FIFA to ban mountains, plans to redraw maps underway

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=434361&cc=5901

This just in from FIFA. Mountains are considered performance-enhancing drugs. Sorry, Heidi. Ain’t gonna happen, Riccola horn blower dudes. No dice, von Trapp family.

FIFA prez Sepp Blatter (doesn’t he look like August from Willy Wonka?) has banned international games from being played at an altitude of more than 8,200 feet (about 2500 meters) above sea level.

The decision, Blatz says, is the result of the review of FIFA’s medical team, who found that high-altitude games, like those occurring in Bolivia and Peru, were detrimental to players’ health. Bolivia, whose capital La Paz is about 11,810 feet above sea level, is really the target of the ban, as some suggest that Bolivia has an unfair advantage in those games.

This advantage is made evident by Bolivia’s astounding World Cup qualifying success! I mean they have qualified three times since the Cup began in 1930. Most recently, these thin-air thieves qualified for the 1994 World Cup, and in 2006 they rode roughshod over their oxygen-breathing brethren by finishing dead last in CONMEBOL qualifying, just behind another high-time offender Peru. Wow, I’m surprised that FIFA didn’t put the clamp down on this injustice before.

But FIFA’s play-government needs to be carefully in this legislation’s enactment. I can see this becoming a slippery slope where they become the air quality police: Oops, no more Mexico City or L.A. matches and have they checked the pollen count coming off Washington, D.C.’s cherry blossoms.

Former Argentina coach Carlos Bilardo called the decision “wrong” and suggested FIFA ban matches where temperatures are very high. What a great idea? Every match should be played in optimal conditions only, like San Diego where the weather is sunny and mild year round. Wait, no San Diego has earthquakes; maybe we can create a bio-dome of some sort. I mean, how can our star players be expected to play when the weather is suffocatingly hot or numbingly cold, and, God forbid, when it is snowing, or even (gasp) raining?

And what about the non-environmental dangers to one’s health when teams travel, like the wake-up phone calls in the middle of the night, the batteries and bags of urine that float down on corner takers. Not to mention, the host countries whose “governments” consist of a group of angry, young men with machetes or where they have one word in their native tongue that means both soccer star and ransom.

But Blatz is right. Mountains are the real danger to soccer. Thin air. Can’t breath. Oh, wait here’s an oxygen tank.

Remembering our heroes on Memorial Day

"Although no sculptured marble should rise to their memory, nor engraved stone bear record of their deeds, yet will their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored."
--Daniel Webster

TYH'S PICKS FOR MLS BEST 11 (Week 8)

GOALKEEPER

Nick Rimando (RSL)

DEFENDERS

Pablo Mastroeni (COL), Seth Stammler (NY), Danny O’Rourke (CLB)

MIDFIELDERS

Terry Cooke (COL), Christian Gomez (DC), Davy Arnaud (KC),
Francisco Mendoza (NE)

FORWARDS

Juan Pablo Angel (NY), Eddie Johnson (KC), Andy Herron (CLB)

Goldfingers: Bradley picks roster for Gold Cup

Bradley Names 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup Roster

On Thursday, Bob Bradley named his first, non-interim tag U.S. roster for the team’s defense of the Gold Cup, which begins June 7 against Guatemala at the Home Depot Center. And his first official roster hitched his wagon firmly to the youth movement in U.S. soccer. Revs defender Michael Parkhurst, who was named to TYH’s MLS Best 11 Week 6 will receive his first cap with the national team, while fellow youngsters Benny Feilhaber, Frank Simek, Jonathan Spector and of course Michael “it’s-not-nepotism-if-I’m-good” Bradley were also added. One stretch might be the inclusion of 23-year-old Brad Guzan as the third-slot keeper, but with Marcus Hahnemann injured the number three spot is up for grabs.

Here is my projected starting line-up for the Guatemala match:

GOALKEEPER

Howard

DEFENDERS

Spector, Bocanegra, Onyewu, Bornstein

MIDFIELDERS

Dempsey, Donovan, Feilhaber, Beasley

FORWARDS

Twellman, Johnson

What’s this all aboot?

Cunningham traded to Toronto FC (ESPNsoccernet)
Have the Cannucks been drinking their own strange brew? First, they tried to grab Guevara. Now, they trade away their future for MLS’s past. Wow, what must their locker room be like if they are willing to bring in either of these chemistry killers? ESPN reported that Toronto FC sent Alecko “my father played with Pele” Eskandarian, 24, and a 2008 Superdraft first-round pick, cash, and I believe a keg of Molson to the Real Stupid Names for ... 31-year-old Jeff Cunningham?

