The
Soccer Lifer You would think that most guys who have spent all
of their adult lives running around in t-shirts and
shorts for a few hours a day for a living would have
an
aversion to “going corporate” when they are finally forced into the “real
world.” That is not... the case with former U.S.
National Team Captain and Major League Soccer All-Star
defender/midfielder Marcelo Balboa. The 36-year-old Cerritos,
California native was recently announced as the new Soccer
Ambassador for the Colorado Rapids and Kroenke Sports
and he thinks that becoming a “suit” may
suit him just fine.
Balboa proved he was legit on the field by earning 128
caps with the U.S. National Team and playing in three
consecutive World Cups (1990, 1994 and 1998) while earning
numerous MLS All-Star nods and picking up honors such
as U.S. Soccer’s Male Athlete of the Year and Rapids
Most Valuable Player (both twice), MLS Goal of the Year
and as a collegian at San Diego State, All-American honors
along the way. He has played in a FIFA World All-Star
game and captained the U.S. U20’s at the World Championships
in Chile in 1987. “Celo” also spent a season
with Leon in the Mexican First Division and did his time
as a soccer gypsy in the American Professional Soccer
League with the San Diego Nomads, the San Francisco Blackhawks
and the Colorado Foxes.
The homegrown former field general has made it no secret
that he would eventually like to coach in the League he
has worked for and helped grow since its inception, but
knows he’s got a lot to learn before he’s
stalking the sidelines and calling the shots on his own
while everybody else looks over his shoulder. In the meantime,
he’s happy to work towards proving his value in
other areas so important to the game and hints that he
may even be content to call the really big shots one day
and be the one looking over their shoulder.
90:00: How’s
retired life treating you?
Balboa: I can’t
complain, it’s been good. The toughest thing is
to find something to do. The HDNet thing came around pretty
quickly, but it’s still pretty hard. You’re
out there broadcasting and you see your friends playing
and you hear the crowd—then you miss it.
90:00: How has your
experience as a television analyst been?
Balboa: It was a
little tough at first because I have a habit of saying…
“if I was playing,” but I’ve enjoyed
myself. I look forward to doing it for a few years down
the road. The more games I do, and the more experience
I get, the better I’ll get.
90:00: Have you joined
any social clubs to try to help occupy your time?
Balboa: No, but you
have your hard times. I’ve been able to go to the
gym and take out my frustrations on the punching bag.
I’m an assistant soccer coach at the School of Mines
and I’m the Club Coach for the Broomfield Blast
Soccer Club. I also have a lot of family stuff going on.
But I have had to fill a void.
90:00: What do you
miss most about your playing career?
Balboa: There are
so many things… the thrill of going out to play
a game, the friendships you make, traveling, hanging out
in the locker room with the guys. The biggest thing I
miss, is putting on that jersey. My whole life—all
I ever wanted to do, was play soccer.
90:00: How did you
hook up the Ambassador of Soccer gig?
Balboa: We’ve
been looking for land in Northern Colorado (to build a
soccer facility), and I met with a hockey guy about an
indoor facility. He then took me to a meeting with the
Kroenke’s and we started talking about me getting
back into it.
90:00: What will you
do as a part of your new job as Ambassador of Soccer?
Balboa: I’ll
be an advisor/consultant, working on sponsor events and
public relations. I’ll also be involved with the
new stadium. It’s getting in and learning the business
and helping to build soccer in Denver.
90:00: As Ambassador
of Soccer you will get involved in the stadium building
process. What would you make sure the stadium had if it
was all up to you?
Balboa: You gotta
build it with 20,000 – 25,000 seats. I want the
fans at field level. I want a roof over the crowd. I want
the fans closer to the field, because the people need
to feel like they are a part of the game.
90:00: With the recent
hiring of Kinnear at San Jose and Nowak at D.C. United,
do you think MLS is making a concerted effort to hire
former players back as coaches?
Balboa: It’s
great that guys are getting opportunities. It’s
good to see the League making an effort to get us into
coaching.
90:00: Would you like
to coach in Major League Soccer?
Balboa: Eventually,
yes. I’m only 36-years-old and I have a lot to learn.
I don’t think I’m ready yet. If I did start
to coach, it would be as an assistant. I think every player
would like to be a coach.
90:00: Do you have
any interest in ever becoming a General Manager for an
MLS team?
Balboa: Oh yeah.
There are two possibilities for former players: coaching,
or the front office. I’m actually enjoying the front
office stuff.
90:00: Do you have
a special affinity for the Rapids organization?
Balboa: It’s
where I started my MLS career and retired. I definitely
feel like I belong here. This is where the fans accepted
me the most. Am I closing doors to any other clubs? No,
but my loyalties now lie with Kroenke Sports and the Rapids.
I want to be in Colorado for a long time.
