They Hope to Boldly Go Where No U.S. Man Has Gone Before

The United States’ best hope for its first Olympic soccer medal rests not with its men but its women.

World champions in 1991 and bronze medal winners at the 1995 world championships, the American women are expected to add to their laurels this summer in Atlanta.

Now, the players have added incentive to do well.

Last Friday was the deadline for FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, to accept bids from countries wanting the stage the 1999 Women’s World Championship.

The United States was the only nation to apply, Australia and Chile having dropped out. That makes it a mere formality for FIFA to award the United States the tournament when it votes May 31.

For many of the older American players, the 1996 Games will be the last hurrah. For the younger ones, the Olympics now will be a steppingstone to reclaiming the world title.

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Unlike World Cup ‘94, the Women’s World Championship will not be played nationwide. FIFA asked that the event be confined to the East Coast for travel and financial reasons.

The American bid has proposed 10 possible venues for the tournament.

They are Lehigh University, Allentown, Pa.; Tufts University, Boston; the University of Buffalo, Buffalo, N.Y.; Davidson College, Davidson, N.C.; the University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, N.C.

Also, the University of Delaware, Newark, Del.; Veteran’s Stadium, New Britain, Conn.; Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J.; the University of Richmond, Richmond, Va., and RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

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Michelle Akers, whose 87 goals for the United States are a record among men or women, has been sidelined for at least a month after suffering slight ligament damage in her right knee.

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Nice to see that the U.S. Postal Service, in its collection of stamps honoring the Atlanta Games, selected women’s soccer as one of its designs.

The ’96 Olympics mark the first time the sport has been included in the Games.

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Coach Bruce Arena’s U.S. men’s under-23 team, the Olympic team-in-waiting, will play its Mexican counterpart Wednesday night at 7 at Titan Stadium on the Cal State Fullerton campus.

Arena’s squad, although hampered by injuries, has not been beaten in its last six games against other under-23 national teams.

Led by the scoring of A.J. Wood, who has a team-high 18 goals in 41 games and five in the last eight, the United States has beaten Jamaica twice, tied and beaten Norway, beaten Denmark and tied South Korea.

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Only one American, Mike Burns, the U.S. national team defender now with Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution, has competed in all four of FIFA’s world championship tournaments--the under-17, under-20, Olympics (under-23) and the World Cup.

Three players on the U.S. under-23 roster may eventually share in Burns’ feat.

Midfielders Imad Baba and Nelson Vargas and defender Matt McKeon will be three-quarters of the way there if they play in the Games this summer.

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The South American qualifying tournament for the Atlanta Games produced one monumental upset when Venezuela, traditionally the continent’s soccer doormat, advanced to the final round, along with longtime powers Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.

In getting there, the Venezuelans defeated Colombia and Ecuador, and tied Chile.

Reality set in Friday, however, when Brazil trounced Venezuela, 5-0, and again on Sunday, when Argentina won, 2-0.

The Brazilians and Argentines qualified for the Atlanta Games on Sunday. The final South American spot will go to the winner of today’s game between Uruguay and Venezuela.

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Olympic gold medalist Spain and seven other European countries begin their final round of qualifying this month, with the top five earning a trip to Atlanta.

But fans will not be seeing such stars as Roberto Baggio, Juergen Klinsmann and others in the Olympic Games.

Even though FIFA rules allow countries that qualify to field three “over-age” players--those over 23--UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, says its teams will not take advantage of the rule.

The European under-21 tournament serves as the continent’s qualifying, and UEFA leaders believe those players who qualify their country deserve to represent it.

“To put three new players onto the team would mean taking away three players who helped it qualify,” a UEFA spokesman said. “It would be like having two different teams.”

FIFA, meanwhile, says those countries that qualify do not have to heed UEFA’s advice.

“If UEFA wishes to make recommendations to its members, it is free to do so,” said spokesman Keith Cooper. “But the recommendations do not have to be followed.”

The European under-21 quarterfinal pairings involve Portugal-Italy, Hungary-Scotland, Germany-France, and Spain-Czech Republic. Scotland, which competes in the Olympics as part of the British team, is not eligible, meaning the five Olympic qualifiers will come from the remaining seven nations.

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Australia won the Oceania tournament and will face the runner-up in the North and Central American and Caribbean region (CONCACAF) for an Olympic berth.

CONCACAF qualifying will be held in Edmonton, Canada, in April.