20324: (Hermantin) Sun-Sentinel-Soccer no place for politics (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Soccer no place for politics

By Jeff Rusnak
Special Correspondent
Posted March 13 2004

MIAMI · Players and coaches for the United States and Haiti all agree on one
thing heading into tonight's friendly at the Orange Bowl: Politics won't
affect either team's performance.

For Haiti, that means the overthrow of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
won't cause a schism on the 18-player roster, regardless of who is
pro-Aristide and who isn't. For the United States, it means using the game
to prepare for World Cup qualifying, regardless of the role the American
government played in Aristide's ouster.

"My area is the 11 guys on the field," U.S. coach Bruce Arena said.
"Hopefully, there will be a good environment for the players and nothing
spills over onto the field."

Haiti coach Fernando Clavijo concurred: "This is not about politics, this is
about soccer. I hope people support the game and the fans can enjoy
themselves."

If not for the uprising in Haiti two weeks ago, the focus of tonight's match
might be on Clavijo coaching against the country he represented in the 1994
World Cup. Then there's the possibility of the teams playing again in a
World Cup qualifying in August, assuming Haiti can upset Jamaica in June.

Instead, most of the questions at a Thursday news conference at the Orange
Bowl were about how Clavijo and his players are faring in Miami while Haiti
boils. Veteran forward Johnny Descollines said Haiti's history of turmoil
has braced the team for the current crisis.

"If you've followed Haiti, since 1986 there have always been political
problems," Descollines said. "But when we get together, we come together to
do a job for the nation."

The hope is that any Haitian fans harboring resentment toward the American
government won't direct it at the U.S. team. More than 49,000 mostly Haitian
fans were in attendance the last time the teams played at the OB, a 3-0 U.S.
victory in the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The crowd probably won't be as big
tonight, but it surely will be pro-Haitian.

"In my tenure with the U.S. team," Arena said, "we've played three or four
games at the Orange Bowl, and we've always been the visiting team. We think
of it as a positive experience. We anticipate this will be the environment
we'll face during World Cup qualifying. We look at it as a very challenging
game and we're looking forward to it."

The United States opens 2006 qualifying June 13, probably against Guyana,
which leads Grenada 5-0 heading into the second leg. Haiti begins a two-game
series against Jamaica on either June 12 or 13, probably in Miami. On
Thursday, FIFA banned Haiti from hosting qualifiers because of the upheaval
in Port-au-Prince.

The U.S. roster for tonight's match will feature 16 MLS players and two
European-based defenders, Fulham's Carlos Bocanegra and F.C. Nurnberg's Tony
Sanneh. Sanneh, a starter for the 2002 World Cup team, hasn't played
competitively in more than a year because of a back injury.

Arena's attacking options include Landon Donovan, Ante Razov, DeMarcus
Beasley and Steve Ralston. Either Jonny Walker or Kevin Hartman will start
in goal. Haiti returns most of the players, including Descollines and
forward Peguero Jean-Philippe, from a 7-0 aggregate win over the Turks and
Caicos in World Cup qualifying three weeks ago.








Copyright © 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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