Even though his concussion helmet makes him look a bit like a hyperhypo, Alecko has the potential to be a productive forward in this league for the next six or seven years. In his sophomore season, Eskandarian was named MLS Cup MVP with DC United and his MLS future looked bright. But he hit roadblock (apparently with his head) in 2005, with several concussions that kept him sidelined most of the season.

In 2006, he scored seven goals in 22 games for the red-and-black before he was traded this off-season to Toronto, much to his surprise.

When he was traded from United, he told The Washington Post, “It was definitely a surprise, but you could see what direction things were going with the team. It’s a little disappointing the way they handled it. No one contacted me [in advance]; it was a bit unprofessional.”

No word (at least that I found) whether Toronto’s deal was handled professionally, but whether they were polite to Aleko or not, this move makes no sense.

Yes, Cunningham was the Budweiser Golden Boot in 2006 (his first, btw, in 9 seasons) with 16 goals. Yes, he is seven goals away from the century club. Yes, he can still cause headaches for some defenses. But this is his third club in three years. And he has certainly lost a step. And even if he has a solid year in 2007, how many more seasons can he really play? A deal like this might make sense for a regular national teamer, or a consistent performer even, but Cunningham isn’t either anymore. To give away a solid young striker AND your first pick in the draft (not to mention the cash), it's a boneheaded move.

The Real Stupid Names, on the other hand, are making my nickname seem ironic because this is a real smart move for the club. They dump Cunningham’s cap (and bad attitude) on Toronto, get a good young player who can contribute right away, and now they have the fiscal space to go after a marquee player. According to the article, they are eyeing the Revolutions’ Shalrie Joseph.

So in essence, RSL could get Eskandarian, top pick in the draft, Joseph, money, a keg of Molson, a team of moose and the Ottawa Senators for ... Jeff Cunningham?

Bones, Copas and Consonants

D.C. United to play in the Copa Sudamericana (AP)
(UPDATED)The South American Cup will once again be dominated by North American clubs. DC proved that despite their recent ugly play, they weren’t the ugly stepsister by receiving an invitation to the ball, Copa Sudamericana. DC’s selection was due to their third-place finish (due to goal diff) in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. In the drawing, fate awarded them a CCC re-match, as DC United will face the team that eliminated them from the final, Chivas Guadalajara, on September 11 and October 4. Defending Copa Sudamerican champs Pachuca CF, CF America were the other CONCACAF club invites and will play each other.


Site cleanup delays Red Bulls Stadium opening (AP)
Jimmy Hoffa found at Red Bull stadium site in Harrison. Officials are calling it industrial waste, but c’mon, we know that New Jersey is where they dump the bodies. Said one fictional official, “Maybe we can give the first 100 fans to Red Bull Stadium a free pinky rings (fingers included).”

Hahnemann targets July return (Yanks Abroad)
He’s more machine than man now. After getting his hand cracked like crab leg at a Red Lobster, Hahneman is hoping to be healed in time to join Reading for their trip to S. Korea. According to YA, Reading Press Officer Andy West said, “[Hahnemann] broke three bones in his hand and one of his bones was in five pieces” and then had “two plates and 16 screws inserted into his hand.” Is Darth Vader also his father?

Adin Brown continued his stingy ways (Yanks Abroad)
Adin Brown posted his third consecutive shutout for Aalesund against Sykkylven in the Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer. This feat is made all the more impressive by the number of consonants that Brown must also deflect in Norway.

Raining on our parade (Yanks Abroad)
Can I be serious for a moment? Sean O’Conor and the other YA writers do a terrific job keeping the U.S. soccer fans abreast of the action of our beloved ex-pats across the pond. Take a look at this post-season wrap up. It’s terrific stuff. Spot on analysis. Nice work!

TYH

Oompa Loompa, Doopadie Doo!

I can't be the first person to notice the resemblance between Deep Roy and USSF Prez Sunil Gulati.

TYH'S PICKS FOR MLS BEST 11 (Week 7)

GOALKEEPER

Matt Reis (NE)

DEFENDERS

Todd Dunivant (NY), Marvell Wynne (TOR), Michael Parkhurst (NE)

MIDFIELDERS

Chris Gbandi (DAL), Kerry Zavagnin (KC), Dane Richards (NY),
Shalrie Joseph (NE), Juan Toja (DAL)

FORWARDS

Juan Pablo Angel (NY), Jaime Moreno (DC)

What About Bob?