90:00: What do you
say to people who rip on MLS?
Balboa: It’s
still a young league. I think that we’re competitive
with some of the other leagues around the world. If we
weren’t doing things right, Tim Howard wouldn’t
be at Manchester United. We’re getting better at
the process of getting young players, developing them,
then selling them off to Europe. That’s how you
do it.
90:00: If you were
the coach of D.C. United, would you play Freddy Adu right
away?
Balboa: If he proves
himself, you’ve got to give him a shot. With the
World Cup and Olympics this summer you’re going
to have a lot of players missing; he could be gone too
because of the Olympics. I definitely don’t think
you can throw him into the fire and say “go.”
I wouldn’t throw him in there right away.
90:00: Will D.C. United
coach Peter Nowak have a lot of pressure on him to play
Freddy right away?
Balboa: Peter Nowak
will see how Freddy handles the pressure in preseason.
He won’t feel the pressure of playing the guy. He’s
going to do what’s best for his team. But if Freddy
does well, he should play.
90:00: If there was
one year in your playing career you could go back and
keep doing over and over again, what year would it be?
Balboa: It would
be 1993 when I got injured to the end of 1994. As a player,
you go through times you think you’re invincible.
I tore my ACL and it brought a whole different perspective
to soccer. What a great sport… but how cruel it
can be sometimes. It was a learning experience that if
I had to go through it again, I would. From that day on—I
was a better player. Mentally and physically. I would
definitely go through it again.
90:00: As a player,
do you feel you were underrated?
Balboa: I wanted
to play in a World Cup—I didn’t think I’d
play in three. Do I feel I got the respect? I don’t
know. Did I achieve all my goals? Yeah. No matter what
people may think—it comes down to what you think
of your own career. I was a very consistent defender that
gave 100 percent, and that’s what I did.
90:00: What are your
feelings about the U.S. experience in the 1998 World Cup
in France?
Balboa: We definitely
didn’t have the results we wanted. A lot of things
went wrong in that World Cup. It was not a good situation
going into that World Cup. With regard to the National
Team, it was the worst experience in soccer I’ve
ever had, but I also had the best experience of my life
when my son was born—it saved my year. For the National
Team, it was a miserable experience, but now it’s
over and done with.
90:00: You played
professionally in Mexico for Leon in the mid 90’s—what
was the experience there like?
Balboa: It was awesome.
Every week you knew you had a big game, that the three
points you could get were huge, that every point was critical
and crucial. The owners would offer you more bonus money
for wins on the road. The relegation factor is huge, it
brings a different pressure to players and coaches. You
only had one game a week, knowing it was a big game was
awesome. It’s a great league—they treated
me and my family well—I had a great time.
90:00: Do you think
Bruce Arena should have pressure on him to win every game
the U.S. team plays, friendly or not?
Balboa: You’ve
got to get to the World Cup. Every game—you go out
to win—but not at the expense of getting all your
players tired. It’s much more important to win your
qualifiers than to win a friendly. It’s a strategy—it’s
a lot longer qualification this year than it’s ever
been. Friendlies are great to play, but you have to get
through the qualifiers.
90:00: Do you think
American players are better now than when you played?
Balboa: You can’t
compare. These players have the chance now to play everyday.
We didn’t have the same opportunity to play everyday.
We played with the National Team, then college. The players
today are training everyday at a high-level and it’s
helping them become much better players.
90:00: Who are some
MLS players you think we should be keeping an eye on?
Balboa: Kyle Martino
(Columbus Crew) has the most pressure. Everybody has labeled
him the next Claudio Reyna. He didn’t have a great
year last year so this year has got to be a good year
for him. Nat Borchers (Colorado Rapids) has a lot of pressure
on him and Landon is in the last year of his contract
and he’s talking about maybe going back (overseas).
A lot of veterans will be playing for contracts this year.
90:00: Are you playing
any Sunday League soccer yet?
Balboa: I’m
not playing yet, but maybe in a few months I’ll
think about it. But I’m a Club Coach so I practice
almost everyday with the kids to keep in shape.
90:00: You only retired
a little over a year ago and look like you could still
play. Have you had any thoughts about making a comeback?
Balboa: I don’t
even talk about those things. After a year out, it would
have to take a very special circumstance to make that
happen. Would I play a couple of exhibition games? Sure,
that would be a lot easier on the body. But I have no
interest in chasing guys like Landon Donovan and Freddy
Adu around the field anymore.
Feature
Story 1
Grabbing
Results
Last winter, Tim Howard spent much of his time working
out with former MetroStars’ goalkeeper Paul Grafer
on the indoor practice fields at the Elizabeth (N.J.)
RexPlex, just off Exit 13A of the Jersey Turnpike, next
to IKEA. Occasionally, they were watched by ... continue
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