MLS Draft Not the Way to Get a Galaxy of Stars

Without wishing to sound melodramatic, Octavio Zambrano did anyway.

“This is the moment of truth, I think, for soccer in this country,” the Los Angeles Galaxy’s assistant coach said.

Two months from now, Major League Soccer launches its great experiment: the return of professional soccer to the United States.

But will the fans respond?

A decade has passed since the collapse of the North American Soccer League, which failed despite the presence of international stars such as Pele, Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff, George Best, Carlos Alberto and others.

At its peak, the NASL drew crowds of 70,000 and more, but it folded anyway.

Those in charge of MLS believe one of the reasons was the lack of attention-getting American players. The NASL, they argue, was essentially a foreign league.

Not wishing to repeat that perceived mistake, MLS on Wednesday completed its first player draft with the selection of another 80 players by its 10 teams.

By day’s end, there was ample proof for deputy commissioner Sunil Gulati’s claim that “this will be an American league.”

Of 200 players assigned to MLS clubs in anticipation of the league’s April 6 opening, 169 are American.

But the question remains: Will the fans respond?

In Los Angeles, where 88,155 turned out in the rain to see the Gold Cup final a few weeks ago at the Coliseum, how many will turn up at the Rose Bowl to see such Galaxy players as:

--Forward Harut Karapetyan of Van Nuys, a seventh-round draft choice so unknown that he was inadvertently omitted from Wednesday’s Times account of the draft’s opening rounds.

--UCLA midfielder John O’Brien of Upland, forward Adan Villalvazo of Compton, Cal State Fullerton midfielder Brad Wilson of El Toro and University of San Diego midfielder David Beall of Glendale, chosen in the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th rounds, respectively.

--Howard defender Manny Motajo of Nigeria, University of Portland midfielder Joey Leonetti, forward Garfield Shaw of Kingston, Jamaica, and Ulster Junior College midfielder Carlos Jaguande of Brooklyn, N.Y., the team’s ninth, 10th, 15th and 16th picks, respectively.

The eight players drafted Wednesday by the Galaxy are likely to be reserves, but one or two could eventually break into the starting lineup.

“They’re young, they’re good players, technically, and they can step in,” Zambrano said. “This will be like a learning ground for them.”

Added Coach Lothar Osiander: “Our strategy on the second day was to bring in players who can handle multiple assignments. We accomplished that, as well as picking up a few players we expected to be taken in earlier rounds.”

Regardless of how these “utility” players are used, however, the key to the Galaxy’s success--on and off the field--is likely to rest with three players: goalkeeper Jorge Campos of Mexico, midfielder Mauricio Cienfuegos of El Salvador and forward Eduardo Hurtado of Ecuador.

Campos is likely to play a dual role, in the nets most of the time but occasionally playing as a striker. But the brunt of the goal-scoring duties will fall on Hurtado, nicknamed “Tank” because of his size and power.

“He’s a typical, strong, goal-scoring center-forward,” Zambrano said. “Without a doubt, he’s one of the best center-forwards in South America.”

The difficulty, of course, will be to get him the ball at the right time and in the right manner.

“For that, we have Cienfuegos,” Zambrano said. “He can provide the ball, he can serve it quite well. He has great vision.”

Another Ecuadorean player who would have made an excellent addition to the Galaxy is Alex Aguinaga, but Zambrano said acquiring him was never an option.

“That would be a dream, but the way the player budget is in this league, it’s not feasible just yet,” he said. “But I think probably as we move along players of that caliber will come into the league.”

In the meantime, it is up to the Galaxy to show that the current players are worth watching.

“We have a solid defense,” Zambrano said, “we have a couple of players in the middle who are creative, and we have a strong player up front. Plus, we have a couple of ‘discovery’ surprises who are going to come in late. One of them is a very good Latin player.”

And will that be enough to draw the fans?

“I think that they will come.”