A Loss to Germany Points to Major Problems for U.S.

By GRAHAME L. JONES

March 31, 2002 12 AM PT

The U.S. national team’s miserable performance in a 4-2 loss to Germany Wednesday will have quite a few repercussions in Major League Soccer in the coming weeks.

To begin with, Jovan Kirovski, of Crystal Palace in England, failed utterly when filling in for injured Columbus Crew striker Brian McBride. The result is that the forward probably won’t be going to the World Cup in Japan and South Korea.

That means the Chicago Fire can count on losing Josh Wolff for all of May and half of June. Wolff is a logical off-the-bench choice as backup to the twin strike force of McBride and Clint Mathis, although U.S. Coach Bruce Arena also will give Wolff’s Fire teammate, Ante Razov, another look.

Wolff didn’t make the trip to Germany and, beforehand, Arena explained why.

“The concern right now is his health,” he said. “If he’s healthy, I think Josh understands where he fits in with this team. But having said that, we have a number of forwards that I have to make some hard decisions about.”

Wolff, a standout on the U.S. team at the Sydney Olympics, knows what it will take to secure one of those spots.

“I’ve done some things to help this team and certainly have put myself in good position to be there,” he said. “I need to continue to do things for Chicago and, when given the chance, for the national team.”

Wolff scored in Chicago’s season-opening victory over the Crew in Columbus and, if McBride remains sidelined by a turned ankle, could be teamed with Mathis when the United States plays Mexico in Denver on Wednesday night.

Mathis and Wolff combined to beat Mexico, 2-0, in a World Cup qualifier last spring, shortly before both were felled by injuries that knocked them out for much of the year.

Mathis is almost back in top form. Now, Wolff is at the door, or at least on the doorstep.

Rising Fortunes

Mathis, who scored twice against the Germans, was one of only two U.S. players whose stock rose in Rostock. It is very likely that his play has caught the eye of a few Bundesliga coaches, and the New York/New Jersey MetroStars can expect to be asked how many dollars it will take to lure him to Europe.

The other player who held his own in a game to forget was goalkeeper Kasey Keller. He might be on the bench at Tottenham Hotspur in England, but there could be Bundesliga clubs inquiring about him too.

Then there are the New England Revolution’s Carlos Llamosa and the Colorado Rapids’ Pablo Mastroeni. Neither was chosen to go to Germany, but after the way the U.S. defense folded, both players look like much better bets for the World Cup than, say, Steve Cherundolo of San Diego.

Cherundolo, who plays for Hannover 96 in the German second division, was completely out of his depth in what was likely his last opportunity to make the World Cup roster.

But Llamosa brings a calming influence that was painfully absent against Germany, where U.S. defenders chased around like the proverbial headless chickens. There were several times when two or three of them would close on one attacking player and leave another completely unmarked with Keller at his mercy.

No one on the starting back line was without blame, although D.C. United’s Eddie Pope showed a bit more composure than the rest--perhaps to make up for being burned by the Galaxy’s Carlos Ruiz at the Rose Bowl a few

days earlier.

Height of Absurdity

One weakness in the American game that was exploited several times by the Germans was the lack of stature of U.S. defensive midfielder Chris Armas.

Armas, another Fire player, has been the most consistent at his position of any U.S. field player over the past few years, but against Germany he was constantly beaten to high balls crossed into the penalty area and was directly at fault on two German goals.

Armas is 5 feet 7 on a tall day, but is it asking too much of him to get into the air and at least try to battle larger and stronger forwards?

The problem is that there is no logical replacement for Armas. Not this late, anyway. Arena’s “solution” has been to have D.C. United’s Richie Williams as the backup, but Williams is generously listed as 5-5 in the U.S. media guide, so the problem gets worse rather than better.

Soccer is about skill, not size, but for a defensive midfielder it doesn’t hurt to have both.

Arena Reacts

Wednesday’s match against Mexico will be the final home game for the U.S. before the 23-man World Cup team is selected. Arena is using it to give a few players one last look.

Among the more interesting selections on the 18-man roster he announced Friday is former Galaxy defender Greg Vanney, who is being brought in from his French club, Bastia, to see if he can do better than David Regis in the left back position.

Arena also chose defenders Llamosa and Mastroeni for the squad, along with Pope, Carlos Bocanegra and Frankie Hejduk, with the latter still in the running for the right back slot.

Above all, the game offers the opportunity to the Earthquakes’ Richard Mulrooney and the Crew’s Brian Maisonneuve to show what they can do in place of Armas, who gets a rest.

If the Germany game did nothing else, it inched the door open again for MLS players with World Cup aspirations, and that’s not a bad thing.

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2002 MLS Coaches

Ranked by victories

72: Bob Bradley, Chicago Fire

70: Octavio Zambrano, MetroStars

46: Sigi Schmid, Galaxy

45: Tim Hankinson, Colorado Rapids

35: Bob Gansler, Kansas City Wizards

28: Ray Hudson, D.C. United

20: Fernando Clavijo, N.E. Revolution

14: Frank Yallop, San Jose Earthquakes