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Standing by Sampson
Four Crew players don't blame U.S. failures on coach
Posted: Tuesday June 30, 1998 09:43 PM
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Several players on the U.S. National team support Sampson and the notion that the entire team is responsible for the poor performance in France (AP) |
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Showing a solidarity that was seldom displayed on
the field, four members of the U.S. World Cup soccer team distanced
themselves Tuesday from teammates who have ripped former coach Steve
Sampson.
"I look at it as a whole. It was everybody's fault, not one person," said
Brian McBride, who scored the U.S. team's lone goal in a quick three-game,
three-loss exit from the biggest stage in soccer.
McBride is one of four members of Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew who
were selected to play for the U.S. team. All four returned to Columbus on
Tuesday to begin preparations for the Crew's game Friday at San Jose.
Sampson, the first American-born coach of a U.S. World Cup team, was
forced out Monday.
Most of the team's veteran players were angered by a lack of playing time
and called for his dismissal in the wake of the team's last-place finish in
the 32-team field.
The United
States lost 2-0 to Germany, 2-1 to
Iran and 1-0 to
Yugoslavia.
Although none of the four said they felt Sampson did a great job, none
said much would have changed with a different coach.
"The little mistakes are what cost us dearly," said Juergen Sommer, a
member of the 1994 U.S. World Cup team who was a backup goalkeeper this
time around.
When a youth-league player asked about Sampson's controversial 3-6-1
alignment, McBride said it was confidence and not a configuration that
resulted in the opening loss to Germany.
"In the second half, it worked a lot better because we got our ears
chewed off and decided to play soccer," he said.
"We could have played a 9-9-18," said Thomas Dooley, the U.S. team
captain. "The difference between teams is not that big. I still believe we
came closer to Germany than a lot of teams."
Dooley said the complaints from some players were distracting.
"It was very difficult," he said. "After the first game, there were some
comments in the paper, so I had a lot of meetings with Steve and I had a
lot of meetings with some of the other players. I had some conversations
with the players who made the comments. You couldn't change it. They're old
enough to know what to do." Midfielder Brian Maisonneuve said
part of the problem was that the U.S. players were too timid.
"I'd like to have the first half of the Germany game back," he said. "We
didn't play poorly -- we just gave them too much respect. If we could have
that back, it could have been an entirely different World Cup."
Forward Eric Wynalda, midfielder Tab Ramos and defenders Alexi Lalas and
Jeff Agoos have criticized Sampson's strategy, handling of personnel and
player rotation.
A coach at Santa Clara before working as an executive with the U.S.
organizers of the 1994 World Cup, Sampson was derided because he was not a
veteran coach.
Wynalda said, "We were naive to think an inexperienced coach would see the
value of experienced players." Ramos called the entire U.S. World Cup
enterprise "a mess."
Agoos saw more action than any U.S. player in World Cup qualifying, yet he
and Lalas never played a minute in France.
Lalas said that if the U.S. team continued to strive for improvement
instead of parity, then "we might as well have orange peels at halftime and
it'll be a youth league."
None of the Crew players said there was a schism between the veterans and
the younger players on the team. "There were 22 players out
there," Sommer said. "Not getting to play is difficult for players when
they've worked hard and practiced the whole way. ... The team didn't play
as well as the expectations and people get frustrated. I think there was
enough finger-pointing."
Asked what traits the coach should have for the next quadrennial team,
McBride said, "Every player has their own perfect image of a coach. Unless
you're Michael Jordan, you don't see too many general managers asking you
who you want for a coach."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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