The Pressure Increases as U.S. Team Seeks Credibility : Soccer: Milutinovic denies that winning is important, but Cup ’93 will put his team in the national spotlight for the first time.
The Gospel according to Bora: Nothing that happens now matters. Pay it no mind. The only result that counts is the summer of 1994. Then, you will see.
But as the curtain goes up today on U.S. Cup ‘93--with the United States playing host to traditional powers England, Brazil and Germany in perhaps the most important soccer tournament ever held in the United States--Coach Bora Milutinovic and his young American team will be judged in the here and now.
The six-game tournament held in five cities will begin this afternoon at the Yale Bowl with a match between the United States and Brazil. At stake is not merely the tournament title, but the credibility of the American team as an emerging soccer power and this nation’s ability to play host to the world’s single largest sporting event and imbue it with the proper reverence to please the sport’s skeptical purists.
The two-week tournament will be played in four of the nine World Cup venue cities--Foxboro Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., RFK Stadium in Washington, Soldier Field in Chicago and the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich. Each facility will use the U.S. Cup as a critical test of its readiness for next summer’s World Cup, which runs from June 17 to July 17. Ticket sales, crowd control and every corner of each stadium will be under scrutiny from World Cup ’94 officials and the leadership of FIFA, the world governing body for soccer.
In addition, more than 1,000 journalists will be on hand, many to view the stadiums and U.S. team for the first time. All the U.S. Cup games will be carried on pay-per-view cable, and the June 13 match between the United States and Germany at Chicago will be televised live by ABC.
Against a backdrop of Milutinovic’s frequent declarations that his team has gained international respect and U.S. Soccer Federations officials’ assurances that the sport is gaining a foothold in the United States, perhaps the most telling statistic of the tournament is the fact that the ABC telecast will be the first time the U.S. national soccer team has appeared on live network television.
“It’s important for our credibility that we do well,” said midfielder Bruce Murray. “It’s important to market the sport in the United States, and it’s important for our confidence and to show the world we have gotten better.”
How much better is the subject of much debate. The team is 1-4-9 in international matches and has scored 13 goals while giving up 18. The team comes into the competition having played scoreless ties against Bolivia and Peru. But to the charge that his team is not performing to expectations, Milutinovic answers that the players are following his plan, the results of which will be produced next summer.
“It is much more important how you play than the score,” he said. “We play Brazil and we lose, 3-0. I am so happy. So happy, why? Because we play so great, the best we play. This is what is most important. In one game, if we have inspiration, our team can beat any team in the world.”
The United States will be bolstered by the return of eight of its foreign-based players. How those players mesh with the team that has been based at Mission Viejo will be the key part of Milutinovic’s puzzle. To make room for the European-based players on the 22-man roster, Milutinovic dropped forward Peter Vermes, defender Paul Caligiuri and midfielders Brian Quinn and Joe-Max Moore.
Returning players such as John Harkes, Roy Wegerle, Eric Wynalda and Thomas Dooley are expected to add scoring and international experience. Harkes, who plays for Sheffield Wednesday in the English Premier League, was the most valuable player in last year’s tournament, which the United States won. In that tournament were Italy, Ireland and Portugal.
Factors are in the United States’ favor to win or do well in U.S. Cup ‘93, even against a better field than last summer’s. FIFA officials well understand the connection between the success of the U.S. team and the marketability of the sport in the United States. The field was selected, in part, because the invited three teams draw well.
Brazil will be without several players because of conflicts with the Brazilian league. England is coming off a disappointing loss to Norway in World Cup qualifying on Wednesday but will bring its full team as a kind of preparation/punishment for England’s next World Cup qualifying match. Said English Manager Graham Taylor: “Some people wondered about the importance of this trip. It’s very valuable now.”
The only two English players of note to skip the tournament are Paul Gascoigne, who was not released by his Italian team, and striker Alan Shearer, who is injured.
The Germans, as defending World Cup champions, are automatically qualified for the 1994 World Cup. To provide incentive, the German federation will pay a $22,000 bonus to each player if Germany wins the tournament.
For the United States, the pressure of expectations is incentive enough.
“We have to start winning to win fans,” Wegerle said.
Ultimately, the credibility of U.S. soccer might rest on that, the Gospel of Bora notwithstanding.
