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U.S. Look to Cheat 'Group of Death'

Tough team play awaits Americans at Germany 2006

World Cup minus 5 days and counting finds Italy's professional leagues in the midst of a match-fixing scandal, Argentina playing brilliantly in the midfield though seemingly lacking a finisher, Brazil with perhaps too many superstars to fit in one lockerroom, England's faithful still up in the air as to whether their "latest greatest" will recover in time to play, and Germany seemingly growing more and more "at home" each passing day.

It also finds Bruce Arena, U.S. manager, with one foot on the plane for Frankfurt and still answering the same question as he did the day after learning his team's placement for the finals: How can your team escape the "group of death"?

"There is no 'group of death'," said Arena just moments after FIFA's somewhat convoluted draw put his team in with perennial power Italy, and with a Czech Republic side that boasts Pavel Nedved and Tomas Rosicky, both stars in Europe (Juventus and Borussia-Dortmund respectively). "They're all groups of death," Arena said of the eight groups of four teams which will battle, round-robin, for a place in the final sixteen.

"I don't think you are going to see anyone running away with this group," Arena predicted Tuesday night, on the eve of his squad's departure for Germany and a June 12th matchup with the Czech Republic. "It's going to be a difficult group," is the most he would say as his second World Cup as U.S. head man begins. "Ghana has a good team," he said about the group's forgotten fourth, "each and every game in this group will be tough."

Already, Arena has set a high standard for all future U.S. men's World Cup coaches. His team's upset victory over Portugal in 2002 was enough to propel them through the group stage and into the final sixteen, where old rival Mexico was waiting. The U.S. defeated el tri as well, dominated them in some ways, and ended up with its best WC finish ever; their dream came to an end in the quarterfinals, as did so many in 2002, against the rock wall that is/was Oliver Kahn.

"The only way you can analyze any country is by their performance in the World Cup," Coach Arena said Tuesday after his team bounced back from a defeat to Morocco, finishing May and leaving their native shores with consecutive victories over Venezuela and Latvia. "The World Cup is the ultimate, the true test," he concluded.

But his team seemed weary even in victory, "We looked tired out there," said Arena of the final pre-World Cup half played by the US men. "We drove them pretty hard," he concluded, summing up the rigors of the US training camp -- history now as the world turns to Germany 2006.

Last Tuesday night, Arena was asked about the apparent injury to U.S. captain Claudio Reyna. "A minor hamstring pull," replied the coach, who seemed a bit worn himself as the long qualifying campaign finally came to its end. It has been a campaign that brought him to the heights of a world power ranking of 4th, but it has also brought home the pressue of having to live up to that measure and the unexpected success enjoyed in Korea-Japan.

"How does this team compare to 2002?" he sighed, repeating a reporter's question, "I don't know ... we're only going to get better," he replied. "The World Cup is an unknown for everybody, whether you're Brazil or the USA."

As if on cue, as Arena's press conference following the victory over Latvia drew to a conclusion, someone raised a hand and asked about the scandal that has shaken Italian pro soccer, did he think it would affect the Italian players and maybe the outcome of play in the "group of death" as well? "I'm not bright enough to know what that scandal means," the coach replied after a moment's reflection, perhaps remembering what happened the last time Italy arrived at a World Cup amid an air of scandal. "We won't be preparing for the game against Italy until we complete our game with the Czech Republic."

Another scandal, another Paolo Rossi? Group of death indeed.

Notes: This article from  http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?article_class=15&no=296140&rel_no=1 

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