Champions of Men's Soccer by Ann Killion

Author:Ann Killion [Killion, Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2018-05-02T00:00:00+00:00

STATISTICS:

Position: midfielder

Appearances for U.S. national team: 112

Goals for the United States: 8

Professional appearances (six clubs): 282

Goals for professional clubs: 23

ERIC WYNALDA

In the 1990s, as the Americans were starting to build a soccer tradition and a league, a group of players joined the national team who would go on to become the budding stars of a sport the country was just beginning to learn about.

There was red-bearded and wild-haired Alexi Lalas, a defender, a guitar player, and an outspoken interviewee who became the first American to play in Italy’s Serie A. And Tony Meola, the hard-nosed New Jersey goalkeeper who once tried to get an NFL placekicker job. Ponytailed Marcelo Balboa anchored the team’s defense.

They all became recognizable in this country thanks to the 1994 World Cup and the launch of Major League Soccer. But the most important in the group was Eric Wynalda.

Wynalda was the first significant goal scorer for the modern U.S. team. He still stands at fourth on the all-time scoring list with thirty-four goals in 106 appearances between 1990 and 2000.

Wynalda grew up in Southern California, one of millions of little kids who ran around on a soccer field and ate orange slices.

A hyperactive child who received a diagnosis of dyslexia when he was in junior high, Wynalda struggled in school and had a hard time staying still. He was smart, funny, and quick-witted but not very interested in school.

But when he tagged along with his older brother to a soccer game when he was five, he was fascinated and focused. It was a rare sight.

“So my parents got me a ball,” Wynalda said. “And that was it. It was all over.”

Suddenly he had an outlet for all of his hyper energy. He used it up on the soccer field, kicking the ball around, trying to get it into the back of the net. The family pediatrician had advised Wynalda’s parents to find something he liked and support him, so that’s what they did. They ventured all over Southern California to tournaments, went to see North American Soccer League games at the Los Angeles Coliseum, and watched any soccer matches—there weren’t many back then—that were available on television in the days before cable.

As an eight-year-old, Wynalda was already making headlines in the local paper after he scored fifty-six goals in a season to lead his team to a state championship. He later played on club teams and for his high school team, where he scored eighty-eight goals in three varsity seasons.

After high school, he went to San Diego State University (SDSU). There he gained a reputation as a difficult player—he called himself “volatile and uncontrollable”—taunting opponents and being a bad sport. Despite his attitude, Wynalda excelled on the field, which led to more opportunities after college. After three years, he turned pro by accepting a $500 fee to play in an exhibition in Brazil, abdicating his final year of eligibility at SDSU.

Around that time, in 1990, the Americans’ first World Cup appearance since 1950, Wynalda was the youngest member of the team.

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