Tuesday, January 1, 2002
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Clint Mathis, Josh Wolff and Brian Ching want a more positive 2002 soccer season after being set back by injuries last summer. Soccer pros
looking aheadMLS players Mathis, Wolff and
Ching were here for a campBy Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.comMathis and Wolff were off to excellent starts with the United States National Men's Team, helping the Americans to a 3-0 start in World Cup qualifying matches when they were put out of action.
Mathis, a midfielder/striker, suffered an ACL tear in his right knee during practice when the U.S. men were preparing for an international friendly with Ecuador. At the time, he had established himself as a starter with Major League Soccer's New York-New Jersey MetroStars
Wolff, a striker, fractured two bones in his left foot in the third MLS match of the season while playing for the Chicago Fire. Initially, the fractures didn't show up on X-rays and he expected to be out two-to-four weeks, but his down time turned into four months.
Ching suffered a fractured jaw just when he was beginning to feel comfortable with the Los Angeles Galaxy and missed several weeks of his first MLS season.
In town as instructors at the ProXtreme Soccer Camp last week at Waialae Iki Field,, Mathis and Wolff will report to the U.S. men's training camp Friday. Ching, a Kamehameha Schools graduate, starts training with the Galaxy on Jan. 14. All three have returned to action, but acknowledge there is a lot of hard work ahead.
"I've only played two matches in the last seven months, so, coming back from an injury, the most important thing is to get game fit," Wolff said.
Mathis will train, but won't be on the active roster for the Gold Cup later this month. He wants to be ready when the U.S. men take an exhibition tour to Italy and Germany.
"We know we have to work twice as hard. If we go to the World Cup and do well, it's a great situation. It could mean a career change (playing for a European team). This is the biggest sporting event in the world. This is what we dream about," Mathis said. "It could make a big impact on the rest of our lives."
Wolff agreed.
"This is the pinnacle of soccer," said Wolff. "It's exciting to be out there in front of ... 70,000 fans who hate you. You play off that emotion and it's a great feeling when you score and the stadium goes silent."
There is a lot of incentive for the U.S. men to wipe out the memory of the 3-0 disaster in the 1998 World Cup in France and to at least equal the showing in the 1994 World Cup played in this country.
"The goal is to get out of the first round (pool play) and then see how far we can go," said Wolff, who was a member of the Olympic team in Australia that reached the medal round for the first time in U.S. history.
Wolff also played against South Korea (in the Americans' pool along with Portugal and Poland at the World Cup) in a friendly match Dec. 9.
"They had 90 percent of their players and we had a young team," said Wolff. "That's a team we can pressure and pick up three points (with a win) in the World Cup. Poland is new to the World Cup and we need three points from that match. Going in, we know Portugal is the best team in the pool, but with hustle and intensity, we'll be trying to get at least one point (for a tie)."
Ching just wants to make the Galaxy roster for a second time after what he termed not a great first season.
"I know I have to make the team, but this year I know what to expect. That gives me more confidence going in and I think I have a better chance," Ching said.
"My work ethic is what got me here and I've been working out four times a week since the season ended."
He credits his Kamehameha coach, Chris Nied, with instilling a work ethic that carried Ching through a standout career at Gonzaga and into the pros.
"Chris was a pretty hard-nosed coach. The work ethic came late, after my junior year. My senior year I would get to school an hour before classes and, instead of just sitting around, I would kick the ball around for 45 minutes. From my first to second year in college I was 100 times better," Ching said.
All three will focus on improving over the next few months.