Monday, 7/21/97 Out of this world GALAXY: International, former
UCLA shooting star blazes into our Galaxy
By Vytas Mazeika Daily Bruin Staff For Paul Caligiuri it has
been a long road home. After many years playing professional soccer
in a German league and making 113 appearances for the U.S.
international team, former Bruin Caligiuri has come back to Los
Angeles. Caligiuri, who owns a home in Walnut, was recently
activated to the roster of Major League Soccer’s (MLS) L.A. Galaxy.
The California native is ready to make an impact. The 33-year old
Caligiuri, who played soccer for UCLA from 1982 to 1986, has a
resume that includes many international feats that rank him among
the top U.S. soccer players ever. But according to his former UCLA
coach Sigi Schmid, Caligiuri always had one major objective early
on in his career. "Paul’s goal was to be a professional player and
(to) play in front of his friends and family," Schmid explained.
"So for him that meant playing in the MLS, but it also meant
playing in L.A. … For him playing in L.A. is a fulfillment of
basically a life-long ambition." To become a member of the Galaxy,
Caligiuri had to endure a legal battle with MLS. Caligiuri is quick
to point out that the only reason he departed from one of the top
leagues in the world in the German Bundesliga to play for MLS was a
promise that he would be able to play for the Galaxy. The contract
first drawn up by the league was torn up, however. Caligiuri was
told to either sign a new contract to play for the Columbus Crew,
or to not play at all. Needless to say, Caligiuri was not pleased
with his situation. "I don’t think you can say the level of
disappointment that I initially went through," Caligiuri said. "I
felt I didn’t get a fair shake. I questioned why this was
happening." Caligiuri played out one season with the Crew before he
sued the league. He was hesitant about taking the matter to court
because of the short-term effect his case could have on himself and
the league. The inability to settle the matter out of court,
however, left Caligiuri with no other option but to seek justice.
"Unfortunately, I think that we had to take great measures in
taking this to arbitration, where I feel strongly that it was
something that should have or could have been resolved out of the
court house," Caligiuri said. "I was left with no other option but
to file a lawsuit because they took such a hard stance." A judge in
the no-arbitration case ruled in favor of Caligiuri on all 20
counts in question. MLS was forced to send Caligiuri to the Galaxy.
However, his problems were far from over. MLS has a strict salary
cap, and Caligiuri’s contract was too lucrative for the Galaxy to
include him on their roster. The league simply stalled indefinitely
without coming to a final decision about how to allow the Galaxy to
activate Caligiuri. Then, through a blessing in disguise, the
Galaxy’s head coach was fired and interim head coach Octavio
Zambrano took action. Within a short time, the league finally made
its decision and Caligiuri was able to join the Galaxy. Now that
the ugly affair is behind him, Caligiuri can look toward the future
of his career and the fate of soccer in the United States. * * *
For a long time during his legal battle, Caligiuri was out of
action. The national team had released him a couple weeks prior to
the court case. Caligiuri admits he was not playing well at the
time and may have deserved to have been let go. Much speculation
and assumption surrounded the timing of these events, however,
because the same powers are behind MLS and the national team.
Nevertheless, Caligiuri welcomes the new opportunity to showcase
his talents for the Galaxy and gain a chance to play in this third
straight World Cup. "I can’t worry about what happened in the
past," Caligiuri said. "What I can do is look to the future and
play well now with the Galaxy and hopefully impress the eyes of the
national team coach (Steve Sampson), who, ironically, was my
assistant coach at UCLA. From one Bruin to another I would have to
think that something like that would transpire." The Bruin
connection is something Caligiuri truly believes in. He still keeps
in touch with the UCLA soccer program. Whenever possible, Caligiuri
contributes money and time to help both the school and the program.
He is well aware of the rich tradition involved with the program
and knows that the talent bred here will find its way into MLS in
the future. Outside of sports, Caligiuri cherishes the experiences
he enjoyed at UCLA. He loves the fact that UCLA is among the top
educational institutions in the United States and the world. He
also believes that UCLA provides a positive environment that is
both fun and serious at the same time. "You really don’t realize
how much you are going to miss the environment until you are away
from it," Caligiuri said. "I can easily tell you what my memories
are on the soccer field, but I think there are great memories of
being on campus as well. Basically that is it … besides all those
long hours at URL, trying to dig up some notes at Powell and
staying up all night before a final. Believe it or not, those are
great and fond memories." Although Caligiuri did not graduate in
1986, he does continue to work toward his degree. He is currently
enrolled in two history classes and is less than 30 units away from
completing his education. Those fond memories of all-nighters and
competitiveness in the classroom have become real once again – and
have maybe stopped being so treasured. * * * Other memories in
Caligiuri’s mind are of the many U.S. soccer leagues that have
failed to succeed in the past. MLS must fight the stigma that it’s
going to fail like other soccer leagues have in the past. To avoid
failure, Caligiuri sees children as the cornerstone. Today’s fans
are not those that have been won over by the league. Rather, the
current attendance is made up of people who have supported soccer
over many years and enjoy the game. Caligiuri uses his knowledge of
history to point out that people must look at the sociological and
economical aspects that forced past leagues to go into extinction.
Maybe then MLS can succeed where other soccer leagues have failed.
"I don’t really see another sport that has so many opportunities
for boys and girls, men and women, like soccer," Caligiuri said.
"Soccer is the American sport – not baseball. They say baseball is
an American pastime; that’s great – crackerjacks and peanuts –
that’s fine and dandy. But you don’t see women playing baseball.
Soccer is a family sport where people buy mini-vans and go weekends
to a soccer tournament and have a great time and watch their boy
and girl play soccer." Caligiuri likes to think of himself as part
of the first generation of kids who grew up with soccer as an
American sport. He boasts many accomplishments, such as the "Shot
Heard Around the World," when Caligiuri scored the single goal
against Trinidad & Tobago in November 1989 to put the United
States in the World Cup for the first time in 40 years. The
appearance of the United States in the 1990 World Cup and the
subsequent chance to host the event in 1994 may have started a
soccer revolution in the United States. MLS now exists and the
United States is poised to qualify for the 1998 World Cup. For
Caligiuri, that is his next big goal. In December, Caligiuri will
be inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame for his many soccer feats in
and outside of UCLA. This honor only reiterates the many
contributions which rank Caligiuri among the best in the sport. "I
think it is great he got selected to the Hall of Fame," Schmid
said. "I think soccer at UCLA over the last 30 years has a pretty
illustrious history and Paul now is the second one (in the Hall of
Fame). He is definitely a very worthy recipient. "He is a very
competitive individual. He always wants to succeed. He wants to
win." And winning is what Caligiuri wants to do now with the
Galaxy. But no matter what happens, at least Caligiuri once again
feels like he belongs. UCLA Sports Info Major League Soccer
recently added Paul Caligiuri, a member of the UCLA soccer team
from 1982 to 1986, and one of the top U.S. players ever, to the
L.A. Galaxy’s roster. Related Site: MLSNET Team Page: Los Angeles
Galaxy