A young woman walked into the Pittsburgh Soccer and Sports Store in Greenfield the other day with an unusual request of the owner, Steve Beckmann.

"Do you have a Korean uniform?" she asked.

"I'll see if we have your size," he answered.

That's the kind of question he only hears when it's World Cup time.

	World Cup on TV The tournament can be seen on ESPN, ESPN2, WTAE, WYTV, Univision and Telefutura. TODAY Noon: Germany vs. Costa Rica; ESPN2 3 p.m.: Poland vs. Ecuador; Cable; ESPN2 TOMORROW 9 a.m.: England vs. Paraguay; WYTV (tape delay at 10 a.m. on WTAE) Noon: Sweden vs. Trinidad & Tobago; WTAE, WYTV 3 p.m. Argentina vs. Ivory Coast; ESPN2 Related articles Just for kicks: Local company ensures consistent play of soccer balls Collier: Quote ties teen memory to World Cup

"The traffic increases and we get calls from people looking for jerseys and posters -- which we don't have -- every four years," said Beckmann, who also is amateur director and vice president of PA West, the governing body of youth and adult soccer for approximately 55,000 participants. "The big companies, such as Nike, adidas and Puma, change their business plans the year of the World Cup and punch everything up ... shoes, uniforms, wristbands and anything else having to do with soccer."

The first round of the 32-team tournament begins today throughout Germany, with the United States making its debut against the Czech Republic at noon Monday in Gelsenkirchen. The USA's other two games in the round-robin Group E competition are against Italy at 3 p.m. June 17 in Kaiserlautern and against Ghana at 10 a.m. June 22 in Nuremberg.

The top two teams in each of the eight groups will advance to the single-elimination round of 16 June 24-27, with the quarterfinals June 30-July 1, the semifinals July 4-5 and the final July 9.

Brazil is heavily favored to repeat as champion while the USA is a long shot to get out of Group E. All of the games in the first round will be televised by ESPN2, ESPN or ABC.

Unlike four years ago when the games from Korea and Japan were televised live in the early hours of the morning when most Americans were asleep, the games at this World Cup should have a much larger audience this year because there is only a six hour time difference between Germany and the United States.

"Landon Donovan is the one player on the USA team that most kids, most people, in the country would know," said Joe Luxbacher, the men's soccer coach the past 22 years at the University of Pittsburgh.

"The World Cup definitely has a trickle-down affect on the interest in boys and girls around here. Having the games on during the day should help because it gives the kids a chance to watch, and you can learn a lot by watching the top players. You also get a sense of the emotion that surrounds the games."

Although soccer doesn't generate the same passion and nationalism among fans in this country as it does around the world, the World Cup does raise the level of interest in the sport at least for two months every four years.

"We have a niche of very hard-core fans of soccer in Western Pennsylvania who will watch the World Cup regardless of who's playing," said Gene Klein, coach of the Riverhounds.

"But if the U.S. goes far, advancing out of the group, it will bring in new fans. The guy to watch is Landon Donovan. He's the guy who can single-handedly win games for the United States."

Donovan's No. 21 red-white-and-blue jersey is the biggest seller in Beckmann's store.

"We also sell a lot of Brazil's No. 9 Ronaldo and No. 10 Ronaldinho and England's No. 7 David Beckham," he said. "But interest [in buying jerseys] dies after the World Cup."

Jeremy Burgess, Dynamo travel league commissioner, said there are more kids wearing soccer jerseys these days as he conducts tryouts for the various age-group boys' and girls' teams at Panther Hollow and other fields in the city.

"I'd say at least one-quarter of the kids are aware of the World Cup," said Burgess, who plans to spend two weeks later this month attending first-round World Cup games.

"Interest in soccer grows every four years. I don't think it's going to be a flash and then disappear. The World Cup really drives home for the kids what soccer around the world is really all about.

"U.S. fans place a lot of emphasis on their team winning and doing well. The more the U.S. wins, the more the fans will jump on the bandwagon. I don't expect them all to jump off when it's over."

Although Donovan is the U.S. player who will receive much of the attention, Burgess said: "I'll put my money on Eddie Johnson. He's a striker, in his early 20s, who has a nose for the goal and is not afraid to take people on one on one. Keep an eye on him."

Beckmann has seen soccer enjoy an eye-opening growth in Western Pennsylvania, with nearly three times more boys and girls playing in organized leagues today than two decades ago.

"The kids are playing soccer, but they don't watch soccer that much," he said.

Getting the kids to attend their games is a problem facing the Riverhounds, who continue to struggle at the box office.

"There's no better introduction to watching soccer than watching the World Cup. They see it at the highest level and get an appreciation of how the game can be played," Klein said.

"The World Cup always generates an enormous amount of interest in the sport. It's like the Super Bowl played over months.

"During the World Cup, I can pick up the Post-Gazette and see soccer, that's terrific. Any information about the World Cup is a plus for the game of soccer on all levels."

He added with a laugh, "Wouldn't it be great if there was a World Cup every year?"