The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 216

D10 SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 1999 LOS ANGELES TIMES heWhi sue I am concerned about the refereelng this summer because I think there are going to be some very good ones, but there are going to be some who are not ready to referee at a worid-class level. U.S. COACH TONY DiCICCO GROUP A GROUP r.Vt I GF GA Pts I GF GA Pts 0 0 0 0 0 0 Canada 0 0 0 0 0 0 "'Nigeria 0 0 0 0 0 0 Japan 0 0 0 0 0 0 North Korea 0 0 0 0 0 0 Noway 0 0 0 0 0 0 --United States 0 0 0 0 0 0 Russia 0 0 0 0 0 0 Today at East Rutherford, J. Today at San Jose it? Denmark at United States, Noon Japan vs. Canada, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday at Rose Bowl Sunday at Foxboro, Mass. in North Korea vs. Nigeria, 6:30 p.m. Norway vs. Russia, 10:30 a.m.

Thursday at Chicago Wednesday it Landover, Md. Nigeria at United States, 5:30 p.m. Norway vs. Canada, 3 p.m. H.

At Portland, Ore. At Portland, Ore. North Korea vs. Denmark, 8:30 p.m. Japan vs.

Russia, 8:30 p.m. June 27 at Landover, Md. June 26 at East Rutherford, J. Nigeria vs. Denmark, 10:30 a.m.

Canada vs. Russia, 9 a.m. At Foxboro, Mass. At Chicago North Korea vs. United States, 4 p.m.

Norway vs. Japan, 4:30 p.m. GROUP GROUP GF GA Pts GF GA Pts Brazil 0 0 0 0 0 0 Australia 0 0 0 0 0 0 Germany 0 0 0 0 0 0 China 0 0 0 0 0 0 Italy 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ghana 0 0 0 0 0 0 Mexico 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sweden 0 0 0 0 0 0 Women's World Cup: Many coaches are angered by FIFA's decision to use all-female officiating crew, saying some aren't ready at this level. By GRAHAME L. JONES TIMES STAFF WRITER On the eve of the Women's World Cup, coaches from Australia to the United States and from Brazil to Denmark are focused on the key figures in the tournament.

U.S. forward Mia Hamm? Defender Linda Medalen of Norway? Chinese goalkeeper Gao Hong? No. Try Fatou Gaye of Senegal and Jackeline Saez of Panama. Never heard of them? That's because Gaye and Saez aren't players, they're referees. And they're women, as are all 31 officials for World Cup '99, which begins today.

And that has many coaches hopping mad. Not because only women will be wielding the whistles and flags but because so many of them are so poorly qualified to do so. This will be the first major international competition to be officiated entirely by women. Once again, the coaches claim, common sense has given way to political correctness and ill-conceived experimentation. "I am concerned about the refer-eeing this summer because I think there are going to be some very good ones, but there are going to be some who are not ready to referee at a world-class level," U.S.

Coach Tony DiCicco said. "And I don't think it's fair to the players. We need the best officials here and not just the best female officials." If all the officials chosen for World Cup '99 were of the caliber of Norwegian referee Bente Skogvang, the woman who had charge of the 1996 Olympic Games women's final between the United States and China, there would be little complaint. Nor would there be much dissent if the referees' skills and experience matched those of Canada's Sonia Denoncourt, who is one of the 31 and who is said to be the favorite to officiate the championship game at the Rose Bowl on July 10. Today at San Jose China vs.

Sweden, 5 p.m. Sunday at Foxboro, Mass. Australia vs. Ghana, 1 p.m. Wednesday at Landover, Md.

Australia vs. Sweden, 5:30 p.m. At Portland, Ore. China vs. Ghana, 6 p.m.

June 26 at East Rutherford, NJ. China vs. Australia, 11:30 a.m. At Chicago Ghana vs. Sweden, 2 p.m.

can be just as hard as the men's. In the intensity of competition it the World Cup level, gamesmanship most certainly will come into play, whether it's subtle time-wasting; or the intentional trip disguised as being accidental. 1 The question is, will all 31 officials be able to spot the fouls and react appropriately? Or will sortie fail in their duty at a crucial moment in a key game and thereby alter the entire course of the competition? That, more than anything, I is what worries the coaches, i There are bound to be bad calls in this 16-nation, 32-game tournament. There are in every World Cup, men's or women's. But an inexperienced and naive officiating crew can make matters far worse.

