Whatever happened to Alexi Lalas ?

[kinstlinger]

OK - I know where he is, and where he's been.
He's still tall, still has the red hair, shaved the goatee; still an upfront kind of guy.

I'm more concerned if people think his career coulda/woulda/shoulda gone a different direction.

I first saw him in WC94 - he looked strong; knew how to use his body .. didn't really seem overmatched, save the odd lunge at Bebeto's goal.

Then, he goes to Padova, and played in the US Cup in 95.
With a Serie A team plus his size and desire, I figured he'd be great - a fixture for the next 8 years or so.

He did play in '98, but must not have been Bruce's kind of guy.

Did I overestimate his potential ? Did MLS retard his growth ? Was he too into being a rock star, than an athlete ?

[babytiger2001]

Lalas is now the president and general manager of the San Jose Earthquakes. He landed that gig earlier this season.

A perfect type of job for Alexi, post-playig career, IMHO, because it utilises two of his most significant and intangible qualities-- his natural ability to promote, and his gift of gab.

As a player, his international career ended at just the right time, with the changing of the guard of the coach from Sampson to Arena. Bruce needed to blood some new players when he took over, and accomplished that quite well. In fact, in doing so, that wasn't completely a knock against Lalas' abilities as an international-class player... it was just his time to make way for other players.

As for his MLS career, he did pretty good despite bouncing around between four teams and having a year's sabbatical in between towards the end.

Lalas wore many hats during his playing days-- but from having watched him train, I don't think there were too many more players of considerable international calibre who were more committed to their craft than Alexi Lalas.

[MarioKempes]

OK - I know where he is, and where he's been.
He's still tall, still has the red hair, shaved the goatee; still an upfront kind of guy.

I'm more concerned if people think his career coulda/woulda/shoulda gone a different direction.

I first saw him in WC94 - he looked strong; knew how to use his body .. didn't really seem overmatched, save the odd lunge at Bebeto's goal.

Then, he goes to Padova, and played in the US Cup in 95.
With a Serie A team plus his size and desire, I figured he'd be great - a fixture for the next 8 years or so.

He did play in '98, but must not have been Bruce's kind of guy.

Did I overestimate his potential ? Did MLS retard his growth ? Was he too into being a rock star, than an athlete ?

Lalas was exposed as slow in WC98 qualifying and that was the end of his international career. I think he aged, gained some weight, and lost focus. I think his rock band activities had a lot to do with the last two. Lalas was simply great in 1994 and 1995. MLS kind of messed him up.

[m vann]

I loved Alexi's game and was impressed throughout about his professionalism and love for the game. His rock band was important but I think soccer was obviously his first love. If it wasn't he would of never landed the San Jose gig. I for one am excited about what he can bring to the table for San Jose. I hope he leads the way for other ex-MLS plaeyers to get into coaching and/or management.

[Scotty]

As a player, Lalas was at his best when he was playing in Italy. Competing at such a high level brought an almost immediate improvement to his technique and ability to read the game. He was still slow, of course, but the experience definitely made him a better player. This was particularly evident in his games for the US at that time. But unforutnately he regressed as a player when he came to MLS.

[Bruce S]

OK - I know where he is, and where he's been.
He's still tall, still has the red hair, shaved the goatee; still an upfront kind of guy.

I'm more concerned if people think his career coulda/woulda/shoulda gone a different direction.

I first saw him in WC94 - he looked strong; knew how to use his body .. didn't really seem overmatched, save the odd lunge at Bebeto's goal.

Then, he goes to Padova, and played in the US Cup in 95.
With a Serie A team plus his size and desire, I figured he'd be great - a fixture for the next 8 years or so.

He did play in '98, but must not have been Bruce's kind of guy.

Did I overestimate his potential ? Did MLS retard his growth ? Was he too into being a rock star, than an athlete ?
The sad fact is that he struggled at Padova, and was widely viewed as one of the poorest players ( maybe the worst) in Serie A.So let's not start the urban legend that Lalas was some fine Serie A player.I love Lexi but he was never a great player.He was OK.