The following is a transcript of the teleconference May 14 during which Steve Sampson announced he had named Thomas Dooley as his captain for the World Cup:
Head Coach Steve Sampson
General comments on the team: “This is our fourth day in San Diego and things are going very well. The chemistry in camp has been outstanding. I do have a few injuries to report. Claudio Reyna has a slight calf injury and is questionable for Saturday; we’ll know a lot more tomorrow after our training session at Santa Clara (5 p.m. practice, Friday, Santa Clara University). Ernie Stewart (left ankle sprain) is not available to player against Macedonia, and Frankie Hejduk is questionable with a hamstring strain. Everyone else is relatively healthy. Hejduk and Stewart, of course, were two instrumental players in our Austria match, so obviously there will be some changes in the lineup.” “I would also like to formerly announce that I have made Thomas Dooley the captain of the U.S. National Team through the World Cup. I’m very proud that he has accepted this honor and think he will do a fantastic job.”
On Eddie Pope: “He is remarkably mature young man for his age, both on the field and off. When you play in a World Cup, it gives players an opportunity to shine against the best players in the world. In the group we are in he will be tested exceptionally. I think Eddie will excel in this World Cup. He of course has made a commitment to play in MLS, having recently signed a multi-year contract, but I still think that there will be offers forthcoming for Eddie Pope coming after this World Cup.”
On Macedonia’s style of play: “Macedonia is somewhat similar to Yugoslavia in their style of play. They have individually talented players, typically liking to play an offensive style of soccer. They love the individual flair, and like to take on defenders and get behind the defense. They are not as organized defensively as they are in offense, but are extremely mobile in the forward position. But they are not quite the quality of Yugoslavia.”
On whether he asked Alexi Lalas to cut his hair: “No, I had nothing to do with him cutting his hair. It was his decision. An interesting decision, I might add, but no, I had nothing to do with it.”
On a comparison between the 1994 preparation camp and the 1998 camp: “I think a lot of players in 1994, right up to the last second, weren’t sure of their position or what role they would be playing. I think there was an enormous amount of anxiety and that had a lot to with inexperience at this level. It is quite different at this camp. The team is loose and jovial, but intense and focused on training. They are going about the business of getting ready both physically and psychologically for the games. There is more self-assuredness and less anxiety.”
On the play of Tab Ramos: “He has looked sharp in training. Obviously, there are areas in his game that need upgrading before he (Tab) will consider himself ready to play at 100 percent… At this time, I would not consider him for one of the wide positions.”
On the positioning and maturity of Eric Wynalda: “I think the change in position did work. When I played him at wide midfield against Mexico (in qualifying), I think it was the last thing they expected. His ability to defend and chase players down was critical to our performance. Although he would much prefer to play center forward, he will be respectful of any decision and any position I ask him to play. The key is that I haven’t had to ask him to play wide considering the play of Cobi Jones recently.”
On Eric Wynalda’s status on Saturday against Macedonia: “Eric will not play against Macedonia, it is still just too early. He will go through the fitness tests with the rest of the team on Tuesday and based on those results, will begin training with the team on Wednesday and hopefully will play a lot on Sunday against Kuwait in Portland.”
On Wynalda’s recent stretch of nagging injuries: “I feel his injuries have been a run of bad luck, but as players age they have to be more consistent in their preparation, in their therapy, in their warmups and in their cool downs. They have to focus more on stretching and conditioning to avoid injury, and I know Eric is very good about that. I just think his recent injuries are a run of bad luck.”
On the possible impact of the FIFA red card directive at the World Cup: “I think the first two or three days of competition in this World Cup will be watched closely by all the participants involved because we want to see the interpretations of the referees in this tackling from behind rule. I think there will be more red and yellow cards in this World Cup than ever before. And that is because FIFA is moving in a direction of a more attractive, offensive game. We have actually called in Esse Baharmast (U.S. Soccer referee working the World Cup) to take us through a half-hour interpretation of this rule, and we followed that up today with Esse reffing an intrasquad game at practice. And one of our players actually got a red card, which was very beneficial for all of us.”
About his motivational techniques over the last year: “There are two levels: one is talking about it and one is doing it. Now they are doing it, which means we don’t need to talk about it as much. Issues of trust, sacrifice and discipline are something they are doing on their own. There will be conversations on the way we talk about the need to concentrate and support each other, eliminating the thoughts of the individual and focusing on the team.”
On Germany’s selection of Lothar Matthaeus: “I had said privately to my own colleagues that Lothar Matthaeus would be a great addition because he was playing so well, regardless of his age. It sounds like (Juergen) Klinsmann and Matthaeus have been able to resolve their differences for the good of the team. Quite frankly, I think it was a great selection and he is a good candidate to start for them.”
On Iran and the U.S. trying to get out of Group F: “Any reference to this game being a guaranteed win for either the U.S. or Iran is purely psychological. Both the United States and Iran realize that on paper they have been picked by the experts to finish behind Germany and Yugoslavia. I think, quite frankly, that both the U.S. and Iran have the ability to surprise some people and that will make group play very interesting.”
