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That was the headline in Europe after one of Claudio Reyna's big games, and the nickname for the captain of the U.S. soccer team has stuck ever since. "Being a captain of a country is a big honor for me and it's a big deal around the world for anyone to be named captain for their national team," says Reyna. "That's the best part, to lead the team, and I get a lot of joy in doing that. Besides, it's never a bad thing when they want to portray you as a superhero."
As long as they don't make you wear the tights.
These days, as Reyna prepares to represent his country in Germany, he's also representing EA Sports on the cover of the official tournament game, 06 FIFA World Cup.
IGN Sports caught up with the soccer star to get his thoughts on the Cup, the game, and the chances for a U.S. championship.
IGN Sports: EA Sports chose ten cover athletes to span about a dozen countries for the game 06 FIFA World Cup. What makes soccer so much of a world sport?
Claudio Reyna: It's the only sport that's played in every country in the world. It's played and watched all over the world, it's the most popular sport in probably 90% of the countries, and then with the World Cup, you have the most viewed tournament of any sport in the world. And since it's only played every four years, you have this build up to the tournament unlike anything else in sports. It's also a sport that seems to be getting bigger in certain countries like the U.S., and seems to be growing every year.
IGN Sports: Why do you think it's taken so long for the U.S. to get it…for the sport to grow in this country?
Claudio Reyna: I think we have our sports within our own culture that are huge with baseball, football, basketball, and hockey. Those are the sports in America that we grow up with and soccer isn't really there yet. We're a crazy country about sports, but for the longest time, only followed our own sports. Over the last 10-15 years, you've seen soccer finally start to grow at a fast pace, start to get the recognition it deserves, and I think it has to do with all of the people who come to America from foreign countries. The more people who come from abroad who played soccer and are brought up playing it and watching it, then come over to America and bring what they know and what they play, that's how the sport will grow. Like me, my dad grew up in Argentina and he taught me how to play soccer even though I was born here in America. I think there a lot of situations like that. I think there are also a lot of kids, boys and girls, who are picking up the sport, and we're continuing to get better and better as the years go on.
IGN Sports: One way a lot of American kids learn about the sport is through videogames like FIFA World Cup.
Claudio Reyna: The games are so realistic now. My son is seven and he's starting to get into the game, especially the soccer games. I've just noticed through him that he knows so many more teams and players who play on certain teams, either club teams or countries, and it's a good way for kids to learn the players and the moves because it's so realistic. Every year you think they can't improve the game any more, but they do. It makes kids and people who play really feel like a part of the game.
IGN Sports: Has your son ever beat you at FIFA using your own character against you?
Claudio Reyna: [laughs] He beats me all the time. The one good thing is that he tries to make me score all the time, so I have no problem with that.
IGN Sports: The World Cup is coming up and you're the captain of the U.S. squad, how good is this team? What should the U.S. fans expect when you go out and play?
Claudio Reyna: I think we have a good team, but soccer fans will know that we're in a really tough group. The three teams in our group are really strong. The Czech Republic is a very good team, Italy is traditionally a powerhouse, and Ghana is one of the best teams in Africa. So as far as the draw went, we got a really tough group, but similar to last time, I don't think people expected much, but we have a really good team. We have good players, a good coach, and I think we're going to rise to the occasion again. We're going to prove a lot of people wrong. We've made some big steps over the past few years, but the World Cup is when people judge the national teams and how far they are. It's a big challenge for us again to do well, we have a lot of good players, a lot of experience, and the one thing we do have is a good team spirit, which is something very important when going into a team tournament. You have to have a good team spirit, and we have that.
IGN Sports: What do you see as the biggest strength for the U.S. team heading into the tournament?
Claudio Reyna: I think overall our actual athleticism and how fit we are as a team, which is so important in soccer today, will really come into play in the tournament. The conditioning side of it and the strength of players are areas where we've come a long way. We have good athletes, and with that, we're well prepared and well coached. Sure we have skilled players, but the biggest thing might just be that we are so well conditioned and how we can play for 90 minutes at a high tempo which is needed in soccer at an international level.
IGN Sports: It's crazy how soccer players are treated overseas as opposed to MLB and NBA players here in the U.S. You got injured and your team sold you?
Claudio Reyna: The situation was, the team I was on when I got injured went down to the lower leagues. In America, they don't have that relegation, so when the team went down to the lower region, every player has his value, and they went off and sold any player who had value. The contracts are structured different than athletes in America, but for me, it was good to move on and go back to playing in the premiere league, which is the best league. It was disappointing, as far as the team goes, but for me, there wasn't much I could do. I was on the sideline with a knee injury and when I came back, I wanted to play at the best level I could. And that's the case for a lot of players, they want the chance to play against the best competition.
IGN Sports: How would American sports benefit from relegation like that?
Claudio Reyna: There is a lot of pressure, and I think that's what makes it interesting. Not only is there the race for the championship at the top of the standings, but at the bottom, you have just as much pressure if not more. If you go down, it's like a financial impact on the club. It would be great because if you were to see this introduced in American sports, which would never happen, you could imagine the teams at the bottom and the amount of efforts they would have to give. They wouldn't be able to just worry about next season without putting very much effort into their remaining games just because they're out of the playoffs. That can't happen here. Things could happen during the last game of the season with so much riding on the outcome for a variety of teams. It keeps it interesting for the fans, there's a lot more pressure for the players, and adds anxiety and nervousness for all the fans involved, especially if your team is going down.
IGN Sports: What are the crowds like in Manchester as opposed to what we see in the U.S.?
Claudio Reyna: The crowds are something that can't compare to any sport in America. I think the closest thing you get is college basketball when you have a rivalry like Duke/North Carolina, but add 50,000 more people into it and just a lot more hatred between the fans. It's a unique situation as well because England is a small country, so it makes it easy for the fans to travel. If we play down in London, they get buses and we'll get three or four thousand fans come down. They'll all sit in the same area and show their support for the team. But in America, because of the size of the country, it's hard for the fans to travel, and financially it's difficult. That's one thing we'll never have because of the financial situation alone, but in England, within an hour, you might have six or seven teams that your favorite team will play against, so you can see any of the road games, and that just makes for an incredible atmosphere. They make the game what it is because of the atmosphere and the noise they produce, and because of that noise, it makes the players play that much harder and to do whatever it takes to pull out the win.