If the worst thing that ever happens
to me is signing autographs and having
to take pictures with people, then
I'll have had a fortunate life.
Living in Lalas Land If Soccer Scores in America,
Alexi Lalas Made the Assist Story by Jeff Zillgitt The philosopher king of American soccer sits on a bench on a blistering hot, humid afternoon in Washington D.C.'s RFK Stadium. An unpleasant D.C. stench permeates. Beads of sweat drip from his fiery red-orange, three-inch goatee Part hippie, part beatnik, all athlete, Alexi Lalas is an American cult-hero and the country's most recognizable soccer player at a time when the sport the world calls football desperately needs someone to lift it from obscurity to a national pastime. Lalas, with his eccentric, enjoyable personality, insightful musings, and talent on the pitch (field for those not well-versed in soccer), is just the person to bring soccer into mainstream American culture. An athletic nomad, Lalas has traveled the world for soccer. With no place to call home, Lalas lives where he is playing. For now it's Boston, where he plays Defender for the New England Revolution and is training for the upcoming Olympics . Previously it was Padova, Italy, where he gained acclaim as the first American to ever play professional soccer in the world-renowned | |
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