In Alexi's most recent Mutant Gene Podcast," he gave Sampson the mic to talk about the 1998 World Cup. I listened to it this morning and enjoyed the walk down memory lane with color commentary from the man in charge. Sampson reflects on the Harkes decision. The Regis decision. The 361. Stuff he'd do the same way vs stuff he'd change with hindsight. Overall, a decent exploration of the topic. Makes me want to see if the matches are on Youtube for a replay. EDIT: And remarkably for Alexi, he held his tongue. I kind of wish they'd engaged more directly on some of the topics, but I appreciate that Alexi wanted to let Steve tell his story, which he did. For those of you on a laptop/desktop PC, you can listen through your browser: https://art19.com/shows/the-mutant-gene-podcast/episodes/84abc947-281e-4b0a-b28b-2a837f5838d5 For iPhone folks, tap that little purple Podcast icon and search for "Mutant Gene Podcast." Then find episode 6.
Germany-USA with the BBC commentary is on YouTube in chunks. Iran-USA I once linked to here. I think I just saw it in Farsi. The Yugoslavia game was basically meaningless anyway.
He made the right decision on Harkes. You can't have your captain banging the other players' wives. I still can't believe that douchebag had the nerve to write about how he was wronged about it later... Then again, he already showed he was a douchebag.
It was an interesting podcast that reaffirms my opinion of him as a decent coach, who had a good cycle up until the World Cup, but he just wasn't equal to the task of handling a team in the big moment under the bright lights, and essentially he choked. Some of the choices he'd had to make were forced upon him by circumstance (ie John Harkes), though here he admits that the way he went about it he'd have done differently today, given the experience he's gained over the years.
The run-up to the tournament and the 98WC would make a great 30 for 30. Yup. Those of us who lived thru that cycle were so disappointed at the World Cup because the previous three years had actually been pretty darn good. We all understand that the reputation of USMNT coaches is overwhelming determined by how they do at the World Cup................but its slightly unfair. The guy only lost 2 out of 16 World Cup qualifiers, did very well at Copa America, etc. etc. Let's see Klinsmann make the semifinal of a Copa America! We all knew how effed up the USMNT team was in 98, however we didn't know how much. The stuff with Amy Wynalda/John Harkes was, of course, only part of the problem. I had no idea that Sampson and staff almost sent 3-4 players home after the first game. The stuff he talked about with regards to Iran was fascinating. About how the Iranian players were told at halftime that they'd have their passports taken away if they didn't beat the US........... We see coaches lose the plot at the World Cup. Domenech with France in 2010, for instance.
One of them being Alexi Lalas. One of my favorite moments of the podcast (spoiler alert) was to hear a very rare admission of wrongdoing from Lalas and his apology to Sampson for the way that he behaved. That really underscored the whole podcast's tone of genuine candor. It's a good listen, even if it is an hour. No 1998-related stone is left unturned. Sampson addresses pretty much every bit of criticism that has been leveled at him with candor, freely acknowledging the mistakes that were made and how he feels about the failure in France.
Cool I love podcasts so this is great. Found it on the (free) stitcher app . I don't like Lalas but I appreciate getting to hear such an open discussion about events that left my 12 year old self confused and deflated. haha
Totally agree. Very insightful interview. Alexi puts on his 60 Minutes suit, asks some direct questions, and let his subject talk.
For those who don't recall or never saw the 1998 WC - Steve may have effed up a few things but the players came with a huge sense of entitlement and then, basically, the ball didn't bounce their way. Once again, most do not recall that, in April to the WC, the US played a friendly against Austria and beat them handily 3:0. Austria wasn't a great team at that point but it was no peon either. Prior to the match, Elo had the US at 31 and Austria at 33. Where things began to look troublesome was in the immediate re-WC friendly vs. Scotland, which also qualified and was ranked slightly ahead of the US. Now, that was some insipid soccer. One of the worst 0:0 matches I have ever seen. But, no matter how well or poorly the US was in 1998, it just didn't get the bounced it got in 1994. That's how it goes. Mike Burns on the post; Tom Dooley in his own penalty box; two poorly misplayed goals vs. Iran and then even the Friedel rebound that was put in by Yugoslavia. And a bunch of chances blown.
