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Americans do things a little different in soccer.
 While
most finalists at the
2006 World Cup will be bunkered in the German countryside, the
U.S. national team will be staying in the heart of
Hamburg, Germany's entertainment capital.
U.S. Soccer did the castle thing in 1998 in France when Coach
Steve Sampson's team was housed at the 17th-century Chateau de Pizay,
45 minutes from Lyons.
''When we get here,'' recalled Jeff Agoos, ''there are 10 geese
waiting for us, and you can't see a house for about five miles.''
The Americans complained of boredom. They named the geese for
amusement, and one player took to reading the phone book to kill
time. ''Had we not had TV,'' added Agoos, ''we would have had to
learn the World Cup was happening.''
While it's never been proved that boredom contributed to Michael
Burns' failure to cover the left post on Andy Moeller's goal for
Germany against the USA in their opening game -- or to the other
mistakes in the USA's three losses -- the Chateau de Pizay became
the symbol of what went wrong in 1998.
Four years later, the USA returned to the World Cup with a new
coach, Bruce Arena, and a new travel plan. This time the Americans
weren't isolated. They stayed at the Marriott Hotel in the middle of
Seoul. Coincidence or not, the USA reached the quarterfinals of
the 2002 World Cup.
Needless to say, everyone loved the Marriott and its center-city
location. It didn't hurt that the Americans and their families were
headquartered at the Marriott during their entire stay at the World
Cup. By being placed in the South Korea group, the U.S. team was
assured of staying in
South
Korea (which co-hosted with Japan) up until the final, and it
stayed in Seoul, within easy reach of the five cities in which it
played.
After U.S. Soccer staff made multiple inspection tours of
facilities in Germany, Arena visited three cities in July 2005 when
it became clear the Americans would be returning to the World Cup
for the fifth straight time.
''We narrowed it down to
Munich,
Berlin and
Hamburg, all outstanding cities,'' said Arena last week,
speaking to U.S. and German journalists at Sport-Bild, Europe's
largest-circulation sports magazine.
''However, when I stepped off the train in Hamburg, we could
sense this is the right city for the American team, an exciting
environment, great opportunities for the families and players.''
While other national team coaches must isolate their players from
media and fans, that's not an issue for Arena, who believes his
players should enjoy the World Cup experience.
U.S. players and coaches will again be joined by several hundred
family members and friends as part of a travel program being
organized by U.S. Soccer.
''There's everything here for players and families to both
experience the culture of Germany as well feel comfortable that this
is a city that is similar to cities in the United States,'' added
Arena. ''And it's a perfect match: great restaurants, lots of
entertainment, lot of things to do, a great hotel, great training
facilities. Everything we want is here.''
Security was tight at the Marriott in Seoul -- the U.S. team was
protected by a 120-person security team and all guests and visitors
had to pass through metal detectors to enter the hotel -- but it's a
bigger issue in Hamburg, home of the Al Qaeda cell responsible for
the 9/11 attacks. Mohammed Atta, the 9/11 ringleader, resided in an
apartment on the Marienstrasse in Hamburg's working-class suburbs.
Thomas Model, Hamburg's police official in charge of security at
the World Cup, told UPI that security for the USA ''is quite a
challenge,'' since it will stay at the Park Hyatt Hotel on Hamburg's
busiest shopping street, the Moenckebergstrasse.
Model said there are no plans to close off the Moenckebergstrasse,
but access will again be restricted at the hotel and the shopping
arcade below the hotel. There will also be surveillance of nearby
buildings and stores.
Model acknowledges Hamburg has a tough balancing act to both
provide security and maintain its image of an open and welcoming
city.
''[We] won't have sharpshooters sitting in manholes,'' he told
UPI.
U.S. Soccer is pleased with all the support it has received in
preparing for the World Cup.
''We have worked very closely with the State Department and FIFA
and the LOC on all of our logistics in Germany, including
security,'' said U.S. Soccer spokesperson Jim Moorhouse, ''and are
extremely confident in the details and plans that are in place.''
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