29/Sep/2000
Men's Soccer
U.S. COACH: "YOU DON'T SEE A PLAYER EVERY DAY LIKE ZAMORANO"

SYDNEY, (Sept. 29) -- U.S. national team soccer coach Clive Charles lauded Chilean striker Ivan Zamorano as the unstoppable ace that sent the U.S. team to a 2-0 defeat, ending hopes for a historic bronze medal in Olympic competition.

Ivan Zamorano (AP Photo)

"At 33, Zamorano is a player with lots of experience and he's decisive on the field. You don't come up against players like him every day, and there's really nothing you can do to prepare to defense him," coach Charles said.

The U.S. coach said that during the first half the two teams aiming for the Olympic bronze battled evenly and in the second 45 minutes his team played "our best half of the entire Olympic competition."

"If you had talked to the Chileans before the penalty (69th min. and first Chilean score) was called, they probably would have been pretty worried about the outcome of the game," the national team coach said.


Terra Sports/EFE