"It's been a concern for a long time," Australia Coach Gregg Brown said. "I remember in the last Cup in Sweden in '95, when there was'a mix of male and female' game officials, the Australian coach there thought we were giving in to equality and getting rid of quality. 1 "You've got to be good enough, I don't care what sex you are. Male or female, it doesn't bother me.As long as the quality is there. i "Maybe they FIFA are thinking that women's soccer is still in a backwater.

But it's obvious that jt's not. We've got quality professional players here, who know the" rules, who are very competitive. Trey want to win and they want A good game. ya "It's very frustrating when decisions go against you when teams realize it's the wrong 'decision and the referee is makjng mistakes time and time again." a The Algarve Cup tournament in Portugal in March attracted some of the world's best teams and.fitiest female officials, yet controversies aplenty. we Why else was Sweden -Coach Marika Domanski Lyfors yelling herself hoarse on the sideline; at every game? Why else was1 jfen-mark Coach Jorgen Hvideinose stunned when a bad call robbed his team of a victory over world -champion Norway? "We have been trying tobeat them for eight years," a shaken Hvidemose said, still not believing that what appeared to be a perfectly legitimate goal had disallowed.

WORLD CUP '99 NOTES Competition Stops Being! Today at East Rutherford, NJ. Brazil vs. Mexico, 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Rose Bowl Germany vs. Italy, 4 p.m.

Thursday at Chicago Brazil vs. Italy, 3 p.m. At Portland, Ore. Germany vs. Mexico, 6 p.m.

Sunday at Landover, Md. Germany vs. Brazil, 1 p.m. At Foxboro, Mass. Mexico vs.

Italy, 1:30 p.m. KIT QUARTERFINALS June 30 Quarterfinal 1 At San Jose Group winner vs. Group second, 5 p.m. Quarterfinal 2 At San Jose Group winner vs. Group second.

7:30 p.m. July 1 Quarterfinal 3 At Landover, Md. Group A winner vs. Group second, 4 p.m. i -f Quarterfinal 4 At Landover, Md.

"Group winner vs. Group A second, 6:30 p.m. 7 But they are not. Instead, geographic fairness FIFA feels it is politically incorrect to snub an entire continent has come into play and the tournament will feature referees from such women's soccer nonentities as Senegal and Panama. If it all goes horribly wrong and the coaches feel sure it will the blame can be placed directly at the polished shoes of Joseph "Sepp" Blatter, the president of FIFA.

It was his suggestion that World Cup '99 be officiated only by women and, in November, the FIFA referees' committee rubber-stamped the proposal. "One cannot say that because a referee is coming from a country where football is not at the highest possible level that a referee from that country, himself or herself, is not of a high level," Blatter said in February. "It is not only a matter of experience but of talent. "There is a long way to go to bring women referees to the high international level where women's football is already at." Which would seem to be an admission that the top players are far ahead of most referees in their ability to read the game and react-precisely the argument the coaches are making. But Blatter views the women's game differently than the men's.

"Women do not cheat in football," he said. "I tell you, that's true. It's true. Statistics show that they don't cheat. They don't grip the shirt to restrain opponents, they don't feign injury." Coaches say the women's game Him i mr ii miim i i Je'' AUBREY WASHINGTON Allsport This tournament will be the first major international competition to be officiated solely by women.

SWEDEN MATCH RESULTS SEMIFINALS July 4 At Palo Alto Quarterfinal 3 winner vs. quarterfinal 4 winner, 1:30 p.m. At Foxboro, Mass. Quarterfinal 1 winner vs. quarterfinal 2 winner, 4:30 p.m.

THIRD PLACE July 10 At Rose Bowl Semifinal losers, 10:30 a.m. CHAMPIONSHIP July 10 Semifinal winners, 1 p.m. QUARTERFINALS Japan 0, USA 4 Norway 3, Denmark 1 Germany 3, England 0 Sweden 1, China 1 '-China advanced on penalties, 4-3 SEMIFINALS USA 0, Norway 1 Germany 1, China 0 THIRD-PLACE GAME China 0, USA 2 FINAL Norway 2, Germany 0 FINAL RANKING 1. Norway 2. Germany 3.

USA 4. China 5. Sweden 6. Denmark 7. England 8.

Japan 9. Brazil 10. Canada 11. Nigeria 12. Australia least a busy afternoon, and also watch forward who once played for the U.S.

