Temporary Solution Problematic

In soccer, as in politics, whitewash is applied in thick coats.

And so it was, after U.S. Soccer and the U.S. National Team Players’ Assn. had grudgingly called a truce in their labor dispute late Friday night, that all the right people said all the right things, whether they believed them or not.

“This is a clear win for both the fans and the sport,” gushed Dr. S. Robert Contiguglia, the Denver-based kidney specialist who doubles as president of U.S. Soccer.

Never mind that there was no victory at all, simply a tie with a replay to come.

“The outpouring of support from fans has been unbelievable,” U.S. goalkeeper Kasey Keller said in a self-serving statement released by the players association. “The players were simply not willing to let those fans down. We have done everything possible -- negotiation, mediation and now a demand for arbitration -- all in an effort to convince the USSF that they had to relent and allow us back on the field.”

“It’s certainly a relief,” U.S. Coach Bruce Arena told Associated Press. “I hope all the parties are satisfied at this point in time and that we can move forward.”

It would be difficult to move backward any more than the federation and the players association managed to do over the last few weeks.

Matters got so bad that Arena last week was forced to call minor league players into camp at the Home Depot Center, fearing that they would be all that he would have available when the final round of qualifying for the Germany 2006 World Cup begins next month.

Those sad pawns in this odious and unnecessary chess game now have served their purpose and been sent on their way.

The only thing worth noting is that U.S. Soccer and Arena apparently were so embarrassed by the paucity of talent in reserve that they refused to release the names of the roughly two-dozen players called in, never opened the training camp to the media, and even went so far as to have the players’ names unlisted at the team hotel in Manhattan Beach so that attempts to telephone them proved futile.

Thankfully, that nonsense is now out of the way and Friday’s federally mediated agreement -- under which the national team players agreed to not strike in 2005 in return for an immediate wage hike while the issues are further thrashed out -- means that Arena is free to get on with the job and earn his million-dollar salary.

So who buckled, the federation or the players?

It depends on who is talking. Both sides put more spin on the matter than a Roberto Carlos free kick and both claimed victory.

“USSF agrees to players association proposal to end lockout,” said the union.

“Players association accepts U.S. Soccer proposal for no-strike, no-lockout commitment,” said the federation.

In the end, it doesn’t really matter. The squabble is not over with, merely postponed.

If a final agreement is not reached -- Friday’s interim settlement came only after the players association filed a demand for arbitration under the Olympic Amateur Sports Act -- the strike/lockout scenario could be repeated next spring at a time when Germany 2006 will loom even larger.

It behooves both sides to get this thing sorted out long before then.

And, as U.S. midfielder Landon Donovan correctly pointed out, a contract through 2010 would be far preferable to one through 2006.

Europe or MLS?

With the labor problems having been shoved to the back burner for a while, it is up to Arena to pull together a team that can get the U.S. off to a strong start in the first three of 10 qualifying matches in 2005 -- against Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico and Guatemala.

The latter two are not until the end of March, so it is the Feb. 9 game against the Soca Warriors in Port of Spain, Trinidad, that is the immediate focus.

Had there been no dispute, Arena would long ago have had a couple of dozen Major League Soccer players in camp at the Home Depot Center. But MLS players, to their immense credit, honored the strike by the players association.

The problem is, the MLS season ended in November, and Arena could have used a long January camp to get the players back in shape. Now he has only a couple of weeks.

“Obviously, we’re behind,” he told Associated Press, “but it certainly won’t be an excuse.

“We’re just going to have to see when the players come into camp where they’re at. It probably will be a big range. Some players will be pretty fit, some won’t be. Fortunately, we have a good number of players who are playing abroad on a regular basis that will help fill that void.”

By “abroad,” Arena means Europe.

And it isn’t merely “a good number,” it’s an entire team. Just consider this 18 that could be picked from among the Americans playing in Belgium, England, Germany and the Netherlands:

Goalkeepers: Keller (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Brad Friedel (Blackburn Rovers), Tim Howard (Manchester United).

Defenders: Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Cory Gibbs (Feyenoord), Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham), Jonathan Spector (Manchester United), Greg Berhalter (Energie Cottbus), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege).

Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven), Claudio Reyna (Manchester City), Donovan (Bayer Leverkusen), Eddie Lewis (Preston North End), John O’Brien (Ajax Amsterdam), Bobby Convey (Reading), Earnie Stewart (Venlo).

Forwards: Brian McBride (Fulham), Conor Casey (Mainz 05).

But, as always, there are complications.

Keller, for example, just moved from the English Premier League to the German Bundesliga, where he got glowing reviews this weekend for earning a shutout in his debut. Disturbing him now as he settles in is a tough decision.

But Friedel last year said he might have played his final match for the U.S., and Howard just got back into good graces with Manchester United, which is huffing and puffing along, 11 points behind first-place Chelsea, and similarly does not want any disruptions.

Then, too, O’Brien is just coming back from injury; Bocanegra and McBride are trying to salvage Fulham’s deteriorating season; Gibbs left FC Dallas only last week to join Feyenoord and will need time to adjust, and Stewart might have passed his sell-by date.

Even Galaxy defender Danny Califf, an obvious option, is in Norway, trying out with Valerenga and thus making his call-up problematic.

The opportunity exists, therefore, for MLS players to stake their claim in the next two weeks.

And who knows? Arena and the federation this time might even allow the fans to know who has a chance of putting on the national team jersey.

That would be a striking change.