China Trip to Showcase New Lineup for U.S. Women
Welcome to the Chinese New Year.
OK, so perhaps that isn’t what the calendar says, but it’s certainly the way the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams are starting out the new century.
Today, Coach April Heinrichs leaves Los Angeles for China with a young and intriguingly new-look women’s team that draws heavily on college players and features none of the Women’s World Cup winners from 1991.
Mia Hamm isn’t making the trip, and neither are Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Joy Fawcett and Kristine Lilly. As the only players remaining from that first world championship-winning team, they were given the option of skipping this journey.
Instead, it will be very much an experimental lineup the U.S. will field against China on Thursday in Pangyu and again Sunday in Hangzhou.
The U.S. men also start out the year with a game against China, Jan. 27 in Oakland. Adding zest to that encounter is the fact that China is coached by former U.S. coach Bora Milutinovic, who after a year or so in charge now is no doubt as easily understood in China as he was in the United States.
Coach Bruce Arena on Friday called 25 Major League Soccer players into a two-week camp in Chula Vista in preparation for the China game and the team’s second match of the year, against Colombia in Miami on Feb. 3.
Both games are intended as warmups for the U.S. team’s all-important Feb. 28 World Cup 2002 qualifying game against Mexico at Columbus, Ohio.
NEW LOOK FOR WOMEN
“I’m excited to go back to China for the first time in 10 years,” said Heinrichs, who captained the U.S. team to its 1991 victory in China. “The team that we’ll be bringing will be young, enthusiastic and a bit internationally naive, but as always, they’ll go with the American spirit to do our best and never quit.”
Apart from forward Tiffeny Milbrett, all players on the roster are 25 or younger. In addition to Milbrett, other Sydney 2000 Olympic veterans going to China are Christie Pearce, Kate Sobrero, Siri Mullinix, Michelle French, Lorrie Fair and Nikki Serlenga.
The performance of the college youngsters will be the main focus of the two-game trip, however, and, as Heinrichs said, will “open the window of opportunity” for some of them to break into the national team.
They include UCLA forward Stephanie Rigamat of La Crescenta. Rigamat’s 13 goals and 11 assists last season helped the Bruins reach the NCAA championship game. Also on the team are Lauren Orlandos, a defender from Lake Forest, and Jenny Benson, a University of Portland midfielder from Huntington Beach.
AND FOR MEN TOO
There almost are a dozen new faces on the team Arena has gathered in San Diego, including Columbus Crew forward Jeff Cunningham. Bringing him into camp is a smart move by Arena. Playing him in a game would be even smarter.
That’s because Cunningham, 24, was born in Jamaica, and even though he moved to Crystal River, Fla., when he was 14, he still is acquiring U.S. citizenship and remains eligible to play for Jamaica’s national team.
“They want to take a look at me and see how I fit in with the team, and hopefully I can go there and play well,” said Cunningham, who has been training with Gent in Belgium during the MLS off-season. “It’s always been a dream of mine to play for America, so I’m happy to get the chance.”
In all, the 25-man U.S. roster includes 11 players with no international game experience. In addition to Cunningham, they are DaMarcus Beasley, Carlos Bocanegra, Adin Brown, Nick Garcia, Diego Gutierrez, Jay Heaps, Steve Jolley, Matt Jordan, Pablo Mastroeni and Mike Petke.
No Galaxy or D.C. United players were called in because their clubs are training for the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
JUST WONDERING
The Dallas Burn still doesn’t have a coach, so how is it that the team was able to pull off a trade last week that sent midfielder Sergi Daniv to the Chicago Fire in exchange for 1998 MLS defender of the year Lubos Kubik?
Peter Wilt, the Fire’s general manager, said Chicago had to give up Kubik to get under the salary cap. Coach Bob Bradley said it was “not an easy decision.”
Kubik is 36, and the former Czech international is nearing the end of a fine career. Daniv is 25 and looks promising, albeit prone to collecting yellow cards.
But you have to wonder, if the Burn were not league-owned and if it had a coach in place, whether that coach would have wanted a player who missed almost the entire second half of the 2000 season because of a left knee injury.
“I am disappointed to leave Chicago, but I understand the situation,” Kubik said.
He might understand, but MLS fans might not.
BAM BAM AND EL MATADOR
Interesting to see that Club America of Mexico has signed Chilean World Cup striker Ivan “Bam Bam” Zamorano.
Interesting because Zamorano is 34 and not exactly in the prime of his career. If he were, Inter Milan of Italy would not have let him leave.
Interesting, too, because Club America has another ancient striker in its fold--occasional Galaxy forward Luis “El Matador” Hernandez, who turned 32 just before Christmas.
The question this raises is whether Club America’s coach, former Argentine national team coach Alfio Basile, has lost faith in Hernandez, or if he sees the pairing of Zamorano and Hernandez ending the team’s 11-year title drought.
“My age is what matters least,” Zamorano said on arrival in Mexico City. “What matters is spirit, and I have the spirit of a fighter, a warrior.
“I know that a number of players of a certain age have come to Mexico and not triumphed, but comparisons are absurd. I am Ivan Zamorano.”
Sounds as if the Matador is about to meet the bull.
QUICK PASSES
The Galaxy will play Nacional de Tijuana of Mexico’s Division 1A in a 2 p.m. exhibition today at B.C.N. Stadium in Tijuana. The game is a warmup for the Jan. 16-21 CONCACAF Champions Cup, to be played at Cal State Fullerton and the Coliseum. . . . MLS will hold its annual draft Feb. 5 as the culmination of a weekend in which the U.S. plays Colombia at the Orange Bowl in Miami on Feb. 3 and Chile plays Honduras at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Feb. 4. All 12 MLS teams will return to South Florida for spring training March 10-24. . . . Tony Meola, goalkeeper for the Kansas City Wizards and U.S. national team, played for a FIFA World all-star team in a game against a combined team from World Cup 2002 co-hosts Japan and South Korea in Yokohama, Japan. Meola made a dramatic save on a last-minute shot by Japan’s Naoki Matsuda to preserve a 1-1 tie in front of 46,740 at the stadium that will stage the World Cup final in 2002. . . . After recovering from a procedure to remove a blood clot from under his right arm, U.S. national team striker Brian McBride has rejoined Preston of the English league. McBride is on loan to the club and will return to the Columbus Crew for the MLS season. . . . The New York/New Jersey MetroStars will travel to southern Portugal for training from Feb. 8-25. Other MLS teams also are expected to train in the Algarve area.
