Faithful Few Keep Eye on U.S. Soccer Ball : Sports: Avid fans in Mission Viejo delight in their pre-World Cup access to the American team.

If this were Germany or Brazil, and the national soccer team was training a few weeks before playing host to the World Cup, there would be hundreds of fans around the practice field, jostling to catch a peek of their heroes.

But this is the United States, land of soccer heathens, and Orange County, home of fickle fans. So it’s no wonder only a handful of spectators were on the hill overlooking the U.S. National Training Center recently, watching the U.S. team begin its final month of preparation for the Cup.

Would players like to see the Mission Viejo facility teeming with fans every day? Sure, that would be great for American soccer, long a laggard compared to the rest of the world’s soccer-worshiping nations.

But for those in Orange County who do care about the sport, and for the city of Mission Viejo, the U.S. team has been a godsend.

“I think every day how lucky I am,” said Dan Zaccuri, a 33-year-old Costa Mesa construction worker and youth soccer coach. “This is the first time the World Cup has come to the U.S., and I can stop in during the middle of the day and watch the team practice. There are people around the world who would kill to be able to do that, and I do it all the time.”

Zaccuri knows this is about to change. When the team resumes practice this week after a three-game, East-Coast exhibition swing, crowds will likely be larger than the dozen or so that have followed recent workouts.

Security will be much tighter around the complex; the number of camera crews, reporters and photographers will multiply, and the facility will be closed to the public on June 13, four days before the start of the 24-team World Cup.

What’s more, the team, almost completely accessible for the past 17 months, will be sequestered at the Dana Point Resort in early June.

But Zaccuri will always have fond memories of the day his 9-year-old son, Roman, met Coach Bora Milutinovic and kicked a ball around with U.S. team midfielder Cobi Jones.

Tom Spry, manager of a Ballpark Pizza Team restaurant in Mission Viejo, will remember all the U.S. players and coaches who frequented his establishment, chatted with customers and signed autographs on the wall.

Roy Cain, manager of Hennessey’s Tavern in Laguna Beach, will remember the night U.S. team defender Alexi Lalas and his band played in his pub.

And kids from the Santa Ana Boys and Girls Club will remember the day several U.S. players put on a free clinic for them.

That’s the way it has been since January, 1993. The U.S. soccer team has blended into Orange County, touching the lives of many soccer fans without causing so much as a stir among non-fans; putting Mission Viejo back on the national and international map without creating a major flap.

Unlike the circus atmosphere that accompanies many of the world’s great national soccer teams, the U.S. team has gone about its business in Mission Viejo with virtually no distractions. Nor has it been a distraction.

“We’ve enjoyed all the benefits from the publicity they’ve generated without the detriments you’d normally associate with having a major team,” said Robert D. Breton, a Mission Viejo councilman. “There’s been no traffic jams (around the complex), no loitering, no major crowds to control. It’s been completely benign.”

Some think too benign.

“A lot of people in Mission Viejo don’t even realize the national team is training here,” said Petar Vasilev, a 25-year-old salesman who moved from Columbus, Ohio, to Orange County six months ago and regularly attends practice. “In any other country, people would be fighting for a place to watch.”

Some area merchants believe the community got more excited about the 1984 Olympics, when Mission Viejo was a venue for cycling events.

“The only reason is because the team hasn’t been promoted as well as it could have,” said Debbie Santoro, community relations director for Bank of Orange County, located across the street from the training center. “But they’re great guys, and we’re glad to have them. I think the players have touched a lot of kids’ lives.”

World Cup fever hasn’t exactly gripped the entire Saddleback Valley, but there’s a bug going around the soccer community.

Spry turned one wall of his restaurant into a World Cup shrine. The back wall in Santoro’s bank is covered with soccer paraphernalia. The U.S. team was featured in Mission Viejo’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, and the city named the street entering the training facility World Cup Center Drive.

