Frankie Hedjuk- hope for the future

Roy Lassiter should have been in France

Ignacio Moran

After enduring embarrassing and debilitating performances by the United
States Men's Soccer WC'98 team in France this past month, we...... followers
and many 'former' and present fans of US Men's Soccer [I say 'former'
because of the many thousands of potential avid soccer fans who were
completely turned off and disgusted by the dissension and poor frustrating
performances of all the players and coach] are left to ponder as to who and
what will come out of the big negative situation of this great sport.

With absolutely no support from the US media (except for insults and
constant negative reporting) no help from the US  political government
unlike the other so-called 'American' sports, zero support from all but two
major sponsors, no aid from sporting federations or associations, [collegiate
or pro] zilch from any sort of player unions for US Soccer, thereby no
insurance or assurance for players et. al., no response nor aid from the
private or corporate sector of the richest and wealthiest nation in the planet,
and in sum........no monetary, medical, political help coming from ANY
individual, group nor any sort of agency or association of people (even from
those who are fans and watchers of the sport in the United States) outside
of two big sponsors who are the only true believers of this game.....by far, the
greatest, biggest, most popular and most passionate sport ever played....even
in this country, the United States of America.

To make matters worse, to have idiots like Frank de Ford, so-called
sportswriters (comedians as a first career) and other non-football writers
who have NO idea what the sport is all about nor has any notion of what
and where the game is today (and yesterday) for large magazines like Sports
Illustrated and Sport, NY Times, LA Times, San Francisco Chronicle, etc.....is a
huge travesty not only for the game of soccer....but for sports in general.

For them to ridicule, insult, belittle and make immature, ten-year-old-side-
jokes about the game leads me to firmly believe the solution for all this
negative media is to have them insult and make jokes about the game of
soccer even that much more!  In fact, as much as they possibly can.

What this 'negative-add-to-negative-equals-a-positive' formula does is to not
only bore and eventually tick off the intelligent and not-so-intelligent public
into reading a well-publicised and controversial sporting event that even
non-soccer fans will educate themselves about the game by all the negative
exposure and jokes that DOES have something to do with soccer, negative
and insulting as it sounds. Americans do get curiously attracted and interested
to anything, especially sports that has humor, violence, sex, passion, emotion
and over-dramatization attached to it....... just like soccer !

These same readers will eventually look at all these one-sided reporting and
react either with disdain or interest after so much negativity and insults, look
at the new 'real' and true perspective of soccer at all its different levels, start
with a fresh attitude towards the sport and expose themselves to the
international football scene where the true glamour and passion of the sport
will surely grab them (or many of them) forever.

The key here from all the negative media reporting.......is the exposure to the
public, regardless if it is negative, insulting or positive........the eventual scenario
to all this what we read and hear today from the US media.

There is nothing to lose with this type of 'reverse' solution by egging and
baiting on the stupid US soccer media into further ridiculing the sport by
daring them in the many 'controversial' attacks and self-promotion of the
sport of US Soccer.

With all the attention given to US Women's Soccer and foxy lady, Mia
Hamm, (again the sex symbol of US Women sports) it is a perfect
opportunity to 'bait' and light the fuse that will again start the controversy of
bringing US Men's Soccer to the forefront for more bashing and eventual
exposure.

Bring on the wolves.........we shall welcome them in open arms.

Ignacio Moran
New York

The BUENO list of Sampson's France '98 mistakes

1. NOT calling Roy Lassiter for the national team. This guy was leading the MLS in scoring, and was absolutely on fire, scoring 15 goals in the first half of the season. Much more to him than to some of the wash-outs that failed in France (Wynalda, Wegerle, etc...)

2. 3-6-1! ABSURD formation that brought NOTHING to the team. So what if they beat Austria in a friendly months agon with it? It didn't work against anyone else! There was NO offense in France, and the team completely suffered from a lack of strikers.

3. NOT giving McBride a chance. He finally does, and he saves the US from the humiliation of not scoring.

4. Not giving Hedjuk enough chances. Once he DOES play, a great Bundesliga team, Bayer Leverkusen, snaps him up.

5. NOT giving chances to the veterans. Balboa was dying for a shot- especially in the midst of the shaky and poorly experienced defense.

6. Using total foreign washouts when their IS young talent in the US. Regis, Preki, are too bad to play for their nations, why should the US take them?

OVERALL- Sampson will not be missed. SHAME on him for fining his own players that had the courage to speak out.

Joaquin Bueno