European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 26, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 32 the stars and stripes sports sunday june 26,1994see, there s a method to mad Bora there was Only one reason to think that the United states might amount to anything More than round Robin fodder at the world cup a the track record of coach Bora Milutinovic who had twice before turned lightly regarded teams into cup successes. The . Team appeared to have Little going for it otherwise a shortage of proven Talent and experience. A Lack of Confidence. No history of cup Success. And despite his record Bora As everyone Calls him was cutting a less than reassuring figure As the cup approached. To say the . Of course it is impossible for him not to make that kind of impression. He is scattered evasive idiosyncratic. He lies about his age which is somewhere Between 49 and 54. He sets his watch 15 minutes ahead of time because Vince Lombardi of All people did. He leaves his hair blown Forward around his face As if he has just sat backward on a motorcycle going 50 Mph. He is a mess. More to the Point his team was in disarray leading up to the cup. He rarely used the same lineup twice. He did no to even decide on a roster until Early this month. He was vague about tactics and personnel. He babbled in five languages and pidgin English. A a lot of times i have no idea what he is doing a defender Alexi Lalas said earlier this year. _ when the team won Only five of 19 practice matches before the cup scepticism bloomed. The great debate of . Soccer a is Bora a Miracle worker or a nutty professor a was not pointing to a pleasant conclusion. A i think he has no idea a said Peter Vermes a member of the 1990 . Cup team after Bora Cut him. The Only cause for optimism was Bora s record. A serbian born soccer Vagabond who had played in you i Oslavia Switzerland Monaco acid France and coached in Argentina and Mexico he coached Mexico s National team to the quarterfinals of the 1986 cup. Four years ago he took Over tiny Costa Rica after it had qualified for the cup Cut the team Captain and six starters and advanced to the second round with two wins. T t c making a something out of the nothing that was . Soccer was a greater Challenge than the other two combined. But Bora never stopped smiling and babbling even when things got tense and he was criticized. He never said he was in trouble. He just said in essence Well see. Sure enough we did. A Day after the United states surprised Colombia to win a cup game for the first time in 44 years and establish itself As a legitimate International team the sorting out of the credit was simple. Bora deserved it. One of soccer a beauties is that it is a players game that unlike College basketball and pro football the coaches Arentt Kingmaker. But there Are exceptions and this is one of them. What has Bora done a better question is what Hasni the done replacing a coach who had foolishly tried to win with youth and enthusiasm four years ago Bora effectively professionalized the operation bringing in More players with european experience and Businesslike attitudes. He took his players All Over the world for games is amp John Eisenberg plugged them into soccer a global network taught them that they weren to outsiders that they could compete. He changed their attitude gave them Confidence. A it takes a huge leap of Faith because a lot of times with him you re totally Blind about what s Gong on Lalas said thursday a but we just said of he s been there and we Haven to so we better do what he says. It turns out he was not wrong to replace such Lup veterans As Vermes Bruce Murray and Desmond Armstrong. It turns out he was not wrong to keep insisting that the disappointing p re cup results were irrelevant that he was just developing players. A a it turns out his players could indeed adapt to his latin in flue need style with its emphasis on Short passes. It turns out after All the scepticism that there was substance behind his bizarre style. Just look at the scoreboard. All the pieces have come together just when they were supposed to w Hen it matters a a in the cup. The . Is playing at a level it has never come close to reaching . To anyone who has followed the team the Colombia game was an astonishment out of nowhere the players were dangerous and creative instead of limited and plodding. They w Ere a real world cup team. A a lot of people thought Bora did no to know what he was doing a Lalas said smiling a but they know  no matter what happens in the rest of the cup even if the . Team loses to Romania today and gels whacked in the second round the results arc in on this one. Bora has succeeded. Soccer has registered a Blip on the american sports radar. Bora has burned the nothing into a something. Just done task him How he did it. The but Woof Sun mexicans topple Irish brazilians Mexico a Luis Alves watches As Irish goalie Paddy Bonner toils to prevent first of two goals by Luis Garcia not shown. A t Rock climbing at arc Garmisch whether you enjoy Rock climbing or have never tried it arc has a program for you. Experience Beautiful views of the bavarian Alps seen from a different perspective. Accept the Challenge and sign up for an exciting course of Rock climbing at Garmisch. Phone for reservations 4402-591/644 or 08821-52066 a rappelling and various guided hikes also available. World cup by the associated press the heat and the mexicans got to the Irish on Friday. And things will be getting even hotter for both teams in the world cup. Brazil meanwhile got into the second round the first team to Advance with a convincing 3-0 win Over Cameroon. My Sweden virtually eliminated Russia with a 31 decision. With Mexico a 2-1 Victory in 100-plus temperatures at the Citrus bowl in Orlando Fla group e got As tight As can be Mexico Ireland Norway and Bretou Mamet favorite Italy All arc 1-1. The mexicans play Italy and the Irish play Norway next tuesday a the Victory was important because it gives us Faith and allows us to think we have a future in the tournament said Luis Garcia who had both goals for Mexico the mexicans profited greatly from the heat which sapped the Irish who Are used to temperatures 30 degrees cooler. A the mexicans did no to beat us the weather did a Ireland coach Jack Charlton said. Perhaps but the Irish did come on in the final moments getting a goal from substitute John Aldridge in the 84th minute. And it took a terrific save by goalkeeper Jorge Campos in the last minute to preserve the win. Mexico coach Miguel Mejia Baron pointed to the Victory by the United states Over Colombia for inspiration a we Learned a great lesson from the . Team a coach Miguel Mejia Baron said. A we dedicate this vie tory also to them. A at Stanford stadium Brazil on goals from Romario Marcio Santos and Bebco easily handled Cameroon whose players threatened to Boycott the game Early in the week because they Hadnot been paid. The cameroonians have yet to get the Money promised thursday by the c i r govern me it an d their Fede r a t to n. Striker David Embe said the lingering financial dispute with the Cameroon football federation has been draining and exasperating for team members. A we have not received any Money and done to know if or when we will a he said. A we cannot refuse to play we Are playing for our country not the  with six Points the brazilians can finish no worse than second in group b. Cameroon a Roger Milla 42, came on As a substitute making him the oldest player in world cup history. Sweden got two goals from Martin Dahl in and Tomas Broom scored on a penalty kick. The swedes Are in excellent position to Advance after the Victory and their tic with Cameroon. Russia is 0-2