Football
Jeff Carlisle, U.S. soccer correspondent 6y

Eric Wynalda 'afraid' of Sunil Gulati, Carlos Cordeiro impact on U.S. soccer

Former United States international and current USSF presidential candidate Eric Wynalda says he has no fear of running against either current president Sunil Gulati, or newly announced candidate Carlos Cordeiro, "but I am afraid of what they are capable of when it comes to this game."

Cordeiro announced his candidacy on Wednesday, joining an increasingly crowded field that includes Wynalda, Boston attorney Steve Gans, Springfield, Mass.-based businessman Paul Lapointe, New York-based attorney Michael Winograd, and Huntington Beach banker Mike Warner. Landon Donovan is also mulling over whether or not to run.

But Cordeiro's announcement has thrown the race into turmoil. He has long been Gulati's right-hand man, and as such was still viewed as a supporter of the status quo, even if his platform states otherwise. And that is the picture Wynalda is trying to paint.

"[Gulati and Cordeiro] can't fix anything when it comes to soccer," said Wynalda via telephone. "They are still operating under the assumption that everything is just okay."

He added: "A lot of people are working under the assumption that I'm rocking the boat. I'm trying to stabilize the ship. I don't think people realize where we are, and what's going on, and to be viewed as someone rocking the boat, I'm somewhat offended by that.

"That's not my function. My function is to fix some of the problems and steady the ship."

The next candidates forum will be held in Jacksonville on Nov. 11. The filing deadline for candidates is on Dec. 12, with the actual election set to be held in February.

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