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CNN Live Today

Interview With Don Garber, Marcelo Balboa

Aired June 20, 2002 - 14:43   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S., for the first time in 70 years, advances to the quarterfinals in the World Cup soccer. And tomorrow the U.S. will be taking on Germany, bright and early, 7:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

And you can bet, among those who will be watching, the next two guys that I'm about to introduce you to. Don Garber, president and CEO and commissioner of Major League Soccer, here in the U.S. and Marcelo Balboa, an all-star defender for Major League Soccer's MetroStars team. And both are joining us from New York.

Thanks for joining us, you guys. All right, the fingers are crossed. Don, you know, by the surprise of so many people out there, you know, World Cup soccer is kind of getting a shot in the arm as a result of the U.S. advancing now to the quarterfinals. American viewership on television watching the game, is up 25 percent. Does this surprise you?

DON GARBER, PRES. & CEO, MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER: Well, I don't think it surprises us, Fredricka. It's something that we've been waiting for for a very long time.

This has just been a great moment for our country. It's been a great moment for soccer in America. And it's something that I think really speaks to the value of this sport in this country.

It's just been a wonderful celebration, a fantastic run. And our congratulations to Coach Arena and to the guys that are over there in Korea. And we certainly hope for a great match tomorrow morning.

WHITFIELD: And, Marcelo, do you agree that this is really what the U.S., the American Major League Soccer, really needed in order to help galvanize some popularity? They needed to see the U.S. team make it, at least to the quarterfinal.

MARCELO BALBOA, MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER: I think after '98, we all needed to see a little good soccer here. But this has been great for our team. I mean, I think, from what you see '98 until now, the league has produced these players and has helped these players grow as players.

And I think, without this league, that we wouldn't be where we're at. So we're excited about the fact that the players are having somewhere to (UNINTELLIGIBLE). And you can see on the field, they're all happy. And they're all playing for their country. And like we said, hopefully this is just a first step in the next three.

WHITFIELD: And, Don, who knew a lot of these players? I mean, they certainly were not household names. I'm seeing these names for the first time. Landon Donovan, Eddie Pope, DaMarcus Beasley. And now, probably after 7:30 a.m. tomorrow, they are likely to be some household names, and idols for a lot of kids who are playing soccer, or at least getting interested in the game.

GARBER: Well, I think that's very well said. Landon Donovan was just on the cover of "Sports Illustrated," that came out today. That beat Tiger and the U.S. Open, the NBA finals, the Stanley Cup. So really you're starting to see some of these kids there. Landon is 20 years old. DaMarcus Beasley is 20 years old. Clint Mathis is 25. Brian McBride is 25.

These are guys that are really household names within the soccer community, and are now breaking off the sports pages and becoming the popular heroes that we really need them to be, in order for soccer to continue to grow and expand in this country.

WHITFIELD: And, Marcelo, if you take a poll and find out from lot of Americans as to why they're not watching soccer on TV, why they're not going to the games, like folks would like them to, a lot of them say because it is a low-scoring game, it takes so long. They have a hard time being patient about it.

But now they're seeing, at this level, particularly as we enter the quarterfinals, that there's an awful lot of excitement that comes with soccer. And so finally a lot of Americans are seeing what the rest of the world is interested in.

BALBOA: Finally. It's taken a long time. But even walking around the streets, you hear people talking about soccer. Walking into the gym yesterday -- we're getting ready to train -- and you hear these big football players talking about Portugal and Italy.

So I think soccer is finally here -- not where we want it to be. But it's finally starting to get on people's minds. And little by little, it's getting to the point where, you know, it's getting to be the fifth major sport. And that's all we want. We want it to be the fifth major sport, and for people to enjoy it. And a 0-0 game can be very exciting, still.

WHITFIELD: And so, Marcelo, real quick, your predictions. I mean, the Americans are going into this thinking, we can take Germany. What do you think?

BALBOA: You know, we were just talking a few minutes ago. I said one nothing, and about a 110th minute, Clinton would score a goal for us.

WHITFIELD: OK, and how about you, John?

GARBER: Well, you know, I'm real superstitious. I certainly hope for the best. But I'm going to be sitting there chewing my nails, biting my fingers, and just hoping for the best. WHITFIELD: All right, well, we'll all try to stay up, or get up early to watch the game. Thanks very much, John Garber and Marcelo Balboa. Appreciate it.

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