Sampson Works in the Lab but Finds No U.S. Chemistry

Lightning didn’t flash. Odd-colored liquids never hissed or bubbled out of a test tube. There was no transformation from mediocre to miraculous.

That’s how it is with experiments. Sometimes they work; sometimes they don’t.

For Steve Sampson, the U.S. national soccer coach, it’s back to the drawing board.

On Sunday, in front of a disappointing crowd of 31,725 at the Rose Bowl, Mexico defeated the United States, 2-0, to eliminate the American team from contention for the championship of U.S. Cup ’97.

The outcome was never really in doubt, not after Mexico grabbed the lead in the third minute on a goal by Luis Roberto Alves, better known as Zague. The visitors doubled their lead when Alberto Garcia Aspe scored in the 68th minute.

The U.S. players ran endlessly, they worked hard, they never gave up, but the spark that would have ignited the team never came. Instead, the Americans again were shut out, just as they had been by Peru on Friday night in San Diego.

Sunday’s loss marked the first time since August of 1992 that the U.S. team has lost back-to-back shutouts.

In the locker room, Eric Wynalda fumed. The all-time leading U.S. scorer was being rested while Sampson used the U.S. Cup to experiment with new players and new combinations.

“We never showed any anger,” Wynalda said. “You have to do that.”

Even a mini-brawl at midfield in which U.S. defender Alexi Lalas was the main loser failed to rouse the U.S. players.

Wynalda quoted a sign that adorns Maples Pavilion on the Stanford campus. “It says ‘Winners make it happen; losers let it happen,’ ” he said, as if that explained it all.

Mexico, which had beaten Denmark, 3-1, on Friday and is only a tie against Peru on Wednesday away from successfully defending its title, made it happen. Coach Bora Milutinovic brought a near-full-strength squad to the tournament and its superiority was obvious.

“They were a better team,” Sampson admitted. “At critical moments, Mexico was able to step up its play, keep better possession of the ball and play it with greater speed--not only physical speed but greater speed of thought.”

That’s important.

The United States, which looked far better than it had in its 1-0 loss to the Peruvians--who lost, 2-1, to the Danes in Sunday’s first game--never showed much evidence that it could create a goal out of nothing.

Certainly, U.S. players produced chances. Jovan Kirovski came close with a shot that brushed the outside of the right post shortly after Mexico had taken the lead. Cobi Jones beat Mexican goalkeeper Adolofo Rios in the second half, only to see the ball flash agonizingly wide of the right post. Joe-Max Moore curled a couple of free kicks just over the crossbar.

But the goal never came.

“In the second half, there were times when I felt we played panicked,” Sampson said. “We played without rhythm.”

A better crowd might have helped. The game was televised live locally, which obviously hurt attendance.

The absence of about a half-dozen starters, either because of injury or because they were being rested, was keenly felt. The inclusion of Wynalda, John Harkes, Ernie Stewart, Tab Ramos or Thomas Dooley would have made a vast difference.

“We need to have more than just one or two players who can take hold of a game and dictate the pace of a game,” Sampson said.

On the positive side, newcomers Kirovski, Jason Kreis, Martin Vasquez and, in particular, Galaxy defender Dan Calichman, making his national team debut, all played well enough to indicate that they could contribute when World Cup ’98 qualifying resumes March 2.

The next time the United States and Mexico meet, in a France ’98 qualifier on April 20, there will be a lot more at stake

By then, the experiments will have ended.