U.S. names Bob Bradley new head coach

Well, they went and did it. They apparently couldn’t find anyone else, so they decided to remove the interim tag from U.S. national team coach Bob Bradley yesterday. Has Mr. Gulati made the right decision?

It is widely known that Bradley was not USSF president Sunil Gulati’s first choice. The USSF courted former German soccer legend and Yank-ophile Juergen Klinsmann, following his stint as German national team coach in World Cup 2006, but the deal fell through, reportedly due to money issues.

As interim head coach, Bradley’s Nats are 3-0-1 since January, with the three victories coming against Denmark, Mexico and Ecuador. Three quality opponents to be sure, but have we seen enough to hand him the keys to the national team? All four games were played stateside, and Bradley has yet to be tested away from the comfy confines of the U.S. (although, admittedly, games against Latin American teams in the Southwest may not seem like home matches).

Is his early success a signpost of the victories to come or is it a red herring distracting us from the gathering storm clouds? The only way to guess at the success or failure of his head-coaching future is to examine his head-coaching past.

Over his nine seasons in Major League Soccer, Bob Bradley is the winningest coach in league history. He is also the only two-time Coach of the Year, and managed to guide each of his teams -- Chicago, New York, and last year, Chivas USA -- to the playoffs in every season (although you have to be pretty bad to miss the playoffs in MLS). He won his only MLS championship in 1998, his first year as a head coach in the league, and has two U.S. Open Cup titles. Here is a chart detailing his MLS pedigree.

BRADLEY’S MLS REGULAR-SEASON RECORD
Year Team W L D PTS GF GA
1998 Chicago 20 12 n/a 56 62 45
1999 Chicago 18 14 n/a 48 51 36
2000 Chicago 17 9 6 57 67 51
2001 Chicago 16 6 5 53 50 30
2002 Chicago 11 13 4 37 43 38
2003 M'Stars 11 10 9 42 40 40
2004 M'Stars 11 12 7 40 47 49
2005 M'Stars 12 9 11 47 53 49
2006 Chivas 10 9 13 43 45 42

Bradley’s overall regular-season record in MLS is 126-94-55 and his teams finished above .500 in seven out of nine years.* All of these numbers are pretty impressive alone, but if we start to break them down a few trends emerge. Following 2001, for example, Bradley was never able to break the 15-win mark. This can be attributed somewhat to the decrease in total games played, but 2002-2006 were indeed lean years for wins. In addition, Bradley’s away record is less than stellar. Isolating his away record in MLS, he was 49-60-25 away from his clubs’ home stadiums, with the worst year, not surprisingly, being 2006, when he coached the struggling Chivas USA. Only two out of nine seasons did a Bradley-coached club have a winning away record. What does this mean? It could mean absolutely nothing. His paltry away record could just reflect parity in MLS or injuries to key players (The Fire, for example, were bitten by the injury bug regularly during his tenure). Finally, I imagine if you examined the away records of other coaches in, say, the EPL or La Liga, their away records may be similarly bad. After all, in league play it is more important to win at home and to draw on the road.

But in national team soccer, success on the road is a necessity. Bradley has yet to make a foray over the pond or across the border, as the boss of the national team, and that should be an area of concern for fans. Not panic, but concern. Most U.S. national team coaches (at least in the last two decades) have managed to get results at home, even Steve Sampson managed a respectable 21-9-9 at home. It has been away matches, particularly in Europe, where we’ve come up short. Losing your away matches won’t get it done in WC qualification either, unless you plan on squeaking in against Bahrain or UAE, and in the 2010 World Cup, they will all be away matches.

Bradley’s first match as the new official U.S. team caretaker will be June 2 against China in San Jose, then comes the Gold Cup, also in the States later that month. Barring any late additions to the schedule, Bradley’s Nats won’t need their passports until the Copa America in July, so it could be some time before we see whether Bradley is far and away the best man for the job.

*all numbers compiled using mlsnet.com so blame them if they are wrong.

Are you Abel?

Xavier joins Beckham at Los Angeles Galaxy.

The Beckham effect continues, as Soccernet.com reports that 34-year-old Portuguese defender Abel Xavier will join David Beckham at the Galaxy on a free transfer from Middlesbrough. Look out! The floodgates holding back all the washed up European players are opening. Maybe DC United can acquire Sylvain Wiltord and MLS can replay the notorious Euro 2000 semi-final. Everybody give Abel a hand for coming to MLS. Oops, sorry Abel, poor choice of words.

