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Shortly after entering his first preseason game, San Jose's Chris Carrieri (13) gets dragged down by Tampa Bay Mutiny defender Steve Trittschuh
In his official spring-training debut with Major League Soccer's San Jose Earthquakes, Carrieri sneaks a peek at the stands of Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
With his white Nikes laced up and half-cut shinguards tucked into
As part of being picked directly from college
After a preseason game, Carrieri stops to sign
Playing time Before the Earthquakes' preseason matchup with the Tampa Bay Mutiny, Carrieri (left) jokingly argues about a missed ball with teammate Craig Waibel, who reminds Carrieri that 'The ball never lies.' Only weeks after joining the squad, Carrieri's playful personality was evident and at times brought out a lighter side in teammates. |
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--Chris Carrieri hovered near the soccer goal on the Irish-green fields of Weston Sports Complex. He was cutting, juking, spinning--whatever it took to get past his defender.
Opportunity arose when teammate Jeff Agoos kicked a long ball in his direction. Carrieri's eyes widened as he fielded Agoos' kick and made a quick cross to Ian Russell.
Goooaaaalllll!
Carrieri smiled, adjusted his shorts--tucked up for maximum sun exposure--and went back to work. He called twice more during the scrimmage for Agoos to send him the ball.
"Goose, Goose!" He waved his right hand in the air.
But the San Jose Earthquakes' practice ended without another kick from Agoos sailing Carrieri's way.
The 20-year-old Carrieri is adapting to a team of players who, like him, expected the ball when they signaled for it. But that was before they joined the pros.
For the first time, it's not guaranteed he'll get the ball. It's not even guaranteed he'll start.
Since graduating from North Stafford High School and joining San Jose as Major League Soccer's No. 1 overall draft pick, Carrieri has been on a fast-moving train with stops he expects and stops he doesn't. Like many area athletes before him, he has found advancing to the next level is not only a significant physical challenge but a mental one as well.
Carrieri played with some of the country's top soccer players during spring training with the Earthquakes in Fort Lauderdale. In between two-a-day practices, he tanned poolside at the Wyndham Resort and Spa and juggled interviews with ESPN, Tiger Beat and The Miami Herald.
Carrieri is beginning life as a professional soccer player. It's a life he's wanted since he was 4 and first found happiness in the black-and-white patches of a soccer ball.
'Everything's earned now'Carrieri, a center forward, has a quick two-footed agility that leaves defenders continuously on edge. His skills once caused a goalkeeper to drop to his knees and cry during a game with his select soccer team in Prince William County.
His work ethic always has been strong.
Carrieri would return home from games and drill outside his house in Hampton Oaks for hours. He'd dribble 50 times on his left foot, 50 times on his right. If he dropped the ball, he'd start again. Darkness didn't stop him.
University of North Carolina coach Elmar Bolowich said Carrieri's tireless efforts made him an attractive recruit. Carrieri developed at a rapid pace. As a junior last fall, he scored 25 goals in 24 games and was named the NCAA Division I player of the year.
"He was different than a lot of other college players in the way he attacked the goal. He had a more European style. He used his speed and quickness to push past a defender," Bolowich said.
Carrieri decided last October, midway through his junior season at UNC, that he was ready to leave school early and go pro.
"I had to study for finals, find an agent and figure out what I wanted to do with my life," he said. "It was tough."
Carrieri was one of the first players to sign with the MLS this season. He signed with the league Jan. 2, and San Jose picked him first in the Feb. 12 draft.
He left the Atlantic Coast Conference and joined a league filled with players who start for national teams and compete in World Cup matches.
"The guys are fully developed out there, and they have leg muscles the size of chairs," Carrieri said.
Carrieri worked on perfecting the finer details of his game during spring training. He focused on evading the league's more skilled defenders while on the attack and chasing down the ball more aggressively.
"Things that were awesome in college, you have to pick up more," Carrieri said.
"Everything is earned now."
Carrieri scored his first goal for the Earthquakes during a preseason tournament in Mexico. He started in the team's four games there, and said it opened his eyes to the rigors of professional soccer.
