Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 1, 1995 TAG: 9508010080
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: PRINCETON, N.J. LENGTH: Medium
Steve Sampson, who led the U.S. national soccer team to a string of unexpected successes this summer as interim coach, will get the full-time job.
Sampson, who has been running the team since Bora Milutinovic was ousted in April, will be officially appointed Wednesday at a news conference at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford.
Sampson was told by U.S. Soccer president Alan Rothenberg last Friday the position was his.
``If this is the result of some successful results, all the better,'' Sampson said Monday from the hotel where the team is training for this weekend's Parmalat Cup. ``I've been given an opportunity now and I'm going to continue to do my best.''
U.S. Soccer initially wanted a coach with an extensive international resume. But Sampson's direction in leading the Americans to the U.S. Cup '95 title and a startling fourth-place finish in the America Cup seems to have brought a change in thinking.
``We had wanted someone with a lot of international experience, but Steve is learning on the job and will continue to learn,'' U.S. Soccer executive director Hank Steinbrecher told USA Today. ``He's proved his worth. He's proved that he can coach the national team.''
U.S. Soccer was rejected by Carlos Alberto Parreira of Brazil and Carlos Queiroz of Portugal in its bid to hire a more prominent coach.
Sampson coached at Santa Clara for five years and was a national team assistant in 1993-94.
``I don't think any foreign coach can appreciate the struggle that the average American player goes through every day,'' Sampson said. ``I tried to give them a level of respect they deserve. I tried to give them a certain amount of freedom of expression that they may not have had previously.''
by CNB