Xavier: Gullit has too much power

Does this man look like a credible witness?

Recently waived Galaxy defender Abel Xavier spoke with Soccer Insider Steven Goff, and dished on his firing and on the atmosphere his former boss Ruud Gullit:

"[Being let go] was a personal issue and had nothing to do with football. [Coach] Ruud Gullit made a personal decision. He doesn't like me for a long time. ... He has too much power. You can't give that much power to a coach because you start to lose your identity as a club. The identity of the Galaxy should always prevail."

Yeah, he personally thought you were terrible. Personally, so did I. Last week, Gullit called Xavier "a bad apple."

Xavier also told Goff his contract was guaranteed so that the move didn't really clear the $156,000 in roster space that fans and press speculated it would.

"[Gullit] doesn't respect the players, he doesn't communicate with the players. He never wants to listen to the players. It's a bad environment. He doesn't like players with personality. The players are afraid to speak out because, for most of them, their jobs are not guaranteed. They are afraid of losing their jobs. Look at Carlos Ruiz: One week Ruud Gullit wants to trade him and the next week he wants to be his best friend. ... With all the friction between the coach and the players, how can you have a healthy environment?"

He makes a good point using Ruiz, who started last weekend after not seeing the field in quite sometime (even after he recovered from an injury).