Caprice Is a Feature Of Dempsey's Game

Young U.S. Midfielder Finds His Role

HAMBURG, June 4 -- Glenn Myernick, the U.S. national soccer team's top assistant, and head coach Bruce Arena often catch themselves giggling like little kids when they talk about improvisational midfielder Clint Dempsey.

"He's not afraid to try 'stuff,' whatever 'stuff' is," Myernick said Sunday. "He's not afraid to try a little flick and try some of that. Some of it we refer to as 'fluff.' 'Fluff' doesn't win you games -- substance wins you games -- but he has the element of the unpredictable to try a move to get him out of a tight spot that maybe the opponent won't anticipate.

"And because he's not afraid to try some of those, that's what makes Clint who he is."

Despite carrying just 19 months of international experience, Dempsey, 23, has become the most irregular player on this diverse U.S. squad. Whether playing on the right wing on in central midfield, his impulsive moves and clever footwork are capable of baffling opposing defenders and his own coaches.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but Arena and Myernick appreciate Dempsey's willingness to attempt different maneuvers without putting his team in extreme peril.

Dempsey's style has conjured comparisons to another entertaining Clint -- former national team player Clint Mathis, who scored against South Korea in the 2002 World Cup but whose bad work habits and poor decision-making overshadowed his inventive skills and prematurely undermined his international career.

Without addressing Mathis's downfall directly, Myernick offered this subtle comparison: "Clint [Dempsey] has done a very good job of understanding the difference between fluff and creativity, with a little prodding from the coaching staff, and that's part of his maturation process. Clint's a player that won't always try to solve the problem with a pass and that unpredictably that he may try to dribble by you at this moment puts defenders on their heels."

Dempsey is an east Texas native who starred at Furman and is in his third season with the New England Revolution. He was the MLS rookie of the year in 2004, finishing ahead of D.C. United's Freddy Adu, and was a contender for the most valuable player award much of last season.

Early this year Dempsey's chances of making the World Cup team wavered like one of his zany runs, but in the end, the coaching staff determined he had matured enough to face top competition.

Emulating older teammates, he said, has taught him valuable lessons.

"Seeing how they act on a day-to-day basis, how they're always a professional, how they never really seem to be nervous," Dempsey said. "They're always prepared and just seeing how focused they are makes you more focused as well."

A dynamic showing in this World Cup would likely attract interest from European clubs and, consequently, boost his earnings dramatically. According to MLS documents obtained by The Washington Post this spring, he is scheduled to make $86,488 this year -- just the 10th-highest salary on the Revolution and by far the lowest figure among the U.S. team's 23 professionals. (FC Barcelona pays Ronaldinho $28,000 per day .)

U.S. Notes: The Americans will play a closed scrimmage against Angola on Monday. "We have had a lot of training sessions and there's no substitute for just playing, and playing against some different faces besides your teammates," Myernick said. "To go from our last game [on May 28] to our first [World Cup] game [on June 12] would be too long a time without a competitive situation."

Unlimited substitutions are permitted and "both teams understand, 'Let's be competitive but let's not be foolish in our challenges,' " Myernick said. Midfielder Claudio Reyna (strained hamstring) is expected to play.