Men's Soccer: World Cup Connections
June 11, 2010 11:31 AM | General
June 11, 2010
Fans are invited to a World Cup Watch Party for the USA-England match with coach LeBlanc, men’s assistant coach Brian Johnson and women’s assistant Lisa Stoia at Damon’s Grill in the Suncrest Towne Centre in Morgantown on Saturday, June 12 at 2 p.m.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – It’s an event that comes once every four years, with 32 countries vying for international respect and one of the most prestigious trophies in the world.
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| Coach Marlon LeBlanc with Schellas Hyndman (current FC Dallas coach) and friends in front of the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal.
Submitted photo |
The FIFA World Cup, a month-long tournament, is a sacred event to many around the world, and the sport of soccer has even continued to rapidly catch pace in the United States. According to the FIFA website, the World Cup is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world. The 2006 World Cup attracted a total of 3,359,439 spectators for 64 contests, an average of nearly 52,500 per match (all 64 matches were sold out).
Although the tournament officially starts today for four countries, the United States’ quest for its first FIFA World Cup Trophy begins Saturday, June 12, at 2:30 p.m., against an evenly matched England squad. The U.S., which has qualified for the last six World Cups, is the likely favorite with England to advance out of Group C, which also consists of Slovenia and Algeria.
Although the U.S. is a relatively young squad, it has shown positive signs of progression as well as some flashes of offense, scoring at least two goals in five of its six friendly matches and winning its final two contests.
While many people watch these games, bedazzled by the sheer athleticism and passion the U.S. players have shown, the West Virginia University men’s soccer coaches recounted some of their experiences with members of the U.S. National Team, plus coach Marlon LeBlanc shared the experience of attending the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
The 2006 World Cup in Germany took place from June 9 to July 9, 2006. Not only a passionate coach, but an avid fan as well, coach LeBlanc elected to attend the prestigious tournament and take in everything the World Cup had to offer – great soccer, an unreal atmosphere and an experience that many people never get the chance to encounter.
"As a soccer lover, you have an affection for anything soccer," LeBlanc expresses. “Even for someone who is not a soccer fan, to experience a World Cup, with the excitement, the passion and the hospitality; it’s an amazing event. There are not too many places you can go, especially today, where you can bring together so many different backgrounds, countries and nations, and they can be in the same place and a war doesn’t break out. There’s something about the World Cup that brings together people who have a love and affection for the game.
"It’s kind of indescribable in a lot of ways, and certainly seeing it on TV doesn’t do it justice. To go and experience a national pride and different country’s culture is well worth the opportunity."
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| Coach Marlon LeBlanc and friends standing with NBA star and avid soccer fan, Steve Nash.
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LeBlanc vividly recalls many of the details of his trip. While touring around Germany with fellow coaches, he noticed German tennis phenom Steffi Graf at a petrol station (gas station) and posed for picture with the tennis star. At a game, as he gazed around the stands, he found Argentinean soccer legend Diego Maradona celebrating a goal and dancing in the stands just 10 rows above where LeBlanc was sitting.
"It’s unbelievable the people the World Cup brings together,” LeBlanc comments.
Not only has he witnessed some of the greatest soccer players come together in Germany, but throughout his career, LeBlanc has watched and coached against numerous current members of the U.S. National Team.
"I remember watching Clint Dempsey at the Disney Showcase after his freshman year at Furman, saying, ‘Who the heck is this? I want him.’ It turned out he already finished his first season at Furman,” LeBlanc, with a laugh, recalls.
"We played against Jonathan Bornstein and Benny Feilhaber, who were on UCLA, in the Elite Eight when I was at Penn State,” LeBlanc says. “We played against Sacha Kljestan (U.S. 30-man roster) my last year at Penn State, when we beat Seton Hall in the NCAA Tournament. I remember watching Jonathan Spector as a young kid playing for the U-17 National Team before he went to Manchester United. We played against Maurice Edu, when he was at Maryland. It’s amazing seeing how some of these guys have come full circle in terms of their careers, and so many started in the college game.”
And as far as his expectations for this year’s World Cup, LeBlanc is optimistic, especially after seeing this year’s squad first-hand in Philadelphia, where the U.S. pulled out a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Turkey in a World Cup tune-up match.
