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| Wednesday, December 18, 2002 15:09 EST |
Veteran defender happy to stay with club
[ESPN.com news services]
SECAUCUS, N.J. -- MetroStars defender Steve Jolley, a 2001 MLS All-Star and the league's 2002 USSF Humanitarian of the Year award winner, signed a new multi-year deal with the club on Wednesday. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Jolley, 27, has been a regular presence on the back line since the April 19, 2000 trade that brought him from the Los Angeles Galaxy to the MetroStars in return for a second round pick in the 2001 Superdraft. He holds career league totals of 146 games played with seven goals and 10 assists.
"I am happy that the long and arduous process of contract negotiations has finally concluded," said Jolley. "I have spent the past six years doing what I can to positively promote this sport. Signing this new deal enables me to continue doing what I love best."
"Steve has been a consistent and durable defender throughout his career with the MetroStars," said president/general manager Nick Sakiewicz. "He is certainly deserving of this new contract. We are very proud of Steve's accomplishments."
Jolley set a MetroStars team record with 75 consecutive starts, playing every single minute in 58 regular season, eight playoff, five U.S. Open Cup, and four Copa Merconorte games following his acquisition. He saw his consecutive starts streak end when he missed the April 27, 2002 home game (1-1 tie) against San Jose with a strained right hamstring, though that is the only game he has missed during his entire MetroStars tenure.
Jolley holds career MetroStars numbers of three goals and six assists in 80 MLS regular season games.
Crew's Warzycha announces retirement
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Columbus Crew announced Monday that Crew great Robert Warzycha has retired and will remain with the organization as an assistant coach.
"I am looking forward to moving into coaching full-time and I am excited to be able to do so in Columbus with the Crew," Warzycha said. "The city of Columbus and the Crew organization have become home to my family over the last six years. I will definitely miss playing, but I am fortunate to be able to look back on a long, rewarding career that ended with a championship."
A native of Poland, he joined the Crew during its inaugural 1996 season and is the club's all-time assist leader (61), while ranking second in games played (160), and third in points (99). He ended his career with 19 goals and 61 assists in regular season play and two goals and nine assists in 17 playoff games.
One of the most successful foreign acquisitions ever for Major League Soccer, the 39-year-old Warzycha was known for his deadly free kicks. He also had a flair for the dramatic when he scored the first regular season golden-goal in league history when he buried a free kick in stoppage time of overtime to defeat San Jose 2-1 in the 2000 home opener.
Warzycha played the 2002 season as a player/assistant coach, lending his expertise both on and off the field.
"I can not say enough about Robert Warzycha, as a player, a coach or, most importantly, a person," said head coach Greg Andrulis. "He has been a consummate professional and a leader, both on and off the field, and he also proved himself to be a very capable coach last season. Now he will be devoting his time and energy to coaching full-time, following a long and distinguished playing career, and we are thrilled that it will be in Columbus."
Johnston joins MetroStars' coaching staff
SECAUCUS, N.J. -- Scottish standout Mo Johnston, a veteran of 15 years of top-level European club soccer as well as a driving force in leading the Kansas City Wizards to the 2000 MLS Cup championship, was named as an assistant to head coach Bob Bradley on the MetroStars coaching staff on Monday.
Johnston, 39, retired in 2001 following six seasons in Major League Soccer, earning three MLS All-Star selections with the Wizards.
Prior to joining MLS, Johnston played 15 seasons in Europe, scoring 310 goals in 529 games for Scottish clubs such as Partick Thistle, Hearts of Midlothian, Falkirk, Celtic and Rangers, as well as Watford (England), Everton (England) and Nantes (France).
"I am excited about the opportunity to join the MetroStars organization and Bob Bradley's coaching staff," said Johnston, who has spent the past year working on various community relation activities in the Kansas City area.
"I am excited to have such a prominent addition to my coaching staff," said Bob Bradley. "Mo is an experienced player not only at the international and European soccer level, but also with MLS where he played for six seasons in Kansas City."
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, the forward/midfielder also earned 35 caps with 15 goals in an international career that included the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Johnston scored six goals in eight games in helping his native Scotland qualify for the '90 World Cup.
In 1989, he returned from Nantes to Scottish soccer to play for the Rangers, becoming the first Catholic since World War II to play for the club, which he helped lead to consecutive league championships from 1990-93.
After joining the Wizards during the inaugural season of Major League Soccer in 1996, Johnston played in 138 games over the next six seasons, collecting 30 goals and 25 assists. He was named the team MVP in 1998 and 1999.
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