So Friendly GROUP A 'Germany 1, Japan 0 0, Brazil 1 Sweden 3, Germany 2 Brazil 1, Japan 2 Sweden 2, Japan 0 Brazil 1, Germany 6 GROUP Norway 8, Nigeria 0 England 3, Canada 2 Norway 2, England 0 Nigeria 3, Canada 3 Noway 7, Canada 0 Nigeria 2, England 3 GROUP USA 3, China 3 5, Australia 0 USA 2, Denmark 0 China 4, Australia 2 USA 4, Australia 1 'China 3, Denmark 1 v' Mia Hamm by the Numbers STATISTICS BY YEAH MULTIGOAL GAMES Year 6m 61 Ast Two-goal games: 19 07 1989 1 0 0 Four-goal games: 2 199? :::::::28 tournameitgoals 1992 2 1 0 Women's World Cup: 4 1993 16 10 4 Olympic Games: 1 1994 9 10 5 igg5 21 19 18 Goodwill Games: 5 1996 23 9 18 Algarve Cup: 5 20 20 'CONCACAF Qualifying: 10 1999 16 8 11 "U.S. Women's Cup: 18 i i i iiiii imii GIN A ER AZZI Los Angeloi Times Mia Hamm's exploits with the U.S. national team have made her popular with reporters. W.I.MI-MUI SOCCER United States vs. Denmark i Time Noon PDT.

TV Channel 7. Site Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J. Update A sellout crowd of 77,000 is expected for the opener. That would be a record for the Women's World Championship. The previous high was 65,00 for the U.S.-Norway final in China in 1991.

The U.S. defeated the Danes, 50, the last time the teams played each other, in the 1998 Goodwill Games. Look for Danish de- yr-fender Lene Terpe to have an impact, or at for Denmark's Mikka Hansen, a California-born under-21team. Prediction U.S. by two goals.

89 Brazil vs. Mexico Time 2:30 p.m. TV ESPN2. 1 Site Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ. Update This will be Mexico's world championship debut and it probably will have the support of the U.S.

fans, who would like to see the dangerous Brazilians o.tumble. Chances are, Brazil's Pretinha and Katia will have a field day with the inexperienced Mexican defense. A lopsided score is likely. "We expect in the near future to be contenders," said Mexico's coach, Leonardo Cuellar. It won't be this year, however.

Brazil needs a victory to gain the jump on Germany, its main rival for By GRAHAME L.JONES TIMES STAFF WRITER It has been almost three years since the United States played a women's soccer match of real significance, that being the Olympic tournament final against China in Athens, on Aug. 1, Since then, the U.S. has played 62 games against 22 countries and a team of FIFA world all-stars, the most notable competition coming in the Goodwill Games, the U.S. Women's Cup and the Algarve Cup. The Americans have gonei 53-6-3 since the Olympic final and have outscored their opponents, 222-37.

But goalkeeper Briana Scurry; mixing metaphors with says none of that matters. "Friendly matches are important preparation for this," she said, 'but in all honesty friendlies go out the window when it comes time to play for all the marbles. "It's a different level. It's like playoff hockey or playoff football or playoff basketball. You pick your game up a notch.

You get a little jittery. You know this is it. It's very exciting." Tony DiCicco, the U.S. "coach, realizes that his team is opening against what will probably be the strongest of its three first-round opponents but sees an advantage in that. "You never want to play a team of the quality of Denmark ifithe first game, but we know thernj)est of the three teams," he said'So at least we're not going in totally unaware of all the nuances that Nigeria or North Korea will bring.

We obviously have tapes of them. We'll see them play each othr on Sunday at the Rose Bowl and ve'll take it from there. It was better, for us to open with Denmark." Canadian referee Sonia Denoncourt has been appointed by the FIFA referees' committee to officiate today's opening game between the U.S. and Denmark. Denoncourt was one of the referees at "the Sweden '95 world championship and is an early favorite to referee the July 10 final at the Rose Bowl.

first place in the group. Prediction Brazil by four goals. dream a day like this would ever happen. "I think all the people who know me know that I don't play for this reason. I don't play for the awards.

I don't play for the buildings. I play because I love to do it. When I was born, God gave me a gift, and even though I was a pain in the butt half the time to my family, the gift was to be an athlete and specifically a soccer player. "We've heard all these superlatives thrown out, 'greatest this, best Well, I'm the result of the people I've surrounded myself with, the coaches who are here today, my teammates, who, if I could handpick 19 people I'd want to hang out with, I'd pick them in a heartbeat. I really am basically what they've given to me.

"From that team to my family. They crack me up every time I see them. I love you guys so much. I'm just so happy you could be a part of this. I know we never really get to see each other that often, but looking at the size of this building, it just shows you how much I love you.

