ESPNsoccernet - MLS - Last chance to impress

ESPNsoccernet: MLS

Wednesday, March 31, 2004
ESPNsoccernet: April 1, 9:38 PM US
Last chance to impress

Marc Connolly

CARY, N.C. -- Playing in Major League Soccer never really crossed into Jovan Kirovski's mind until last June.

Jovan Kirovski is excited about teaming up with Carlos Ruiz in L.A. (Tony Marshall/Empics)
And for good reason.

Since the age of 16, he'd been playing in the world's best leagues, and suiting up for some of the most-vaunted clubs of all-time, including Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund and Sporting Lisbon.

Though his playing time was usually scarce, having to compete with a plethora of internationals, Kirovski was content as one of the few Americans making a paycheck at the highest level in the world.

He was playing in Champions League matches, getting a chance to play against the top players in the world, and going places that most U.S. players could only dream of going in their careers.

And he was young. Always so young.

There would be plenty of time to establish himself as a starting player for one of his clubs, and definitely enough opportunities to become a regular on the U.S. National Team. That was always his mindset.

That is until he took a good look around while he was with the U.S. side at the Confederations Cup in France, and realized the amount of up-and-coming talent Bruce Arena had been bringing in recently. And how World Cup qualifying was only a year away.

Kirovski knew he'd be 28 by the start of qualifying, and 30 by the time the 2006 World Cup rolled around. Not having played in a World Cup, despite having been capped 59 times with the U.S. since 1994, he knew what would be at stake over the next two years.

"This might be," he said, "my last chance to play in a World Cup. And I want to play in a World Cup."

While returning to MLS would mean more playing time and a chance to be close to his family in Escondido, Calif., he wasn't going to give up at Birmingham City.

In his first season in 2002-2003, he started five games and appeared only 12 times, but was able to score twice for the Blues, so he was optimistic at his chances for the 2003-2004 campaign.

Preview Week
Marc Connolly will continue to look at the season ahead: Wed., March 31: L.A. newcomer Jovan Kirovski; Kicking It with ... John Harkes Thurs., April 1: Fearless Freddy Adu; The Other Rookie Fri., April 2: D.C. debut for Adu; Chat at 5 p.m. ET

But the playing time he sought from manager Steve Bruce, who he played for at Crystal Palace of the English First Division, did not come this season.

Instead, he found himself waiting behind former Columbus Crew star Stern John and French international Christophe Dugarry for playing time, which resulted in zero starts and a total of six appearances over a five-month span.

That's when he decided to make the move in February, by getting his release from the club in hopes of returning to the U.S. to play as a professional for the first time in his career.

"I wasn't playing a lot," said Kirovski, "and I wanted to be closer to home."

There was also a bigger reason.

"I wanted Bruce to be able to see me."

During his six-year span as U.S. manager, Arena has never minced words about his feelings regarding playing time.

No matter what club you're playing for, or what country you are playing in, or what amount of money you are making, Arena has always said that he needs to see players on the field with their respective clubs. And it's something he's mentioned to Kirovski throughout his tenure on more than one occasion.

In fact, Arena directly brought up MLS as an option, knowing that Kirovski would have an excellence chance to play as a first-team striker on most sides in the league.

"We've spoken about it several times in the past," said the 6-foot-1, 175-pound forward. "He's pleased with the decision I made, too. I just turned 28, so I'm definitely in my prime now, so I should be playing regularly."

After being allocated to the Los Angeles Galaxy in February with the allocation received from the retirement of Mauricio Cienfuiegos, that's exactly what he'll be doing this year.

Galaxy head coach Sigi Schmid is expecting big things out of his new striker after having him in training for the entire preseason.

"I had a good feeling of what Jovan could bring, and he hasn't disappointed me one bit since he's been with us," says Schmid, who has known Kirovski since he was a youth player and briefly as one of the National Team assistants in 1994 when he was brought in for training before the World Cup.

Jovan's travels
Since leaving high school as a sophomore, Jovan Kirovski's soccer career has taken him to the following places before landing in MLS for the 2004 season: 1992-1996: Manchester United's A and B squads (England) 1996-1997: Borussia Dortmund (Germany) 1998: Fortuna Cologne (Germany) 1999-2000: Borussia Dortmund (Germany) 2000-2001: Sporting Lisbon (Portugal) 2001-2002: Crystal Palace (England) 2002-2004: Birmingham City (England) 2004: Los Angeles Galaxy (United States)

Jovan's travels

Since leaving high school as a sophomore, Jovan Kirovski's soccer career has taken him to the following places before landing in MLS for the 2004 season:

1992-1996: Manchester United's A and B squads (England)
1996-1997: Borussia Dortmund (Germany)
1998: Fortuna Cologne (Germany)
1999-2000: Borussia Dortmund (Germany)
2000-2001: Sporting Lisbon (Portugal)
2001-2002: Crystal Palace (England)
2002-2004: Birmingham City (England)
2004: Los Angeles Galaxy (United States)

"His energy and work-rate is tremendous. That's the first thing. And he's clever with the ball, so he puts pressure on the opponent's defense. You have to be aware of his ability to take you one-on-one, and he has a good shot on goal.

"He gives us a perfect player to complement with Carlos Ruiz."

Thus far, Kirovski has clicked well with Ruiz. In size, one would think that Kirovski would serve as the target striker with Ruiz running off of him. But in reality, this twosome will work better flip-flopped, with the league's top goal scorer over the past two seasons stretching the defense and Kirovski playing in the withdrawn role he relishes.

In recent preseason matches against the Syracuse Salty Dogs and the Kansas City Wizards, the U.S. National Team striker could be found as far back as in the defensive midfield at times, and along the flanks on other occasions. It's something he couldn't do if Ruiz wasn't comfortable playing up as far as the defense will allow him to.

"Carlos likes to stay up high," said Kirovski, who had heard about Ruiz, but had never seen him play until he joined the Galaxy. "It's great because it gives me the freedom to roam everywhere, really. Carlos is a poacher, and that's ideal for me, because it allows me to play in the position I prefer to play alongside a good front man like him. He's always in the right place at the right time, and he's a finisher. Plus, he's strong for his size.

"I rate him very highly."

Ruiz is equally as excited about the new partnership.

"Jovan is a great player," said Ruiz. "He came from the English league, which says a lot. He'll help us a lot in the attack as a forward or as a high midfielder."

The goals should come for Kirovski, as should a slew of assists, since he's a player with excellent vision, who has good touch on his passes.

He hopes this will help L.A. get back to its form in 2002 when the club won MLS Cup after having a down year in 2003. And, at the same time, impress Arena enough to earn him call-ups throughout the spring for the National Team, in hopes of improving his reputation as being an unpredictable performer over the years.

"It's been up and down, sure," said Kirovski about his career with the National Team, which most recently included seven minutes off the bench against Haiti on March 13. "It definitely has a little to do with not playing all the time. It's been inconsistent, too, as I haven't been in with the team all the time. I've also been in different positions all the time."

Kirovski has been used as an attacking midfielder, as a target striker, and as a withdrawn forward throughout his 10 years with the National Team. No matter where he has performed best, or where he plays for L.A., scoring goals will be a must to get Arena's attention, which is something Schmid believes will happen this season.

"The only thing that has stalled Jovan's career is that he's been in places where his playing time has been limited," said the Galaxy head coach. "All Jovan needs is games. And I'm very confident that six or seven games into the season, he's going to be a very productive player for our team and one of the top strikers in the entire league."

Marc Connolly covers American soccer for ESPN Soccernet.com. He can be reached at: shaketiller10@yahoo.com.