MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER NOTE

(Courtesy Major League Soccer - www.mlsnet.com)

+Major League Soccer's Weekly Newsletter+
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SPRING TRAINING NOTEBOOK: MARCH 4

FT. LAUDERDALE, FL (Tuesday, March 4, 2003) - Nine of ten MLS
teams are currently stationed in South Florida for Spring
Training 2003 as the clubs continue preparations for the start
of the League's eighth season. The 2003 campaign kicks off on
Saturday, April 5 with the national television broadcast of the
Columbus Crew vs. Los Angeles Galaxy live on ABC Sports (4:00
p.m. ET), a battle between the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup holders
and the defending MLS Cup champions.

Monday's schedule of events featured the press conference
announcing the partnership between the National Education
Association (NEA) and MLS in the launching of the new literacy
program "Get a Kick Out of Reading". The MLS players who will
serve as spokesmen for the program this year were also involved
in the shooting of public service announcements for the
initiative earlier in the day. Also, another MLS exhibition took
place in the afternoon as the MetroStars and Los Angeles Galaxy
played to a 2-2 tie at Nova Southeastern University.

The highlight of Spring Training 2003 will be the two Copa
Carnaval doubleheaders that will be staged at the Orange Bowl on
Wednesday, March 5 and Saturday, March 8. The four MLS matches
are being held in conjunction with the 25th Anniversary of
Carnaval Miami's Calle Ocho festivities. Wednesday's twin bill
features the MetroStars vs. Dallas Burn (7:00PM) and Colorado
Rapids vs. Los Angeles Galaxy (9:00PM) while Saturday's lineup
has the Columbus vs. D.C. United (5:00PM) and Chicago Fire vs.
San Jose Earthquakes (7:00PM)

ABOUT SCHMIDT: One of the most anticipated matches of MLS Spring
Training is Wednesday's contest between the Colorado Rapids and
Los Angeles Galaxy at the Orange Bowl (9:00PM), a rematch of
last season's MLS Cup Semifinals. But it is not last year's
players who have created the greatest preseason buzz in 2003.
Instead it's a Rapids rookie - forward Casey Schmidt, selected
at No. 48 by the Rapids in January's SuperDraft. The Boston
College product has scored a League-leading nine goals in six
preseason matches taking full advantage of the absences due to
injury of both John Spencer and Zizi Roberts.

This will not be just another match for the native of Newbury
Park, California. In fact, on Wednesday he will be going up
against the team he grew up rooting for - the MLS Cup champion
Galaxy. His mother, Cathy, was a photographer at Galaxy matches
during the first two years of the team's existence and Casey was
often down at field level beside her.

"I was with her at all of the games, including the first MLS
game ever played at the Rose Bowl," Schmidt said Monday. "I went
to every singe game at the Rose Bowl during the first two MLS
seasons."

Schmidt will be looking to continue his goal scoring exploits
against a team which has allowed just four goals in nine
exhibitions including two in its first eight. If he can hit the
back of the net against the Galaxy, he may officially secure a
place on the Rapids 2003 roster.

"The L.A. Galaxy is the team I grew up with and I'm really
looking forward to it," Schmidt said. "I loved the Galaxy that
first year and it's actually great I'm playing with Robin Fraser
in Colorado. I remember him playing in the back that year (with
L.A.) and saying, "why is this guy not on our national team?"
and now I'm playing alongside him."

DONOVAN'S RESPONSIBILITIES GROW - STAR KNOWS HIS ROLE: After
establishing himself as an international star with his play on
the 2002 U.S. World Cup team, San Jose Earthquakes forward
Landon Donovan is ready to step up his role on his club team and
be the man who can carry the Quakes to a second championship in
three years.

"Now I have to be more of a leader and I have to take it up on
myself to maybe score more goals and do things offensively that
Ariel Graziani and Ronald Cerritos did in the past," he said on
Monday. "I'm the guy that needs to do that and take control of
the offensive part of the field."

