Prior to the U.S. men’s national team game against Brazil on Wednesday, the National Soccer Hall of Fame will induct four new members: Washington D.C. native Desmond Armstrong, former U.S. women’s coach Tony DiCicco, goalkeeper Tony Meola and midfielder Claudio Reyna. Meola’s ponytail made him famous during the 1994 World Cup, his tryout for the New York Jets made him a celebrity, and he was a pioneer at the position where the U.S. has produced some of its best players. The 43-year-old, who now also is a spokesman with Allstate, spoke to The Washington Examiner about his impact.
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“I just did talk to Tim [Howard], and he mentioned something, ‘Thanks for paving the way,’?” Meola said. “I never really thought of it that way.”
While the expectations and infrastructure for the current U.S. team are greater, Meola said he and his teammates were under more pressure.
“If [players today] don’t perform well here for a game, and they miss a camp, they still have their club team,” he said. “That wasn’t the case for a lot of guys [in the past]. A lot of guys, when they didn’t perform well, they had no other way of making money.”
Meola also believes that when the timing is right, D.C. United’s Bill Hamid is poised to be the next U.S. success abroad.
“Obviously things didn’t work out well with the Olympic team, but now that part is past him,” Meola said. “If he uses it as a learning experience, it’ll be great. He’s got the size. He’s got the speed. It seems like from everything I’ve read and what people say, that he’s got the determination to one day go play in big clubs overseas.”
– Craig Stouffer