Latin invasion!

Not since Ricky Martin have guys in suits drooled over the potential economic impact of a Latin “explosion” in a U.S. market. But with Ricky (William) Hung out to dry and Shakira’s shake no longer accompanying fries, people lost interest quickly and the “explosion” amounted to nothing more than the backfire of a 1976 Chevy, with fuzzy dice on the rearview and leopard-skin seat covers. Leopard, man, illegal leopard.

So will MLS’s Latin infusion draw fans or turn them away? Will foreign imports like Juan Pablo Angel, Cuauhtémoc Blanco and Guillermo Barros Schelotto attract the still largely untapped Latino and Hispanic fan base or will these fans continue to stay home and watch satellite matches? And, more importantly will Latin stars like Christian Gomez and Juan Toja improve enough to be given middle names?

Just like the Latin music invasion, the answer to market success will depend on the endurance of quality, not quick fixes. MLS used to try to place the south-of-the-border imports in cities with large percentages of a particular player’s ethnicity. The jury-rigging of Mexican striker Luiz Hernandez in Los Angeles is a prime example. DC United’s former forward Raul Diaz Arce, a Salvadoran import, is another. But despite the relative successes and failures of these attempts, the effects of ethnic market manipulation eventually dissipate.

The only real way to attract and to keep fans is to play quality soccer consistently. Now more GMs are identifying the stars first, and then relying on their respective team’s success to drive ticket sales. It is, I believe, a better long-term strategy, but only if you are going after the right players.

As I said in an earlier blog, I believe Juan Pablo Angel will have the most immediate impact in MLS, and Blanco could still have some drawing power among Mexican fans. But neither player is a spring chicken, and each player’s impact, at least on the field, will likely be for a season or two. Ready-made stars are necessary, but to truly attract a larger fan base, among Latin America and America proper, the quality needs to be sustained and world-class talent should be developed as well as bought. MLS is already busy creating homegrown American stars. Who is to say that we couldn’t develop talent from Brazil or Colombia?

Few MLS teams are really using their Youth International designation to tap into the potential treasure troves of soccer talent to our south. Only three teams – DC, Toronto and Chivas – are using all three of the YI slots available to them, while seven teams have only one Youth International listed on their first-team rosters. Kansas City is the only team with no YIs on its roster.

And of those teams with YIs, only a few teams seem to be eyeing young South and Central American talent. In total, the league boasts about 20 YIs on current first-team rosters, and only six of these players are from Latin America: Ricardo Virtuoso (CLB) and Paulo Nagamura from Brazil, Facundo Erpen (DC) from Argentina, Roberto Mina (DAL) from Ecuador, Francisco Mendoza from Mexico and Juan Toja from Colombia.

With the economic woes many Latin American leagues (and countries) are experiencing and the difficulties England and other European nations are having with over-the-pond transfers (see Tevez), MLS appears to be in prime position to snap up some of these future stars before they become household names (nombres de casas?).

It’s like that movie with Kevin Bacon, “The Air Up There.” Mr. Bacon, a college basketball scout, goes to a remote village in Africa and finds a super-tall African tribesman who, it just so happens, can dunk like a motherfucker. Ok, it’s nothing like that movie, but I thought I’d bring it up because it still makes me laugh to think someone had to pitch that movie and then someone else besides the writer’s mom thought it sounded like a good idea.

But, seriously, MLS teams should be scouting the villages and towns in South and Central America looking for that future international star. MLS might just discover the next Maradona or Pele.

TYH'S PICKS FOR MLS BEST 11 (Week 6)

GOALKEEPER

Dario Sala (DAL)

DEFENDERS

Michael Parkhurst (NE), Mike Petke (COL), Marvell Wynne (TOR)

MIDFIELDERS

Kyle Beckerman (COL), Maurice Edu (TOR), Juan Toja (DAL),
Guillermo Barros Schelotto (CLB)

FORWARDS

Ante Razov (CHV), Taylor Twellman (NE), Edson Buddle(TOR)

Soccer talk? On the radio? In the U.S.? By Americans?

Yes. You read correctly or heard correctly, if you, like me, listened to ’Celo Balboa and Dino Costa talk soccer last night on the live webcast of the duo’s Denver-area radio show, “From the Pitch with Marcelo Balboa.” Finally, Americans have a voice on the radio that discusses soccer in the U.S. beyond the contractual box-score read or the fraternity-boy bullying that the worldwide leader in baseball (ESPN) occasionally does on its stations.

