Wizard Of Optimism

Despite some tough breaks,  Wizards midfielder Chris Klein is keeping his head up. Maybe it’s because he’s tasted success. The St. Louis native was voted the teams’ MVP last year. Soon after, he tore an ACL in his knee ending his hopes of making the 2002 World Cup squad. Klein says it was “a little disappointing”, but didn’t let it get him down. His attitude was, “Hey, those things happen.” He says the U.S.’s 3-2 win over Portugal in the opening round of the World Cup was “…one of the biggest days in U.S. soccer history,” adding he watched “every second”. Klein’s teammate, Tony Meola is on the squad making his thrid World Cup appearance. Back home without their star goalie, the Wizards are struggling with a mark of 2-3-4 for 10 points. That’s tied for the worst record in the MLS. But Klein isn’t too worried saying, “There’s really no sense of desperation,” yet. The Major League Soccer season is long and he hopes they can regain the team atmosphere that helped them capture the 2000 MLS Championship. Klein assisted on the game-winning goal.