Thomas Gorman Bordeaux, France. Having just watched the Sky Sports highlight feed of the U.S.- Australia under-17 match, I would like to pose a general question to those people in the soccer community who are responsible for the formation of American talent. First, my observation that the young Americans were technically and physically outplayed by a stronger and more creative side. I noticed a marked disparity in tactical savvy and overall soccer maturity. My question is how does the U.S. go about developing players who have both the technical and physical attributes to compete at the highest levels? It's not …

But United reign begins to grate on rival fans FOXBORO, Mass. - All this talk of a D.C. dynasty is great fun, if somewhat premature, and it's festering a few elements that any competition needs. Hatred, for one. Rival fans are sick and tired of seeing United - which they regard as a golden child spoiled by the league's largesse - walk off with domestic and international trophies. But they'd better get used to it. Players and coaches and ownership come and go, yet the victories have continued. "This year, our players felt a real challenge," …

The MetroStars have named former L.A. Galaxy coach Octavio Zambrano their new head coach. The New England Revolution has hired Fernando Clavijo, who spent the 1999 season as MetroStars assistant coach to Bora Milutinovic. Zambrano, 41, compiled a league record of 39-18 record between 1997 and 1999. His .684 winning percentage as a head coach is the highest in MLS history. His 1998 Los Angeles team shattered the MLS record for goals scored with 85, while his defense allowed only 44. The 1998 Galaxy team finished with the best record (24-8) and the most points (68) of any team in …

D.C. UNITED Starters: Presthus (6) No mistakes. Agoos (6) Contained Hendrickson. Llamosa (7) Nearly flawless. Pope (6) Recovery almost complete. Talley (6) Adios, Diego. Williams (7) Limpet stuck to Cienfuegos. Etcheverry (6) Set up a goal with his hands. Olsen (7) Benny has the jets. Maessner (6) Rugged and lucky. Moreno (7) Always trouble. Lassiter (5) Fluffed a juicy header. Substitutes: Sonora (5) He must not like rings. Aunger (NR) Ex-Rev comes back a champ. LOS ANGELES Starters: Hartman (5) …

Godfrey Pereira Blacksburg, Va. Do you know if the roster for the Project-40 tour of Europe has been released yet? Mike Woitalla: Godfrey, 18 Pro-40 players and two guest players are on a five-game tour of Portuguese First Division reserve teams under the direction of Tampa Bay Mutiny coach Tim Hankinson and Chicago Fire assistant coach Denis Hamlett Nov. 28 through Dec. 17. Many of these players are vying for a spot on the 2000 Olympic team, which competes in a U-23 tournament, with each team being allowed three overage players. Here's the roster for the tour: Ubusuku Abukusumo (Columbus) …

Scores from quarterfinal NCAA womenÆs Division I playoff action: Santa Clara 3, Connecticut 0 Penn State 2, Hartford 0 North Carolina 2, Clemson 0 Notre Dame 0, Nebraska 0 (Notre Dame wins on PK, 4-3) Schedule Semifinals (in San Jose, Calif.) Friday, Dec. 3 Penn State vs. North Carolina (4 pm PT) Santa Clara vs. Notre Dame (6:30 pm PT) Final (in San Jose, Calif.) Sunday, Dec. 5 (Noon PT)

Scores from second-round NCAA menÆs Division I playoff action: UAB 2, SMU 0 Santa Clara 4, Duke 2 Furman 4, Wake Forest 0 Connecticut 3, Yale 0 UCLA 2, St. Louis 0 Virginia 3, Brown 1 Penn State 2, St. John's 1 (OT) Indiana 2, Washington 0 Quarterfinal Matchups UAB vs. Santa Clara Furman vs. Connecticut UCLA vs. Virginia Penn State vs. Indiana

The USAÆs Landon Donovan was awarded the Golden Ball of the 1999 U-17 World Cup, at which the USA finished fourth, behind third-place Ghana, second-place Australia and champion Brazil. The adidas Golden Ball, voted on by local and international media covering the tournament, goes to the outstanding player of the competition. DonovanÆs teammate, DaMarcus Beasley, won the Silver Ball. 1999 U-17 World Cup Awards Outstanding players: Golden Ball: Landon Donovan (USA) Silver Ball: DaMarcus Beasley (USA) Bronze Ball: Alvaro Meneses (Uruguay) Leading scorers: Golden Shoe: Ismahel Addo (Ghana) 7 goals/2 assists Silver Shoe: Waleed (Qatar ) 4 / 1 Bronze …