Sure, there have been other programs, specifically on television, that covered the world of professional soccer, the first incarnation of MLS Extratime and a few MLS city-specific shows on local sports networks come to mind. But for the most part these programs were extended commercials for the league, with puff pieces on how Landon Donovan was giving back to the community and how Carlos Valderrama let a homeless family live in his ’fro. The local programs were full of softball questions to coaches and GMs and player-reporter love fests in the wake of humiliating defeats. And there have been other internet radio programs, usually hosted by Brits or Irishmen or Scotsmen or some guy that they pulled out of an Irish pub in South Florida who happened to have the right sound (read: accent) to cover this “foreign” sport. I tied to listen to a few of them, but had a difficult time, discerning my argy-bargy from my bugger-all. These blotto berks with their daft and dodgy comments left me scatty and in a strop. Know what I mean? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more.

Which is why Costa and Balboa were so refreshing. Some highlights of the program included Dino and Balboa letting Colorado vp and managing director twist in the wind when a caller did his best impression of the Bobs in Office Space and asked the Rapids exec, “What is it, you would say, ya do here?” Costa, although he sounds a bit like Rush Limbaugh, managed to sound informed and knowledgeable, which is more than you can say about most sports talk radio hosts. He is a self-described soccer guy (likely the only one working in terrestrial radio) and if I lived in Denver I would make his daily radio program, appointment listening. As for Balboa, I have been critical of his color commentary during some MLS matches, but he seems to be coming into his own. At times during MLS match broadcasts, he seemed a bit too much the company man, but last night he let rip comments on the piss-poor referring in the first five weeks, the need to improve the production quality of the match broadcasts and challenged Fernando Clavijo’s utilization of Herculez Gomez and Brandon Prideaux (while the coach was on the phone).

The show was great, but there’s certainly room for improvement. First, they need to hire better screeners to weed out the morons who call and ask questions like, “How do you learn when you lose?” Second, they need to know when to cut off callers or to interrupt guests, like when Clavijo begins to ramble in that accent that makes him sound like a 12-year-old Antonio Banderas. That reminds me of another funny moment, when they dropped Clavijo accidentally right before the question of Conor Casey came up. In all though, it was an enjoyable two-hours, and I believe each MLS fan deserves to have a similar program in his or her city. The scattered podcasts by supporter’s groups are better than nothing, but now that we have caught a glimpse (or a listen) to what could be, MLS fans deserve more.

Odds & Ends
Jimmy Conrad out minimum nine days with a fractured jaw.

Juan Pablo Angel scores in his debut, but NY loses to Galaxy 3-1 in U.S. Open Cup play-in game. Only 10,774 on hand at The Home Depot Center to see Angel’s debut.

Balls are flying in Mormonville!

A few random thoughts:

Four!
The Associated Press reported today that RSL’s Freddy Adu was hit in the head by a golf ball. No word on who hit the “wayward drive”, but TYH suspects Shepp Messing. Does this constitute a hate crime under the new House bill? Adu reportedly said that it stung less than the realization that he wasn’t, in fact, the savior of American soccer.

Jen’s Blog
Jen “isn’t that a girl’s name” Chang, ESPNsoccernet U.S. soccer, gave his blessing to the coronation of Jason Kreis as new coach to the struggling Real Stupid Names in his blog last Friday. I thought for sure that DC’s Tom Soehn would be the first head coach to get the ax, especially since Ellinger was one of the main reasons Adu agreed to be traded to Mormonville. Do you think Kreis could emerge as the next great American coach and go on to coach the U.S. national team to unprecedented success, finally overcoming his label as a national team choke artist? Yeah, me neither.

TYH'S PICKS FOR MLS BEST 11 (Week 5)

GOALKEEPER

Matt Reis (NE)

DEFENDERS

Eddie Robinson (HOU), Facundo Erpen (DC), Jimmy Conrad (KC)

MIDFIELDERS

Chris Klein (RSL), Jose Burciaga Jr. (KC), Steve Ralston (NE),
Jeff Larentowicz (NE)

FORWARDS

Dwayne DeRosario (HOU), Clint Mathis (NY), Roberto Brown (COL)

TYH’s Top 25!

