European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 3, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Sunday june 3,1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 25 Gansler leans toward Meol world cup soccer by Randy Harvey los Angeles times bad Ragaz Switzerland a after months of experimentation . Coach Bob Gansler appears to have settled on a starting lineup for his team s ready or not plunge into soccer s world cup. The word appears is used advisedly because Gansler persists in treating personnel decisions As if they were state secrets. But even if the 22 players have not seen the handwriting on a lineup card they saw it on the Wall in bad Ragaz during a we Klong training Camp that ended Friday. In the final practice a the team went to St. Gallen saturday to play Switzerland in its last pre world cup exhibition game a Gansler worked almost exclusively with 11 players in White jerseys As opposed to the others in red. Asked later if there had been any significance to that Gansler said a were there different colors out there ill be then he shrugged adding a you can write what you so it appears As if this will be the starting lineup for not Only saturdays game but also for the june 10 world cup opener in Florence Italy against Czechoslovakia goalkeeper a Tony Meola. Defenders a Desmond Armstrong Steve Trittschuh Mike Windischmann John Stollmeyer. Midfielders a Eric Wynalda Tab Italy cup fans line streets for finals tickets by William c. Hidlay Rome apr for Carlo Gerosa losing a nights sleep and waiting in line for 22 hours was a Small sacrifice for a Chance to see the ultimate sporting event a the final game of the world cup soccer championship. Under a Clear night sky Early saturday Gerosa stood amid hundreds of people camped out on the via Del Corso in downtown Rome. They were waiting for the Banca Nazionale Del Lavoro to open at 8 30 . Saturday and begin Selling tickets to the final match of what italians Call a Oil Mondale a the world cup. A i came because its the final of soccer a its the ultimate a Gerosa said. Italo Giordani another fan said the excitement building in Italy and other countries is like the mood that builds before the annual championship of . Professional football. A a it a like the super bowl in America this line waiting to buy tickets a said Giordani 27, an economics student at the University of Rome. A but the world gup attracts the whole world. There is no spectacle like d the Early morning party on the via Del Corso also was played out in front of seven of the Bank a other Man no mome the eight branches were Selling i i cd out 85,000 seats in Rome a olym by where the world cup final will be played or Yyi her a ets were reserved for nationals or durations tour groups and commercial Spon Liujie elves ranged from 30�?T800 lire $25 to 231,000 l 92 and each fan was limited to two tickets. De Orso it a line of More than 500 fans acne around the Comer. Some fans debated Italy a to maces winning the world cup for a record fourth in Owenu Peop a stretched out on the sidewalk for a a in be a motorbikes raced up and Down the Street. Lone policeman directed traffic. Ramos John Harkes Paul Caligiuri. Forwards a Peter Vermes Bruce Murray. No one should have been surprised although Meola who started the final four qualifying games last year and did not give up a goal complained that he still was not sure whether he would survive a Challenge by Kasey Keller from the University of Portland. The Hermann award Winner last season As College soccer a Best player while leading Virginia to the National collegiate athletic association co championship Meola had the advantage because he ventures farther away from the goal. That allows sweeper Windischmann the last line of defense before the goalkeeper to assert himself More in the offence. After his team scored Only six goals in eight qualifying games last year Gans Lerus objective has been to improve the attack while not weakening the defense. This years find Wynalda was moved from Forward to the Midfield to give the team another proven scorer to complement Vermes and Murray. That lineup should be tested against Switzerland which did not earn a berth in the world cup but has been making life difficult for teams that did. Three weeks ago in Berne Switzerland defending Champion Argentina with Maradona in the lineup scored in the final minute to tie the Swiss 1-1. Earlier this year Switzerland beat Romania 2-1, in Lucerne and lost 1-0, to Italy in Basel. Gansler said that he wanted to play the Swiss because their style is similar to those of two of the United states first round opponents Czechoslovakia and Austria. The other first round opponent is Italy. Switzerland a coach Uli Stielke was less complimentary when asked about the United states after its 4-1 Victory Over Liechtenstein wednesday. Stielke West Germany a sweeper in the 1982 world cup said that he admired the . Players strength and athletic abilities but not their technique. Not Only did he predict that they will finish last in their first round group he said that among the 24 teams in Italy the Only one they Are Superior to is the United Arab emirates. It is hardly novel to criticize . Technique. Other coaches including Austria a Josef hic Kersberger have said that is the area that most separates . International teams from those in Europe and South America. A i can agree with that a Gansler said. A on the one hand these Are the Best technical players we be Ever had. On the other hand even though we be made great strides the emphasis still has to be m that area. A but i think we re going to Surprise some people. We re better than some people think we Are in that there is no time to make significant improvements. The team was to arrive at its training Camp in Sirrenia Italy sunday one week before its opening game. . Squad loses 2-1 St. Gallen Switzerland apr Switzerland scored two second half goals and edged the United states 2-1 saturday in the . Soccer teams last Warmup before the world cup. Forward Bruce Murray gave the . A 1-0 halftime Lead against the Swiss who did not reach the world cup finals. Switzerland tied the score on a 70th-minute free kick by Peter sch pull who deflected the lob into the net. Adrian Knup whose shot earlier ricocheted off the top of the bar put Switzerland ahead after a Solo run in the 79th minute. The . Team headed for Italy and its final training Camp with a 6-7 record in International Competition. The . Missed out on a goal when John Harkess Volley ricocheted off the Swiss crossbar in the 20th minute. The . Defense showed Tough for checking but was vulnerable on fast Forward passing especially after halftime. The . Passing attack seemed to falter after coach Bob Gansler replaced Tab Ramos with Chris Henderson Midway through the second half. V s not wok so. Yip a soccer fans lined up Friday at Italy a Banca Nazionale Del Lavoro for tickets to the world cup finals. The Chance to buy tickets Drew not Only fans but scalpers too. Scalping is illegal but widely practice. A the Price will depend on if Italy makes the final a said one Man who refused to identify himself but said he planned to sell the tickets for whatever he can get above the face value. A a it a going to be like playing with stocks knowing when to sell the although the line was Long Gerosa Wasny to worried. He held the Premier place the first in line to buy two of the 1,520 tickets being sold at the Bank Branch on via Del Corso. To obtain that spot he arrived at 10 30 . Friday and waited All Day and night. A i brought a Book and newspaper to read and some bread and cheese to eat a he said. Like most italian fans Gerosa said he thought Italy would win the world cup. Asked to predict the other three finalists he grew pensive stroking his Beard. A a it a very difficult to predict a he said. A i like the soviet Union a lot. The soviet Union could win the world he also mentioned Romania and Argentina. Ruggero Blanco interrupted contending that Argentina was overrated. Apart from Star striker Diego Maradona he said the argentines were nothing. Other fans chimed in with their opinions. It was 3 . And the debate went on. Claudio Pesetti a computer Programmer holding the 520th place in line acknowledged that some italians were irritated by the construction heavy traffic and other inconveniences created by the world cup. But he said the Large number of fans camped out on the Street showed that Many italians were getting excited As the competitions Friday opening draws near. A in any grand sporting event there Are going to be some people who done to like the events surrounding it a Pesetti said. A but this is Only a Small minority. The majority a
