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CONMEBOL MLS stars stand out in qualifying.By Robert RodriguezSpecial To SoccerTimes (Wednesday, July 5, 2000) -- The fourth round of South American World Cup qualifying concluded Thursday with some surprising results and great performances by a number of players familiar to Major League Soccer fans. D.C. United's Jaime Moreno (Bolivia), former MetroStar Giovanni Savarese (Venezuela) and former Los Angeles Galaxy and MetroStar Eduardo Hurtado (Ecuador), all strikers, each scored a goal. Additionally, both D.C. United midfielder Marco Etcheverry (Bolivia) and Dallas Burn forward Ariel Graziani (Ecuador) had solid matches for their national teams. Playing as visitor, Argentina defeated Colombia by an impressive 3-1 margin thanks to its Italian-league standouts Gabriel Batistuta and Hernan Crespo. Soon-to-be-Roma (Italy) star Batistuta scored twice while Parma (Italy) forward Crespo tapped one in for insurance in the 74th minute. With the victory, the two-time World Cup champion gained a maximum 12 points in four games and is in command of its qualifying group. Argentine Coach Marcelo Bielsa couldn't be more pleased with his team's performance. Argentina's roster reads like a virtual "Who's Who" of European soccer and the only question, at this point, is whether it will qualify as the top-ranked team in South America. Uruguay nearly upset Brazil, settling for a 1-1 tie. The Brazilians, playing at home, were spared embarrassment when Rivaldo converted an 86th-minute penalty kick. The game evoked memories of the "Maracanazo," the South American term for Uruguay's upset victory over Brazil in the 1950 World Cup championship game. The Brazilians didn't manage to score a "real" goal in this match because of an outstanding effort by Fabian Carini, the young goalkeeper who was the star of Uruguay's 1999 Copa America team which lost to Brazil in the final. Carini has a tendency to make spectacular saves and has a tremendous amount of instinct. He seems destined to be one of the World Cup stars in 2002. Venezuelan soccer made a tremendous advancement with its 4-2 victory over Bolivia. Unlike most South American countries, soccer is not the most popular sport in Venezuela. Futbol has long taken a backseat to beisbol in Venezuela, and it is only in recent years that nation has placed a serious effort in improving its soccer. The country has long been the laughingstock of South American competitions, where it regularly fields teams but rarely wins any games. Perhaps the victory over Bolivia marks a new beginning for Venzuela's national team which is led by Argentine coach Jose Omar Pastoriza. Chile won its first qualifying match with a hard fought 3-1 victory over Paraguay. Unfortunately for the Chilean side, its star striker, Marcelo Salas was ejected late in the game for fighting with Paraguayan defender Delio Toledo. Salas, who plays for Italy's Lazio, will miss Chile's next qualifier with a suspension. Kudos to Chile's "other" striker, Inter Milan's Ivan Zamorano, who scored a penalty kick in the 77th minute. The victory temporarily saved coach Nelson Acosta's job, but many expect him to resign after Chile's next loss. Ecuador gained its second victory in the tourney thanks to a 50th minute goal by "El Tanque" (The Tank) Eduardo Hurtado. Its 2-1 defeat of Peru underscored the inability for Peru's famed Newcastle (England) striker Nolberto Solano to score for his national team. At the moment, Ecuador finds itself in fourth place in the qualifying table. The Dallas Burn's Ariel Graziani entered the game for Ecuador as a substitute. The South American World Cup qualifying tournament is played among the 10 teams that comprise CONMEBOL, the South American Football Confederation. In this single-group, almost 18-month long round-robin tournament, each team plays one home and one away match with the other nine nations. The top four teams qualify directly for the 2002 South Korea\Japan World Cup while the fifth-ranked team competes in a home-and-away playoff with the winner of the Oceania Football Confederation tournament. Standings
Robert Rodriguez is a freelance writer based in Kansas. He has covered
international soccer for 10 years, including the 1994 World Cup finals, for
both English- and Spanish-language media outlets. He can be reached at argentinoamericano@hotmail.com
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