Now Lalas has that and more–a place in soccer history. When he took the field for Padua, a small, pretty city 25 miles west of Venice, he became the first American ever to play in Italy’s elite league, considered the best in the world. It is a remarkable step for Lalas, who prior to this summer’s World Cup was thought to have a better future as a rock guitarist than as a fullback. But his stellar World Cup play, along with his intelligence and buoyant personality, made him America’s most sought-after soccer talent. Along with Padua, German and English teams also made him offers. “Nowit’s up to me to prove I can play at this level,” says Lalas, who–regardless–will earn more than $500,000 this season.
America’s soccer boosters had hoped that the World Cup would lead to a U.S. pro league. But the planned offspring, Major League Soccer, is still a paper league missing more than a few pages. The strong U.S. showing did create new opportunities in Europe, where previously only a handful of Americans had played. “Over here they’re always looking for new face s, and the Americas have now shown they can play,” said Michael Becker, a Europe-based agent who represents Lalas and more than a half dozen other members of the American national team. As a result, Cobi Jones now streaks down the field, dreadlocks flying, for Coventry City in England, while promising youngsters Claudio Reyna and Joe-Max Moore play in the German Bundesliga. “You learn from playing tough matches every week,” says Lalas. “You’ve got to get your ass kicked a lot.”
By that standard, Lalas should be a learned man. Padua, which this season moved up from Italy’s minor leagues, is a weak team battling far richer rivals. Lalas is their first foreign player in 32 years–and already their biggest star. While Padua surrendered 12 goals and scored none in its first four league games, the Italian sports papers, which rate every player’s performance, gave Lalas respectable grades. “Without him Padua would have suffered 10 goals a game,” says Enzo Palladini, of the national sports daily Corriere Dello Sport.
While Lalas and his American girlfriend take Italian-language classes, he makes do on the field with gestures and shouts of “hit me.” Off the field is easier: he’s fluent in the universal language of rock and roll. He won over his teammates with his vast repertoire, from Beatles to Beastie Boys, though sometimes he wonders if they know the difference. “They’ll go from James Brown to Nirvana thinking it’s the same song,” he says. “In Italy they love soccer and music, and Lexi is both,” says his agent. “If he were only a goal scorer, not a defender, he’d be a true super-star.” (Lalas did score Padua’s only goal in its lone victory of the season, a nonleague tournament match.)
Stardom has its downside, as Lalas discovered when he played for the U.S. national team in London last month against England. He was booed every time he touched the ball, and the British press ripped his subpar performance. Indeed, they searched the animal kingdoms for unkind comparisons: “a clumsy top-heavy red lobster,” wrote one; “an uncoordinated ostrich,” said another. Still, if one man’s lobster can be another’s ostrich, then the folks in Padua can be forgiven for thinking they have a thoroughbred. “Lalas has gotten even more attention for the team and the city than we expected,” said team spokesman Giglie Fattori. And in soccer, like all pro sports today, attention is the next best thing to victory.
