International soccer moved indoors for the first time Saturday and the sky didn't fall in.
Nothing was different, really, under the teflon roof of the Pontiac Silverdome. The ball even bounced as usual, into the net of Germany's opponent.The World Cup champion beat England 2-1 on the grass field installed over the floor of the Silverdome. A crowd of 62,126 - the largest for a soccer game in the United States since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics - saw Stefan Effenberg and Jurgen Klinsmann score as the Germans won U.S. Cup '93 with a 2-0-1 record.
"The grass was perfect," said Klinsmann, the tournament MVP with four goals. "We never expected it in such perfect condition."
Soccer officials believe grass fields indoors could become an innovation in Europe and showed off modern technology in the Silverdome, one of nine sites for next year's World Cup. The field consisted of 1,988 pieces of sod installed at a cost of about $2 million, and it will be removed and preserved for four games in next year's tournament.
"It was just like playing on a normal grass field," said England captain David Platt, who scored his country's goal. "The ball held up a little, but I think that was because it was very dry."
It was 78 degrees with 74 percent humidity outside the unairconditioned dome on a gray and drizzly day, and it seemed hotter inside. The heat had little effect on the result, though, as Germany improved to 9-2-2 against England since a loss in the 1966 World Cup final.
With English fans chanting, the game had the international atmosphere exepected for the 52-game World Cup.
In years to come, though, the details won't be remembered, only that international soccer on grass made a successful debut indoors.