RETIRING SOCCER LEGEND PAUL CALIGIURI HONORED

Special Presentation to National Team Leader During 4th Honda Symposium in L.A.

LOS ANGELES (December 11, 2001) - Paul Caligiuri, a 14 year veteran of the U.S. National Team who ended his playing career in October, was honored today by Fútbol de Primera and American Honda for his numerous contributions to soccer in the United States.

Caligiuri's career will be best remembered for what many consider the most significant goal in U.S. soccer history, scored against Trinidad & Tobago in 1989. "The Shot Heard Around the World," as it is now known, led the U.S. to qualification for the 1990 World Cup, its first in 40 years, and forever changed soccer in the United States. He went on to start every game and score the first U.S. goal in the 1990 World Cup, and later played every minute of the 1994 World Cup, which was held in the United States.

"When I reflect back on my career, I feel grateful that I have been so fortunate to achieve my childhood dream of playing professional soccer," said Caligiuri. "My career has given me the opportunity to make friends from all over the world, and these friendships are greater than soccer. After playing so many years, I really want to see that this sport continues to grow, and I feel that there are other areas I can make a difference. So while it is still difficult to realize that my career is over, it is exciting to open a new chapter in the world of soccer. I want to give special thanks to Fútbol de Primera for honoring me today."

Caligiuri, who made his first of 110 appearances for the national team in 1984 while still at UCLA, also was captain of UCLA's 1985 NCAA Championship team and played for the U.S. in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. He also played in the 1993 and 1995 Copa America tournaments and the 1991 and 1996 Gold Cups. He retired from the national team in 1997 and ended his playing career in October 2001 after winning the Lamar Hunt U.S. Cup with the Los Angeles Galaxy. He is now the men's and women's soccer coach at Cal Poly Pomona in southern California.

During his career in Europe playing for German clubs Hamburg S.V., S.V. Meppen, F.C. Hansa Rostock, S.C. Freiburg and St. Pauli, and in the United States at MLS clubs Columbus Crew and Los Angeles Galaxy, Paul was a role model to both youth players and his fellow professional players alike.

"When I joined the national team, Paul was already part of the program so you naturally looked up to a guy like that," said U.S. National Team teammate Marcelo Balboa. "Paul was one of the first players to go overseas to play in Germany, and every American player at the time was looking up to that. As time goes on, people forget things like that. People pass them by because of the new generation of players in MLS. But when you go back, you see that Paul has done a lot for American soccer and it just seems that we tend to forget about things like that as time goes on."

Caligiuri was joined in Tuesday's special presentation by his daughters, his father, his brother and various other family friends. Former teammates Eric Wynalda and Mauricio Cienfuegos, who both said a few words about Caligiuri, also attended the festivities. The presentation was made by Fútbol de Primera's Andrés Cantor.

"Paul changed the course of U.S. soccer history," said Cantor. "Without his contributions, soccer in this country today simply would not be enjoying its present level of success. Everyone associated with soccer in the U.S. owes Paul a big 'thank you' for everything he has done, and this presentation today is our way of doing just that."