08 December 2010

American Soccer Stars Score Points of Understanding in Cyprus

By Carlos Aranaga
Staff Writer

Washington — Former U.S. men’s national players Tony Sanneh and Sasha Victorine led soccer clinics for Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot youths during their recent coaching trip to Cyprus, arranged under the auspices of the U.S. State Department’s Sports Envoy Program.

“Soccer is one of the universal languages that allow us to communicate with people from all over the world,” Sanneh, a defender who represented the United States 43 times in international play, told America.gov.

During their stay in Cyprus November 8–14, Sanneh and Victorine led multiple clinics with players 15 years of age and under and with Cypriot coaches. They visited both the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities, and had a meeting to discuss student athleticism, hosted by the Fulbright Commission, inside the buffer zone.

Sanneh, part of the 2002 U.S. World Cup team that played in South Korea and Japan, said, “I’m honored to have the opportunity to represent the U.S. and to give back to the game that has given me so much.”

“To work with children and see how the game inspires and motivates them is a humbling experience. The gift of hope is one of the most priceless things we can offer, and I am especially proud to be a part of the U.S. Sports Envoy Program as it attempts to achieve that goal,” declared the Minnesota-based Sanneh.

“It was great interacting with these young kids and watching each of their personalities come out as they interacted with us,” said Victorine, who played on the U.S. team in the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics.

First stop for the Sports Envoys was the Chryssis Michael Soccer Academy, where Michael, a player with a top Nicosia team, APOEL Football Club, and a Cypriot national team player, coaches youth soccer.

The two then went to the Cyprus Fulbright Commission to meet kids interested in being student athletes.

“As a former college athlete, I know the difficult task of trying to get into a school and to understand the college application process,” said Victorine, a player for the 1997 NCAA title-winning University of California, Los Angeles. “Tony and I talked about our experiences getting college coaches to recognize us in a competitive environment.”

At the Municipal Sports Club in the village of Maratha (Yeniboğaziçi), outside Nicosia, they ran clinics for youths aged 10 to 12. Then their hosts took the envoys for a Turkish bath, continuing the discussion with local coaches and adult players. “We didn’t know what to expect; it’s a big part of their culture,” Victorine said.

On November 11, the envoys visited the youth academy of Olympiakos Nicosia Football Club, where they trained four groups of various ages and were impressed by the talents of the 13-year-old players.

Sanneh and Victorine also visited APOEL’s training center to observe the team as it readied for a crucial game on November 13. APOEL coach Sasha Jovanovic engaged the two envoys in discussions on training and practice techniques, and invited them back the next day for a longer exchange of views and ideas, and to learn more about training practices and facilities in the United States.

The envoys also visited Kouloumbris Soccer Academy, run by a former Cyprus national team assistant coach who teaches youths as young as 3, with a sports psychologist who works to develop their sense of balance.

On their last day in Cyprus, they held one more clinic, at the Kaptan Erbay soccer school in the Turkish Cypriot community. Afterwards, the children asked the two envoys to autograph their shoes and T-shirts.

The coaches at Kaptan Erbay expressed the hope that the envoys would be able to return to Cyprus in the future, hopefully to hold a series of bicommunal clinics.

Before departing Cyprus, the envoys attended a professional match between Omonoia and Anorthosis. The game brought back memories for Sanneh, who played against Anorthosis in 1999 during his time with German Bundesliga team Hertha Berlin. During a 15-year professional soccer career, Sanneh played five years in Europe. He retired from Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy in 2009.

SportsUnited is a program of the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The U.S. Soccer Federation has worked with the SportsUnited Sports Envoy Program since 2006, and has sent Sports Envoys to four continents and 13 countries, including Nigeria, Bolivia and Thailand.

(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)