Steve Sampson

Steve Sampson is walking a fine line these days, his career precariously balanced on a swaying tightrope of possibilities. As interim coach of the U.S. soccer team, which opened play Saturday in Copa America against Chile in Uruguay, one misstep will be enough to plunge him into the chasm below, just another American coach to fail in the international arena. But if he succeeds, the prize will be well worth the risk.

Last season, despite a horrendous start, Steve Sampson coached the Galaxy to championships in the U.S. Open Cup and Major League Soccer. Tuesday, after another horrendous start -- the Galaxy is winless at home, has lost its last six games and, with a 2-8-1 record, is last in MLS's Western Conference -- Sampson was out of a job. Sampson, 49, was relieved of his duties by Alexi Lalas, club president and general manager.

Steve Sampson, who coached Santa Clara University to the NCAA soccer co-championship in 1989, has joined the 1994 World Cup organizing committee.

Steve Sampson won't necessarily agree, but the Galaxy coach has been able to take it easy for the last six weeks or so. All Sampson has had to do is pencil in his 11 starters, then sit back and watch his chosen players win five out of six. Now, however, things start to change. Instead of being at the Home Depot Center for tonight's game against the Columbus Crew, forward and leading goal scorer Landon Donovan is with the U.S.

Next level: Josh Henderson has been one of the country's prime soccer talents since his days at La Canada High. Henderson, a junior forward at Duke, had seven goals and 14 assists this season and has caught the eye of U.S. national team Coach Steve Sampson, who said Henderson looks like a candidate for the next Olympic team. "He is one of the finer college talents in the country," Sampson said. As for the national team, Sampson said Henderson will need more experience.

Four days before his team's World Cup opener, U.S. Coach Steve Sampson ripped into his German counterpart for not respecting the Americans. "When Berti Vogts walks out 20 minutes before the end of the Belgium match, that shows a lack of respect for the United States team," Sampson said Thursday. "In Europe, they have no respect for the United States. Frankly, we haven't earned it." Sampson, who was referring to the Americans' 2-0 loss at Brussels on Feb.

Steve Sampson, who coached the United States to a last-place finish in the World Cup and then quit, says his next job in soccer will be at the local level. In a news conference Wednesday at Beverly Hills, Sampson said he will become technical director of the Las Virgenes Soccer Club in Westlake Village. He has yet to sign a contract. Sampson also is seeking to be hired as director of the U.S. Soccer Federation's Project 2010, whose aim is to have the Americans win the World Cup within 12 years.

In last week's Viewpoint, Chris Ryder lambasted soccer fans for not supporting the U.S. Cup. What Mr. Ryder and the USSF haven't learned is that Southern California soccer fans are sophisticated about the game. When the USSF tried to charge $30 to $40 per ticket to watch second-tier players, we're not going to be led to the games like lambs to slaughter. Those fans who stayed away from the final games were visionary; it was obvious the U.S. team didn't care about the game and got the result it deserved.

Steve Sampson, coach of the United States national soccer team, Tuesday was "angry and disappointed" that Galaxy midfielder Danny Pena had refused a call-up to the national team. Pena, 29, was one of four Galaxy players selected to take part in Thursday's match between the United States and Ecuador at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, but he declined the invitation. "Nowhere else in the world would that take place," Sampson said.

Same old, same old? Almost. Sure, the Galaxy could muster nothing more than a 1-1 tie against the last-place Chicago Fire in new Coach Steve Sampson's debut. Yes, the Galaxy's winless streak was extended to six games. And absolutely, the Galaxy was caught by the victorious Kansas City Wizards in a tie for first place in the Western Conference and it looked simply dreadful in the first half while extending its scoreless drought to 268 minutes.

Same old, same old? Almost. Sure, the Galaxy could muster nothing more than a 1-1 tie against the last-place Chicago Fire in new Coach Steve Sampson's debut. Yes, the Galaxy's winless streak was extended to six games. And absolutely, the Galaxy was caught by the victorious Kansas City Wizards in a tie for first place in the Western Conference and it looked simply dreadful in the first half while extending its scoreless drought to 268 minutes.

Suppose, for a moment, that when the United States roster for the World Cup is announced on ESPN's "SportsCenter" Monday evening, it is Steve Sampson in front of the cameras, not Bruce Arena. What would the coach who suffered through the Americans' three-loss performance at France '98 do if given the chance to pick the U.S. team for Korea/Japan '02? Not surprisingly, Sampson's roster of 23 players differs only slightly from the one Arena, his successor as national team coach, is expected to unveil Monday.

You remember Steve Sampson, the scourge of U.S. soccer. He was the coach who resigned amid a firestorm of criticism after guiding the U.S. men to their one-goal, last-place performance at the 1998 World Cup in France. How quickly he was forgotten. And how quickly he has rebounded. He no longer coaches in a spotlight. But, in his role as a director of elite youth soccer programs, he might have even more influence than he did.

Practice was a kick this week for the Cal State Northridge men's soccer team . . . in the behind. Steve Sampson saw to that. The former U.S. men's national coach visited Northridge on Wednesday and presided over a two-hour, no-nonsense workout as guest mentor of Coach Terry Davila. Sampson recently declined an offer to become coach of Costa Rica's national team, deciding to remain in Southern California as technical director of the California Youth Soccer Assn.

It will never be easy for Steve Sampson to look back at his experience as coach of the U.S. soccer team that did so poorly at the 1998 World Cup. So Sampson will look ahead. Six months, more or less, since the U.S. team left France winless and its coach left friendless, Sampson is eager to be working again, at his new job as technical director of the California Youth Soccer Assn.-South (CYSAS).

It will never be easy for Steve Sampson to look back at his experience as coach of the U.S. men's soccer team that did so poorly at the 1998 World Cup. So Sampson will look ahead. Six months, more or less, since the U.S. team left France winless and its coach left friendless, Sampson is eager to be back at work in his new job as technical director of the California Youth Soccer Assn.-South (CYSAS).

If only it were really this easy. The United States scored its first victory in France on Tuesday, sweeping aside French Second Division team Gueugnon, 4-0, on goals by Brian McBride, Cobi Jones, Brian Maisonneuve and Ernie Stewart. The match in Trevoux was the final warmup for the Americans before they play European champion Germany in Paris on Monday in the opening World Cup game for both teams. "Maybe all that finishing work is starting to pay off," Coach Steve Sampson said.

Along with putting the ball in the net and defending against headers in the box, freedom of speech apparently has become an obsolete concept on the U.S. national soccer team. On the day after the United States' World Cup-closing 1-0 loss to Yugoslavia, Coach Steve Sampson said he planned to fine Tab Ramos, Alexi Lalas and Jeff Agoos for critical comments made of him, his coaching and his tactics. Sampson also said Ramos, Lalas and Agoos would not play again for the U.S.

If anyone were to chart Steve Sampson's year, the resultant graph would look very much like a large letter V. The memorable 1-0 victory over Brazil at the Coliseum in February would be the first high point. The three failures at the World Cup in France in June and Sampson's subsequent resignation would obviously mark the low point. But what about the final high? Where did the rebound occur?