Brits bring it home

Saturday, Jan. 21, 2006 | 8:30 a.m.

The lads are all right.

Steven Cohen and Nick Geber are the Brits who bring lively soccer discussion into your living room at 8 p.m. on Fox Soccer Channel's "Fox Football Friday."

This is also the fourth season that the two have tag-teamed on a radio show, "World Soccer Daily," which airs from 10 a.m. to noon during the week on Sirius Satellite Radio (channel 126).

They bill it as "the nation's only regularly scheduled daily prime-time radio show devoted to the world's most popular game."

Like they do on Sirius, Cohen and Geber field phone calls and answer e-mail inquiries on television. On "Fox Football Friday," the top e-mailer wins a tote bag and two pint glasses.

It's loose and fun. Last week, for instance, Cohen delighted in the caller who pronounced Leicester "LIKE-esh-chur instead of "LESS-ter." Their knowledge and experience make the show a winner.

In keeping with the sprint of the show, it is cast in a set that resembles a pub. None of the patrons actually drink beer, although several lift bottles to their lips.

Those bottles, unlike the show's hosts, are empty.

Cohen and Geber always provide keen insight about the players and teams who are making a difference in Europe. Cohen even took time this week to answer some of our inquiries.

Q: Are Americans becoming more savvy about soccer? If so, how?

SC: I think they probably are, just by virtue of the time elapsed since the 1994 World Cup and the launch of Major League Soccer. Sadly, though, they treat it like any American sport and that is a problem. But I think the public probably has a good eye these days on talent. My major issue is playing the best game in the world in front of half-empty stadiums.

Q: How do you respond to those who don't get it?

SC: I feel bad for them because, to me, football is the purest, most joyous sport on the planet. Get away from the American model of sports and see that the game is global. And although the game is not American, don't be afraid of it. Understand that the value of a goal is something to understand and enjoy.

Q: What are the top grounds a visitor to England should experience?

SC: Anfield (Liverpool) for a Champions League match and Highbury (Arsenal), because it is a beautiful patch to play on and the fans are so close to the action. It's magical.

Q: Which player annoys you most?

SC: Landon Donovan, because he has no heart, desire or ambition.

Q: Who would you pay 100 pounds to watch in person?

SC: Ronaldinho, because he plays with pure joy, soul and passion.

Q: Best brew to have before a game?

SC: Boddington's.

Visca Barcelona

That's Catalan for Barcelona Wins, or Long Live Barcelona.

The setting there was a bit drizzly in August, when this reporter did see Ronaldinho and the rest of Barca win the Spanish Super Cup over Real Betis at the Nou Camp.

The legendary stadium is the biggest in Europe, with a capacity of nearly 120,000. Ronaldinho's combination of size, speed and awareness (his no-look passes are stunning) can only be appreciated live.

Fans smoked freely, and a dad with a cigar arched his back proudly to be in the environs with his wife and young son. The chants were spine-tingling and the Voll-Damm beer was stellar.

Beware the hot dogs, though. Ugh.

Titleless at ODP

Teams from California dominated the Olympic Development Program's Region IV tournament last weekend at the Bettye Wilson Soccer Complex.

"To be expected," new UNLV men's coach Mario Sanchez said. "That's the way it usually works, but Nevada had a very good showing. Nevada teams did well."

Thirty-three boys and girls teams competed in eight divisions, and seven were won by Cal South. The other, Boys 90 (born in 1990), was won by Cal North.

Boys teams from Nevada reached two finals but lost both -- 3-0 in Boys 92 and 7-1 in Boys 91 -- to Cal South.

First things first

Sanchez drove west from Ohio, where he was an assistant with a successful Akron Zips program, and settled into his first head coaching position eight days ago.

His first act as Rebels head coach was going straight for the phone.

"Called recruits," he said. "There's plenty to do, and it's gone really well."

NASL news

Tom Ficara, executive producer of the TVS television network, confirmed that the first season of the indoor National Alliance Soccer League that starts next month at the Orleans Arena will be more of a "showcase" event.

There will not be a playoff system, or a champion, in the league whose every game will be played at the Orleans. Other cities will be represented, and the hope is that those teams will play in those cities next season.

Expenses and compensation for players has yet to be determined. Las Vegas Toros owner Frederic Apcar is working with sanctioning officials in advance of 2007 "when we (will) operate as a true league," Ficar said.

The league's MVP trophy will be called the Ken Johann NASL MVP Trophy, in honor of one of Las Vegas' major supporters of the game over the past 25 years. The field at UNLV is named for Johann's late son, Peter.

The Toros' weekly hourlong radio show can be heard in English on Tuesdays (9 p.m., KLAV 1230-AM) and in Spanish on Wednesdays (KRLV 1340-AM).

New York Arrows coach Ian Fulton, a former assistant for the old Las Vegas Dustdevils, is seeking several local players to fill out his NASL roster. He can be reached at ianfulton@cox.net.

Match of the week

Angola vs. Cameroon at Cairo, today

The most compelling of the African Nations Cup group-stage matches pits Angola striker Pedro Mantorras, who plays for Benfica in Portugal, against Samuel Eto'o, the reigning African Footballer of the Year who plays at Barcelona.

Other tensions will be at play inside Military Stadium because Angola qualified for the World Cup and Cameroon finished a point below Group 3 winner Ivory Coast for a summer ticket to Germany.

Rob Miech can be reached at 259-4087 or at miech@lasvegassun.com