With a determined composure about him, Donovan is cognizant of
the fact that he will be taking up a role that 21-year-old
players have never had on the American professional soccer
scene. But he has the credentials to qualify him.

"Having played in a World Cup and with a lot of other
experience, I'd like to show that to the other players and help
the young players learn," he said. "We have a lot of younger
players on our team this year."

International commitments have also taken their toll on the
Earthquakes' No. 10. He admits his level of performance toward
the end of last season was not optimal as the Earthquakes bowed
out to the Columbus Crew in two matches in the MLS Cup
Quarterfinals. He finished the season with seven goals and three
assists after tallying seven goals and 10 assists in 2001, his
debut season in MLS.

"At the end of the year (2002) I had a few problems because I
was worn out but you have to find a way to keep going," he said.
"For me personally it's going to be different because it's all
about getting motivated again. The World Cup takes a lot out of
you. I don't want to have a slump or letdown the year after."

Although there is no World Cup to worry about in 2003, the
schedule will possibly be even busier and it includes MLS
regular season matches, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, CONCACAF
Champions Cup and U.S. National Team matches at the
Confederations Cup and Gold Cup.

"I thought it would get easy this year and that it would be a
lot different," he said. "But you realize with the national team
there's always stuff going on. You have to deal with it and you
have to manage it."

WOLFF & WIZARDS ARE PERFECT FIT: U.S. National Team forward Josh
Wolff admitted Monday that Kansas City was the only team he was
interested in joining when he saw the inevitability of a trade
from the Chicago Fire, where he played for five seasons. He felt
the Wizards were a perfect fit for his attacking tendencies:
running into space and beating defenders to balls in the 18-yard
box on crosses.

"You look at teams and see how they fit my mold," he said. "I
did not what to go somewhere where they already have an
outstanding forward or a tandem that's working and then I come
in and disrupt things.

"But I look at Preki and (Chris) Klein and (Eric) Quill and it's
a good attacking team. As far as getting services from out
wide, they're going to come all day and Preki can make or break
games from midfield like no other player. He serves great balls
and puts you through on many occasions. It's going to be up to
me on how many goals I'll put in. Now it's about getting healthy
and fit."

The Wizards have rarely had consistency out of the forward
position and changeover has been the name of the game at the
spot with the perfect find proving hard to come by. The series
of players included Miklos Molnar, Mo Johnston, Roy Lassiter,
Onandi Lowe and last year it was the turn of Dario Fabbro and
Igor Simutenkov to seize the spot. The latter two will be
Wolff's competition for the spot this year.

"One of the reasons I think they're bringing me in is to bring a
little more energy, enthusiasm and aggressiveness into the
attack," Wolff said. "There just needs to be more consistent
goal scoring whether it is myself or others scoring. That's one
of the responsibilities that will fall on me. The right
personnel is here. It's just a matter of executing and delivering."

Wolff is patiently working his way back from the ACL tear that
ended his season prematurely in 2002. While he can play and he
has practiced with the team, he says he is still working his way
toward 100 percent fitness. But ironically enough, he feels it
was that same knee injury which led to the move to the Wizards
he was dreaming about.

"We struggled and after I got hurt that was the breaking point,"
he said. "I'd been in Chicago five years, three bad injuries
and it was time for change of atmosphere ... Instead of waiting
for January, I was ready to commit and made it known I wouldn't
mind getting traded. I talked to Bob Bradley before he made his
move.

"My wife was pregnant, I was coming off the injury, I had been
there five years, new coaches and players were coming in and the
core was changing. For me I felt it was time. It gave me a good
reason to leave and start a new family and get a fresh start
somewhere else. Now I want to have a good spell in Kansas City
as far as being healthy and strong."

