Olympics, MLS ruling highlight year

 The most sobering moment for American soccer in 2000 probably wasn't the overtime goal that cost the women's team the gold medal in Sydney.

 Nor was it the men's Olympic team coming up one victory short of their first medal.

 Nor did it come in any of the World Cup qualifying matches involving the men's national team, which struggled to secure its spot in next year's final round of qualifying.

 No, perhaps the most sobering -- and certainly the most poignant -- moment came in early December in a Boston courtroom when Major League Soccer lawyer Michael Cardozo, after reciting the "dismal history of soccer in this country," announced that MLS had lost $250 million since its inception five years ago.

 "MLS is facing severe economic problems," Cardozo said. "These facts are irrefutable."

 The statement, made in an unsuccessful players' antitrust lawsuit against the league, reopened the debate over whether soccer can be a major sport in the United States.

 A major sport needs a flourishing league, but MLS is stagnant in every vital category: attendance, ratings, investors. Even D.C. United, the flagship franchise with three league titles, has been taken over by the league because an investor can't be found to run the team.

 "Little by little, you have to teach to the United States that this is the best game in the world," said Johann Cruyff, the former great Dutch player who watched Kansas City beat Chicago 1-0 in the MLS Cup final at RFK Stadium in October.

 Cruyff would know. Two decades ago, he played for the Washington Diplomats of the much-heralded but long-defunct North American Soccer League.

 MLS tinkers with its rules and schedule every year but so far without much success. The league still has life thanks to some deep-pocketed, loyal investors, but financial stability has to come at some point.

 "I am disappointed that our attendance did not increase," said commissioner Don Garber, citing this year's drop in the leaguewide average from 14,282 to 13,756. "We must show increased numbers in the future."

 The trials of the men's league could point to a difficult road ahead for the new women's professional league, the WUSA, which begins in April.

 Then again, maybe not. Women's soccer often attracts a different type of fan. The women's national team that won the 1999 World Cup drew money-spending suburban soccer moms and dads in minivans filled with children who would rather see Mia Hamm than Eddie Pope.

 Estimates vary widely when experts try to predict how the eight-team WUSA will fare. The players themselves point to the early success of another women's league, the WNBA, as proof that fans will watch women play even when it's not an Olympics or a World Cup.

 "The myth of female athletics garnering attention only once every four years has been blown out of the water," national team co-captain Julie Foudy said.

 It was an emotionally taxing year for the women, who nevertheless remained so popular that they went on strike without losing fans.

 After winning their labor dispute for equal pay early in the year, they faced a jarring change of pace from new coach April Heinrichs, who initiated a youth movement that ousted a few longtime veterans.

 Michelle Akers retired before the Olympics when the pain became too much for her oft-injured body to take -- she was later named the women's player of the century by world governing body FIFA -- and co-captain Carla Overbeck retired after the Sydney Games.

 In between, the aura of invincibility gained from the World Cup was broken in the 3-2 overtime loss to Norway at the Olympics. It was one of the greatest soccer finals ever, with the Americans tying the game on Tiffeny Milbrett's header in the dying seconds of regulation before Dagny Mellgren's winning goal in the extra session.

 "This year was not the storybook; '99 was the storybook," Heinrichs said.

 The men's Olympic team, which consisted mostly of players under 23 in accordance with Olympic rules, was a major surprise.

 Coach Clive Charles led the Americans to the final four for the first time. Despite two-goal losses to Spain and Chile in the medal round, Charles announced "the gap is closed" between the United States and the rest of the world.

 The men's national team survived a loss in Costa Rica and tie in Guatemala to rally to win its group and stay alive in the hunt for a place in the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.

 "We faced a lot of adversity and criticism, but in the end the people that came through were the players," Arena said. "Our team had the best record in U.S. Soccer history with nine wins, two losses and six draws. ... We have five consecutive shutouts to end the year. We drew record crowds with an average over 35,000 for the year. It was a good year."

 The international event of the year was France's stunning victory in the 2000 European Championship. Down 1-0 to Italy, France scored in injury time and overtime to become the first team to hold the World and European titles at the same time.

 French midfielder Zinedine Zidane won FIFA's world player of the year award for the second time, while a voting controversy forced FIFA to split its player of the century award between Brazil's Pele and Argentina's Diego Maradona. Pele was the consensus winner among FIFA voters, but Maradona had such overwhelming support in Internet voting that two awards were created.

 A similar split led to two women's player of the century awards, with Akers winning among the FIFA voters and China's Sun Wen taking the Internet poll.

 Meanwhile, tragedy again marred the soccer year. Thirteen people died in a stampede at Harare's national stadium during a World Cup qualifier between Zimbabwe and South Africa.