It's strange that Wynalda apparently felt he could play with Harkes like no big deal. I guess he thought about the bigger picture but come on that's quite off. And several players had his back. But I wonder if any had the back of Harkes
To this day many of those same players will tell you the 1998 team was the best US team ever. Dooley at his peak was world class, but he was obviously past it in 98. None of the guys at their peak in 98 could hold a candle to Donovan or Dempsey, and some quietly resent the generation that succeeded them. Hejduk, McBride, and Earnie Stewart are the only 3 from the 98 team I have heard say the 2002 team was better. A little silly.
I either read this somewhere or was told a rumor - and now I don't even remember which, so take it for what it was - that the Wynaldas were having marital problems around that time. So, whatever that means. Ya, if you take the 1998 team at every player's peak career seasons, then they were ... well, not that bad. But they were kind of on both sides of that - some over, some under. McBride didn't get to his peak well after the 2002 WC even. Plus, 2002 had in form and in-shape JOB, Tony Sanneh, Berhalter, Eddie Lewis, Clint Mathis and, of course, Donovan and Beasley. Plus, pieces seemed to fit together too - ball control in the middle, speed outside, experience in defense, hot GK. And the 2002 team got breaks that the 1998 didn't. Those things always go in cycles anyway. PS. Beside the age, the 1998 team had Wynalda and Ramos coming off injuries too.
Yup. Sampson's comments about Wynalda's physical that never happened were interesting........................... Also the fact that Harkes was in the doghouse even before the Amy Wynalda affair. [Partying the night before a game & trashing a hotel room; Refusing to move to fullback when an injury crisis hit the team.] And the team did play better than their record at that tournament indicated. When you say that a team finished dead last in a tournament you expect to watch their games and see one-sided, embarrasing debacles. That was not the case. They didn't play well...................but they also just didn't get the breaks. It happens.
I remember that fullback bit and I always thought it was a shitty move by the guy. He was slowing down by then anyway and Steve was going to make him a more attacking fullback regardless. Eddie Lewis gets a lot of stick here for his alleged underperformance in 2006 - I say it wasn't the case - but Harkes got off clean on that one. When you add up all those things about him, he comes off as a pretty rotten scoundrel.
It feels good that now after all these years and all the National Team's growth and of course success, we can look back on Sampson and his decisions that Spring and Summer in 1998. I hear you and will raise you that it appeared the guys thought France'98 was gonna follow the script of Copa America Uruguay'95. I.e. somehow beating an Argentina 3-0 was gonna happen in our first game versus Ze Germans. Which if our guys knew about teams from the Americas playing in World Cups over in Euroland and vice versa, there was this swagger to our team but they were very naive to think of themselves as World beaters like they enjoyed as hosts back home in USA'94. Which iirc had Chad Deering playing very good football, as did Reyna and McBride. The 3-6-1 was first tried that night from Sampson. It was a terrific result that gave false hope to Sampson and his staff. Austria even at home in a World Cup tune up was not, and never has been or will be, the German team at a World Cup! I had tickets to get to RFK, all set to go and something at the last minute ruined the trip. Best ruined trip of my life soN! HA! Mike Burns armpit is more like it! Err!!! Then Iran literally playing for their families sake a la Colombia in '94 but their mindset was boss that night and they made us 2 losses and out of the tournament that night. The bright spot was a young McBride scoring our only goal. He would of course score against Portugal 4 years later and become our first ever player to score in two different World Cups. Also, the big thing my buddies and I recall about the Youslavia game was their Ultras booing our National Anthem. To then that early goal they got off that Friedel spill you speak of. And yet Reyna went on that night and hit several shots off their woodwork. It just was not to be in 1998. Like you speak of, the ball just did not bounce our way and such is the life in sports. I would like to speak of the line ups Sampson did and take his 3-6-1 from that last