1. I’m Faith Lapidus. And I’m Doug Johnson with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we tell about the highest level of men’s soccer in the United States — Major League Soccer. We hear from three players who have links to Washington, D.C.
2. Ben Olsen and Curt Onalfo had great careers as professional players. Now, they are passing on their knowledge as coaches with D.C. United. Mike Banner plays for the Chicago Fire, but started in Washington. Their stories tell a lot about the past, present and future of professional soccer in America.
3. In nineteen ninety-three, soccer in the United States started on a new road. It had been almost ten years since the last major soccer league in the United States had closed down. The North American Soccer League lasted from nineteen sixty-eight to nineteen eighty-four.
4. The NASL had some notable successes. One team signed two of the most famous players in soccer history: Edison Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele, of Brazil and Franz Beckenbauer of Germany. Both stars played for the New York Cosmos in front of big crowds. At the time, their best playing days were behind them. Yet foreign players like these planted the seeds of renewed interest in soccer in America.
5. But, the rest of the league struggled to attract fans. In the United States, soccer competes with baseball, American football and basketball. All these sports are American inventions and have developed wide support in schools, amateur and professional leagues.
6. Major League Soccer came with a different purpose. It began as part of the effort for the United States to hold the nineteen ninety-four World Cup competition. But it was also an attempt to establish a top professional level for soccer in America.
7. The first season took place in nineteen ninety-six. At the start, one team established itself as the league’s best. D.C. United won the first two M.L.S. championships. Today, the team has won more league championships than any other.
8. Ben Olsen was an important part of D.C. United’s early success. He was the top new player, or rookie of the year, in nineteen ninety-eight. His young pro career reached a high point the next season. D.C. United won the M.L.S. Cup, the league championship, on the strength of a Most Valuable Player performance by Olsen. He scored one of two goals for his team in the win against the Los Angeles Galaxy.
9. Ben Olsen looks back on his score in that championship as his most memorable. “I’d lost a lot of championships before that year, so that was a special game.”
10. Like many top American soccer players, Olsen played overseas. He joined the club Nottingham Forest in Britain. He says different leagues have different styles of play.
11. “Some teams are very fast and athletic. Some teams are more possession oriented, meaning a little bit more low pressure on the ball and more skillful players. England has always been known to be a fast and physical league.”
12. Olsen was also a part of the United States World Cup team of two thousand six. He says playing for his country was something he will never forget. Ben Olsen has had five operations for severe ankle injuries. Still, he had one of his best years in two thousand seven. He scored seven goals including a “hat trick”-- three in one game.
13. He was recognized for his outstanding play with an M.L.S. Best Eleven award. He accepted the award in a wheelchair after a minor operation became major ankle surgery. Ben Olsen retired after the two-thousand-nine season. Today he is an assistant coach with D.C. United.
14. The head coach of D.C. United knows about success. Curt Onalfo has won championships at every level in American soccer. He was a top player on two state championship teams in high school in Connecticut. He was a college player for the University of Virginia. His team won a national championship in nineteen eighty-nine which the school shared with Santa Clara University.
15. The year before, he first played with the United States National Team in a victory over Costa Rica. Curt Onalfo’s playing career included many appearances with the National Team and a victory in the M.L.S. Cup in nineteen ninety-nine.
16. But coaching seemed a natural move for him. He spent four years as an assistant coach under Bruce Arenas with the United States National Team. Arenas had coached Onalfo at the University of Virginia. In two thousand six, Onalfo assisted Arenas coaching the United States’ World Cup team.
Vocabulary
- against = contra
- almost = quase
- amateur = Amador
- ankle = tornozelo
- attempt = tentativa
- award = prêmio
- became = tornou-se
- began = começou
- behind = atrás
- better known as = melhor conhecido como
- careers = carreiras
- championships = campeonatos
- coaches = técnicos
- coaching = treinar
- college = faculdade
- crowds = multidões
- developed = desenvolveu
- early = inicial
- effort = esforço
- establish = estabelecer
- foreign players = jogadores estrangeiros
- head = líder
- high school = colégio
- hold = realizar
- injuries = ferimentos, contuses
- joined = entrou para
- knowledge = conhecimento
- lasted = durou
- links = ligações
- low pressure = baixa pressão
- meaning = significando
- minor = pequeno(a)
- notable = notável
- outstanding = marcante
- overseas = no exterior
- purpose = propósito
- reached = atingiu
- recognized = reconhecido
- retired = aposentou-se
- rookie = recruta, calouro
- scored = marcou (gol)
- season = temporada
- seeds = sementes
- seemed = parecia
- severe = grave
- shared with = dividiu com
- since = desde
- skillful = habilidoso
- soccer = futebol
- spent = passou
- strength = força
- struggled = lutou
- surgery = cirurgia
- than any other = do que qualquer outro
- the highest level = O nível mais alto
- took place = aconteceu
- wheelchair = cadeira de rodas
- wide support = amplo apoio
- won = venceu
- World Cup = Copa do mundo
- Yet = porém
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