SoccerNet Live

The Holllywood celebs are given a run for their money as the Major League Soccer adds a touch of “sexiness” and glamor. Nothing to do with Becks or his stick lady this time. Enter Ruud Gullit – the new head coach of Los Angeles Galaxy in place of Frank Yallop.

Actually, the writing was on the wall for Yallop as he failed to lead Galaxy to the playoffs for two consecutive seasons. Galaxy president and general manager Alexi Lalas told reporters his club were looking for a “sexy” coach.

He said: “We would certainly look to use this opportunity to bring in somebody who is going to have an impact on the Galaxy but also on the league and the sport in many of the same ways that David Beckham did.”

Lalas and Gullit made for ideal bedfellows as the term “sexy,” in a reference to football, was in fact coined by Gullit while commentating for the BBC during the 1996 European Championship.

I am tempted to ask what kind of impact Lalas is looking for. David Beckham played a season total of eight matches (includes 5 league games), scored one goal and have three total assists. Certainly not an achievement worth writing home about. The rest of his time was spent in the treatment room and rubbing shoulders with the who’s who in Hollywood.

But if the purpose is to raise the profile of the club, they have met their objective. By signing the highest profile player (Beckham) and coach (Gullit), every football fan who is not sleeping knows of the presence of LA Galaxy while the rest of the MLS teams remain virtual unknowns.

Gullit maintained that he will continue to be a television football analyst for Sky Sports on Champions League matches – a role he has held since since 2006. I think that is very wise of him.

As a player, Gullit is no stranger to success. He joined his compatriots Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten at AC Milan in 1987 and won the European Cup in 1989 and 1990. Crowned European Footballer of the Year in 1987, the flamboyant Dutchman symbolized the principles of ‘total football’ as the complete player with all-round skills in several positions.

He moved on to Sampdoria and Chelsea as age catched up with him. Chelsea proved to be his last stop as a player and he was appointed player-manager when Glenn Hoddle left Chelsea to become England’s manager.

As a coach, he won the FA Cup for Chelsea in 1997, the club’s first major trophy in 26 years. The Blues also finished at a credible sixth place in the Premiership.

The following season, with Chelsea gunning for the Premiership in second place and reaching the quarter-finals in two cup competitions, he was sacked, allegedly for disagreements with the board over compensation.

He was named manager of Newcastle United in 1998, and had a promising start, proceeding to the FA Cup final in his first year. Unfortunately, the tide turned against him after a poor run of results and public spates with the untouchable legend Alan Shearer.

He went to Feyenoord in the season of 2004/2005, quitting without winning any trophies. The club finished a disappointing 4th behind Ajax, PSV and AZ.

If track record is anything to go by, and in a less competitive MLS, Ruud Gullit is actually in a good position to bring some honors to LA Galaxy. He has a wealth of international experience as a player, having competed at the highest level, and seen the best and worst of the Dutch, Italian and English leagues.

As a manager, he has won Cup competitions but he is inadequate in imparting a killer instinct to all the teams he has managed while they are in the final push for league titles.

He could have enjoyed greater success at international level if the team has not imploded whenever they are placed as favorites. Gullit has a large part to play in the internal state of affairs, and he essentially ended his own international career in 1993 with a long-standing dispute with Holland manager Dick Advocaat.

This brings out the issue of his man-management when he is put in charge of a club. He is not one to back down when there is a clash of egos. It is not surprising that his relationship with Alan Shearer becomes untenable as the latter is also known for his strong views in the dressing room.

It is not clear how Gullit will deal with a super prima-donna, Beckham, and his wife, but judging by how Ferguson aimed a boot at Becks in frustration, the conflict can be equally explosive.

Still, I feel that this appointment is a positive move for LA Galaxy and the MLS. In the same way that the “foreign revolution” changed the face of the Premier League in the ’90s with Gullit, Dennis Bergkamp and Jeurgen Klinnsman arriving at the clubs, the same thing could happen to MLS.

Once other quality foreign players follow suit, the world-wide profile of MLS will be raised. This will increase the interest and viewership of the league which will pull in the advertisers like moth to a candle. Before you know it, the players and the clubs will be rolling in dough.