Quotes Already Kick-Starting World Cup ’98
Flying toward us with all the speed, deadly accuracy and swerving unpredictability of a Roberto Carlos free kick, World Cup ’98 looms large on the soccer horizon.
And the quotes that are winging their way around the world are fairly far-fetched too. Take, for instance, the latest utterances of Tomislav Ivic, the Croatian coach who has charge of Iran, the United States’ opponent in Lyon on June 21.
“On paper, we’re minnows, but I expect us to beat Yugoslavia or Germany,” Ivic told Belgium’s Het Laatste Nieuws newspaper. “I’m holding a diamond, but it has to be polished.”
Yeah, right. Iran is known for its diamonds.
On the other hand, Ivic might have a legitimate star in Iranian forward Ali Daei, who is reported to be on his way from lowly Arminia Bielefeld in the German Bundesliga to high-flying Bayern Munich for $2.3 million.
“He’s a good and serious player,” said two-time World Cup winner Franz Beckenbauer, Bayern’s president. “I’ve been very impressed by his footballing ability and his character.”
Bayern Munich, incidentally, landed no fewer than six players on Germany’s World Cup team when it was announced by Coach Berti Vogts on Monday. The biggest news was the inclusion of 1990 World Cup-winning captain Lothar Matthaeus.
The selection creates a little bit of history. France ’98 will be Matthaeus’ fifth World Cup. The only other player to achieve that feat is Mexico’s Antonio Carbajal, who gained the nickname “Cinco Copas” after playing in the tournaments of 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962 and 1966.
Matthaeus, 37, has not played for Germany since December 1994 but has had a good season at Bayern Munich and is needed as cover because Matthias Sammer, Germany’s usual starting sweeper, failed to make the squad because of injury.
U.S. Coach Steve Sampson said he saw no surprises in the German team, which plays the Americans in Paris on June 15.
“I had said two months ago that Matthaeus was playing so well that he would be a great addition to the German team, regardless of his age,” Sampson said.
“I think it was an excellent choice. He is a good backup for Olaf Thon or is a great candidate to start for Germany.”
Nor does Sampson put much stock in the fact that Iran, to judge by comments coming from its camp, is assuming a victory over the U.S., just as the Americans are assuming a victory over Iran.
“I think it’s purely psychological,” he said. “I think both the United States and Iran recognize that on paper Yugoslavia and Germany are the teams to go forward out of that group. Both feel they must win that match to have a chance of going forward.
“But I think both Iran and the United States have the ability to surprise some people. I think that will make group play very interesting.”
BREAKING NEWS
If it had been Galaxy captain Dan Calichman who had broken Marcelo Balboa’s leg and knocked him out of the World Cup, would MLS have acted differently and not tried to sweep the incident under the rug?
An angry Calichman thinks so.
Home now from the hospital and facing a lengthy rehabilitation after two bones in his leg had been shattered by an ill-conceived tackle by Balboa, the Galaxy defender is fuming about the league’s failure to recognize the tackle for what it was.
“I’ve been calling the league and no one wants to talk with me, they’re just kind of ignoring anything I have to say,” Calichman said.
“It was an extremely vicious and bad tackle. I respect him [Balboa] as a player and as a person, but it was a bad tackle. It was reckless. As a veteran player, he should have known better. And for the league not to acknowledge that it was a studs-up, straight-leg tackle into my leg is appalling.
“If you watch the videotape, you cannot come away saying it’s a clean tackle, that this is the proper technique for a tackle, or that this is the way we want our MLS players to tackle.
“That the [league’s] disciplinary committee could look at the videotape and say that nothing is wrong is disgraceful. It just shows a lack of respect toward me as a player. For them to say that it was a 50-50 ball is totally wrong, it’s deceiving and it’s a lie.
“They’re not giving me anything. I feel I’ve earned a bit of respect in this league. It’s really upsetting. They just say ‘This is our decision, we’re going with the referee, see you later, bye.’ It’s not right.
“I don’t want anything bad to happen to Marcelo. I know he didn’t truly mean it, but it would be nice if he [and the league] acknowledged [that it was a bad tackle.]”
So far, MLS has not done that, and Calichman has good reason to be angry.
SCOTLAND AWAITS
Craig Brown, Scotland’s coach, named a 22-player squad that he will bring to the United States on Wednesday for games against Colombia in New York on Saturday and against the U.S. in Washington D.C. on May 30.
In both matches, Brown said he would field a team very close to the one he will use against Brazil in the World Cup opener at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on June 10.
“Both sides will be near my World Cup lineup,” Brown said. “In the run up to Euro ‘96, we played both Colombia and the U.S. and we experimented and got heavily criticized after we lost. So I don’t plan to do that again.”
The U.S.-Scotland game is the second half of a unique doubleheader at RFK Stadium. In the opening game, the U.S. women’s national team, preparing for next summer’s FIFA Women’s World Championship in the United States, will play New Zealand. Both games are being nationally televised.
Women’s World Cup organizers say ticket sales already have surpassed expectations and all U.S. games, as well as later-round matches, are likely to sell out. Tickets can be ordered by calling (800) WWC-TIKS.
SHORT PASSES
Colombia’s Carlos Valderrama got himself out of a World Cup predicament by finally paying $110,000 in back taxes owed to the French government, which had threatened to not allow him into the country unless the money was forthcoming. The Miami Fusion midfielder, who played for Montpellier in the French League in 1988-91, said France ’98 will be his last appearance for the national team. . . . Flamboyant British businessman Richard Branson has offered the England and Scotland teams a free week’s stay at his Virgin Island resort if one of them wins the World Cup. . . . Manuel Lapuente, Mexico’s coach, called up Olympic team midfielder Raul Rodrigo Lara for his 24-player preliminary squad. . . . Paraguay has filed a protest with FIFA because the Brazilian club Palmeiras has refused to release defender Francisco Arce for Paraguay’s tour in Japan. Paraguay will play Japan today and the Czech Republic on Thursday. . . . Uche Okafor of MLS’s Kansas City Wizards was named to Nigeria’s 26-man preliminary World Cup squad.
Three World Cup players saw their dreams dashed in the past week. Ike Shorunmu, Nigeria’s likely starting goalkeeper, broke an arm while playing for FC Zurich in Switzerland and will miss the World Cup. Brazil’s coach, Mario Zagalo, lost two defenders in the space of a few days. Marcio Santos of Sao Paolo pulled a thigh muscle and Flavio Conceicao of Deportivo de La Coruna in Spain failed an MRI test on his right knee, which showed ligament damage. Zagalo was forced to drop both. They were replaced by Andre Cruz of AC Milan and Ze Carlos of Sao Paolo. . . . Midfielder Fabian Estay defied the demands of Chile’s coach, Nelson Acosta, by failing to report to training camp by the date decreed. But he had good reason. He was helping Toluca win the Mexican championship last Sunday.
ON THE FIELD
In Cannes, France, a free kick by Sami al-Jaber earned Saudi Arabia a 1-1 tie with Iceland.
“When I took over the team in February, there was a lot of building to do,” said Saudi Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira. “They were at about 20% of their best and they’re improving by 10% with each match, which is why we had eight friendlies scheduled before our opening [World Cup] match against Denmark.”
In other warm-up matches during the past week, Argentina beat Bosnia, 5-0, at Cordoba, Argentina, as Fiorentina forward Gabriel Batistuta scored a hat trick. . . . Richard Gardner, Paul Hall and Ian Goodison scored as Jamaica defeated Santos of Brazil, 3-2, in Kingston.
On Saturday, South Korea defeated Jamaica, 2-1, in Seoul, with midfielder Lee Sang-yun scoring twice.
