Continued . . . from part 1Steve Sampson: 'I don't use lack of luck as an excuse'SOCCER AMERICA: There was no MLS when you took the helm in 1995. How did that league's arrival affect your task?STEVE SAMPSON: You can't just point to MLS. You have to look much more globally. If MLS had begun in 1995 instead of 1996, I think we would have been ahead of the game because it would have given the league one more year to get settled from a continuity standpoint within each team and give the league and the individual coaches at least …

Steve Sampson stepped down after the France '98 failure. Here's how he saw the disappointing end to his tenure that had included unprecedented U.S. success.Part 1 of 3SOCCER AMERICA: Does the fact you resigned mean you're taking responsibility for the U.S. failure at France '98?STEVE SAMPSON: I'm taking my share of the responsibility.... People probably won't believe me when I say this, but even before the World Cup I had discussions with my family and said that it would be very difficult for me to carry on after the World Cup because of the amount of time I have spent …

NOTABLESteve Sampson: 'My best games'USA 4 Mexico 0 June 18, 1995 in Washington, D.C. ''It was at the U.S. Cup and it came right after we beat Nigeria 3-2.'' [Sampson was interim coach while U.S. Soccer was courting foreign candidates to replace Bora Milutinovic.]USA 3 Argentina 0 July 14, 1995 in Paysandu, Uruguay. ''It got us into the Copa America quarterfinals.''USA 0 Brazil 1 July 20, 1995 in Maldonado, Uruguay. ''Yes, it was a loss. But this semifinal of the Copa America marked a huge change in mentality for U.S. soccer. We attacked and actually forced Brazil …

U.S. Soccer president Alan Rothenberg and Japanese advertising agency Dentsu, Inc., a long-time supporter of international soccer, head a group that has acquired the right to serve as investor-operator of Major League Soccer's San Jose Clash, Rothenberg and MLS commissioner Doug Logan announced at a press conference in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., during the league's All-Star weekend. "This is an opportunity I've been looking at almost since the time we founded Major League Soccer," said Rothenberg, the founder of MLS. Rothenberg and Dentsu, the world's largest ad agency in terms of gross income and billings, have owned non-operator units in …

The U.S. U-20 Girls' national team, under the guidance of Lauren Gregg, has departed for the Nordic Cup to be held in Holland from Aug. 3-9. The Nordic Cup, held annually in Northern Europe, brings together the world's top Under-21 women's national teams for the most important women's youth tournament for this age group. The eight competing teams are divided into two groups of four, with first-round play consisting of round-robin matches within the group. The group winners will then play for the championship. The two second-place group finishers will play for third place, the third-place finishers for fifth and …

July 28 in Sarajevo FK Sarajevo (Bosnia) 0 Germinal Ekeren (Belgium) 0. Att.: 12,000. (Germinal Ekeren wins 4-1 on aggregate.) July 28 in Gothenburg IFK Gothenburg (Sweden) 4 (Ekstrom 17, 50, 79, Henriksson 71) Union Luxembourg (Luxembourg) 0. Half: 1-0. Att.: 3,073. (IFK Gothenburg wins 7-0 on aggregate.) July 29 in Brussels Anderlecht (Belgium) 5 (Stoica 31, De Boeck 42, Dheedene 55, Taument 59, Aarst 77) Tiligul (Moldova) 0. Half: 2-0. Att.: n/a. (Anderlecht wins 6-0 on aggregate.) July 29 in Glasgow Glasgow Rangers (Scotland) 2 (Johansson 4, 89) Shelbourne (Ireland) 0. Half: 1-0. Att.: 46,906. (Rangers wins 7-3 on …

July 27 in Toftir Torshavn B-36 (Faroe Isl.) 0 Betar Jerusalem (Israel) 1 (Hamar 68). Half: 0-0. Att.: 285. (Betar Jerusalem wins 5-1 on aggregate.) July 29 in Bruges Club Bruges (Belgium) 2 (Vermant 14, Claessens 30) Sileks Kratovo (Macedonia) 1 (Bozinov 76). Half: 2-0. Att.: n/a. (Club Bruges wins 2-1 on aggregate.) July 29 in Luxembourg Jeunesse Esch (Luxembourg) 0 Grasshoppers (Switzerland) 2 (Esposito 34, Turkyilmaz 43). Half: 0-2. Att.: 1,000. (Grasshoppers wins 8-0 on aggregate.) July 29 in Barry Barry Town (Wales) 1 (Williams 30) Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine) 2 (Mikhailenko 11, Venglinski 50). Half: 1-1. Att.: n/a. (Dynamo …

