Little Love Is Lost as U.S. Federation Braces for Election : Soccer: Three candidates seek control at a pivotal time for the American version of the sport.
The three-way race for the presidency of the U.S. Soccer Federation is generating an atmosphere of acrimony and, in its wake, exposing the factionalism that has been a part of soccer’s landscape for generations.
Today’s election will not be merely for the presidency--and the four-year term that will carry through the 1994 World Cup to be held in the United States--but also to set the agenda for the sport at a time of great change and much promise.
Many on the American soccer scene consider this a make-or-break time for the game; either soccer conquers the lost continent of North America by 1994, or the sport is doomed to be widely played by American children, then abandoned by its teen-agers.
Soccer’s administrators are by now weary of the cynical but appropriate description of the sport’s place: “Soccer is the sport of the future . . . and always will be.”
This sense of urgency colors the election. One USSF official, asked if this was the federation’s most critical election in recent memory, said, “That’s the biggest understatement in recent memory.”
The three men seeking the presidency are as different from each other as they can be: current president Werner Fricker, a taciturn and often stubborn man; current treasurer Paul Stiehl, once Fricker’s ally and now his most vocal critic; and former Clipper president Alan Rothenberg, the high-powered outsider who is hoping to transform the endorsements of his influential friends into votes.
Voting is not a simple matter in the USSF. The elections are similar to a U.S. presidential election in that it is possible to win the popular vote and still lose the election. Votes are weighted and come from three main sectors: youth, amateur and professional soccer. Each group has roughly one-third of the vote, making the forging of alliances critical for the candidates.
Following is a closer look at the contenders:
WERNER FRICKER
Fricker has presided over the USSF for three terms, with two milestones serving as bookends to his presidency: from the 1984 Olympics, which were a hit among ticket buyers, to the 1990 World Cup, in which a young U.S. team bucked the odds and qualified for the first time in 40 years.
Fricker has been under fire at home and abroad for both his administration and his management style. FIFA, the international governing body for soccer, has openly let Fricker know that it is unhappy with the USSF’s marketing plans. Within the federation, Fricker is seen as aloof and secretive.
Fricker and Stiehl once were close friends. That friendship ended when Fricker chose Scott LeTellier to head the 1994 World Cup organizing committee, rather than Stiehl, who had headed the U.S. bid.
FIFA has not given Fricker’s campaign any support, and, indeed, Fricker’s campaigning has been low key and behind the scenes, much like the candidate. But be assured that Fricker has done his political homework.
PAUL STIEHL
Stiehl can be bombastic, much given to exclamation points in both his spoken and written styles. Of the three candidates, Stiehl has distributed the most campaign information; that may wind up as a mixed blessing, however, as his key pamphlet misspelled the words efficiency and commitment.
Stiehl’s campaign strategy has been to point out Fricker’s failures and reinforce his support among the USSF’s vast rank and file. He has also been critical of Rothenberg’s emphasis on the organizing of the World Cup, rather than the running of the federation.
“I believe that the biggest responsibility of the federation president is the federation. Not the World Cup,” Stiehl said. “The World Cup is 52 games, 30 days, it’s over. That’s all, folks.”
Most observers say Stiehl has the weakest base of support among the candidates.
Says Stiehl: “I think we are getting support across the board. Sunday will tell the tale.”
ALAN ROTHENBERG
Rothenberg’s campaign could be characterized by a cocktail party he gave for delegates Friday night. It was elegant, sophisticated and, no doubt, costly. It was also a far cry from the beer-and-pretzel affairs delegates are accustomed to.
Rothenberg’s high-powered style might well work against him here, where the concerns of most soccer organizers extend to car-pool schedules and players growing too big for their uniforms.
As if to underscore his impressive resume--which includes serving as commissioner of soccer at the 1984 Olympics--Rothenberg has announced the endorsement of many of the sport’s biggest names: Pele sent a letter of support, so has Peter Ueberroth.
It has not impressed everybody.
“The people view him as an outsider, a guy who’s jumping in all of a sudden,” said Ric Fonseca, coach of the Real Santa Monica club of the California Youth Soccer Assn. “When I read the article last week saying that he was running, I was surprised. The last time I heard from Alan was the closing ceremonies of the Olympics in 1984.”
Rothenberg makes no claims to having climbed up through the ranks, but hopes this insular organization, heavy with volunteers, will accept him as a capable administrator and overlook his absence from the sport.
