Hejduk rally falls short Frankie Hejduk, he of the surfer lingo and post-goal Bob Marley dance, played the entire second half yesterday with his shorts on backwards. And he did it on purpose. Just before getting the call as a substitute for Mike Burns to open the final 45 minutes, Hejduk took his shorts off and put them on backwards, saying: “Rally cap, bro. Rally cap.” (A not-so-veiled reference to baseball players who often wear their caps backwards when a team is trying to come from behind.) “It didn’t work, though,” added the 23-year-old surfer from Southern California, “so that will be the last time I try that trick. I did it a couple of times in club ball and it’s worked every time. There definitely wasn’t a better time for a rally than yesterday. If I would have scored that goal, I would have worn my shorts backward every game.” “That goal” was Hejduk’s impressive diving header in the 53rd minute which German goalkeeper Andreas Koepke did well to save. Eight guys with one game; one guy with eight games Eight players made their World Cup debut for the U.S. in yesterday’s 2-0 defeat to Germany, with Mike Burns, Chad Deering, Frankie Hejduk, Kasey Keller, Brian Maisonnueve, Eddie Pope, David Regis and Claudio Reyna all seeing extensive action. In contrast, midfielder Tab Ramos’ second-half appearance marked his eighth overall World Cup cap, a U.S. record. Ramos and Eric Wynalda became the first players in U.S. Soccer history to appear in three different World Cups (1990, 1994 and 1998). Burns on-line Mike Burns has made a career out of clearing balls off the U.S. line, which made yesterday’s Andreas Moeller goal that much more bizarre. Back in 1995, Burns helped preserve the United States’ U.S. Cup triumph by heading a last second shot by Colombia off the goal line in a scoreless draw. Less than two years later, in the USA’s opening match of final round CONCACAF play, Burns again saved the day in a 0-0 draw by clearing a second-half Jamaican shot from the goal mouth on March 2, 1997. Yesterday, however, despite being in a perfect position on Moeller’s header, the ball somehow slipped underneath Burns’ right arm and between his body and the goalpost. Cobi birthday greeting Cobi Jones was surprised today by a birthday serenade from his teammates outside the Westin le Parc in Paris as the team left for their Nike Park appearance today. Jones, who played all 90 minutes in his fifth World Cup match yesterday, turned 28 today. Agoos and Ramos tested As per FIFA requirements, two U.S. players were chosen for drug doping after the team’s first match. The two players selected for the U.S. after their 2-0 loss to Germany were defender Jeff Agoos and midfielder Tab Ramos. Opening Loss Precedent Having never won a World Cup match in their history, Bulgaria proceeded to open the 1994 tournament with a resounding 3-0 loss to Nigeria in Dallas. With things looking bleak for the Bulgarians, they went on to win their next four matches to advance all the way to the tournament semifinals, where they fell to Italy 2-1. The Bulgarians eventually finished in fourth place. Local Fans Turn out as U.S. Team Resumes Training Earlier today, the U.S. team returned to its training site at Saint-Jean D’Ardieres, where approximately 300 locals turned out to welcome the Americans and watch their open training session. As the team stepped off the bus, around 30 French elementary school students stepped forward and broke into song, first singing “Happy Birthday” to Cobi Jones, and followed that by serenading the entire delegation with a perfect rendition of the National Anthem. Team Schedule Wednesday, June 17 10 a.m. Open training at Trevoux 1:30 p.m. Steve Sampson, Tab Ramos and Frankie Hejduk available for interviews at Chateau de Pizay. Thursday, June 18 TBD Closed training (at site TBD). 1:30 p.m. All players available for interviews at Chateau de Pizay.