On whether or not this is Claudio Reyna’s team now: “I think it is an alignment that gives him more freedom, not that he couldn’t play in another formation or system. But when there are at least two holding midfielders behind him, it gives him the freedom to attack more, and a player with that kind of freedom welcomes it and you saw the result in Austria.” “There are certain players that need to play well for us to succeed as a team and he is one of them. The last thing I want to do is place the burden of the team’s success on to Claudio Reyna’s shoulders, but he welcomes that type of challenge. I think you will see a heightened level of play from Claudio in the next few months, but he must be fit and if that means leaving him out of the Macedonia game, we will.”
On Thomas Dooley and past disagreements between himself and the team’s new captain: “All along I believed this team is better with a man-marker and a sweeper (as did Thomas). It was more of a situation that the rest of the team felt more comfortable in a 4-4-2; but in our history our best results have come with marking backs and a sweeper, and more bodies in the midfield. Thomas has always been free to express his opinions to me because I respect him so much.” “The key is our wide midfield positions; we might have a little bit of a test in that regard with Hejduk and Stewart not at 100 percent, so we will be using some players in that position who haven’t played there are haven’t played there in a long time. It will be a good test for our depth at this position.” “I did not take any of these comments as disruptive. I see Wynalda’s comments as saying that the media will not let this issue go for quite some time. If this team does poorly, many members of the media will point to that decision and say that was the reason; conversely, if the team does well, they will probably point to that decision, as well, as a turning point. I think Eric is right that the media will remember this event. This team has been very respectful in their opinions to me, and has put the situation behind us.”
About how an opposing coach might attack the U.S. 3-6-1 lineup: “I think counterattacking behind our wide players is something we have to watch for defensively, but we I believe we have resolved that with out two defensive midfielders that can slide in behind our wide midfielders if they are caught up field. I think there is a concern that if we don’t get those attacking midfielders, the wide players, into position when we are possessing the ball, we will end doing a lot of defending. At the same time if we don’t possess the ball, we have no chance of getting those wide players into attack. There is always a concern as to how our two center marking backs are going to match-up with the opposition, and part of the answer is playing with the sweeper to back up those marking backs.
On the lineup for the weekend: “I think Joe-Max Moore is someone I would like to integrate into the team… At some time I would also like to see Tab… .. Brian McBride has done well enough to warrant a starting role.. There aren’t many reasons to make changes at the back… John O’Brien will be released today to get therapy in Los Angeles. I have asked him to go to LA an get therapy under the supervision of Dr. Bert Mandelbaum… Also, Gregg Berhalter might also suit up for this game.”
Thomas Dooley
On the differences between this camp and the ’94 camp: “We have much more free time now. We train only once a day… It’s good because everyone knows that we have to be mentally prepared for the morning training… The main thing is to have 100 percent concentration in the morning. We must have focus.”
On his new role as captain: “I’m very happy and proud. It is a great honor for me… I think the players respect me and know that I will be the same that I was before… I have always tried to give everyone what they need.” “I think it doesn’t change a lot. When I’m in the game, I try to organize everything in front of me. I try to talk positively to everyone and to be the calm one on the field… I do have responsibilities off the field, but I think the responsibilities are much greater on the field.”
On the chemistry within the team: “The most important thing is for everyone to work for each other. After the training session, everyone can go different ways. This is fine. The most important thing is soccer… You can see that everyone has only one goal to go to France and get some success; to beat some teams and move on in the tournament. It is only possible if everyone works hard for each other… You can feel this in the training sessions, because the players are laughing and having a good time.”
On David Regis and the similarities he faced six years ago: “If he gets his passport, then I think he may get some playing time on Saturday. It’s a bit different, because I had Paul Caligiuri helping me. He was unbelievable… For David it is much worse. He speaks a little German, but it’s almost impossible to have a conversation with him. Yes, it’s much worse for him than it was for me.”
On Eddie Pope: “Eddie is still a young player. What he is doing now for his age is great. He listens to the older players, he listens to me, and tries to learn… He did it very well in Austria.”
On the John Harkes situation: “When we came together before the Austria game, Steve explained to us the situation. He explained why he made his decisions and left it at that… The situation is gone for us because there is nothing we can do. It’s something that happens in every big country. Players will get cut. We have to focus on the games ahead of us and not worry about what we have no control over. Everything that has happened is now history and now we need to prepare for our opponents, Germany, Iran and Yugoslavia.”
On the respect the team is receiving in Germany: “After the Gold Cup, when we beat Brazil, you could see people playing a lot more respect for us than before, but after eight weeks or so, they were coming back to saying we should win easy against the U.S., not even questioning losing a point. Then last month when we came to Europe and beat Austria, they are very unhappy with our result and how we played. There was one guy talking about us after the draw and saying if you think the U.S. is an easy game for us, it will be a very big surprise when the game is over. That was Franz Beckenbauer. He was saying we have to take the game very serious and take every detail seriously, at that time it was only one person, but after beating Austria soundly, the game became more of a focus again. Now more people are saying it is not easy for Germany to beat us.”