game versus Yugoslavia and compare to what I would have used in our traditional American diamond 4-4-2 that we had used and used so well over the last 4 years. The formation that saw us beat Argentina, tie El Cry 3 times, one being the famous 0-0, Agoof red card and we still take points from the Azteca in the '97 Hex. That was a great day in American soccer! A few months later and it was our Captain for Life being cut, some Frenchie new face at Leftback and Burns' armpit. IIRC Sampson, after the 3-6-1 worked in Austria in April, Sampson went with a 4-5-1 formation using Maisonneuve, Deering as twin #6's versus Germany. I.e. notice Tab Ramos did not start. GK 18 Keller DF 3 Pope 85' DF 4 Burns DF 5 Dooley (c) DF 6 Regis MF 8 Stewart MF 13 Jones MF 15 Deering MF 19 Maisonneuve MF 21 Reyna FW 11 Wynalda ---------------------McBride -------Stewart------Reyna-------C. Jones ------------Maisonneuve---Deering --------Regis---Dooley----Pope---Burns ---------------------Keller Then went 4-3-3 verus Iran GK 18 Keller DF 2 Hejduk DF 3 Pope DF 5 Dooley (c) DF 6 Regis 18' MF 10 Ramos 57' MF 13 Jones MF 21 Reyna FW 7 Wegerle 57' FW 9 Moore FW 20 McBride -------Wegerle-----McBride-----J.M. Moore -------Ramos------Reyna-------C. Jones --------Regis---Dooley----Pope---Hejduk ---------------------Keller Sampson then went a 3-5-2, twin striker pairing up top with Joe Max Moore and McBride with Reyna playing behind them versus Yugoslavia. Burns somehow comes back to the starting line up in place of Eddie Pope of all defenders. Ramos is now out once again and Wynalda is dropped form the Starting line up for the second straight game. Some thing unthinkable in USA'94 was now happening before our eyes in France'98, both Ramos and Wynalda there in the team but not in the squad and of course both Harkes and Lalas watching it all from a couch and the bench respectively. GK 1 Friedel DF 2 Hejduk DF 4 Burns DF 5 Dooley (c) DF 6 Regis MF 8 Stewart MF 13 Jones MF 19 Maisonneuve MF 21 Reyna 13' FW 9 Moore FW 20 McBride --------------McBride-----J.M. Moore ----------------------Reyna ---C. Jones---Stewart---Maisonneuve----Hejduk ------------Regis---Dooley---Burns ---------------------Keller For me personally after hearing about Harkes being dropped in May, I figured Sampson was for sure gonna get Balboa in at Leftback. And make a move back to what had got us so much success in WCQ with our traditional 4-4-2. In an ideal, nagging injury free world, I wanted this. I feel this line up would at least not found us for lacking in ball control and team cohesion that our other line ups forced us fans to endure. --------------McBride-----Wynalda ----Stewart----Ramos----Reyna-----C. Jones ------Balboa---Dooley---Pope----Hejduk ----------------------Keller
Iran's 1998 win against the USA meant so much to Iranians that I wouldn't take it way from them even if I could.
I remember Sampson going off on Danny Pena in 1997, when Pena refused a callup for a friendly. It was then that I thought we might be in for grief in 1998.
Ramos really didn't look that great vs. Iran. He was clearly out of shape. Wynalda got beaten up by Jens Jeremies in the opener and really a target striker to lurk behind. His pace was gone by that point too. This is in 15-min parts.
Oh yeah. Christian Pulisic was born on September 18th 1998. We have a player on our current U.S. National Team Cup roster that was born after the fiasco of Sampson and our team in France'98. I just thought this is very cool from a certain point of view.
It's seeming strange to me that people my age are starting to play on professional sports teams (I was also born in 1998).
Dude was one of the worst at destroying that team and he never owned up to it for nearly 20 years. That is one reason I can't stand listening to him on ANYTHING having to do with the Nats, Men or Women. I think he is a giant azz on most other things too, BUT.......He put himself first when it counted so he should have NOTHING TO SAY about the US National "team".
I think this had a bigger impact than some think. Also when he DID finally line up there at gunpoint, he refused to play the position and simply played "john Harkes" soccer from a deeper spot. I thought Sampson did the right thing leaving him out, but it should have come sooner, right after that incident. That would have sent the message to the entitled guys that jobs were not guaranteed early enough to do something about it.
Sampson said in retrospect, he should have huddled with few team leaders about this. He probably should not have kept the secret reason.