"I grew up around here," said Vermes, who lived in Delran, N.J., and played for Rutgers before playing professionally in Hungary. "And I watched the Cosmos here. It's like a dream come true to play for a professional team at Giants Stadium."

Major League Soccer is supposed to be the legacy left behind two years ago by the World Cup, which had such great appeal and was a financial success. The MetroStars are shouldering the pressure of re-establishing professional soccer in a highly sophisticated region.

The MetroStars will practice here until next Tuesday and then travel to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to train. They will scrimmage with Boston, Columbus, Kansas City and Tampa Bay until the end of the month. The teams in Colorado, Dallas, Los Angeles, Washington and San Jose will train in San Diego.

One reason for optimism that the league will not endure the fate of the North American Soccer League is the success of the World Cup, the increase in the number of quality American players and the league's good organization. Major financing is in place and spending is under control because the league will be operating on a sound business plan.

"We think we have all the necessary elements in place," said Doug Logan, the league's commissioner. "Philosophically, we're approaching the league with a different perspective than leagues in the past."