KC PACE Invites You
"Inside The Mind Of..."
Bruce Arena
"Preparations for KC"
April 19, 2001
U.S. Soccer Conference Call
OPENING COMMENTS ON USA-COSTA RICA (on April 25, 2001):
"The U.S. national team completed its fourth day of training here in St.
Louis, where we chose to train to have a presence and be supportive of our
under-17 team as they try and qualify for their world championship. The
entire team was at the game last night, and had a great time watching the
team beat Jamaica. The entire four days we have been in camp have been
great, and today we are releasing 11 players to MLS, where they will
rejoin their teams for this weekend's games. It is possible that some of
them might return when we head to Kansas City on Sunday."
ON UPDATING WHO HAS LEFT CAMP, WHO IS IN CAMP AND WHO HAS YET TO
ARRIVE:
"The players leaving camp are: Steve Ralston, DaMarcus Beasley, Bobby
Convey, Dan Califf, Carlos Bocanegra, Greg Vanney, C.J. Brown, Mike Petke,
Carey Talley, Zach Thornton and Adin Brown. As of today, we still have 13
players in camp, with Preki and David Regis joining us today. The players
still in camp are: Claudio Reyna, Josh Wolff, Clint Mathis, Landon
Donovan, Ante Razov, Eddie Lewis, Chris Armas, Tony Sanneh, Richie
Williams, Jeff Agoos, Carlos Llamosa, Preki Radosavljevic and David Regis.
The other players we are anticipating arriving on Sunday or Monday are:
Earnie Stewart, Steve Cherundolo, Kasey Keller and Tony Meola, and
possibly Gregg Berhalter. Additionally, Chris Klein will be joining us
when we begin training in Kansas City."
ON THE TEAM'S CURRENT POSITION IN FIRST PLACE:
"We feel good about having six points, but it is too early to feel real
good about yourself or real bad about yourself. History shows that in the
last round, which was a shorter round, we started off with one point from
two games and were counted out, but ended up winning our group. We are in
this for the long haul. It's a 10-game series. Costa Rica is a key game
for us and our focus is on three points. Costa Rica is going to be a tough
battle right to the end."
ON GETTING VICTORIES AGAINST TOUGH MEXICO AND HONDURAS IN THEIR FIRST
TWO GAMES:
"I think it is helpful, but again all six teams in this group are pretty
close together. I don't know who the best teams are in our group right
now. Honduras is sitting there with one point and Mexico has three. And
Trinidad & Tobago is a team that is going to beat some people, and they
have zero points. Right now it is hard to think about anything but the
next game and the next game for us is Costa Rica and they are clearly one
of the strongest teams and if we get three points we will be very
comfortable. But every game is a battle right now. We are not content
where we are right, but will only be content when we have qualified for
the World Cup."
ON THE LARGE 29-PLAYER TRAINING CAMP ROSTER SELECTED FOR THIS
MATCH:
"The reason for the 29-player camp was not only for this game, but to
continue preparing for our upcoming games in June and for the rest of
qualifying. We have a bunch of players in this camp who have shown very
well. There was only one mid-week game (in MLS), so we had a chance to
look at some more players. Our team is still a little thin in some areas,
and with these games coming up, especially with the double date in June
(June 16 and June 20), we are at a point where when we have some injuries
and suspensions, we need to have the next group of players ready to go.
"The strategy was to prepare both long-term and short-term. I am very
comfortable where we stand with our depth, and this type of camp lets me
focus on the kind of players we might need if the case arrives or in the
case of emergency. With the double date in June, two games across five
days, we will need a larger roster to expand and choose from in case we
suffer any kind of emergency."
ON CLINT MATHIS' EMERGENCE IN THE MIDFIELD:
"Obviously Clint has done well, but he would be the first to tell you that
he didn't have a particularly good game in Honduras. But he is the kind of
guy that can turn around the game with one play, and that is what he did
against Mexico and in Honduras. He is a dangerous attacking player, and
is maturing. He is a guy we can think of getting into the starting
line-up. He's not going to replace Claudio Reyna, but certainly we can
manage a way to get them into the starting lineup at the same time.
Certainly there is room on the field to have both of them there."
ON KASEY KELLER:
"He is an outstanding goalkeeper and we have a lot of confidence in him.
The most important thing is that his travel goes well and that he arrives
in Kansas City timely on Monday and is ready to go (he has a game on
Sunday with his club team Rayo Vallecano in Spain). All of our goalkeepers
are very good and will be called upon to help us through this qualifying
group."
ON PREKI AND HIS RETURN:
"He brings some experience to the team. He has had a great influence on
some of our younger players, giving them some good advice. He is still a
dangerous attacking player and a good passer of the ball, and he can still
score goals and he hits set pieces very well. He knows at this point that
he is not a 90 minute player in international soccer, but he is confident
if we need him for 20 or 30 minutes in a game we can count on him."