The Mission Viejo region of the American Youth Soccer Organization, already one of the nation’s largest with an average initial April enrollment of 2,600 to 2,800, had 3,400 sign-ups this April, according to Bill Irvine, AYSO scheduler for South County. And many afternoons, kids have hung out at the training center, hoping to meet the players and get a few autographs.

“If you’re into soccer, there’s never been anything like this and there won’t be again,” said Phil Serrins, a Mission Viejo chiropractor. “You have all these young men who are the best players in the country. They’ve gone to ceremonies, classrooms, hospitals and put on clinics. They’ve been totally accessible, which has been great for the kids.”

Serrins, a member of the Mission Viejo Soccer Foundation booster group, was responsible for matching U.S. players and support personnel with about 35 host families, who helped team members and their families acclimate to the area.

Serrins’ family hosts U.S. goalie Tony Meola, who has spent many days at the Serrins house eating home-cooked meals, relaxing and talking soccer.

“My 15-year old is a goalie,” Serrins said. “It can’t hurt to have one of the best goalies in the world hanging out with your kid.”

Being a host family also has other privileges, such as meeting Pele when the former Brazilian soccer great was at the training facility to film a MasterCard commercial last year.

“Pele kissed my daughter on the cheek and took a picture with her,” Serrins said. “That’s like me meeting Babe Ruth. She’ll remember that for the rest of her life.”

Players--at least the ones who haven’t been cut as the team pares its roster to the final 22--will likely leave Mission Viejo with fond memories, too. For them, the training center, which includes a grass field and a clubhouse, has provided something no other U.S. national soccer team has ever had--a permanent home.

Sure, it rained for a few weeks after they arrived in January, 1993, there were disastrous fires last fall, and the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake scared the cleats off them.

But all in all, the weather has been very good, and living and training conditions have been a major upgrade from the past, when the U.S. roster was a team of nomads, assembling a few months before competitions, playing exhibition games and living out of suitcases.

“We’ve definitely experienced everything--the rains, the fires, the earthquake--but it’s been great,” said Marcelo Balboa, a U.S. team defender since 1988. “In the past, the only time we had a home was when we were on the road. Now, we see each other every day, and we’re more of a family instead of acquaintances. We feel like we’re more of a team now.”

The team has grown up together the past year and a half. The wives of three players, Peter Vermes, Desmond Armstrong and Janusz Michallik, and one assistant coach, Steve Sampson, have had babies since moving to Mission Viejo. Meola was married, and defender Mike Lapper and team press officer Dean Linke got engaged.

“Nobody’s got divorced since we’ve been here--that’s good,” said Bill Nuttall, U.S. team general manager. “We’ve been able to settle into a community, and it’s given us a sense of belonging. Hopefully, that will provide a benefit for us.”

There have been benefits to the local economy, as well.

According to Nuttall, about $3.5 million in team salaries has been eligible to be spent during the team’s stay in Orange County. In addition, U.S. team officials have written checks totaling $23,000 a month to several apartment complexes in the Mission Viejo area to pay for team housing.

Four players have bought homes in the Saddleback Valley. Players have purchased and leased cars and opened bank accounts. The team has bought an average of 15 rooms per night at the Laguna Hills Holiday Inn and has had numerous receptions, banquets and news luncheons.

Restaurants around Cal State Fullerton and Trabuco Hills High School, where the team has played exhibitions, have done brisk business. Javier Sosa, who owns the Dos Tacos restaurant across the street from the training center, said 15% to 20% of his business can be attributed to soccer-related customers.

“They’ve had a huge economic impact,” said Karen Irvine, press officer for the Mission Viejo Soccer Foundation. “It’s been a great investment for the city.”

The U.S. team has also been a public relations bonanza for Mission Viejo. Linke said media representatives from every country in the World Cup have visited the training center.

“The Nadadores (swim club) may have put us on the map, but this has given us worldwide recognition in the world’s most popular sport,” Breton said. “To be mentioned in articles printed from Hong Kong to Australia to France, Saudi Arabia and Germany gives us global recognition we could never purchase.

“Without fail, everyone I meet immediately tells me, ‘I wish I could live here.’ So I think the ripple effect will extend for many years to come.”

