October 23, 2007
US Soccer.com - Gulati PC Quote Sheet
Big Apple Soccer.com - Over and Out
Big Apple Soccer.com - Throwing His Hat Into the Ring
At yesterday's press conference, US Soccer president Sunil Gulati did the expected and announced that US Women's National Team head coach Greg Ryan will not be offered a new contract beyond his current deal that expires at the end of 2007.
Gulati also announced that US Soccer General Secretary Dan Flynn, USWNT legend Mia Hamm, and himself will make up the three person committee that will name Ryan's successor. Gulati also hopes to announce the new USWNT head coach within the next 30 to 45 days.
Former USWNT head coach Tony DiCicco has reportedly thrown his hat into the ring. It will be interesting to see how much run former USWNT players such as Carla Overbeck, Carin Gabarra, Brandi Chastain, and July Foudy get during this process. Then you have coaches such as US U-20 Women and UCLA head coach Jillian Ellis, Santa Clara Women's Soccer coach, and Brandi Chastain's husband, Jerry Smith, and North Carolina Women's Soccer coach Anson Dorrance.
And while some fans will call for a foreign coach to take over the program, I don't see that happening right now.
News and Notes:
- Cobi Jones may have played his last professional game on Sunday and SI.com's Jonah Freedman has a nice Q&A with the original member of the Galaxy.
- Luciano Emilio isn't a Designated Player, but he sure produced like one in his first MLS season.
- When Alexi Lalas opens his mouth, you never can tell what he'll say. This time it's the big red head saying that American soccer players are coddled too much. I wonder what guys like Clint Dempsey, Taylor Twellman, and Jimmy Conrad think of that? Let alone Lalas' own player in Landon Donovan.
- I love this question: Why doesn't LA care about Chivas USA? It isn't merely about Beckham as the Galaxy outdrew Chivas USA even before the biggest signing in MLS history. Perhaps it's because slapping the name Chivas on an MLS team isn't fooling the futbol fans in SoCal?
- The love affair between Toronto FC and their fans survived a season with less than stellar results on the field. The question now is what can the team do for an encore?
- Philly and St. Louis are feeling bullish on their chances to land MLS expansion teams. And Rhinos wait for a big money investor to step in and deliver a team......
- The picture of the day has to be this one from the Chicago-LA game on Sunday.
The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the Rochester Rhinos or SoccerSam.com. Feel free to send any comments or complaints to news@soccersam.com. James promises to read (but not to respond) to all of them.
