Bruin Factor Figures Into U.S. Men’s Soccer
In the good old days, when he was coach at Virginia, Bruce Arena could poke some lighthearted fun at UCLA. And he did.
Now, even though he has loaded the U.S. national soccer team with former Cavaliers, Arena finds himself in the odd position of having to defend the Bruins on his team.
It happened again Tuesday after the Americans had completed training for tonight’s Gold Cup match against Peru at the Orange Bowl in Miami.
Arena was asked about Eddie Lewis, whose performance in Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Haiti left much to be desired. Lewis’ crosses were often off target, and his corner kicks were weak.
Fortunately for the Cerritos-born Lewis, Ben Olsen’s play on the opposite flank was equally mediocre and Arena could not criticize the former Bruin without mentioning the former Cavalier.
“The Haitian back four is very good,” Arena said. “The center backs are terrific players defensively. Their outside backs defend very well.
“They did a great job in closing down our outside players. They made Eddie come inside and Ben come inside. We didn’t have the answers to that in the first half. In the second half, it was a little bit better.
“But Eddie didn’t play particularly well and neither did Ben. And that’s a concern. I think there was a combination of reasons for it, but it’s one game. You look at how he [Lewis] has played over 10 games and he’s been OK. So I don’t concern myself about one bad game. If it becomes a pattern, then you do.”
The former Bruins on the Gold Cup roster are Ante Razov, Brad Friedel, Cobi Jones, Greg Vanney, Frankie Hejduk and Lewis; the former Cavaliers are Claudio Reyna, Tony Meola, Jeff Agoos, Richie Williams, John Harkes and Olsen.
The other player who looked ill at ease against Haiti was Jovan Kirovski, the Escondido-born forward/midfielder who belongs to but doesn’t play much for Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga.
Kirovski’s position as a withdrawn forward leaves him playing directly in front of Reyna, the U.S. playmaker.
With Kirovski cluttering up the middle, Reyna is forced to play deeper, where he is not as effective as he might be. Not true, said Arena.
“That’s where Claudio feels more comfortable,” he said.
“I would challenge the [claim] that Jovan hasn’t played well. He wasn’t good in the week we were training for Iran, due to the fact that he’s been away from competitive soccer for a while [because of the Bundesliga’s winter break]. We saw improvement the week of the Chile game. He played probably a good 60 minutes against Chile. He slowed down a little at the end.
“And the week and a half we’ve been here he’s been very good. I don’t think he had a bad game the other night. He scored a good goal [against Haiti].”
One player who might look more lively in Kirovski’s position and certainly would be more of an offensive threat is Joe-Max Moore, now playing for Everton in the English Premier League.
In the last four games, Moore has scored four goals and has earned a place in the starting lineup. But Moore, from Irvine, is from UCLA, and in his case Arena reverted to form Tuesday.
“Don’t be deceived by the fact that’s he’s scoring some goals in club soccer in England,” he said. “In three of the games, he played five minutes. He’s pouncing on balls dropped in the six-yard box. Give him credit, that’s great. But as is typical in our country, now we build him up to be a superstar.
“We’ve seen him for many years. We know what Joe-Max is about. He’s no different now than when he was wearing a New England Revolution uniform.
“Joe-Max is a very good reserve. He can play a number of positions. He’s got a nose for the goal. But over 90 minutes we’ve found that he’s less effective than he is in 15-minute runs. Hopefully he becomes a 90-minute player.
“Would he help us here? Certainly. If we had Joe-Max and [Brian] McBride and [Eric] Wynalda and Razov, right now, they’d all be in and out. You’d look for one guy to step up and make a difference. Hopefully that will happen.
“Maybe he [Moore] gets confidence in the Premier League so that the next time he comes into camp he becomes a regular and he helps us. Who knows? But I’m not fooled by that [the four goals] completely.
“Look at it the other way, Friedel’s still a good goalkeeper [yet] he doesn’t play.”
Yes, that last comment was a dig at UCLA. Friedel is with Liverpool but has sat on the bench most of this season and is looking for a new team.
Meanwhile, he’s starting for the U.S., although Meola might get the call tonight. For now, Friedel and the rest of the Westwood gang are just about holding their own against the six former Cavaliers.
It’s a good thing the coach is neutral.
Isn’t he?
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Up Next
2000 Gold Cup schedule:
* Today--Honduras vs. Colombia, 4; Peru vs. U.S., 6, at Miami.
* Thursday--Mexico vs. Guatemala, 7; South Korea vs. Costa Rica, 9, at the Coliseum.
* Saturday--Winner Group B vs. runner-up Group A, noon; winner Group A vs. runner-up Group B, 2:30, at Miami.
* Sunday--Winner Group D vs. runner-up Group C, noon; winner Group C vs. runner-up Group D, 2:30, at San Diego.
* Feb. 23--Winner quarterfinal A vs. winner quarterfinal B, 8, at San Diego.
* Feb. 24--Winner quarterfinal C vs. winner quarterfinal D, 8, at the Coliseum.
* Feb. 27--Gold Cup championship game, noon, at the Coliseum.
GROUPS
Group A--Colombia, Jamaica, Honduras; Group B--Haiti, Peru, United States; Group C--Guatemala, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago; Group D--Canada, Costa Rica, South Korea.
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GOLD CUP
MATCHUPS
South Korea tied Canada, 0-0, and Guatemala faced Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday at the Coliseum. Page 5
