President Obama is right behind us, reveal USA defenders Jonathan Spector and Carlos Bocanegra

11 June 2010 14:39
  Barack Obama presumablyknows a good deal moreabout baseball andbasketball than he doesabout 4-4-2, but theAmerican presidentdelighted the US squadrecently by inviting them tothe White House to wishthem well in South Africa. [LNB]It was a gesture muchappreciated by the players,with West Ham's JonathanSpector saying: 'We metpresident Obama, BillClinton and Joe Biden. [LNB]'Itwas a big honour to meetall of them. It's nice to havetheir support. [LNB] He's all White: President Barack Obama, vice president Joseph Biden and Bill Clinton meet the USA squad[LNB]'He gave a brief speech buthe's a busy man and he hada lot of important things totake care of. He wished usluck and told us we havethe support of the nation. [LNB]'Ten to 15 years ago it'sprobable that the US soccerteam would never have hada meeting with thepresident, but that dependson the president. It's welldocumented that he's asports fan, soccer included. [LNB]'Soccer has come a longway in the US. We grabbedthe attention of the generalpublic in the States with theConfederations Cup lastyear. We know the onlyway to sustain that interestis to be successful at thisWorld Cup.' [LNB]Spector was unable to askObama about theoutlandish rumour that heis a West Ham fan. [LNB]'Obama didn't mentionbeing a West Ham fan. Wedidn't have a lot of facetime with him,' he added. [LNB] Fully focused: USA defenders Carlos Bocanegra and Jonathan Spector (left)[LNB]But former Fulhamdefender and current UScaptain, Carlos Bocanegra,confirmed that the WhiteHouse visit had been amorale-boosting exercise:'It was cool, a greatexperience for the wholeteam. [LNB]'That was my first timeat the White House and itwas a nice last thing to dobefore we set off to theWorld Cup.'It's a good incentive. [LNB]'I feltpretty patriotic at theWhite House that day.' [LNB]Football remains a sporttrying to break through inthe States but Bocanegra isoptimistic that a successfulWorld Cup could see thegame lift a level in terms ofpublic interest. [LNB]'Man, we're trying todominate like the US doesin other sports,' he said. [LNB]'We're on the right pathand getting better andbetter. You guys have had adomestic league for over100 years. We've had onefor 14 years. [LNB]'It would be nice if the KobeBryants of this worldstarted choosing soccer. Idon't know if that's evergoing to happen. It's a different dynamic inthe US to everywhere elsein the world.'[LNB] Neville warns Capello that wing duo Lennon and Wright-Phillips can't replace WalcottFabregas focused on Spain's World Cup bid, not Barca's offer, says Pique Nigeria deflect stampede blame as they insist there was 'no choice' over venue[LNB] 

Source: Daily_Mail