Straight from the hip and heart: the Fire star on what's wrong with MLS and American coaching, how his generation of national teamers was wronged, and why everything is right in Chicago - Interview: Eric Wynalda - Interview

Soccer Digest, Jan, 2002 by Ashley Jude Collie

ERIC WYNALDA IS BACK WITH A bang. After spending a couple of years trudging through soccer's wilderness, playing for three MIS clubs and a Mexican club--an experience which put him on the verge of calling it quits--one of U.S. soccer's most important figures is enjoying a return to form. Wynalda is also once again playing on a winning team and, at 32, finished 2001 as the Chicago Fire's leading scorer.

The striker has competed in three World Cups and played in both the Bundesliga. Along the way, Wynalda helped build the U.S. national team program. He is far and away the U.S.'s all-time goal-scoring leader with 34--through October he had 10 more than any active player--and at that time was also the No. 2 assists leader with 16. For that and more, he was selected as U.S. Soccer's Player of the Decade for the 1990s.

Despite it all, Wynalda has been accused of being a whiner. Fair enough, he says. He can take the flak. Look beneath the surface, however, and you'll realize that his criticisms of certain situations and scenarios have merit Dig a little deeper and you'll find that what he has to say rattles some pre-conceived notions of the state of soccer in America.

As an elder statesman and still a very active member of the U.S. soccer scene, Wynalda has seen and done it all. He opens up to SOCCER DIGEST, hoping that his observations and comments continue to help building the state of the game, a game that he still loves to play.

SOCCER DIGEST: Considering you started with one team, the New England Revolution, ended up being traded to another, and didn't start many games, it was still a pretty fine season for you, wasn't it?

ERIC WYNALDA: I had limited minutes with the Fire but I made the most of them and was able to contribute. It was a good feeling to be on a team that came in first place and that you feel you are a part of. So, all in all, it was a good year.

The Fire are the first team I've been with that I'm not expected to be both a goalscorer and a playmaker. This is the type of team that I always wished I was on, where I could just run into good scoring positions and the talent was there to get the ball to the forwards. It's funny, because of salary cap issues I may be moved next season. And here I'm finally with a winning team. [Laughs] But that would epitomize my MLS career.

SD: Did coming to a winning team help improve your attitude?

EW: I have to admit there was a time--not long ago--when my drive, dedication, and commitment to fitness wasn't there. I was cheating my teammates and myself but I was in no-win situations. Now, I'm the first one on the field for training and the last one to leave.

When I came to Chicago, the first thing Peter Nowak said to me, `Welcome, the team you're joining is going to win a championship.' What a change that was. Then in the first 10 minutes of my first game here, I scored. After the game, I looked in a mirror and realized I hadn't stopped smiling.

SD: You've described the past two years as a "disaster." Could you explain?

EW: I was very unhappy in San Jose, but not with the team itself. I just felt we needed to do something in order to improve. I elected to be loaned out to a Mexican team, Club Leon, with the understanding that San Jose would use the money MLS wouldn't have to pay me to improve the roster. I didn't want to leave San Jose and a lot of people don't understand that. I never asked to leave.

Unfortunately, I tore my ACL in Mexico. I came back to San Jose to start rehab and was traded to the Miami Fusion while I was injured, which I think is unprecedented. I've never heard of anything like that. It was a slap in the face. I tried to make San Jose a better team and they disregarded that and traded me the first chance they could. They just didn't want to pay me.

From there, my attitude was a bit poor. I was a new father and I basically put soccer in the back seat.

SD: What were your thoughts coming into this season with the Revolution?

EW: I went in trying to make the best of a bad situation. I had to get healthy and re-dedicate myself to playing well. I think I was on the right track. I had an OK preseason, but a contractual dispute meant I couldn't play in all the games because I wasn't insured. My contract was up and obviously MLS weren't willing to pay me any type of salary--which was understandable--but it was also frustrating because I couldn't make the most of my preseason.

I could see right away that not much was going to change in New England. After three games, I asked to be waived. I basically said to coach Fernando Clavijo that I didn't think he had taken a successful direction with the team. Having already lived and put up with that for four or five years, I was at a crossroads. I didn't want to be on a team that was going to lose and, at the end of the day, I'd probably be blamed for the losses anyway.

SD: What did you think was going to happen?

EW: [Laughs] I had no idea. I literally was at a point where I couldn't take it anymore. I got on a plane and left I was in L.A. for a day-and-a-half and it was a terrible feeling. I tried to speak to my wife and agent but nobody really knew what to say to me. It certainly wasn't the way I wanted to finish my career, but I wasn't willing to live where I didn't want to be for the money I would be making. I even told other coaches not to pick me up. I was prepared to train and get ready for the European season. I still have connections there and thought something could pan out. It might not have been the best scenario, but it would have been better than where I was.