The Associated Press England midfielder David Beckham has spent
the last few weeks recovering from a broken foot and may struggle
this year.
By Dylan Hernandez
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
[email protected] The games will be played long before most
of us wake up to brush our teeth and comb our hair. Most Americans
will be tucked tightly in bed during much of the World Cup, their
exposure being limited to 20-second highlight clips on the evening
news. Bad for soccer in this country? Perhaps, but not as bad as
you think. The United States, again, doesn’t have the kind of
team that this country wants to see. It is unskilled. Its soccer IQ
is very low. And, worst of all, it loses. Watching this team will
only make a public that already hates soccer hate the sport even
more. American soccer has improved a lot in the past decade.
It’s not as if we’re sending the equivalent of a Saudi
Arabian hockey squad to Korea, this year’s tournament
co-host, which will be home to the U.S. during pool play. But a
significant gap between the U.S. and the soccer-playing world still
exists. Outside of the goalkeeping position ““ where the
Americans have Kasey Keller and former Bruin Brad Friedel ““
the U.S. team lacks world-class players. The Americans, who have a
300-to-1 shot to win the Cup, don’t have any defensemen that
can attack from the wings, which every top-notch team in the world
seems to have.
The Associated Press Two-time FIFA Player of the Year
Zinedine Zidane hopes for a repeat after the 1998
run in his home country, France.
The midfield isn’t much better. The U.S. press has tried
to make a star out of Claudio Reyna, who, by world standards, is
the quintessence of mediocrity. He is slow, tunnel-visioned and
makes robotic (obvious) decisions. 20-year-old Landon Donovan,
dubbed a wunderkind since he led the U.S. to a bronze medal in the
1999 Under-17 World Championships, can actually see the field, but
his slight frame makes him too easy to bump off the ball. Four more
years and 15 more pounds will do a lot for the youngster, who
should star in the next World Cup. The U.S.’s best player may
be DaMarcus Beasley, who is also 20. He has little skill, but at
least has one redeeming trait: speed. According to the Boston
Globe, Beasley will be coming off the bench, which is puzzling,
because the player that will start in his place will probably be
equally unskilled but slower. Up front, there is Sports Illustrated
cover boy Clint Mathis, who is only a slight downgrade from the
U.S.’s last true striker, Eric Wynalda. The Americans’
first-round group of Portugal, Poland and South Korea is
intriguing. U.S. coach Bruce Arena will undoubtedly be stacking the
back to prevent his team from getting blown out by offensive power
Portugal, which is paced by reigning FIFA World Player of the Year
Luis Figo. The Americans will be aiming to tie counterattacking
Poland and beat feeble South Korea, which may be more difficult
than one might expect, considering the game will be on the their
opponents’ home turf ““ something which should incite
biased refereeing in favor of the Koreans. Realistically, the U.S.
has about a 50-50 chance to qualify for the next round, where it is
sure to be eliminated. But, at this point, the results don’t
matter. Soccer is a sport in which aesthetics often override
results; winning coaches have been sacked for “playing
ugly.” And the U.S., win or lose, will play ugly.
The Associated Press Landon Donovan will need to be nothing
short of spectacular for the U.S. to have any sort of impact.
A Look at the Contenders “¢bull; France:
Much-improved offensively, the French now have strikers worthy of
receiving two-time World Player of the Year Zinedine Zidane’s
passes. UCLA head coach Tom Fitzgerald, former coach of Major
League Soccer’s Columbus Crew calls Zidane his favorite
player, but adds, “He’s going to miss the first two
games because of injury, and that will affect France. Any time you
take a world class player away from a team, it changes the dynamics
of a team.” True, but France is in a terrible group, so the
absence of Zidane for a pair of matches should not affect the
squad. That said, don’t expect the French to repeat. When
they won in ’98, they won because of their defense. That
defense is now old. “¢bull; Argentina: They have a style
that’s pleasing to the eye and depth at every position.
Forward Ariel Ortega was the best player in the ’98
tournament, but he is four years older and a step slower.
Midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron is the glue of the team, which is
the tournament’s most talented. Argentina was also the best
team in both the ’94 and ’98 World Cups, but did not
win either. Their first-round group, which includes England,
Nigeria and Sweden, won’t help them. “¢bull; England: If
David Beckham’s broken foot is healed, England can win it
all. With speedy forward Michael Owen up front, the English can
score at any moment. Defenseman Sol Campbell is a massive presence
on the back line.
The Associated Press Brazil’s Ronaldo is rumored to be back
after multiple knee surgeries and looks to avenge a 3-0 loss to
France in 1998.
“¢bull; Italy: Widely regarded as the co-favorites alongside
Argentina, Italy has the world’s best defense. Last time out,
the Italians were too defensive-minded, but this year, they have
Francesco Totti directing the attack. “¢bull; Brazil: Don’t
listen to the American press when it says how Brazil has abandoned
its beautiful brand of football — the Brazilians did that back in
’94 and still won, but the U.S. media was too ignorant to
realize it. The problem is substance, not style. Brazil’s
roster, top to bottom, is simply not that talented. And now, with
Ronaldo being out of shape, Brazil has lost its most dangerous
weapon. Flashy teammates Rivaldo and Roberto Carlos are
overrated.
What Will Happen With the exception of
Argentina in ’86, every World Cup champion since ’82
has been a defensive power. And the only reason Argentina got away
with a mediocre back line in ’86 was because it had Diego
Maradona, by far the greatest player the world has ever seen. There
is no Maradona in this tournament, so, again, defense will be key.
Another key factor will be injuries, which are becoming
increasingly common because clubs require their players to take
part in more matches than ever. The status of Beckham, Zidane, Figo
and Ronaldo, who are all banged up in some capacity, will have a
significant effect on the tournament’s outcome. “This
has all happened in the last month or so, so coaches, I’m
sure, are just pulling their hairs out trying to figure out
who’s going to play and how they’re going to
play,” Fitzgerald said. Argentina and Portugal are this
corner’s sentimental favorites because they continue to play
with style, but Italy is the safe pick.