U.S. Players Have Something Big in Mind for World Cup
For the first time in their lives, they stopped traffic in a major American city. That there was room for only one lane between the vehicles parked on the narrow street in New York’s Little Italy, that the blockage lasted only long enough for members of the U.S. national soccer team to pose for a picture under the congratulatory banners stretched from the rooftops, was immaterial. This was their day and they were feasting on the attention.
“It’s wonderful to be treated with class,” decided Desmond Armstrong, a 25-year-old defender from Maryland. “Maybe it’s only for one day but we’ll take it.”
They have performed in anonymity long enough. Being an American soccer player means having to say thank you for favors large and small. It also requires name tags and introductions. The athletes who will represent the United States in the World Cup next month wore the former and endured -- no, make that enjoyed -- the latter when they were feted recently at a restaurant on Mulberry Street.
Despite the gyrations of dancers outfitted in the uniforms of the 15 national teams supplied by Adidas, the U.S. sponsor, and the presence of musicians committed to make conversation as difficult as possible, it was the soccer players who were the stars of this send-off luncheon. They even previewed a rap music video that should make them grateful for their ability to kick a ball, even on unfertile American soil. Taped primarily on the beach at Malibu, it features the lyric: “Togetherness and Unity means Victory in Italy.”
There is more rhyme than reason in such a claim. The global view is that the U.S. will be fortunate to gain so much as a tie in its three first-round games. Not only did the Americans barely qualify for the final spot in the 24-team draw but the quality of the opposition -- Czechoslovakia, Italy and Austria -- promises one of the strongest groups in the field.
“It’s not something to be threatened by,” Chris Sullivan, a forward from California, said. “It’s something to be excited about. It’s a great challenge.”
Indeed, U.S. soccer never before has occupied such a vast stage as that provided by the game against the host nation in Rome on June 14. Italy won the 1982 World Cup and is a favorite to do so again. “I think it’s a blessing in disguise,” Sullivan said.
At the very least, it should be a memorable experience. “We look at it as the thrill of our lives,” defender Paul Caligiuri said. “We don’t often have the chance to walk out before 80,000 fans. We’ll use that to our advantage. I think our emotions and our hearts will carry us further than our legs.”
Modern graphics have provided the players with a memento of their Roman holiday even before they depart for a Swiss training camp next week. It is a poster of the upstarts, in their white uniforms with blue stripes, aligned in front of the Colosseum. The photograph, officials confess, was taken in Miami and Italy’s most famous ruin superimposed.
But that’s promotion, an aspect of sport soccer will have to master if it hopes to grow in the United States. There has been no organized media campaign on behalf of the game since the heyday of the North American Soccer League. Armstrong credited the television exposure generated by Pele and Franz Beckenbauer with piquing his interest. Midfielder John Harkes, from New Jersey, was a Cosmos ballboy for one season and regularly attended games at the Meadowlands.
It was a time when kids could dream about playing professionally in their own country, although, Caligiuri said, “I couldn’t understand why there were only one or two Americans on the field in any game.” Soon, there were no Americans, North or South, and no Europeans, either. An overnight success thanks to the Cosmos’ pursuit of international legends, the league passed away almost as swiftly. “I’ve seen the rise and fall of the NASL.”
As a result, Caligiuri noted, “These guys never had a chance for American role models.” The man whose goal in the 1-0 victory over Trinidad & Tobago in November earned the United States its first Cup berth since 1950 vows that won’t be the case any longer. The tournament will be staged in the New World in 1994 and this team has been presented with the opportunity to influence a generation.
“We have the weight of the nation on us,” Armstrong said. “This is a steppingstone to 1994. The interest has already started, but the one thing we have to do in Italy is establish beyond a doubt that we belong there.
“That means results. We have to do something that will shock the world. It could be a tie with Italy, a win in our first game with Czechoslovakia, a berth in the second round. All are possible.”
Indeed, dressed in their red, white and blue warmup suits, sampling the food of the host nation in a New York restaurant, anything seemed possible. “We’ve set our goal to reach the second round,” Harkes said matter-of-factly. And that would be a first for what the soccer establishment regards as a Third World nation.
But Caligiuri, one of a handful of Yanks with European professional experience, noted the recent additions of Yugoslavians, Lithuanians and Russians to the National Basketball Association. The world is changing.
“We come from an undeveloped system,” he said. “All we have is potential. But the opportunity is there now. It exists. We have a chance. This is the ultimate time to develop soccer. We need to take advantage of the visibility.”
Call it one man’s version of the American dream, beating the world at its un-American game. “To keep the ball rolling in this country,” Caligiuri said, “we have to do something spectacular. I believe we will make the second round. I believe something spectacular will be beating Italy. That would be a great moment in sports.”
One sufficient to stop traffic not only on Mulberry Street but on the Via Veneto.
