Zambrano Is Trying to Shoot for Stars in Another Galaxy
One game into Major League Soccer’s new season and Octavio Zambrano already finds himself facing a barrage of increasingly difficult questions.
The former Galaxy coach is now in charge of the once-hapless but presumably rejuvenated New York/New Jersey MetroStars, whose high-profile signings from Germany and Colombia were supposed to produce a new beginning.
It didn’t quite work out that way.
The MetroStars’ first game of 2000 yielded the same old result: a 3-1 loss to the Miami Fusion in a game in which none of the newcomers--Lothar Matthaeus, Adolfo “the Train” Valencia, Alex Comas and top draft pick Steve Shak of UCLA--exactly sparkled in their MLS debuts.
The German media were out in full force to chart Matthaeus’ every run, pass and shot. They didn’t have much to do. The 1990 World Cup winner had what can best be described as a low-key match.
“I am confident that once Lothar plays a few more games with us he will find his way and become the impact player I know he is,” Zambrano said diplomatically.
The MetroStars looked like a team playing its first game. There was little coordination among defenders, midfielders and forwards and even less sense of overall purpose.
“Obviously, it was a disappointing weekend for us,” Zambrano conceded. “I felt the team should have done much better than what it did.
“All things considered, our team really hasn’t been together long enough to make a fair evaluation of all of our players individually or as a unit. I would like to give it a little more time to fairly assess what the positive and negative impact of certain players is going to be.”
Here’s one suggestion: Ditch Miles Joseph right away. The striker was presented with two excellent scoring opportunities, one of them by Matthaeus, and blew them both.
Joseph’s performance was as abysmal as that of another would-be striker, Washington D.C. United’s A.J. Wood, who looked lost in his team’s 4-0 defeat by the Galaxy.
The United States has a tough time producing players who know what to do in front of the net--hence, the career longevity of those who succeed, such as Miami’s Eric Wynalda and Los Angeles’ Cobi Jones.
In 94 MLS games, Joseph has scored 10 goals. In 107 MLS games, Wood has scored 22 goals.
If he maintains that pace, Joseph will score three, maybe four, goals this season. That’s not going to win the MetroStars anything. Similarly, if Wood can’t do better than a goal every five games, D.C. United will be looking elsewhere for a striker.
By contrast, Roy Lassiter, the player whose position Wood assumed with United, has scored a league-high 74 goals in four seasons, the most recent goal coming against the MetroStars in his debut for the Fusion.
With one loss already on the books, United and the MetroStars meet Saturday at Giants Stadium in a game that suddenly has become more important to both teams.
Zambrano, however, is looking further ahead.
“I can’t tell you with certainty how much time it will take us to gel as a team,” he said. “I think that we have good enough players to say that adjustment will probably come sooner than later. I think to be fair with our players and to what we are doing as a team, we will need to look at this team at least seven to 10 matches from now.”
The Galaxy gave Zambrano only five games last season. He went 2-3 and was ousted in favor of Sigi Schmid. Zambrano can only hope that the MetroStars, who had a league-worst 7-25 mark under Bora Milutinovic last year, will be more patient.
QUICK QUOTES
* United defender Jeff Agoos, on being blanked by the Galaxy: “This league is not a league where we can just walk out on the field and beat a team by just being there. I think L.A. made us realize that.”
* Wynalda, on the Fusion’s 2000 prospects: “The depth of this team is amazing. If we manage to control the egos and keep our heads straight, we could be one of the best teams in the league.”
* San Jose Earthquake Coach Lothar Osiander, after losing, 2-1, in overtime to the Columbus Crew: “I can do without overtime. Ninety minutes is plenty, especially today.”
