Hadn't seen anything about him retiring from playing (though who didn't know it was coming?) Looks like he's coaching kids now...and enjoying it. A shot worth taking - Ventura County Star
Just finished reading the article. I hadn't heard anything official about his retiring on uslsoccer.com or anywhere. I'm kinda of disappointed cause I wanted was looking forward to seeing him play in a few A-Leauge games next year.
There was a funny commercial a while back where Waldo was playing a used car salesman becuase he wasn't able to play soccer as an adult. Future career move? What went wrong w/ this guys career? Did he have a bad work ethic that caused him to get injured often and be out of favor w/ the coaches. More importantly, what went wrong w/ the cast of '94 after the WC. Big fat Tony played for the J.E.T.S. jets, jets, jets 4 Petes sake! Why didn't he go to Europe or the A-league? Mike Sorber, Jones, Coiman, Ramos and others played in mexico until the MLS was born, but couldn't make it here. Are we looking at a retread of history? Our 2k2 players had unmatched success but aren't being rewarded w/ contracts. Will Donovan be the next Wynaldo?
All this proves is that Where's Waldo was a journey man. I was referring to you pops sogreasy, big fat pasta eating Tony 4 fingers.
Great article! It's not a complete surprise with his struggle with injuries in the last couple of years. Waldo, thanks for the memories! Too bad he can't play in the MLS All Star Game on the USNT. Love him or hate him (I did both!), he was our first true scorer...
What probably turned Wynalda's career sour was the broken leg he suffered in Germany. After he returned from that, he was never the same player again, and he also became much more injury-prone. When he broke his leg, he was the Bundesliga's second-leading scorer.
I wouldn't be suprised if he's been written off for returning for this season but is planning on playing next year.
I don't think we'll ever see him in the A-League. Apparently, Charleston is furious that he did the announcing duties for ABC instead of rehabbing and doing promotional stuff for the team, even though he couldn't play. I even heard we could see legal action before all is said and done. Too bad, as I think he would've helped the A-League a lot.
Not sure what you mean by the question. I don't think anything went wrong with the cast of '94. Granted Meola strayed from the soccer world for a while but I don't think Europe was beating down his door and I can imagine that the thought of playing A-league ball after the high of the World Cup was a little tough to swallow. Most of these guys had good careers post '94 though, and some are still going. All three keepers (Meola, Friedel, and Sommer) have good careers with Friedel's star shining brightest. Brad Friedel caught on with Galatasaray after English work permit problems halted a signing with Newcastle. Now has no problems with work permits as he is one of Blackburn's top players. Meola has been a top keeper in MLS since the league's inception. Sommer went to Queens Park Rangers after '94 to become the first american keeper to play in the premier league. Still going with MLS. Of the defenders, Lalas, Lapper, Balboa, Burns, Caligiuri, Kooiman, and Clavijo, four still play in MLS, two are retired, and Clavijo now coaches in MLS. Alexi Lalas went straight to Seria A after the cup. First American to play there and all that. Even scored game winners against AC Milan and Inter. Balboa, Lapper, and Burns are still going in the league. Caligiuri just retired. Kooiman left a couple of years ago. In the midfield there was some real longevity and quality. Harkes, Dooley, Cobi, Reyna, Stewart, Ramos, Perez, and Sorber. Cobi played in Coventry after the '94 cup. Not sure how much. But he has always been one of MLS' top players as much as it pains me to say that. Reyna went to the Bundesliga right after the cup and his European career has been well-documented since then. Stewart was with Willem II in Holland before, during and after WC'94. He remains in Holland as a mainstay with NAC Breda. he has over 100 goals as a pro. USA's most prolific scorer abroad. Harkes spent his post cup days at Derby and West Ham before joining MLS and collecting numerous League championships and international cups with DC United. Tab Ramos played in Spain after the Cup and then won a Mexican Cup with Tigres before being the first player to sign with MLS. Dooley played in Germany until he signed with the Crew in 1997. he went on to captain the '98 cup team. Sorber played with Pumas in Mexico after WC '94 and was voted an all-star in that league. Played for KC and NY in MLS Forwards, Klopas, Moore, Wegerle, and Wynalda. Wynalda's career was listed above. Joe-Max has 35 MLS goals and a bunch in Germany and England. Klopas went to Greece and then MLS after '94. Roy Wegerle went to England then MLS after '94. Most of these guys are still going strong. I think they made the most of their talent and took advantage of the advent of MLS. They either made a career out of playing here or used it as a springboard to Europe. As far as the 2k2 team and not being awarded contracts ... Only Regis is NOT playing under contract now, and I couldn't care less about him. Mathis had the biggest hype pre-cup but the injury and lack of form and playing time hurt him. Donovan is still under contract with Leverkusen and loaned to San Jose. And if he becomes the next Wynalda and scores 80+ points for the USA then I'll be happy with that. For abroad players, JOB is still going strong at Ajax, Earnie is STILL in Holland, Friedel is in place at Blackburn, Keller is in the mix for his premier league team, Reyna as well. Sanneh has solidified his spot with Nurnberg. Not sure about Frankie, Joe-Max, or Eddie Lewis. All the MLS players are back and going strong with their clubs. There have been rumors about European transfers with Beasley, etc. but have you seen the transfer market lately? Nobody's moving. Rio to ManYoo is the biggest signing. Rivaldo got let go and picked up on a FREE transfer. Zidane is talking about restructuring his contract so his team can possibly sign a player. There's just not enough money out there to go around.
I don't believe what I'm reading. I just don't believe it. Wynalda had an incredibly successful career. Bad work ethic = injuries? What is this, 10000 BC? When you get sick, do you think the Gods are mad at you? And I'm really getting sick of this "fat Tony" crap. The guy has had a dream career.
Re: Re: Waldo Retires? Yep, I agree with you. People just say that stuff to be stupid and don't want to admit that they're good or to just try and get under people's skin. Tony and Wynalda have had great carears that they should be proud of.
He was the first American player I remember watching on TV who was a threat every time he stepped onto the field. There have been few since then.
For full lowdown on Mr. Wegerle's history: http://www.angelfire.com/mn/ultimatefutbol/bioswegerle.html Could have chosen between England, US and South Africa to represent at international level. The 1994/5 football season was actually his tenth year in English football.
asdg I wished Waldo would have been on this squad, though only as a filler ala Jones. When I was little and since nobody wanted to play soccer in my town I would dribble around the block pretending I was Eric Wynalda. Ah, the memories. Wished I could see Wynalda at least play in the All Star game this Saturday.