Klopas Scores for ‘Home’ Fans : Soccer: Greek-born striker scores U.S. goal in 1-1 tie with Greece before partisan crowd.
Of the 21,317 soccer fans who went to the Yale Bowl Saturday, at least half were Greek. They were easy to identify not only because they were wearing the colors of the Greek flag--blue and white--but also because they were the ones making all the noise.
But as much as Greece’s coach, Alkis Panagoulias, appreciated the support from the stands, he could have done with one fewer Greek on the field. “He can’t do that,” Panagoulias said after the United States’ Frank Klopas scored his team’s only goal in a 1-1 tie. “How can he score against Greece?”
It seems as if Klopas can score against anyone, having done so seven times in his last eight games, but this one was particularly important for the striker who was born in Greece and plays professionally there.
His left-footed shot from 15 yards out in the final minute of the first half from a nifty crossing pass from Paul Caligiuri beat Klopas’ teammate with AEK Athens, goalkeeper Ilias Atmatzidis.
“After the game, the Greek players were joking, ‘OK, you’re going to be back in Greece now,’ ” said Klopas, who feared he might not be asked to return after sitting out part of last season because of an injury. “They said, ‘You’ve got a big contract to sign.’ ”
A more immediate goal for Klopas is to earn a berth on the United States’ final 22-man roster, which will be announced Thursday. But not only does it appear that he has a lock on that, he might even be a starter when the United States opens World Cup play on June 18 against Switzerland.
Although the team’s other striker, Ernie Stewart, is more mobile, it will be difficult for U.S. coaches to leave a hot scorer on the bench. Of 10 U.S. goals since April 20, Klopas has scored five, including four in a row.
Greece, also a World Cup qualifier, came back to tie in the fourth minute of the second half on a superb shot from 18 yards out by Minas Chatzidis. But afterward, the U.S. players said the result was as good as a victory for them, especially after playing the final 20 minutes with only 10 players.
That was when sweeper Marcelo Balboa was ordered off the field with a red card after a tackle that referee Benito Archundia of Mexico thought was overly aggressive. As a result, Balboa has to sit out the United States’ final pre-World Cup exhibition--next Saturday at the Rose Bowl against Mexico.
Considering its 4-5-8 record in full international games since the beginning of the year, the United States is about as optimistic as possible at this point. With the integration of some of the foreign-based players into the offense, most notably Tab Ramos from Spain, Eric Wynalda from Germany, Roy Wegerle from England and Stewart from the Netherlands, the team has developed a more positive attack.
Wynalda weaved through three defenders on an outstanding 30-yard run in the second half Saturday. Even though his shot was just off the mark, it was easily the play of the game.
The team’s weakness remains in the defense, but the midfielders and forwards made more of an effort to help the defenders than they did in last Wednesday’s scoreless draw with Saudi Arabia.
Coach Bora Milutinovic continued to insist that none of the games are significant until the United States plays Switzerland. But he did allow himself a smile in reference to the one-sided crowd. “It was a good result,” he said, “for playing in Greece.”
