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All-Star forward puts focus on fun

Brian McBride has a new perspective on life and soccer after enduring a series of health scares.

By RODNEY PAGE

© St. Petersburg Times,
published July 28, 2001

Brian McBride should be easy to spot at today's Major League Soccer All-Star Game. He'll be the one with the big smile.

McBride, who is making his sixth straight All-Star appearance, will put his worries aside for a day. The Columbus Crew forward has had some close calls lately, but today he's going to have fun.

"(The All-Star Game) is a chance to see soccer the way it was played when we were kids," McBride said. "I don't imagine there will be much defense played. Not that it won't be competitive, but everyone gets to enjoy a game like this. The pressures are gone."

McBride, 29, knows about pressure, on and off the field. A veteran of the U.S. national team, McBride played in the 1998 World Cup and was the only American to score a goal. He has earned 48 caps (appearances) since 1997 and ranks fourth on the national team's all-time list with 14 goals.

In MLS, McBride has played in 120 games since 1996 and scored 45 goals and 35 assists. He was the first player in league history to eclipse 100 points.

But those are just numbers. What has happened to McBride in the past two years has put things in perspective.

McBride was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat before a national team match with Haiti in 1999. Tests were run and nothing serious was detected. He was cleared to play and finished out the rest of the winter with the national team.

Then came another setback in September last year. While playing for Preston North End of the English First Division, where he was on loan from the Crew, McBride collided with an opponent while trying for a header.

He was hit in the right biceps but continued playing the match. Two days after the collision McBride noticed swelling in the arm, and an X-ray revealed a blood clot.

"My right arm was twice the size of my left one," he said.

McBride flew back to Columbus. He was injected with enzymes to break up the clot. Had the clot remained in his vein, it could have broken off and entered his heart, a potentially fatal occurrence.

Three months after the clot was discovered, McBride was back on the field. He scored a goal in a Jan. 27 national team match against China and scored a goal for Preston on Feb. 10.

"It was just one of those things," he said. "It didn't seem like any big thing when it happened. It's great to be healthy again."

McBride also broke his left cheekbone in 1999 and right cheekbone last year that kept him out six weeks. His first game back after the injury last year was the All-Star Game at Columbus Crew Stadium.

McBride has played in 12 games for the 7-5-5 Crew this season. He has one goal and four assists, but he was still voted to the East's starting lineup.

He has played in three World Cup qualifying matches this season for the U.S. national team. McBride figures to play a big role when qualifying matches resume again Sept. 1 against Honduras in Washington.

"He is the perfect player to play forward to," U.S. coach Bruce Arena told Soccer America. "He can hold the ball, he wins 50-50 balls and he is able to create opportunities in our favor. He is a very good player when the other team has the ball. He is very active and naturally we would like to see him score more goals just like we would like to see all our strikers score more goals."

McBride will be scoring goals in MLS for years. In 1999, he shunned some European offers to stay in MLS through 2002.

"Brian is one of the truly talented American players and to have him swear allegiance to our league means a lot," MLS deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis said. "It shows that this is a league that continues to get better and is a good training ground for our young players."

McBride is once again healthy. He has started and finished the Crew's last four games.

He would like to finish his career playing in MLS.

"The league has grown by leaps and bounds," he said. "There are quality foreign players, which helps the kids grow as players. And the league has been successful in keeping the younger players here. As a player that's all you can ask for."

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