"It's like I wasn't sure if I was game fit at this level when we started," Carrieri said. "My feet got tired quick, and my ankles were sore."
San Jose's all-time leading scorer, Ronald Cerritos of El Salvador, did not start in Mexico. He was easing back into training after suffering a quadricep injury that sidelined him for much of last season.
At spring training, Carrieri knew he was up against Cerritos and Canadian Dwayne DeRosario. Only two would start.
After three days of practice in Florida, San Jose coach Frank Yallop announced his starters for the first MLS preseason game.
Cerritos and DeRosario were his choices.
Carrieri had little time to sulk. The starters played the reserves in a scrimmage, and Agoos, a U.S. National Team defender, stood between Carrieri and the goal. Agoos wedged himself between Carrieri and the ball and made him work for every open look.
Carrieri yelled, "Yes, yes, Eddie," to former UNC teammate Eddie Robinson, and "Yes, first time, Ian," to Russell, who is in his second season with San Jose. Neither connected with him.
Carrieri finally put his hands on his hips in frustration.
The practice ended with Yallop calling the players to the middle of the field. While the rest of the team sat listening to Yallop's directives for the next day's game, Carrieri turned away from his new coach and did push-ups.
'Corvetti'Carrieri downloaded his MP3 player with Limp Bizkit's "Rolling" and Kenny Loggins' "Playing with the Boys." He listened to them while lifting weights.
He recently bought a red 1994 Corvette that hits 80 miles per hour in third gear. But he drives it slowly--so people know it's his ride, not daddy's. His teammates call him "Corvetti."
He likes his toys, including his $1,300 Fujitsu laptop, and the large-screen TV with surround sound provided in the rented house he shares with Robinson in San Jose.
Carrieri's new purchases must fit his budget. His agent, Lyle Yorks, said Carreiri makes the highest base salary of any current rookie in the league. His total income for the season, including incentives, still comes in at less than $50,000--far below salaries for similar young stars in baseball and football.
The maximum salary in MLS is $270,000. In the National Football League, rookies make a minimum of $209,000.
Carrieri takes care of his body as well as his possessions. He does sit-ups fanatically at all hours, spends hours in the gym and uses liquid Creatine to bulk up further still.
Carrieri likes adorning his temple as well. He shares an affection for gold jewelry with teammate Scott Bower. Carrieri's two rings, two earrings, tongue stud, and three gold necklaces rival Bower's metal collection.
"We've both got Mr. T starter kits," Bower admitted.
The two also wear white cleats, Nike Air Zoom Total 90s.
"You've got to prove you're capable of wearing shoes like these. You've got to be bad-ass," Carrieri said.
The son of a hairdresser, Carrieri went from long brown dreadlocks to a short bleached-blond top with shaved sides. Dep Level 8 keeps it shiny.
He's a pro at looking good on the field. His speed and elusive cuts make his soccer play beautiful to watch, and he knows cutting his protective shinguards in half best exposes the muscles in his legs. Vanity in motion.
"Chris is in love with himself, and he doesn't mind showing people," San Jose goalkeeper Joe Cannon said.
Cannon, who is in his third season with the Earthquakes, said he welcomed Carrieri's bold attitude for the team that finished last in the 12-team league last season.
"How can you not love a guy who comes into the 'Quake camp and says we're going to make the playoffs?" Cannon said. "We've needed that kind of attitude."
'Welcome to the MLS'Carrieri had been a starter since his coaches first noticed his promise as a youngster in Las Vegas. Whether playing for select teams in Las Vegas or Prince William County, at North Stafford High School or the University of North Carolina, if Carrieri played, he started.
He didn't start on March 16.
It was his first game against MLS competition. The contest against the Tampa Bay Mutiny was held on a breezy Friday night at Lockhardt Stadium, the Miami Fusion's home field.
Twenty minutes before game time, Carrieri walked out of the locker room and under the stands to the edge of the field. He and six other reserves begin practicing footwork drills. The Earthquakes' 11 starters warmed up at midfield.
Carrieri glanced over to the starters several times, but mainly focused on his drills, save a furtive peek at three attractive women entering the stadium.
