Rested Humbert Leads U.S. to Victory Against Croatia

He had cleared customs, collected his bags and raced to the pool Tuesday. Then he was told to take the day off.

Chris Humbert could only watch as the United States water polo struggled in a tie with Australia in the opening game of the UPS International Cup. On Wednesday, he got his feet wet.

Humbert, one of the keys to the U.S. team’s success in the Olympics, scored five goals, including the game winner and clincher, in an 11-9 victory over Croatia at the Los Alamitos Armed Forces Reserve Center.

So much for the weary traveler.

“Oh, I’m tired,” Humbert said. “I still have a little jet lag. It’s 5 a.m. in Greece.”

Humbert helped Ethnikos to a fourth-place finish in Greece’s professional league this season. On Monday, he got on a plane to return in time to see the U.S. rally for a 7-7 tie with Australia in pool play Tuesday.

“I was surprised,” Humbert said. “[Coach John] Vargas was being a nice guy and giving me a day off. I got a good night’s sleep and rested a little bit.”

Humbert, 30, was the last to arrive from the Europe, where six U.S. team members played this year. Humbert, in fact, has signed a two-year contract to return to Ethnikos, which won the Greek Cup tournament this season.

“There are a lot of benefits,” Humbert said. “For one thing, everyone who trains here has to get a job. In Greece, you are playing nine months a year, with games once a week against great competition.

“Here, you might have workouts three or four nights a week, then come together for a couple months in the summer. It’s a disadvantage to U.S. players.”

Those who play professionally in Europe--especially eastern Europe, where water polo is a major sport--face quality competition. In Greece, water polo is the third most popular sport, behind soccer and basketball.

“It can get a little out of hand,” said Gavin Arroyo, who has played in Greece and was with Natacio, a Spanish club team, last year. “You have people throwing flares at each other and cans. It’s fun, as long as you don’t get hit by something. It’s like being at an Oakland Raider game.”

And the game experience pays off.

“They are able to practice five hours a day and play in intense games once a week,” Vargas said. “It helps a lot individually. But it is still a team game and we have to come together and work together.”

The payoff would be an Olympic medal and Humbert hopes that his third time is a charm.

He scored 14 goals to lead the U.S. in 1996. The team went 4-1 in pool play, but finished seventh. Humbert was ejected for splashing a referee in a 5-4 loss to Spain in the quarterfinals.

Humbert was also on the U.S. team that lost to the Unified Team in the 1992 bronze-medal game.

“I’ll take any medal at this point,” Humbert said. “I want the gold, but I’ll take any of them. If we win a medal, then I’m done. . . . or maybe I’ll be back.”

The quest begins Sept. 23, when the U.S. opens with, of all teams, Croatia. Wednesday provided a taste of how tight that game could be.

Croatia’s Ratko Stritof scored to tie the score, 9-9, with 6 minutes 3 seconds remaining. Humbert responded a little more than a minute later, with a rolling backhand shot that seemed to surprise goalie Goran Volarevic.

“I had no idea how I did that,” Humbert said. “I had the ball and just got it to the cage somehow. It must have been luck because I had nothing on that shot.”

Goalie Dan Hackett made two point-blank saves to preserve the lead before Humbert gave the U.S. an 11-9 lead with 1:25 left.

Humbert had five goals. No other U.S. player scored more than one. Some jet lag.

“He is a big presence at the two-meter spot,” Vargas said. “So no more Mr. Nice Guy. No more days off.”

In other games, Italy defeated Australia, 10-5, and Yugoslavia beat the U.S. B team, 12-6.

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Water Polo

* What: UPS Cup Men’s International Tournament

* When: Today-Sunday

* Where: USA Water Polo National Aquatic Center, on the Joint Forces Training Base, 11200 Lexington Dr., Los Alamitos

* Basics: Round-robin tournament gives U.S. coaches their final look at athletes competing for spots on Olympic team, which will be named Aug. 1.

* Today’s schedule: 6 p.m.--Yugoslavia vs. Australia; 7:15--Italy vs. Croatia; 8:30--U.S. vs. U.S. B team.

* Tickets: All sessions--$32 for adults, $20 for students; individual sessions--$10 for adults, $6 for students; finals only--$12 for adults, $8 for students.

* Website: https://www.ups-cup.com

* Information: City of Los Alamitos, Recreation and Community Services Dept., (562) 430-1073