Each month TYH will announce the top 25 U.S. players. The rankings will be cumulative and will take into consideration current level of play, injuries and past proficiency with the national team. The first 11 will be divided into positional leaders (4-4-2), followed by 11 reserves* and three players that deserve a shot at cap #1.

Goalkeeper:
Kasey Keller

Defenders:
Carlos Bocanegra
Oguchi Onyewu
Todd Dunivant
Jimmy Conrad

Midfielders:
Landon Donovan
Clint Dempsey
Pablo Mastroeni
DaMarcus Beasley

Forward
Taylor Twellman
Eddie Johnson

Reserves:
Kyle Beckerman, Danny Califf, Brian Ching, Bobby Convey, Jay DeMerit,
Benny Feilhaber, Marcus Hahnemann, Tim Howard, Ben Olsen, Frank Simek, Josh Wolff

Let’s have a look at:
Jozy Altidore (F), NY Energy Drinks
Charlie Davies (F), Hammarby (Sweden)
Gabriel Ferrari (F), Sampdoria (Italy)

ANALYSIS: TYH’s inaugural Top 25 has few surprises in the starting 11. “The Truth” is still the red, white and blue’s best keeper, but with the wealth of talent America has between the posts and Keller’s age, he could be challenged sooner rather than later. The U.S. is also pretty strong in the back, even with Arena’s overblown left back concerns. Dunivant seems like he could be the answer there, as the Lewis and Convey experiments were disasters. Pablo needs to be brought back into the mix in the midfield, but the usual suspects of Donovan Dempsey and Beasley are too good not to have on the field. Beasley and Dempsey, however, will need to play a little D. Finally, Twellman and Johnson are the two best forwards at the moment. However, the U.S. should take a look at three senior side rookies in Altidore, Davies and Ferrari. All three are young studs with potential and if there is one place the U.S. needs help it’s up front.

*The reserves include the best available players and may or may not reflect positional depth.

Dr. Preki removes locker room cancer

Guevara departs Chivas USA

MLSnet.com informed Chivas fans that they would be without the services of Amado Guevara, who apparently refused a trade to Toronto and was, therefore, dismissed from the team. The news comes a week after Guevara gushed to The Daily Breeze about his “brothers” on the team and the beautiful weather in L.A.

The left-footed comments of Coach Preki to mlsnet.com’s Luis Bueno are very telling:

“It wasn’t just four games. It’s been eight games: preseason, this season. As far as I’m concerned it’s a lot of games,” Preki said. “But it’s not just about four games, three games, two games. It’s everyday habits. That’s what I’m looking at.”

Everyday habits? Since he came into the league, Guevara has been a constant headache to coaches and a distraction to teammates. Most recently, he received a red card, WHILE ON THE BENCH, after shoving an assistant referee during Chivas’ humiliating 3-1 loss on April 28. Although he’s scored dome spectacular goals, he has more often shown spectacular bone-headedness and a complete disrespect for his teammates, coaches and fans.

Take his low-light from last season when he left the field twice in one month, after being substituted. In the one case, he returned to sit in the stands with his wife (see picture). His time was short with NY after his babysitter Bob Bradley left, and Alexi Lalas was brought in as club GM. Lalas and Guevara clashed, and he soon followed Bradley to Chivas. So, it was only a matter of time until Guevara made himself a nuisance to the new coach when Bradley took the U.S. national team job.

The NY Energy Drinks acquired the Honduran midfielder -- whose nickname, he says, is “El Lobo” (the wolf), although he looks more like Stitch -- in 2004, and he went on to score 32 goals in three complete seasons. Guevara could turn a game, instantly, but more often than not the direction was toward implosion rather than victory. Guevara was like Hell’s Kitchen star chef Gordon Ramsay – volatile, irrational and slightly feminine like a little girl with a skinned knee.

Preki said that Guevara needed constant attention, and that he, unlike Bradley, wasn’t willing to babysit this toddler.

“Bob is more experienced. He’s been around for a long time. He maybe wants to work with guys on a daily basis,” Preki told mlsnet.com. "But I feel like this team is more than just one guy or two guys.”

Chivas is certainly better off without Guevara. Preki, as a first-year coach, doesn’t need the distractions of a prima donna, who is not as skilled as he believes he is. It is good news for the club, but I’m not sure it is good news for MLS. Successful sports leagues need villains. We can’t simply cut out all the misanthropes or we end up with a vanilla league that lacks sustained and genuine rivalries between the good guys and the bad guys.

Of course, I’m sure a lot fans already hate David Beckham.