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| Wednesday, November 10 | |||||
Special to ESPN.com | ||||||
CHICAGO -- OK: this is the year of "no excuses" for Major League Soccer, right? So, let's look at some numbers:
This week's feel-good story: Portugal is one of those places that plays great soccer, but you never really hear about it. That's all about to change, thanks to Portugal's stunning upset in the Euro 2004 bidding process, and it's about time. Spain, which was long considered a lock, lost out to a skillfully constructed bid that emphasized the roots of soccer throughout the country. Portugal -- more than neighboring Spain -- celebrates both its club and national sides; Spain is famed for its club soccer, as well as the overwhelming emphasis it places on the leading club teams. It's nice to see UEFA expanding beyond the usual cadre of footballing nations to bring Portugal the attention it richly deserves; 2004 should have a wonderful atmosphere and a tone of rebirth. On the other hand, Holland is managing to challenge England for "worst fans" with this week's news that Dutch hooligans are advertising on the Internet in the hopes of forming an "army" ahead of next year's Euro 2000 finals. Hooligan problems are on the increase in Holland, where gangs are resorting to ever-more sophisticated methods (mobile phones, the Net) to keep in contact and organize large-scale clashes. More worrisome is the news that arrests for hooligan activity were again on the rise in Holland, up 251 people (for a total of 1,546) from last year's total. What is especially troubling is that the hooligan gangs are managing to evade police radar despite ever-more sterile zones around grounds and increased stewardship of matches -- and frankly, despite some very notable success stories in England and elsewhere, it is time for football to stop pretending that increased pressure around the grounds is enough to stop the violence. UEFA and FIFA could stop this in a minute if they had the intestinal fortitude to do so: by fining each of the country's Football Associations heavily, or barring them from competition if it was found that hooligans from their country were involved in football-related violence. Hard measures? Perhaps. Unfair? No. Football has for too long ignored the reality that gangs are a product of the passions the game itself arouses, and it must take responsibility for that. That leadership has to come from the top, and it will mean ruffling a few, very important, feathers. But, if gangs are to be curtailed, I fear it's the only way: as England has shown, not even massive infringements on civil liberties have done the trick. It's time to start making the F.A's themselves foot the bill. You'd see a sea change in people's hearts almost overnight. My picks: part three I told (warned?) you at the beginning of the year that I'd offer "no excuses," either, at least when it came to my MLS picks. So, here they are, and here's how they finished: TRECKER FINAL MLS STANDINGS EAST EAST D.C. D.C. Columbus Columbus Miami Tampa Bay Tampa Bay Miami New York/New Jersey New England New England New York/New Jersey WEST WEST Chicago Los Angeles Los Angeles Dallas Kansas City Chicago Colorado Colorado Dallas San Jose San Jose Kansas CityOverall, not too bad: I got seven of eight playoff teams (what was I thinking on K.C.?) and except for really missing out on Dallas, I didn't really pull any groaners. And, as it happened, the end of the season in the West was such a scramble that the top four could have (and did) finish in any sort of odd order. As for senses: I missed the decline of the Fire, giving them too much credit for last year's success while ignoring the maxim that change is good. Also, I thought K.C. would be improved with Tony Meola ... and then he got hurt, so there you go.
Jamie Trecker, editor of Kick! magazine, writes regularly for ESPN.com. You may e-mail him at jamie_trecker@go.com; while he guarantees he will read all letters, he regrets that he cannot guarantee a reply because of overwhelming volume. | ALSO SEE Trecker: Good for Gulati -- and MLS
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