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Karl
Senior Member
USA
914 Posts |
 Posted - Dec 11 2001 : 11:02:10 AM
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By Andrew Monfried
2 December 2001 (TEAMtalk) –
The loudest sound in the hall Saturday in Busan, Korea was the collective gulps when Nigeria completed the Group of Death with perennial powers Argentina, England, and Sweden.
Slightly less muffled were the grumblings from every copy editor at every mainstream newspaper in the United States who now have to learn to spell other Polish names besides Mike Krzyzewski.
(Just a hint: Sergio Conceicao, Yoo Sang-Chul, and Pawel Kryszalowicz are not in any language setting in Microsoft Word.)
Even quieter were the sighs of relief from Bruce Arena and U.S. Soccer who have to worry about playing these teams instead of spelling them.
Every year, there is a Group of Death, and the U.S. almost had their heads in that noose, but instead of playing Argentina, England, and Sweden, they get Portugal, Poland, and hosts Korea.
The U.S. could have had to come up with plans to stop Gabriel Batistuta, Michael Owen, and Henrik Larsson, and instead they have to figure out away to stop Luis Figo, Ahn Jung-hwan, and Emmanuel Olisadebe.
Not a bad trade-off according to U.S. head coach Bruce Arena.
"We were one selection away from going to Japan, and could have ended up in that difficult Group F. I was relieved when we were drawn out as the last team to complete the Korean half of the draw. It is an interesting story with England and Sweden, certainly in Group F, and of course Argentina is a favorite and Nigeria is a team that no one likes to play. There are some tough groups,” said Arena on Saturday from Korea where he will stay to lead the Yanks against the hosts next Sunday.
Truly, the road to Korea for the U.S. will go through Korea. They face them on Sunday in Seogwipo in a friendly where neither side will recall their top talent for the game. Then in January, they will face them again in the group stages of the Gold Cup.
"It helps us to see Korea twice in the next two months. One will be a bit of a pressure game, because that will be a key game to see who advances (on Jan. 19 in the Gold Cup). It will be helpful, but obviously we won't be in a situation where we have our full roster."
And in the most ridiculous scenario, the U.S. could face Guus Hiddink’s team yet a third time if they meet in the final of the Gold Cup.
“We will certainly know Korea in the next two months. And we have six months to gather information and get familiar with our other opponents.”
Portugal is no joke. In Euro 2000, they came as close as anyone to dethroning France in the semi-final of the tournament. In theory, they could have been a seeded team ahead of Germany except they have imploded in their last two World Cup Qualifying campaigns, and history matters in determing the colored ping-pong balls FIFA uses.
It’s not a stretch to say Luis Figo may be the best international player the U.S. has faced on the field since they met up with Romario in 1994. Certainly, the golden generation of Portuguese football (Figo, Nuno Gomes, Rui Costa) will be pressing for one last chance to win a trophy.
“Certainly, Portugal is a very well known team around the world. They are a great attacking team. They are a team with outstanding attacking players, and Luis Figo was my vote for the FIFA Player of the Year.”
Poland ran rough-shod over one of the easiest European World Cup qualifying groups, but their Nigerian-born striker (don’t even ask) Emanuel Olisadebe leads a talented cast like defender Tomasz Hajto, goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek, and forward Andrzej Juskowiak.
Short of having Chris Armas interrogate Chicago Fire teammate Peter Nowak until he confesses how to stop Poland, Arena will have more conventional ways of finding a way to beat the Poles.
“Poland plays pretty similar to a lot of the Eastern block countries. They are good on the ball, very athletic and pretty direct. One thing I know is that the games we have played in qualifying will have us pretty well prepared for the teams we are looking at in June," said Arena.
The U.S. will face a situation they have faced before. In Italy '90, they faced the hosts in the group stage and valiantly fought out a 1-0 defeat in front of 80,000 people in Rome.
This year’s draw also sets up a lot like 1998’s draw where they played a Western European team that were not favored against (Germany), an Asian team they could/should have beaten (Iran), and an Eastern European team that fuses a number of styles (Yugoslavia).
Even if you have not blacked out the memory of the United States' performance in France, Arena hasn't, and he has his sights set on doing even better than just making it out of the First Round.
“We've been waiting very long to be here and be a part of this. There was some bad taste left over from 1998 with a lot of players, so we have a chance to make a better representation in 2002.”
And if that happens, writers outside of Seoul, Lisbon, and Warsaw may have to learn how to spell Clint Mattis.
Karl
Edited by - Karl on Dec 11 2001 11:05:59 |
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