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PRINT THIS PAGE | E-MAIL THIS PAGE Thursday, January 29, 1998 Dallas-area player aims for World Cup By STEVE DAVIS / The Dallas Morning News DALLAS -- Things are going well in Germany -- where his steadily ascending career seems ready to crest -- for Chad Deering of Plano. Deering is keeping crossed fingers that his soccer fortunes on this side of the Atlantic may soon flourish similarly. In 1991, the quick left-sided midfielder was one of the first Americans who broke into German soccer. He's playing regularly now for Wolfsburg in Germany's top division, having appeared in 13 of the team's last 14 games. Deering's next mission is to land one of 22 precious spots on the Americans' World Cup roster. He's been a part-time national team performer for the last four years. A 1989 Plano High School graduate, Deering played two seasons at Indiana before trying German soccer. He toiled without much fanfare -- at least in the United States, where bigger names playing abroad were getting all the press at home -- in Germany's second and third divisions for most of the 1990s. Deering, 27, worked into the big time when Wolfsburg achieved promotion from the Second Division into the Bundesliga this season. The small club, where he teams with U.S. standout midfielder Claudio Reyna, has been one of the surprises of the German season, sitting ninth out of 18 teams at the halfway mark. Deering probably will be called into the U.S. camp for warmup games in Europe before the World Cup. But he doesn't anticipate being called for upcoming domestic matches. Wolfsburg officials weren't happy last April when U.S. Coach Steve Sampson called Deering to the United States for training purposes only, forcing him to miss a German league match. Now Sampson must choose his spots carefully or risk putting Deering on the outs at Wolfsburg. Deering knows his window of opportunity during which he can make an impression will be small. "I'm playing in one of the toughest leagues in the world, so I would think I would at least make the (World Cup) squad," Deering said. "But you never know." Deering will be a free agent at the end of the current German season. His agent has had preliminary discussions about joining Major League Soccer. Deering said he'd like to return to the United States, where securing a living in professional outdoor soccer wasn't an option when he left Indiana. "But the situation has to be right, and it has to make sense financially," he said. "But I would love to come back." ------ Distributed by The Associated Press Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: Enter their email address below: texnews.com Reporter OnLine Local Sports Texas Sports Copyright ©1998, Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: Enter their email address below:

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