NEW FACES IN METROSTARS CAMP: The backbone of the squad is a
solid one for the MetroStars with Tim Howard (goalkeeper), Steve
Jolley (central defense), Eddie Pope (central defense) and
Jaime Moreno (center forward) present. But the MetroStars have
yet to find their man in center midfield. Head Coach Bob Bradley
had invited Mario Rosas of Spain and Daniel Garnero of
Argentina, both of whom had previous playing experience in their
respective countries. Looking for something more, Bradley
brought in another player who made his debut on Monday:
Frenchman Frederic Meyrieu.

At Monday afternoon's scrimmage against the Los Angeles Galaxy
at Nova Southeastern University, (a 2-2 tie with goals from
Moreno and Derek Droze for the Metros and Hercules Gomez and
Cobi Jones for the Galaxy), Bradley started Meyrieu in the
center midfield position. Meyrieu, a 35-year-old native of
France, most recently played with FC Metz in France.

Other prospective candidates at Metros camp include Chris Sanje,
a MetroStars Black player who has been training with the team
for about a month; Morris Pagniello, a defender from Australia
with Italian citizenship; former New England Revolution
defensive midfielder Jim Rooney and former Tampa Bay Mutiny
rookie, Albert Munoz, a left-footed midfielder who played in the
second half of the scrimmage at the center-mid position in
place of Meyieu. Bradley changed the lineup at halftime,
inserting draftees Tim Glowienka, Kenny Arena and Marco Velez in
the back line, with Jacob Le Blanc up top.

GALAXY VS. MOTAGUA - PINEDA CHACON TO BATTLE COMPATRIOTS: Alex
Pineda Chacon's family in Honduras will find themselves in a
bind come when the Los Angeles Galaxy fly to San Pedro Sula on
March 16 for the first round of the CONCACAF Champions Cup
versus Motagua. Although Pineda Chacon previously played for
Olimpia of Honduras, his family is torn about cheering for a
foreign team.

Currently at Spring Training in the South Florida area, the
attacking midfielder broke into MLS with a spectacular 2001
season with the Miami Fusion, which helped him earn the Honda
MVP award. There were glimpses of the old Pineda Chacon during
the Galaxy's scrimmage tie with the MetroStars. A SuperDraft-day
trade sent Pineda Chacon from New England Revolution - where he
spent most of the 2002 season on the bench - to the Galaxy. In
Los Angeles, Pineda Chacon (Honduras), Carlos "Pescadito" Ruiz
(Guatemala) and Mauricio Cienfuegos (El Salvador) may combine to
form a compelling Central American trio in attack.

As for that upcoming Champions Cup match, Pineda Chacon is all
smiles. "There will be a lot of mixed feelings. It will be
exciting to return to the fields where I started out, returning
to my country on a foreign team for the first time ... As for
who [my family is] going to support, it will depend on the
emotions of that particular day."

MO KNOWS: With the MLS season opener around the corner, the
MetroStars have made news this offseason with their personnel
revolution with the coaching staff and player roster. Among the
new additions is Assistant Coach Mo Johnston, who will be making
his debut as a coach in MLS in 2003, adding a new dimension to
the technical staff which many players are welcoming.

"Mo knows the League, the players. He's seen it all," defender
Steve Jolley said of the six-year Wizards veteran. "He's gone
through the day-to-day and offers a different perspective. I
quiz him whenever I can, trying to get as much info as I can."

A native of Glasgow, Scotland, Johnston retired as a Kansas City
Wizards forward following the 2001 season and was signed on as
an assistant by Bradley.

"Through him I've already learned tendencies of different
strikers," Jolley said of Johnston, once one of the League's
toughest and grittiest attackers.

STEWART HAS HIGH PRAISE FOR HUDSON: Three-time World Cup veteran
Earnie Stewart was one of a number of players Ray Hudson
brought in over the offseason to add character and attitude to a
team which had difficulties getting past the rough patches last
year. Together with the edge supplied by newcomers like Hristo
Stoitchkov, Dema Kovalenko and Galin Ivanov, Stewart believes
that Hudson's acquisitions have been on the mark.