ON WHAT NOT HAVING COBI JONES DOES TO THE TEAM (out with a red card
suspension):
"With Cobi out of the running, we lose the extra dimension he brings to
the team. He would have been called upon as a reserve in this game, where
his pace can help change things around for us in the last 30 minutes if we
need it."
ON STEVE CHERUNDOLO'S WORLD CUP DEBUT IN HONDURAS:
"I think it was a difficult game to put him in, especially when you are
playing Honduras on the road in a World Cup qualifier. I think he held his
own, played very well and was comfortable with the starting position. I
don't know whether he'll start this game because I obviously haven't
chosen a lineup yet, but we'll see how he is physically after returning
from Europe. He has a game this Saturday so we need to see what condition
he will be in for me to make a decision."
ON EDDIE LEWIS' STATUS WITH FULHAM F.C. AND THE U.S. NATIONAL TEAM:
"I can not speak on Eddie's playing status with Fulham, but I can tell you
that he will get on the field with the first team. He is playing much
better since last July when he was with the national team. So I am certain
that he is a player that we can count on in the future."
ON THE UNDER-17 TEAM AND THEIR VICTORY:
"I think Jamaica did a great job making it difficult for the U.S.
yesterday. The U.S. missed a couple of chances in the first half, and then
Jamaica got a goal to go up 1-0 at the half. That is sometimes part of the
game. The U.S. did well to come back in the second half and get the win.
One of the issues with this team in last night's game is they haven't been
in that situation before. The other teams have played some tough games to
get to this stage, while the U.S. hasn't been behind often, but they got
settled in and came back. Getting this game behind them is beneficial.
This is a very talented group of players. It was a good result and a
physical game. I am very pleased for the team and look forward to them
qualifying for the World Cup."
ON COSTA RICA AND THEIR STYLE OF PLAY:
"Against Trinidad & Tobago, Costa Rica controlled the game in the first
half, but weren't able to finish. Costa Rica played quite well; they have
a very good team. Wanchope missed the first game and played about 30
minutes against Trinidad. He will be on the field for 90 minutes against
us, so we will have to deal with him. (Ronaldo) Fonseca is very good and
has been playing extremely well. (Hernan) Medford is very good. Their back
line has played well. They have had a coaching change since the last time
we saw them and look a little different. They have solid goalkeeping and a
solid group of defenders. "I don't know about their 'traditional'
game, but I can tell you that in the last two games against us Costa Rica
has been difficult. They are a team that plays very well at home (Saprissa
Stadium) and use it to their advantage. They are a talented group with
excellent defenders and dangerous offensive scorers that means it
difficult for their opponents."
ON COSTA RICA'S PAULO WANCHOPE:
"I believe he is a physically dominating player who is terrific in front
of the goal. He is dominating in the air and is a real difficult forward
to play against. His excellent speed enables him to be very dangerous off
the counterattacks."
ON WHETHER COSTA RICA IS CONSIDERED THE NEMESIS OF THE U.S.:
"Do I consider them to be our nemesis? No. We've faced them twice in my
short time with the team, and we haven't won one yet, but that doesn't
trouble me. Our time could come on Wednesday. Everyone in this group is a
nemesis. We treat each opponent with the proper respect."
ON THE DANGER OF THE FIRST-PLACE U.S. BEING OVERCONFIDENT:
"I'm very confident in saying we will not be overconfident. At the same
time we have the confidence in ourselves and believe in what we are doing.
Our next opponent is a good team. Regardless of the result on Wednesday,
we will not enter the game being overconfident. We will enter the match
very well prepared and will have a great confidence."
ON THE OTHER TWO WCQ GAMES ON APRIL 25 (Honduras at Jamaica; Mexico at
Trinidad & Tobago):
"For Honduras, they are very desperate to get some points. I think they
are a very talented team. These two games are going to be very interesting
and are going to have a great impact on the standings. I favor Honduras,
though; they are outstanding. But Jamaica is tough to beat at home.
Honduras knows a tie gives them two points from three games, so they have
to win. "With Mexico, Trinidad doesn't have a point, so they won't be
happy with one point coming out of the game. They need to go out and try
and get three points. For Mexico, if they come out with three or four
points from three games, that wouldn't be too acceptable. With the
exception of maybe Jamaica, none of these teams will be happy with a
point. I can't tell you what is going to happen, but there is lots of
pressure for sure."
ON THE CROWD EXPECTED IN KANSAS CITY FOR THE COSTA RICA MATCH:
"We are pleased with the response in Kansas City, we are hopeful for a
crowd of 35,000 or 40,000 and hopeful it is a pro-American crowd. We are
happy to be playing in the midwest again, and thankful for the support of
a great Kansas City organization. In fact, we are grateful for the
unbelievable support MLS has provided the entire national team. MLS has
been incredibly supportive and cooperative in the release of players and
in the selection of venues for these games. We are looking forward to
playing in Kansas City for the first time."
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