Malin Will Announce World Cup

Seamus P. Malin '62, the director of Harvard's International Office, reaches into his black Adidas handbag, pulls out a xerox and chuckles.

It's a copy of the cartoon "Non Sequitir." The strip shows a man sitting in an easy chair in the middle of a soccer field and pointing a television remote control at the goalie as if to change the channel. "I think it's a sign that Americans are beginning to accept soccer as a legitimate sport," the goalie says of the man.

Perhaps Malin laughs because, for this summer, it will be his job to makes soccer accessible to members of the American public who may not be well-versed in the rules. This week, he signed a cortract with ABC to be the lead color commentator for its broadcasts of the World Cup soccer tournament during June and July.

"When you're announcing on the networks, you've got to realize the audience for the game is mixed," Malin says of the millions expected to watch ABC's telecasts this summer. "You've got the true believers and the curiosity seekers...and you've got to keep both interested. It's a very fine line to walk."

Malin has been a consistent presence as a soccer announcer on radio and television ever since 1978. He was in the broadcast booth for NBC during the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. And he has announced soccer for the last three Olympic Games.

Malin says he will broadcast seven weekend games for ABC, and he will be in the booth for the world final in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., in July. On weekdays, he will announce games for ESPN.

Malin's broadcasting career began when he was a 16-year-old high school senior inhis hometown of Dublin, Ireland. In 1958, he cameto Harvard and played varsity soccer.

Malin, who is now an American citizen, didone-minute weekly segments for a radio programcalled "Junior Sports Magazine." After coming tothe U.S., he also did a variety of radio and TVwork, including college soccer for the ESPN cablestation and play-by-play for the New York Cosmosof the now defunct North American Soccer League.

To prepare for his time in the announcingbooth, Malin reads international soccer magazinesthat he buys at Out-of-Town Ness. He also watchesSunday telecasts of games from the Netherlands,Italy and Mexico on cable television.

When he announces on cable, Malin says he tiresto focus his analysis on the strategies employedby coaches and players. But on network TV, theinternational office director says he must"personalize" his approach and tell stories aboutthe players in order to appeal to a lesssoccer-savvy audience.

This year's Cup will be the first one held inthe U.S., and some soccer patrons are hoping thetournament will boost the sport's popularity inthis country. American teams have traditionallyfared poorly in international competition (itsteam lost all three games it played in the 1990World Cup in Italy), but Malin thinks the U.S.team could do better this time.

"There's a decent chance," Malin says. "But Ialso think it's going to be very difficult forthem. They've got a much stronger side than in1990, but they're in a very tough [first round]group."

Malin is worried about the current state of thegame internationally because of a marked decreasein the number of goals scored per game. He saysthe 1990 World Cup saw the lowest quality of playever in the tournament as teams played for ties inthe preliminary rounds and emphasized defense overattacking.

"A lot of it is just that there's so muchpressure on the players world-wide not to lose,"Malin says. "In the European leagues, some playersget bonuses for not losing...for ties."

Malin says several changes made in the rulesfor this year's World Cup could help make the gamemore exciting.

Malin says some criticism of the game iswarranted. But he adds that many American sportswriters--many of whom are unfamiliar withsoccer--have hurt the sport in this country byneedlessly bashing it.

"Soccer bashing goes on from uniformed andbiased writers," says Malin, citing the BostonGlobe's two sports columnists as examples.

Malin himself isn't sure who's going to win theCup. Malin sees Germany, the defending champion,as the favorite, but he remains a big fan of theexciting style favored by the national team ofBrazil, which soccer star Pele led to three WorldCup championships.

"My heart says Brazil, but my head saysGermany," Malin says

Malin, who is now an American citizen, didone-minute weekly segments for a radio programcalled "Junior Sports Magazine." After coming tothe U.S., he also did a variety of radio and TVwork, including college soccer for the ESPN cablestation and play-by-play for the New York Cosmosof the now defunct North American Soccer League.

To prepare for his time in the announcingbooth, Malin reads international soccer magazinesthat he buys at Out-of-Town Ness. He also watchesSunday telecasts of games from the Netherlands,Italy and Mexico on cable television.

When he announces on cable, Malin says he tiresto focus his analysis on the strategies employedby coaches and players. But on network TV, theinternational office director says he must"personalize" his approach and tell stories aboutthe players in order to appeal to a lesssoccer-savvy audience.

This year's Cup will be the first one held inthe U.S., and some soccer patrons are hoping thetournament will boost the sport's popularity inthis country. American teams have traditionallyfared poorly in international competition (itsteam lost all three games it played in the 1990World Cup in Italy), but Malin thinks the U.S.team could do better this time.

"There's a decent chance," Malin says. "But Ialso think it's going to be very difficult forthem. They've got a much stronger side than in1990, but they're in a very tough [first round]group."

Malin is worried about the current state of thegame internationally because of a marked decreasein the number of goals scored per game. He saysthe 1990 World Cup saw the lowest quality of playever in the tournament as teams played for ties inthe preliminary rounds and emphasized defense overattacking.

"A lot of it is just that there's so muchpressure on the players world-wide not to lose,"Malin says. "In the European leagues, some playersget bonuses for not losing...for ties."

Malin says several changes made in the rulesfor this year's World Cup could help make the gamemore exciting.

Malin says some criticism of the game iswarranted. But he adds that many American sportswriters--many of whom are unfamiliar withsoccer--have hurt the sport in this country byneedlessly bashing it.

"Soccer bashing goes on from uniformed andbiased writers," says Malin, citing the BostonGlobe's two sports columnists as examples.

Malin himself isn't sure who's going to win theCup. Malin sees Germany, the defending champion,as the favorite, but he remains a big fan of theexciting style favored by the national team ofBrazil, which soccer star Pele led to three WorldCup championships.

"My heart says Brazil, but my head saysGermany," Malin says