So thank you." The tears were there by now, but then out of the blue, a joke: "I promised Julie Foudy I'd name a stall after her, so if we can arrange that. That broke the tension and Hamm suddenly was free of her normally self-imposed restraints. Finally, the world was seeing a side of her that her teammates know well, the mischievous Hamm, the Hamm who is quick to laugh and to make others laugh. "This is absolutely unbelievable," she said of the building behind her. "This should have everyone's name on it, not just mine.

So think of it as your building," and here the pause was perfectly timed, with my name on it. "And, Phil, can I please have a job when I quit?" There was no ribbon-cutting. Instead a cardboard box was presented to Hamm. When she lifted the lid, 108 butterflies were supposed to fly out one for each of her world-record 108 goals (now 109)'. Unfortunately, no one told the butterflies.

Many simply fell to the ground. Some were stepped on. "I think it might be 105 now," Hamm quipped in a doleful voice. And so it went on. Mia Hamm as stand-up comedian.

Of course, she might simply have been reacting in kind. That morning, back at their hotel in Portland, her teammates had gotten up early and had taped names over everything in sight. When Hamm emerged from her room, it was to see the "Mia Hamm drinking fountain," "Mia Hamm supply closet," "Mia Hamm equipment bags," "Mia Hamm women's room" and so on. On a team where every starter but one is a former world champion, an Olympic gold medalist or both, Mia Hamm is just another player. And that's just the way she wants it.

Continued from Page 1 you see her passion. "Her essence is about letting all her emotions be displayed, coupled with her incredible athletic abilities and her talent. And when it's all put together, she's just a dynamo. She's a pleasure to watch and certainly a privilege to coach." But there is another side to the many-faceted Hamm, a side almost never seen by the world away from the U.S. teammates she will lead against Denmark at Giants Stadium today in the opening game of the third FIFA Women's World Cup.

This is the Mia Hamm who is vulnerable, whose eyes are rimmed with tears, whose voice is choking with emotion. It is also the Mia Hamm who can stand up in front of a large crowd of strangers and bare her soul, who can cry and deliver one-liners at the same time in a virtuoso display of emotion-juggling. The occasion was the dedication of the Mia Hamm building at Nike's corporate headquarters in Beaverton, a couple of weeks ago. With the U.S. players and coaches in a line to one side of her; with her family and former coaches in a VIP area on the other side, and with hundreds of company employees and their children in front of her, Hamm listened calmly to all the speeches and accolades.

Finally, they were over. Simply the greatest women's player of all time," concluded Phil Knight, Nike's founder. "You cannot say that too many times." Now it was Hamm's turn. Those who had heard her speak in the past expected the usual fluent answers deflecting attention away from herself and toward her teammates. That has been Hamm's way for years.

She is intelligent, articulate, even interesting, but her quotes have always seemed curiously dispassionate. Those who edited her new book, "Go for the Goal," described her as the toughest interview in sports. Not this time. Perhaps it was the pressure of the three-year buildup toward World Cup '99, three years of answering the same questions, three years of living in the spotlight's glare, always the one being sought out by fans and the media, always the one with the most unreasonable demands on her time. Now it was almost over and perhaps the relief at knowing that brought about the transformation.

Whatever the reason, the tears and the words flowed with equal and honest ease. "I'm speechless," she said. "I'm rambling right now because I don't know what to say. Never did I ever China vs. Sweden Time 5 p.m.

TV ESPN2. Site Spartan Stadium, San Jose. Update The teams have met in the quarterfinals in each of the first two world championships, with the Swedes prevailing, 1-0, in China in '91 and the Chinese winning on penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie in Sweden in '95. China has improved more in the last four years, and its fast and technically skilled team should be able to --handle Sweden, which is more robust but not as quick. The game features two of 'Mthe best goalkeepers in the world Sweden's Ulrika Karlsson and China's Gao The narrow field will hurt both teams' play.

Prediction China by a goal. Japan vs. Canada Site Spartan Stadium, San Jose. Time 7:30 p.m. TV ESPN2.

Update The Japanese are quick and could exploit Canada's ponderous defense, but the Canadians have a solid goalkeeper in Karina LeBlanc and, in any case, the ball will mostly be at the other end of the field as midfielder Charmaine Hooper uses her speed and power to cut through the Japanese lines. The Canadians will have a -definite height advantage, making them dangerous on set plays, but they will have to be aware of Homare Sawa. The tatenttd midfielder easily could turn the game Japan's way if she is in form. Prediction Canada by two goals. GRAHAME L.

JONES i A.