[nas] FW: MLS Confidential - Thursday, Nov. 7, 2002

[<big_dog@fastmail.fm>]

Title: FW: MLS Confidential - Thursday, Nov. 7, 2002

> ***********************************************************
> Soccer America MLS Confidential  ...  Nov. 7, 2002
> ***********************************************************
>
> MLS CONFIDENTIAL
> by Ridge Mahoney
> Senior Editor
> Soccer America Magazine
>
> Contents
> 1. Ray Away
> 2. Waibel Go-Round
> 3. Which Game?
> 4. Harksie
>
>
> 1. RAY AWAY: D.C. United coach Ray Hudson left Thursday for a 
> two-week scouting trip in Argentina.
>
> A former Fort Lauderdale Striker teammate, Elias Figueroa, will 
> assist him. Figueroa played with Hudson on the 1981 Strikers team and 
> now works as a TV commentator in his native Chile as well as with the 
> Futbol Masters training academy.
>
> "I've told Elias what I need is a player like him," said Hudson of 
> Figueroa, who as a central defender won the South American Player of 
> the Year three consecutive years (1974-76) and played for Chile in 
> the 1974 World Cup.
>
> Hudson said he will watch about 10 games during his stay in Argentina 
> and will also visit the Boca Juniors training institute, with which 
> D.C. United has an informal partnership.
>
> "It's been a seller's market for so long and now it's a buyer's 
> market for sure," said Hudson. "There's a lot of players out there 
> and everybody is looking for bargains.
>
> "But still the trick is to identify the players and then the 
> financial realities of the league kick in. We'll see what we can dig 
> up."
>
>
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>
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>
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>
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>
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>
>
> 2. WAIBEL GO-ROUND: One of the three players claimed in the waiver 
> draft Wednesday was defender Craig Waibel, who will go back to the 
> team that originally drafted him.
>
> Waibel was taken off waivers by San Jose from Los Angeles. He played 
> the past two seasons for the Galaxy, which claimed him off waivers in 
> 2001 after he'd been drafted by San Jose.
>
> The Quakes kept him through most of the preseason but waived him just 
> before the regular season began when defender Troy Dayak, who had 
> spent the previous two seasons rehabilitating back and knee injuries 
> while playing in the A-League, signed an MLS contract.
>
> One of his best games in 2001 came against the Quakes in the U.S. 
> Open Cup quarterfinals. He played all 120 minutes in the match that 
> ended 1-1 and converted a penalty in a marathon tiebreaker won by Los 
> Angeles, 10-9.
>
> San Jose had drafted him in the 2001 SuperDraft after he'd played for 
> Los Angeles in the CONCACAF Champions Cup the previous month.
>
> He had signed a short-term contract with the Galaxy as a call-up and 
> Coach Sigi Schmid had planned on picking him in the SuperDraft, but 
> Schmid went for other players with his first four selections -- two 
> in each of the first two rounds -- and the Quakes took him in the 
> third round.
> Waibel debuted in MLS with Colorado as a call-up in 2000 while 
> playing for Seattle in the A-League.
>
>
> ********CONCACAF Under 20 World Cup Qualifying************************
>
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> USA vs. Canada - Sunday, November 17th - 2:30 PM ET
>
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> ***************
>
>
> 3. WHICH GAME?: The soccer film being produced by Crusader 
> Entertainment, of which the major shareholder is Anschutz Investment 
> Group, is enmeshed in a name game.
>
> Based on the book, "The Game of Their Lives," which is a detailed 
> account of the U.S. 1950 World Cup team that shocked England, 1-0, 
> the film has nearly the same title as a British documentary released 
> last month.
>
> The British film, "The Game of Their Lives," tells the story of the 
> 1996 North Korean World Cup team that upset Italy, 1-0, and reached 
> the quarterfinals.
>
> It features behind-the-scenes footage of the team on the training 
> field and interacting with the people of Middlesbrough, where it was 
> based during the tournament.
>
> The film also includes interviews and footage from a reunion in North 
> Korea last year of eight surviving members.
>
> Crusader has titled its film "Game of Their Lives." Close enough. 
> Auditions are being held in six cities and shooting is scheduled to 
> start in April.
>
> 4. HARKSIE: Midfielder John Harkes has reportedly been told by the 
> Crew he is not in their plans and it will not pick up his option.
>
> After Columbus won the U.S. Open Cup final, Harkes said, "I want to 
> play two more seasons. I don't know if I'll be here or somewhere 
> else, but I want to keep playing."
>
> Harkes, 35, has played 29 games for the Crew the past two seasons.