Mission Viejo’s relationship with World Cup soccer won’t last forever. Nuttall said the U.S. team is planning to vacate the facility Aug. 31, when their contract expires, and there have been reports that the team will move its headquarters to Orlando, Fla.

But the team will have a lasting effect on Mission Viejo--primarily in the form of the first-class facility that Kelly Doyle, city parks and community services director, said will be used for youth and adult soccer after the team leaves.

As for converting the masses--or at least raising the interest level in a sport that is foreign to most Americans--the U.S. team’s performance in the World Cup could go a long way toward determining whether American fans embrace soccer.

“I think the World Cup will open some eyes,” said Lalas, the most recognized U.S. player because of his wild red hair, straggly goatee and effusive personality. “People aren’t going to become soccer lunatics, but it will give them a greater respect for the game.”

Orange County and the World Cup

TOURNAMENT FORMAT

Number of finalists: 24, including the host U.S. team

Sites: Rose Bowl, Pasadena; Stanford Stadium, Stanford; Soldier Field, Chicago; Cotton Bowl, Dallas; Pontiac (Mich.) Silverdome; Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.; Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Fla.; RFK Stadium, Washington; Foxboro Stadium, Foxboro, Mass.

The first round: Finalists were placed in four-team groups at a lottery in Las Vegas in December. Each group will play a round-robin schedule, with standings based on three points for a victory and one for a tie.

The second round: The first- and second-place team in each group, plus four third-place teams with the most points, qualify for the round of 16, from which single-elimination play continues through the championship match July 17 at the Rose Bowl.

U.S. TEAM TRAINING INFORMATION

Site: U.S. National Training Center, 27301 La Paz Road at World Cup Center, Mission Viejo.

Arrival: Last Sunday.

Practice: Until June 13, the public can watch workouts from a small rise overlooking the practice field. Parking at the training center will be limited to those with media, staff and guest credentials; best bet is in the Newhart School parking lot when school is not in session or in shopping center complexes at Marguerite Parkway and La Paz Road. Practice is generally at 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and 8 a.m. only on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, but the schedule is subject to change daily because of weather and team obligations. As of June 13, cup security will close practices to the public.

Special events: Because of stringent World Cup security measures, there will be only one more major social function directly connected to the U.S. team: the Black and White Ball, a black-tie optional event June 11 at the Mission Viejo Mall. About 1,000 people are expected when the final 22 members of the team are introduced. Tickets are $35 and can be obtained by calling (714) 975-8309.

ROMANIAN TEAM TRAINING INFORMATION

Site: UC Irvine.

Expected arrival: Friday.

Practice: The Anteaters’ former baseball stadium will be the main training site. The facility is enclosed, and it will not be known if spectators will be allowed inside until after the team arrives. Depending on security, viewing workouts still might be possible from tennis courts situated to the south. As with the U.S. team, expect things to tighten up as of June 13.

COLOMBIAN TEAM TRAINING INFORMATION

Site: Titan Stadium, Cal State Fullerton.

Expected arrival: June 13.

Practice: Late arrival would allow little time for spectators, even if they were permitted. And that’s unlikely. Titan Field has stands that can be secured on both sidelines, but end zones are open.

U.S. FIRST-ROUND MATCHES (ALL TIMES PDT)

Saturday, June 18--vs. Switzerland, Pontiac, Mich., 8:30 a.m.

Wednesday, June 22--vs. Colombia, Rose Bowl, 4:30 p.m.

Sunday, June 26--vs. Romania, Rose Bowl, 1 p.m.

OTHER ROSE BOWL MATCHES

Saturday, June 18--Colombia vs. Romania, 4:30 p.m.

Sunday, June 19--Cameroon vs. Sweden, 4:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 3--Second round, 1:30 p.m.

Wednesday, July 13--Semifinal, 4:30 p.m.

Saturday, July 16--Third place, 12:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 17--Championship, 12:30 p.m.

Sources: Associated Press, U.S. national team, World Cup officials