| Red Bulls' Cepero still humble despite goal
Cepero and Grendi are just two of a long line of Long Island soccer players who have excelled after college. Cepero noted Red Bulls teammates Mike Petke of Bohemia and Carlos Mendes from Mineola and former Duke All-American Mike Grella.
Grella, a Glen Cove native, is a member of the English soccer club Leeds United.
"This is great for Long Island because you are seeing the fruits of the youth system," Cepero said. "It worked for me and it's only going to get better."
It hasn't been all roses for Cepero and the Red Bulls (2-13-4), who are in last place.
The team's struggles, however, haven't doused the spirit of Cepero, who said he expects his team to put on a good showing for the home crowd against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Thursday at the Meadowlands.
U14 soccer all-stars look for 'progression'
The assistant coach of the New Brunswick U14 boys soccer team attending the Canadian Soccer Assocation BMO All-Stars championships in Richmond, B.C. July 20-26 might talk about the team showing "progession'' but in the next breath, he says the goal is simple: beat defending champion Quebec in their opening game and advance through the championship round. It should be noted the provincial team from last year didn't win a single game, finishing dead last in the tournament which includes representation from each of the 10 provinces. "That's our goal, to beat Quebec and get to the round of 1-5,'' says Itoafa, who is assisting head coach Younes Bouida of Grand Falls with the 18-member N.B. contingent. "Obviously, that might be asking a lot but you play every game with the idea of trying to win.
Soccer diplomacy
(Given that Iranians are fervent about soccer, perhaps the approach should be called soccer diplomacy.) Already a number of nongovernmental organizations are sponsoring learning tours to Iran. Some 3,000 Iranian students study in the U.S. each year. Particularly noteworthy is an exchange program in engineering between the University of Tehran and Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis. Despite the chilly relations between the two countries, and difficulties in obtaining visas, the program enables Iranian engineering students to spend time at both institutions and get degrees from both.
Through deeper political and cultural exchanges, Americans and Iranians may cultivate what theologian Miroslav Volf calls the necessary capacity for "double vision": the ability not only to see others from our own perspective but also to see the others as they see themselves—and to see ourselves as the others see us.
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