"I've been here a couple of weeks now and the organization is
fantastic," he said. "The team is actually looking pretty good.
After finishing last in 2002 things are turning around. Coach
did a good job of putting a team out there that in my opinion
can win games. I think we can make the playoffs. Then anything
can happen from there."

Above all Stewart has respect for Hudson's coaching methods,
which allow for players to keep their identity off the field as
long as they play their hearts out on it.

"Ray Hudson is a great coach - unbelievable," Stewart said.
"He's a player's coach. He's very good to us and let's us be the
individuals that we are, realizing we also have a different
life than just soccer. A lot of coaches sometimes forget that
and he's fantastic at that. He trusts us and as long as he does
that he's the best coach ever."

Another coach who is also among the favorites of the former NAC
Breda player is former D.C. United and current U.S. National
Team head coach Bruce Arena. Although coming to terms with the
fact that his international career may seemingly be coming to an
end, Stewart is ready to show Arena the loyalty he is
determined to show to Hudson.

"I haven't spoken to Bruce yet but I imagine they want to go a
different route," he said. "I'm 33 and other players around me
at the same age we haven't been called in for any camps. With
qualification starting in a year and a half again, we're not
getting any younger. At one time the young kids will take over.
He's starting up with that now and seeing where it goes. Maybe
somewhere down the road I can help out. The last four years have
been fantastic and so much fun that if ever he needed my help
on or off the field I'll be the first to jump on a plane and
help out."

BLACK-AND-GOLD FOREVER: Columbus Crew Head Coach Greg Andrulis
does not have to worry that two of his younger players did not
attend team practice on Monday. As "Get a Kick Out of Reading"
spokesmen, second-year forward Luchi Gonzalez and draftee Diego
Walsh spent the day participating in MLS and National Education
Association events, but the two Miami-area players could not sit
still.

Beyond the video shoots and action shots and sometimes joined by
San Jose Earthquakes forward Landon Donovan or other young
children on the set, Gonzalez and Walsh kicked around the soccer
ball at Lockhart Stadium for most of the morning, donning their
gold home Crew jerseys. Those shirts are similar to ones both
players wore at the USYSA National Championship final - in the
early 1990s.

"It's the same color as our Strike Force [club team] uniform,"
Gonzalez said during one of their 'breaks.'

If it is any indication, success may be in store for the Crew.
Gonzalez and Walsh were captains on Strike Force FC, a
Miami-based youth club team that led the state of Florida and
surprised many with their flair and abilities. Walsh joined the
team when he was 14 years old, freshly arrived from Brazil where
he had developed his skills playing Futsal with some players
who today are professionals in Brazil and Europe. Gonzalez
earned rave reviews and was called up for youth national team
duty. Both players went on to Southern Methodist University,
where Gonzalez graduated in 2002 with the Hermann Trophy as the
best player in the collegiate game that season.

Walsh was selected No. 7 overall by the Crew in January's
SuperDraft while the club picked up Gonzalez during the
offseason after the San Jose Earthquakes waived him. Now it is a
different black-and-gold - the professional kind - that
reunites the duo in what many expect to be a breakout season for
both.

BOLIVIAN CONNECTION NEVER DIES: While at Lockhart Stadium on
Monday shooting public service announcements for the National
Education Association, D.C. United's Marco Etcheverry swung a
look to a group of MLS players preparing for a session. But he
shook his head and said, "it's very strange to see him in that
uniform," pointing toward his former United and Bolivian
national team colleague Jaime Moreno, who now dons a different
Black-and-Red as a result of an offseason trade: that of the
MetroStars.

"We are super good friends. It's been real difficult for me to
see him go," Etcheverry said.

Etcheverry begins his eighth season with D.C. United, but for
the first time ever, the two Bolivians will not be in the same
starting lineup. Instead, Etcheverry's new teammates (and
assistant coaches) include Hristo Stoitchkov, Earnie Stewart and
Dema Kovalenko, all offseason additions.

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