Soccer is in Good Hands with Meola
Tony Meola is the kind of person you want representing your sport. A consummate professional, Meola has everything you look for when you talk about growing the game.
He was an absolute legend on the pitch, a name that always comes up when you talk about great American goalkeepers.
He has an incredible passion for the sport, someone who is always looking to pass his unbridled enthusiasm to a new generation.
He did just that Saturday, with the help of Allstate, when the Good Hands FC program invaded a practice held by the Alexandria Storm. Meola shared his expertise and love for the game and made sure the players didn’t go empty handed, thanks to the generosity of Allstate. Players received bags, balls, jerseys, shin guards, warm-ups and most importantly, tickets to Sunday’s U.S./Germany match at RFK Stadium.
Watch the players react to the news
This event was the beautiful game at its best. A former pro giving back to the game, or “keeping the ball rolling” as Meola says, is priceless.
It was an incredible moment for the players, taking advice from Meola and leaving with a ton of gear and an opportunity to see a world-class game in person.
“Often times the tickets and the gear we give away is going to kids that otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to have all of this,” Meola added.
Meola Talks the Beautiful Game with ISN
Not many people know the beautiful game better than Meola. It’s plain and simple. When Meola talks, people listen.
We certainly listened during a recent interview with Meola as he broke down the biggest issues surrounding the U.S. national team and American soccer in general.
Meola was not impressed with the U.S. performance against Belgium (a 4-2 loss), but remains optimistic about the Americans’ chances moving forward.
“I still think we have more in the tank and we can play better than we did against Belgium. It can never hurt to play against the best in the world. They were not happy with the performance. They are competitors. They think they can compete better than they did. We hope that they continue to improve going into Jamaica.”
Meola wouldn’t commit to predicting a score for U.S. vs. Germany, but did feel confident that it would be a better than the team’s performance in Cleveland.
Meola was adamant about the necessity of bringing Landon Donovan back into the national team picture.
“If we are missing one thing right now, we are missing the type of player that Landon Donovan is. He’s had that ability to make a big play just when we needed it. Right now going into the most important stage of qualifying, it might come down to one play. It’s always nice to have a player like that on the field.”
But he understands why Klinsmann did what he did.
“I think Jurgen Klinsmann is obviously making his point to Landon, that you aren’t going to come and go on your own terms.”
Meola was also impressed with the work of Sacha Kljestan, a player that is just now taking advantage of opportunities under Klinsmann.
“He brings a ton of experience. He is an attacking-minded player. He is an honest player. He is a hard worker. I thought he did okay the other night.”
We just had to ask his thoughts on the current state of American goalkeeping. He said the national team is currently in the capable hands of both Tim Howard and Brad Guzan. He is impressed with the next generation as well, seeing Bill Hami, Sean Johnson, and Ryan Meara as bright spots at the goalkeeping position. However, he is concerned about how the younger players will get minutes in meaningful international matches with Howard and Guzan getting the majority of the time between the posts.
Meola is truly bullish on the future of the American game. He praised MLS for their commitment to youth development and pointed out that the best, most established coaches need to be headed to the younger age groups. The American system focuses on improving the play of older athletes, but it simply may be too late.
Meola sees the rise in sponsorship for both U.S. Soccer and MLS as a major improvement over the years, allowing dollars to be invested in important areas like player development. Money is needed to train the next great generation of athletes and companies like Allstate are helping make these priorities more than just a wish list.