The firing of head coach "Cacho" Cordoba in Miami is only the tip of a very fragile iceberg on which many reputations, including that of the league commissioner, rest perilously. After selling out its home opener at cozy Lockhart Stadium, Miami basked in the glow of success. That glow has quickly dimmed, despite operator-investor Ken Horowitz's opening-day pronouncement that "I always knew soccer would make it here." Well, Ken, MLS isn't making it in Miami, and unless you tear the team up by the roots, it won't. To be resolved are these dire problems: General manager Leo Stillitano has been …

Results July 29

• New England 1 Colorado 3
• MetroStars 3 Kansas City 2 (SO)
• D.C. United 3 Tampa Bay 2 (SO)
• Miami 3 Columbus 2
• Dallas 3 Los Angeles 0
• San Jose 3 Chicago 0

Standings EASTERN GP W L P GF GA D.C. United 24 19 5 45 56 35 MetroStars 21 12 9 32 40 36 Columbus 20 9 11 27 36 31 Miami 21 10 11 20 24 43 Tampa Bay 23 6 17 18 28 41 New England 22 6 16 16 36 48 Shootout records: Miami 5-0, MetroStars 2-0, …

Here is the MLS television schedule for the games of July 29-Aug. 2: Date Matchup Kickoff (ET) Television July 29 Colorado at New England 7:30 p.m. Fox Sports New England July 29 Kansas City at MetroStars 7:30 p.m. MSG network July 29 Tampa Bay at D.C. United 7:30 p.m. NO TV July 29 Columbus at Miami 7:30 p.m. Sunshine Network July 29 Los Angeles at Dallas 8:30 p.m. Fox Sports West 2 July 29 Chicago at San Jose 11:00 p.m. Fox Sports Chicago July 31 Rock'N Soccer Celebrity Game 4:30 p.m. ESPN2 (shown at 8:00 p.m.) Aug. …

Standings Eastern Conference Northeast GP W L GF GA P Rochester 18 16 2 43 8 46 Montreal 20 15 5 33 25 33 Long Island 18 10 8 29 20 26 Staten Island 15 8 7 17 20 22 Toronto 19 7 12 19 27 21 Worcester 19 8 11 26 34 20 Connecticut 19 6 13 18 31 8 Atlantic GP W L GF GA P Hershey 19 12 7 34 24 36 Richmond 19 13 6 31 16 35 Hampton Roads 16 10 6 24 19 28 Charleston 21 9 12 25 27 25 …

Chicago -- D Rich Kotschau (sprained ankle) is out; D Francis Okaroh (sore rib cage), MF Zak Ibsen (strained hamstring), F Jerzy Podbrozny (strained hamstring) and F Ante Razov (dislocated shoulder) are probable; D Andrew Lewis (strained groin), MF Manny Lagos (patella tendon surgery) and MF Piotr Nowak (sprained MCL) are on injured reserve. Colorado -- none. Columbus -- MF Jason Farrell (sprained foot) is doubtful; MF Todd Yeagley (bruised calf) is probable; D Mike Lapper (torn ACL) is on injured reserve. Dallas -- D Mark Santel (strained hamstring) is doubtful; F Dante Washington (sprained ankle) is probable; MF Alain …

Standings Northeast GP W L GF GA P Western Mass. 15 9 6 41 27 27 Rhode Island 15 9 6 30 28 27 Cape Cod 17 7 10 22 26 21 New Hampshire 16 10 6 32 22 26 Vermont 13 3 10 12 29 7 Mid-Atlantic GP W L GF GA P South Jersey 16 11 5 33 18 33 New Jersey 15 9 6 33 18 27 Central Jersey 15 8 7 22 18 20 Reading 14 7 7 32 23 21 N.Y. Capital Dist. 14 3 11 12 32 9 Atlantic GP W …

Los Angeles Galaxy and Guatemalan national team midfielder Martin Machon was named by the MLS Commissioner's office to replace injured Chicago Fire midfielder Peter Nowak in the MLS World lineup for the MLS All-Star Game on Aug. 2. Nowak has a strained medial collateral ligament (left knee) and is expected to miss three to six weeks. Machon has six goals and nine assists for the Galaxy, which is atop the Western Conference. Bartlett sold to Swiss club South African National Team forward Shaun Bartlett, who played for the Colorado Rapids and MetroStars during the 1996 and 1997 Major League Soccer …

David Regis, who started all three games for the United States at the '98 World Cup, has returned to France to play for '98 First Division runner-up Metz. Regis, who received U.S. citizenship a month before the tournament began, signed a three-year contract after spending one season at German club Karlsruhe, which was relegated to the Second Division. Metz is the fourth club for the versatile Regis in four years, following stays at Strasbourg, Lens and Karlsruhe. Metz suffered big losses in the offseason: Robert Pires (Marseille), Jocelyn Blanchard (Juventus) and Rigobert Song (Salernitana). Metz was looking for cover for …