(June 19, 2002) - US national team head coach Bruce Arena spoke to the media about the US squad and looking ahead to Germany.
On other teams being surprised by USA’s consistent roster changes:
On how the friendly match against German might have helped the U.S.:
On whether the team thinks they can win the World Cup:
On Brad Friedel’s contributions to the team off the field:
On whether the U.S. has earned the respect it deserves worldwide or if they need to do more:
On the team’s overall mood and confidence as they move through the tournament:
On whether the string of surprise results helps give a team like the U.S. confidence:
On whether he is excited about being in the quarterfinals of the World Cup:
On whether he is surprised at the major contribution of Landon Donovan for the USA at this World Cup:
On whether he thinks Landon Donovan is oblivious to pressure and the enormity of the World Cup:
On the increased media attention focused on the U.S. after qualifying for the quarterfinals of the World Cup:
On who he might prefer to play in the semifinals of the World Cup:
On whether the team will prep for Germany any differently than they have their other World Cup opponents:
On whether he feels any pressure heading into the game:
On whether having so many players on the U.S. team with German experience is helpful:
"Well some of the changes had to be made because of injuries and suspension. Other just based on the fact that there are just certain combinations that are best suited for certain opponents. It is not easy keeping guys' spirit up, but at the same time if you are playing the same 11 each and every game you have to concern yourself with the other 12 as well. One thing that is healthy is when a number of players get on the field. I think they hang in there with you better mentally and over a long haul – which it has been a long haul – it pays dividends. So I think for the most part our team spirit is excellent because of the fact that most of our players have got on to the field.”
“For me personally it just helps introduce some new faces that the German team has brought in that I wasn’t familiar with. We are very familiar with the team, but I did get to see personally some of the guys I hadn’t seen before, so that is helpful. On that day, you could see certain qualities that the German team has that concern us and we have to be aware of for the game on Friday.”
“We are thinking about winning this game on Friday. That is our whole focus right now. What will take for us to win on Friday? How do we get our team ready to play for 90 minutes or 120 minutes or whatever it takes to try and beat the Germans. That is a task in itself. I am not taking on the World Cup finals at this point.”
“It is important that every team offer something off the field, I think. Brad has always been a great team player on-the-field and off-the-field, and I think I said yesterday that when he was our number two goalkeeper he was a great member of the team and it is the same for him as the number one goalkeeper. I think those things are important, especially when you are together for such a long period of time. We have been together now for something like 50-some-odd days consecutively. We’ve managed to avoid any problems, and we’ve gotten along quite well. And I think the way Brad contributes off the field certainly helps us over the long haul.”
“I imagine we have gained more respect. It would be a shame if we had to win the World Cup to gain respect, because that doesn’t happen to a whole lot of countries. We have done pretty well so far, but we don’t claim to be displacing the great soccer powers at this point in time, but I think we have done enough to earn respect around the world.”
“I think our mood has been about the same throughout. We have made the point that they should never get to high or never get to low. The best example is when you beat Portugal you can’t get to high, and when you lose to Poland you can’t get too low. They have been able to keep their heads and their wits about them. I think that any team, when you taste a little bit of success you gain confidence, but I tell you, I don’t see a whole lot of difference in our team between now and when we started the tournament. They have been pretty good in terms of confidence and how they’ve dealt with each and every game. It is about the same, but maybe a little bit better on the positive side, but they have been very good in keeping their heads on their shoulder.”
"I think it helps the countries that are not as well known, such as Senegal, the USA, Korea. There is enough evidence there to tell you that the big boys can get knocked off. And that gives a team confidence. We have seen it throughout the tournament. The tournament started with a bunch of shocking wins, Senegal over France, our win over Portugal, and others, so I think right from the start this tournament was about ‘if you don’t show up on a given day you are going to get beat.’ And I think that is reflective of what has happened over the past two and a half weeks."
“I think it is great. The tough part about coaching is you don’t get to enjoy the success as much as the players, because you have to start worrying about the next opponent. The players keep moving on and don’t worry about anything. I’ve enjoyed it, probably not to the extent I should or experienced the kind of excitement I should, but that is OK because that is not my job. My job is getting ready for the next game. As soon as I got off the field against Mexico, all I was thinking about was Germany because you play them Friday night. That is what my last two days have been about and how we get our team ready to play and to step on the field to try and beat the Germans.
“Maybe a year ago I would have been surprised. But I had no doubts six months ago that he was going to be a player who could help us in the World Cup. How, I wasn’t certain at the time, but it was clear he was a very talented player. As he has moved forward and got more experience he has positioned himself to help this team.”
“I don’t think he is oblivious to the enormity of the World Cup, I think he is oblivious to pressure. He is a kid who has not been overwhelmed by big games. Granted it has been a short career, but he has shown the ability to play up to his abilities in every game. And that is certainly one of his strong qualities.”
“Since we were in a group with Korea, we have experience a lot of this media attention. The low point was after we played Korea and all the media attention was gone the next day. Maybe that is the reason we had the let down against Poland. I’ll blame it on the press … I hadn’t thought of that. But yes, the attention has been great and I think the players handle it the right way and hopefully they represent our country in the right way, as well.”
“(joking) You are asking the coach of the United States ‘Who do you have a preference to play in the semifinals of the World Cup?’ Uh, we’ll play anybody. We could care less (who we play) if we make it to the semifinals of the World Cup.”
“It is like any other game here. You look at your opponent and you look at their strength and weaknesses and novelties. If the Germans field (Miroslav) Klose and (Carsten) Jancker, they are a handful in front of the goal. Jancker is three or four inches taller than Klose, and is a dangerous guy in front of the goal. Klose has been outstanding. He’s not as big, but his timing and technique in front of the goal has been excellent, and that is a concern to us. Our defenders are going to have to a better job of dealing with those forwards and in positioning themselves the right way to play for those crosses.”
“I don’t think so. The team that has to win this game is Germany. If we don’t win this game, we’ll be fine and we’ll go home and everyone will be happy. I’m not sure how the German team will be doing if they lose to the U.S. They may not be heading straight back to Frankfurt after the game.”
“I think it helps. Our players are well aware of the German players and their qualities. That is always helpful. When you have information on your opponents it is always good, and I think that will help us on Friday.”
-- www.ussoccer.com --
Copyright © 2002, mysoccer.com