WORLD CUP
“ The Long Wait Is Over”
Chapter 11: U. S. Men’ s Five-a-Side’ 89 Bronze Medal and World Cup Italia’ 90
DR. JOE MACHNIK Fox Sports Commentator
An excerpt from“ From the Sandlots to the World Cup: Inside Seven Decades of American Soccer” by Joseph A. Machnik, Ph. D.
After the failure to reach the 1986 FIFA World Cup with the ill-conceived NASL Team America debacle, attention quickly turned to qualifying for the 1988 Summer Olympics in South Korea.
Also, with John Kowalski leading the Five-a-Side national team, U. S. Soccer began preparations for participation in the first FIFA World Championship for indoor soccer which was to be played in early 1989 in the Netherlands.
The 1988 Olympic team roster was a forerunner of the 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification process lineup. All familiar names now: Vanole, Trittschuh, Doyle, Crow, Windischmann, Klopas, Gabarra, Vermes, Eichmann, Krumpe, Harkes, Stollmeyer, Ramos, Murray, Armstrong, Duback, Bliss, Caligiuri, Davis and Coach Lothar Osiander. The results in South Korea were deemed favorable( a 1-1 tie versus Argentina, with Argentina’ s goal scored on a PK; a 0-0 tie versus host South Korea; and a 2-4 loss versus the Soviet Union in a game that turned on a harsh PK decision).
The U. S. opened World Cup qualifying with a 0-0 result in the first game of a road / home schedule with Jamaica. Qualifying for Italia’ 90 would depend on winning the next match.
I had been brought in to help prepare the goalkeepers, especially the starter, Dino Vanole, who was a five-year attendee at No. 1 Goalkeeper Camp. The score was tied at one each when the game turned on a 51st-minute PK awarded to Hugo Pérez. The final was USA 5, Jamaica 1!
U. S. Soccer President Werner Fricker and Technical Director Walter Chyzowych thought it wise to keep the national team players together for the Five-a-Side Tournament in the Netherlands. Coach Kowalski asked that I serve as his assistant and the team won a FIFA Bronze Medal after winning its initial group( Australia, Zimbabwe, Italy) and surprising the soccer world in the next round with wins over Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. After losing to the host nation 2-1 in the semi-final, an extra-time, 3-2 win over Belgium sealed third place.
One day after the conclusion of the indoor tournament, Fricker and Chyzowych named Bob Gansler as Head Coach of the U. S. Men’ s National Team, replacing Osiander. But first, Gansler, who had been Walter Chyzowych’ s longtime assistant, had to complete his assignment as U. S. Head Coach at the 1989 World Youth Championships in Saudia Arabia. With assistant coach Ralph Perez, and brilliant play via Kasey Keller, the U. S. finished in fourth place overall, its highest result in a non-indoor tournament.
Bob Gansler asked that I continue to work with the goalkeepers and I served as his assistant coach throughout the qualification process which began on April 16, 1989, with a 1-0 loss in Costa Rica. The lineup that day was Jeff Duback in goal, Balboa, Trittschuh, Windischmann, Bliss, Stollmeyer, Harkes, Ramos,( Klopas 88’), Murray, Goulet( Gabarra 54’) and Vermes.
The return match was played two Sundays later at Saint Louis Soccer Park, which needed to bring in extra bleachers to accommodate
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