"I like this team,” LeBlanc says. “The first half of the Turkey game wasn’t very good. The way the team changed in the second half was very pleasing to see. Losing Charlie Davies to that horrific accident changed a lot of things. When Robbie Findley came on in the second half of the game, you saw the Charlie Davies factor, with his ability to stretch teams’ defenses and open up underneath channels for Landon (Donovan) and Clint Dempsey.
"If we can make teams uncomfortable and play direct, we’ll have an opportunity to take the game away from them if we win balls in the air and play physically on defense. Plus, we have one of the best goalkeepers in the world in Tim Howard.”
When coach LeBlanc hired assistants Brian Johnson and Chad Brown in March 2010, he knew he was adding a seasoned pairing to his staff. Not only did Johnson and Brown bring with them years of coaching experience, but they also boasted years chocked full of playing experience.
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| Assistant coach Brian Johnson and the 2009 MLS Cup Champions, Real Salt Lake, with President Obama at the White House.
Submitted photo |
Johnson started playing against a high level of competition at an early age, competing with the U-16 National Team. He continued to progress, playing with the U-18 National Team and eventually advancing up in rank.
"I competed in the U-20 World Cup, which was in 1993 in Australia,” Johnson recalls. “I started and played every minute of the games there. We made it out of the first round and lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual champion, Brazil. That was a great experience. Most of the players that I was with went on to play in Major League Soccer. Some went on to play in the World Cup.
"From there, I graduated to the next team, which was the U-23 National Team, which is also the Olympic team. I played with them for about two-and-a-half years, and I was in residency with them for a year down in Chula Vista, Calif.”
With the U-23 National Team, Johnson had the opportunity to play with Brian Maisonneuve, who played with the full national team, as well as Claudio Reyna, former U.S. National Team captain, and Frankie Hedjuk. Johnson also learned from some of the best coaches, including former national team coaches Bob Gansler, Glenn Myernick and Bruce Arena.
When Johnson finished up a successful collegiate career, he went on to play for five years with Major League Soccer’s Kansas City Wizards.
"I also know Tim Howard pretty well," Johnson, who scored on U.S. backup goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann in an MLS game, says. “Everton came to the MLS All-Star game last year in Salt Lake, and my son actually got to walk out with him for the game. I know Carlos Bocanegra pretty well. He almost came to Fresno State when I was there. He’s friends with a lot of the guys I played with. I know Landon pretty well, having played and coached against him."
In terms of connections with current national team members, Johnson developed his closest relationship with striker Robbie Findley when he was a coach at Real Salt Lake.
"It’s been nice to see Robbie develop,” Johnson admits. “Three years ago, he wasn’t a very good forward. He was really fast, and he was always really athletic, but he wasn’t a very good finisher. He wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t at the level that he’s at today. It’s good to see him develop and grow. He stays after practice and works on things. Those are the guys who you are so proud of. It’s nice to work with guys like that because they raise the level every day.”
Similar in terms of connections as a player, Brown spent time as a Seattle Sounder in training with a couple current national team members.
“Herculez (Gomez) was training with the Galaxy, and he came up on loan from Seattle,” Brown remembers. “He was young and raw at that point with a lot of pace. He definitely has put his time in and paid his dues as far as hitting the circuit with MLS. He went down to Mexico, and he has proven himself. I think it’s really a fantastic story, watching his path from being released and going down to Mexico and being the only American to win a foreign goal scoring title – it’s pretty amazing.
“I also have ties with Marcus Hahnemann, who was an old Seattle Sounder. The year he came back to train with us was his rookie year, and I knew who he was. I watched him play when I was going to school out there. It was a cool thing to hit shots at him and score on him in training.”
While playing with the Sounders, he competed against a few other players, including Donovan.
“I think the last time I played against him, he was with San Jose,” Brown says. At that point in his career, you could tell he didn’t want to lose. He wasn’t a vocal leader back then, but he was more so focused on the business of himself, which I think is a form of leading. You could tell he wanted to compete and didn’t want to lose.”
Although Johnson and Brown have meshed with different stars, their outlook on this year’s World Cup was similar to LeBlanc’s. Each is optimistic, and while the squad is young, feels the energy and pace this team possesses can make 2010 a successful year for the U.S.
