Soccer's Greatest Battle Set to Start

CHICAGO -- World Cup banners line the highways. Mariachi musicians play in the streets. A Saudi Arabian float, carrying men in white robes, passes in parade. Restaurants and book stores suddenly discover soccer. And so, for the moment, has Chicago. In a city where basketball Bulls, American football Bears and baseball Cubs ordinarily hold sway, Germany begins defense of its World Cup title Friday against Bolivia, a team that has yet to score a goal in its meager World Cup history. "Our greatest mistake would be to underestimate Bolivia," Germany coach Berti Vogts said Wednesday. "My players know that we have to take them seriously. We'll leave carelessness in our hotel."At least the Germans have the luxury of being able to leave their hotel. Were this Munich or Milan or Barcelona, the players would be under siege should they venture to the streets. While as many as 2 billion people will watch the July 17 final in Los Angeles on television, and thousands of fans traditionally make a pilgrimage to the event from Latin America, Europe and elsewhere, few Americans know anything about soccer, much less this event in their own backyard. Elsewhere in the world, even in nations with teams that failed to qualify, interest is high. In Britain, the month-long tournament is on target to break all records for soccer betting. Bookmakers Coral, a London betting establishment, reported Thursday the total betting could break the equivalent of $45 million, 10 percent more than the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Among bookmakers and soccer experts, Brazil, Germany, Colombia, Italy and Argentina are favored to make it to the semifinal round on July 13. Were the Germans to win, they would become the first country to have won four World Cups. They took the title in 1954, 1974 and 1990, and are looking to become the first nation to repeat since Brazil in 1962. They have reached the finals in four of the last five tournaments. Their competition on Friday, Bolivia, is a team that proved during qualifying it could beat Brazil -- at least in the mountain air of La Paz. Yet it has not played in the World Cup since 1950, and its three-game World Cup history yields this statistic: goals, 0; goals allowed, 16. Brazil's World Cup players are concerned these days about more than just soccer. Kidnappers have struck at the families of superstars Bebeto and Romario in Brazil. Teammates fear their relatives could be next. "Everybody is worried about it," said Branco, one of the team's top defenders. "Not for ourselves, but for our families."One of the conditions for FIFA awarding the World Cup to the United States was the creation of a national Major Soccer League.On Wednesday, the first-division soccer league officially named its first seven franchise cities, including two teams in the New York City area plus clubs in Washington and Los Angeles.Alan Rothenberg, chairman of Major League Soccer and the guiding force behind this year's World Cup, announced the teams, which are to be joined by five more later this year. The league kicks off next April.Two MLS teams will be located in the New York metropolitan area with additional teams at the Los Angeles Coliseum, Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in the nation's capital, Foxboro Stadium in Massachusetts, San Jose, California, and Columbus, Ohio. The 12-team league will play with high expectations of igniting soccer interest in a nation entranced by baseball, basketball and American football. (AP,MT)