Who could have believed a month ago that MLS would end its season on such a high note? MLS, suffering from disinterest in the national press, appeared to be a league in trouble. But that's all changed. Don Garber has emerged as MLS's apparent savior. The knock on Garber, a former executive with the National Football League, was that he was not a soccer person. His response: Most commissioners aren't from the sport. Most commissioners these days - though not Garber - are lawyers. As a kid, our family lawyer was our neighbor, Bowie Kuhn. He was an obscure New …

The U.S. U-17 team fell, 2-0, to Ghana in the third-place game of the U-17 World Cup in New Zealand. The USAÆs fourth-place is the best finish for an American male team in a FIFA outdoor tournament since the Bob Gansler-coached U-20 team finished fourth in the 1989 U-20 World Cup. The summary of the third-place game of the 1999 U-17 World Cup: Nov. 27 in Auckland, New Zealand USA 0 Ghana 2 Goals: Razak 35, Addo, 84. USA -- Countess, Akwari, Yi, Gregorio, Onyewu, Beckerman (Thompson, 63), Beasley, Cutler, Jackson, Donovan, Cila (Convey, 77). Ghana -- Owusu, Nkrumah, Donkor, …

Charlie Stillitano is now famous among soccer fans in Germany. "Infamous may be a better word," the MetroStars general manager said after spending two days giving lengthy interviews in the German press to deny reports that Lothar Matthaeus could stay with Bayern Munich until June. On Nov. 14, the 38-year-old Matthaeus, a veteran of five World Cups, played his world record-tying 143rd full international in Germany's 1-0 win over Norway. The next day, he was meeting with Bayern officials to plot a way in which he could stay in Germany until mid-summer -- after the German season and …

The Miami Fusion has completed a trade with D.C. United that will bring forward Roy Lassiter, the all-time leading scorer in MLS, to South Florida. The acquisition of Lassiter completes a deal made in July that sent defender Brian Kamler and a first-round draft pick in the 2000 MLS College Draft (third overall) to the Fusion in exchange for forward Chris Albright and midfielder John Maessner. "We are extremely excited to have a player of Roy's caliber joining our club," said Fusion managing director Doug Hamilton. "He is a proven scorer in the league and provides an additional weapon in …

Matt Bernhardt Columbus, Ohio In your "Best talent of 1999" (Nov. 29 issue of Soccer America Magazine) you nominate four members of the D.C. United defensive core and give honorable mention to a fifth -- a group which finished sixth in goals allowed (43). Meanwhile, the Crew's defense is mostly underrepresented (only Dougherty honored, no one else mentioned as being close) -- which let in fewer goals (39). This leads me to wonder: What is your assessment of the Crew's defensive group? Are they just a group of yeomen working unspectacularly but effectively without any real talent? Is Mark Dougherty …

A few new names crop up among the familiar standouts Unlike the MLS Best 11, which is selected at the end of the regular season, the Soccer America rankings incorporate the playoffs as well. What a player does for his national team has no bearing on his MLS rankings, but his club competitions outside of MLS matches ù U.S. Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions Cup ù are factored in. Reputations, potential and past accomplishments were not weighted into the rankings, which are designed to reflect what a player acccomplished in an MLS jersey in 1999. Injured …

Twenty-two players were placed on waivers Nov. 23. Only three were selected in the subsequent waiver draft. Former Kansas City forward Nino DaSilva was chosen by the MetroStars with the first overall pick; former Los Angeles defender Gabe Eastman was picked up by San Jose with the fourth overall pick; and former New England defender Mario Gori was selected by Columbus with the ninth overall pick. There was no other action in the draft. Among the players waived today were 1996 All-Star forward Digital Takawira, Dallas Burn striker John Jairo Trellez, four-year MLS veteran Matt Kmosko and Miami Fusion defender …