In 1992, twelve miles from the ocean in Mission Viejo, California, a Serbian-born coach arrived to accomplish what many considered impossible: build a competitive soccer team from a group of players most Americans had never heard of. The training facilities were incomplete, and relentless El Niño rains had transformed their designated field into a swamp. Bora Milutinović's response was characteristically unconventional. "We have a beach," he said.
For months, players competing for twenty-two roster spots ran miles along the Pacific Ocean every single day. Defender Alexi Lalas later understood the strategy: "I think Bora understood, I'm only gonna get so much out of them as soccer players. But they can run. And they can run hard. And they can run forever." The grueling routine served as more than physical conditioning—it was a deliberate test of mental fortitude designed to separate those who could endure uncertainty from those who would crumble beneath it.
The documentary Summer of '94, directed by Dave LaMattina and Chad Walker, chronicles this unlikely transformation as the United States prepared to host the World Cup for the first time. Professional soccer as it exists today did not yet exist in America. The challenge required what many called a miracle, and Milutinović had earned the nickname "The Miracle Worker" through successful World Cup campaigns with Mexico and Costa Rica.
Where conventional coaches demanded and bullied, Milutinović chose stillness and questions. Captain John Harkes recalls the coach turning every inquiry back on the questioner before the question could even be completed. When the documentary filmmakers interviewed Milutinović, they left still attempting to decode his riddling explanations. "Coach Bora to this day is still a complete enigma," said co-director Chad Walker. "He's telling you in the most poetic way, in a way that kind of challenges you to think outside the box."
Defender Paul Caligiuri believes the mystery was intentional. "Coach Bora was mysterious," he explained. "He basically wanted you to figure it out and believe in yourself to bring out the best in you." The approach paralleled ancient philosophical traditions—a modern Laozi influencing through subtlety and paradox rather than direct command.
Without a professional league for his players, Milutinović gave them the next best preparation: the world itself. Orphaned at a young age and raised by global experience, he understood its transformative power. He took the team across continents, playing anyone, anywhere, sleeping in airports for the chance to compete. "If you don't play against the best," Milutinović said, "you don't have a chance to grow."
The coaching philosophy emphasized self-discovery over instruction. Winger Cobi Jones described the relationship: "I look at him as, to a degree, that father figure. We all had to live under his wing for a two-year period." The impact extended far beyond athletic performance. Milutinović told Harkes directly: "Mr. Harkes, I need you to stand up and be a leader when you come home." Harkes understood the cryptic message: "There is an end game and it's the '94 World Cup. When we get to that point, we need to be something special."
Lalas credits Milutinović with shaping his entire career. "I'm standing here today because of Bora, and what he did to me in terms of challenging me, but also having faith in me," he said. "You need a champion in life, and it could be a parent, it could be a teacher, it could be a coach. Those of us lucky enough to have had one know exactly what he means."
The lasting influence is measurable: of the twenty-two players on that 1994 roster, fourteen became coaches themselves. This remarkable statistic demonstrates how Milutinović's methods unlocked potential that extended far beyond athletic performance. The concept has inspired Yes, Coach!, a national initiative supported by U.S. Soccer Foundation, Imagine Entertainment, and Stand Together, providing free resources to youth sports coaches focused on mentorship rather than merely technical instruction.
Ed Foster-Simeon, President and CEO of the U.S. Soccer Foundation, reflects on the broader cultural impact: "1994, in many ways, introduced soccer as a unifying force in this country. It was the first time that we really all got behind the game." As the 2026 World Cup returns to American soil in June, Imagine Entertainment and Stand Together are using Summer of '94 to reignite conversations about transformative coaching.
Whether Milutinović possessed genuine magic or simply an extraordinary ability to see unrealized potential in others remains debatable among his former players. "I've told it to my kids a lot," said Jones, "and they don't get it." Perhaps, like any masterful performance, the experience defies complete explanation.
Summer of '94 premieres on FOX on Friday, May 23, 2026, and begins streaming on Fox One and Tubi starting Monday, May 26, 2026. Additional resources for coaches and mentors are available through the Yes, Coach! initiative.
