS: Right, right, that’s a great point too. He can watch a lot of games and listen to what coaches, players, commentators have to say. That’s a big thing that I do here. I play one or two games a week, but I watch four or five games a week on TV. I try to watch other goalkeepers and see what mistakes they’re making, or if they’re playing well, or why certain keepers are regarded more highly than others. I just steal as much info as I can with my eyes.

PB: Who are some of the goalkeepers you watch that impress you the most and that you learn the most from?

JS: I’d have to say David Seaman of Arsenal or Nigel Martyn of Leeds. Tim Flowers of Blackburn Rovers is good; so is Peter Schmeichel of Manchester United. But it’s not only the positive side of their game, but the negative side. Everybody makes mistakes; everyone’s human — even the best goalkeepers in the world are making mistakes. David James, who is considered to be one of the best young players in England, just got dropped from the English national team because he had a poor game against Mexico, and Ian Walker was dropped after he had a bad game against Italy. There’s nothing wrong with making mistakes — that’s how you learn. That’s how I learn, Kasey learns, Brad learns. You can learn from your mistakes and be a better player.

PB: I mean look at Seaman. He’s a great keeper, but he made a costly mistake in the Cup Winners Cup final against Zaragoza a couple years ago.

JS: Yep, that was quite a mistake. Everybody’s making mistakes, so you should never feel like you’re the only one. Just swallow your pride and correct yourself and keep playing and loving the game.

Ariful Khan

Queens Village, N.Y.

How does one determine the angle and placement of a penalty kick when one is goaltending?

JS: A lot of times, I’ll try to get as much information as I can before the game about a team or a player who’d be taking the kick. It’s easier here, because in the league you get to know players and where they tend to place the ball, although there are good players who can change their placement at the drop of a hat.

A good little trick that I’ve learned over here is when a referee calls for a penalty and the player goes to put the ball down, I’ll walk out of the goal and question the referee’s call or talk to a teammate, and I’ll glance over my shoulder to watch the person place the ball. Quite often, the taker will glance at the corner to which they’ll kick the ball, since they see I’m not in the goal or because they’re nervous and want to make sure that their angles are right. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t. Another tip is that sometimes as the players line up, teammates will line up on either side to go for the rebound. Sometimes a team will stack a bunch of players on a certain side because they know that’s where the kick will go.

Trisha Cremmins

Unionville, N.Y.

Who are your favorite players, and where is the best place you have ever played?

JS: The best place I’ve ever played was during the World Cup, when we played two of our games in the Rose Bowl. I just thought the atmosphere was the best I’d ever seen anywhere in the world. Even though I didn’t play, just being a part of the team at the Colombia game and the Romania game and hearing the support the fans showed for the U.S. was just terrific. That’s something that’ll stay with me for the rest of my life.

I’ve played against some great players over here. When I was in the Premiership, I played against Chelsea and Ruud Gullit, and that was a great moment in my career — I thought he was just terrific. Dennis Bergkamp of Arsenal scored a great goal against me. In fact, I’m lucky I dove out of the way or it would’ve torn my head off, he’s got such a hard shot. Eric Cantona is a fantastic player. Those three stand out in my mind the most.

PB: Playing in several English divisions, you’ve had the chance to travel to numerous cities and grounds throughout the country. What are some of the best and worst places you’ve visited?

JS: I think some of the best stadiums were Old Trafford, Leeds and Liverpool. Arsenal is also at the top. The worst, well, when I came over here I went on loan to a few clubs in the Second and Third Division and I played at some places I’d rather not bring up anymore. It was like testing grounds where the coaches could see if you were tough enough to get through the games on these little, rotten fields and mentally strong enough to stick it out. I guess one of the worst places I’ve played is Grimsby, that’s gotta be right up there.

PB: Everybody hates Grimsby.

JS: It’s right up on the coast and it’s really cold. The field is usually wet and sloppy and really muddy, and there’s just not a lot of excitement there. It’s a difficult place to raise your level of game and perform well because mentally you’re like “What the hell am I doing here? I didn’t come all the way over here to play Grimsby.” But that’s just a part of the game; you gotta beat those guys too if you want to get to the top. So that’s a part of it you have to accept and learn to appreciate.

PB: You mentioned some of the famous places like Old Trafford and Anfield among your favorites. Are there any places that are less well-known that were still really cool places to play?

JS: I think Chelsea is a diamond in the rough right now. They’re rebuilding the stadium, and hopefully it will be done for next season or the following one. I’ve seen the plans and it looks like it will be a fantastic stadium. Aston Villa’s stadium is great too. It has one of the biggest single stands in Europe on the north end. When their fans are all fired up, that’s a really intimidating place to be. Especially as a goalkeeper. There’s some new stadiums — Middlesbrough’s new one is really nice. Newcastle is great too, just because of the support they get there. It only seats 35 or 36 thousand, but I’m sure they could sell it over two or three times for each home game. It’s almost impossible to get a ticket, and it’s a really special place to be on the day of a game — the songs and support make for a really electric atmosphere.

PB: What are some of the things you like to do off the field in and around London?

JS: London’s just a great place — it really has a lot to offer. My wife and I like to go to concerts, the theatre. We like catching a movie in the afternoon if we can, playing tennis when the weather’s nice (which isn’t too often).

The area we live in, Primrose Hill, is on the north side of London, adjacent to Regents Park, and it’s great. The group Oasis has just moved in here, and Robert Plant is one of our neighbors just around the corner. When we first moved in here, we were sitting at this cafe and in walks Robert Plant and we just thought “Wow, this is really cool.”

I’m fortunate that I can get to my training field by the underground. So one thing I really like to do is get on the subway instead of driving and just see the real people of London. It’s such a culturally diverse city, it’s unbelievable. There’s people from Eastern and Western Europe, the U.S., Australia, Africa, India, Asia. Just getting on the underground or walking through all the different parts of London and seeing all the people is really fun.

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