Teammate Craig Waibel called Carrieri for a double dribble, and Carrieri gave his first MLS audience a pregame show of his finest.
"That's B.S. Start again," he said.
"The ball never lies, Carrieri," Waibel responded.
During the game, the reserves sat side-by-side on the bench. Carrieri chose the empty bench space close to his coaches.
Thirty-two minutes into play, seven minutes after Manny Lagos scored off an assist from DeRosario, Carrieri got up and told Yallop and assistant coach Dominic Kinnear he was ready to play when they needed him.
He resumed his seat close to the coaches, chewing on a fingernail.
His uncomfortable wait soon ended when equipment manager Frank Avila presented Carrieri with his white No. 13 game jersey.
A man in the stands confirmed his son's observation that the player wearing No. 13 must be Chris Carrieri, this year's No. 1 draft pick. Carrieri's name trickled through the small audience.
In the 58th minute, Carrieri replaced Cerritos at center forward. The game was tied at 1-1.
Carrieri soon found San Jose making a threat on goal. He yelled to midfielder Richard Mulrooney for the ball.
Mulrooney failed to pass the ball to him, as Tampa Bay's 6-foot Steve Trittschuh, one of the league's top defenders, swarmed around the 5-foot-7 Carrieri.
Trittschuh and Carrieri met again minutes later. In a full sprint for a loose ball, Carrieri found an unmoving Trittschuh straight ahead. While the two fell, Trittschuh pulled at Carrieri's jersey to amplify his impact with the ground. The collision left Carrieri limping by game's end.
"He won. I lost," Carrieri said.
Carrieri didn't let the hit stop him. He registered his first shot with 10 minutes left, sailing a right-footed kick above the crossbar.
"It was too high. I wish I could have that shot back," he said.
San Jose kept the Mutiny's end of the field busy in the final minutes. Carrieri began to find openings, but the game was almost over. Trittschuh grabbed Carrieri's jersey to slow his final dash towards the box.
As Carrieri limped off the field, Trittschuh addressed him for the first time:
"Welcome to the MLS."
PatienceCarrieri had no goals or assists during the MLS preseason tournament. He played 97 of a possible 270 minutes and entered all three games during the second half.
He did score twice in Florida, in a pair of nontournament games. He also had two assists in a scrimmage against San Francisco.
"You go No. 1 and you want to prove people right for picking you," Carrieri said.
D.C. United coach Thomas Rongen, who has coached MLS teams for five years, saw Carrieri in action during United practices last summer. He said Carrieri could be a strong player in the MLS, but he must prove it first.
"The biggest adjustment for Chris right now is to find a way to sacrifice his ego for the team's sake," Rongen said. "Some athletes initially have a tough time with that, and it actually hampers their performance.
"When it's all said and done, when we look back on this year, I think we will find Chris in the starting 11 contributing to San Jose, and he has the talent to do that."
San Jose's season-opener will be on the road against the Los Angeles Galaxy this Saturday. Yallop has yet to name the starters for that game.
"The one thing about Chris is he's definitely not a quitter," said his father, Joe Carrieri, who now lives in Richmond with Chris' mother, Sue. "This will make him work harder. He's got his whole future in front of him. He just needs to be patient."
Chris Carrieri asked Yallop several times to reconsider starting him during spring training.
"He's a little frustrated at the moment. He's trying to run before he can walk," Yallop said. "I know he wants to do well very badly. Once we get things right with our players, he's going to be dangerous."
Zak Ibsen, a San Jose defender and member of the U.S. National Team from 1992-96, helps guide Carrieri in practice.
"It may be for now, he will serve as the guy who comes in with fresh legs late in the game for us," Ibsen said.
Maybe for now. But not for long in Carrieri's mind.
"Frank will find out he can't keep me off the field," Carrieri said. "If the game's on the line, I love to be the guy to make the play. I want people to say, 'Hey, that 13 guy, he's young and he's good.'"
Carrieri and the San Jose Earthquakes will play D.C. United at RFK Stadium on Saturday, May 12, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at 703/478-6600.
