| | CHICAGO -- Sunil Gulati's return to Major League Soccer is a surprising and welcome development. Gulati, of course, was famously sacked by now ex-commissioner Doug Logan after saddling the New York/New Jersey MetroStars with the expensive -- and injured -- Tab Ramos without consulting team officials. That notwithstanding, this is a good -- albeit flawed -- move for the Revs, who at long last have concluded what has been obvious to everyone on the outside of the organization: that Brian O'Donovan is not competent to make soccer decisions.
Tuesday's announcement puts Gulati back into the middle of one of the most
powerful soccer families in America, the Krafts: they control two teams and
moreover, a stadium outside of Boston. Moreover, they are important NFL
owners and have deep pockets -- the kind of people that anyone looking to make a living off this sport would enjoy hooking up with. They also have fared dismally in MLS to date, with both the Revs and the equally
wretched Clash.
A lot of the blame for those performances has to be laid at the feet of
O'Donovan: he made the hires and fires that have seen the Revs cycle through three coaches and an huge number of players. But, to be fair, O'Donovan was a credible business person -- there is no disputing that the Revs enjoy perhaps the league's only truly passionate fan base, and that has a lot to do with the excellent community work that O'Donovan's staff did.
But, despite being bumped "upstairs," into a purely business role, the
message sent by the Krafts is clear: Gulati is the new man in Boston, and
come hell or high water, he's got the reins. What is curious, however, is
how this move puts Gulati on the other side of the fence -- he now he has to
deal with the head-office allocations and budgetary issues that he once so
famously controlled with an iron fist.
The facts are plain: not many people like Gulati. Agents hate him because
of the low-ball tactics he employed as Deputy Commish; players dislike him
because of his controlling nature (he is famous for calling "personal
conferences" with players (which I have witnessed) and coaches in MLS
generally don't have the kindest things to say about him either. One current
MLS head disparagingly refers to him as the "Little Indian," and there is a
great deal of resentment in the politically charged soccer community over
his perceived careerist bent. And do I even dare rase the
conflict-of-interest question? After all, Gulati is the sheperd of the
Project 2010 program, to say nothing of his close ties to the national team
and its players ... and, of course, his inner knowledge of MLS finances.
As a result, it should be interesting how Gulati reacts when he can't get
the people he wants -- or, if on the other hand, Gulati is suddenly able to
grease the wheels and get players who can play with one another. It would be repressing if Gulati took the easy way out and tried to stock the Revs with more tired former national teamers; I think he's smarter than that, however.
Frankly, Gulati's job isn't to be popular anyway: I have found him
abrasive on occasion, but I respect the guy because he genuinely does care
about the sport -- and also knows something about it, to boot. He's exactly
the kind of guy that the Revs should be picking up. Right now, Gulati's
having the last laugh, and it reminds me of something that he said to me
just after he was fired. At a national team practice, where he was still
busily holding court on his cell phone, he looked at me and my father and
said, "You know, we're going to be around a lot longer than most people."
Gulati was right. The Krafts are hoping he'll be right about a few more
things, to boot.
Poland vs. Sweden -- or was that England?
Fox Sports World, as I've noted before, is a great soccer channel, and they
can hardly be held responsible for the telecast of the Poland-Sweden Euro
2000 qualifier, as the broadcast was handled by another Murdoch-owned entity, Sky Sports of Britain. That said, I can't let the telecast of this game last weekend go unmentioned: it was inexcusably jingoistic and summed up just about everything ugly there is to say about English soccer.
Running the gamut from announcers who ignored the game on the field to
opine about England's chances (Poland had to lose so the English could go
into a playoff), to a halftime show which pretty much ignored the game to
focus on England, to a post-match report that failed to examine Poland's
performance in any kind of clinical light, this was just a nasty, nasty
telecast.
For the record, the Poles played well: they just aren't very good. They're
slow and they get "injured" a lot. The Swedes aren't bad, and the two teams
have a history of bad blood between them. But it would have been nice to
hear about that, rather than about a team that wasn't even on the field.
Don't forget that that tone was set pre-game: that's when one of those many
John Bull supporters pointed out why it was important for Sweden to do the
work for England.
"England has a chance to win Euro 2000 if they get the chance; Poland has
no chance," said the commentator.
And some wonder why the Empire's decline wasn't a cause for hand-wringing.
Random thoughts
Thanks to some great baseball series featuring both New York teams and
Boston, the MLS playoffs are once again probably rendered invisible as they
prepare to kick off this weekend. While this is understandable, what isn't is
the lack of response from MLS: where are the ads during the Major League Baseball telecasts? Why is D.C. the only team mounting a major publicity campaign for the playoffs? Or have the boys in New York just given up in the wake of commish Don Garber's statements this week that the length of his season was
"horrible?"
Kudos to Alexi Lalas for knowing when to hang it up. The
gingerman hasn't been a serious player for years, and his decision to walk
away from the field is a smart one because it leaves us less with the memory of his miserable MLS years and more with the knowledge that he has always been a keen spokesman for the game. He's also a nice guy, which is rare in the pro sports field. Wanna bet he pops up on TV next season? And while we're talking retirement, it's too early for Tony Meola perhaps, but I'd love to see him doing color on some games -- Meola is straight-forward and sharp-tongued: in other words, perfect for broadcast.
FIFA head Sepp Blatter once again urged Manchester United to reconsider its refusal to compete in England's F.A. Cup this season. The Red Devils have repeatedly cited fixture congestion as a reason to pass it up, as well as the World Club Championships set for January in Brazil. While I'd like to see United defend its title, I'd like to see it stick to its guns and bow out of
the F.A. Cup, sending a powerful message that the schedule is getting too big for its own good.
Speaking of messages, Glasgow Celtic became the latest
club to talk about abandoning its league to join another. For years, it's
been no secret that Scotland really only supports two clubs despite a long
history of soccer: the crowds who see Rangers and Celtic every week
generally equals the cumulative attendance for all League teams -- hardly a
sound system. But does that mean that Celtic, Rangers, Dundee United and
Hearts or Aberdeen should break off? No.
Scottish soccer should instead look to fixing the messes created by their own stubborn decisions regarding scheduling, player development, revenue sharing, television and merchandise. The Premier League should be frozen with 10 teams, eliminating relegation and promotion; the Dundee and Edinburgh clubs should merge, and the lower-division teams should instead function as a semi-pro farm system. If this were to happen, there would be more money to go around for everyone ... but then Scotland would also have to confront the sectarian legacy that has resulted in examples like Dundee and Dundee United being right across the street from one another in a small town
To all of you who read between the lines and sent congratulations: Thank you.
Jamie Trecker, editor of Kick! magazine, writes regularly for ESPN.com. You may e-mail him at jamie_trecker@go.com; while he guarantees he will read all letters, he regrets that he cannot guarantee a reply because of overwhelming volume. | |
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