Expect Steve Morrow to be named the new FC Dallas coach tomrrow. This comes as no surprise as Morrow made it clear to the FC Dallas organization and GM Michael Hitchcock that he was interested in the job. When Colin Clarke was fired Morrow separated himself from Clarke and some of the decisions Clarke had made. He also has been pulling the strings on all FC Dallas player moves as of late.
The question is will FC Dallas fans feel this is a positive move away from the Clarke regime? It is tricky business hiring a former assistant to become the head coach. It can lead to mixed results, familiarity is good but assistant coaches can sometimes proved to have been to close to the players. You can cite Steve Sampson with the U.S. National team who according to testimony from numerous national team players went from beer buddy to ‘boss’.
The Hunt Sports Group owners of FC Dallas have been known to hire within and have gained the reputation of giving coaches a long leash.
Other candidates included Shellas Hyndman (didn’t anyone really believe he would leave the comfort of SMU?), Jeff Agoos (recently retired ex national team member with ties to Dallas area but not yet ready for the job), Tom Soehn(maybe the most legitimate candidate having served time as an assistant at DC United).

Adolfo ‘Bofo’ Bautista’s 69 minute goal was the difference as Chivas came back in the 2nd half against Toluca to win 2-1.
The Red Devils had taken a 1-0 lead which most would have thought would have been enough with their defensive record.
Apparently Toluca thought that also. Nursing a 1-0 lead that came via a Vicente Sanchez cross to Bruno Marioni who headed home in the 18th minute Toluca was surprised in the second half by Chivas.
‘The goats’ dominated midfield and possession in the 2nd half and got a few critical plays out of Bautista who had been a player without impact in the prior three halfs. A 51st minute header from Maza Rodriguez gave Chivas an injection of confidence and from then on they clearly won the middle of the field with little impact from Sanchez and Marioni for Toluca in the 2nd half.
At times you wonderd if the talented Sanchez was even out there.
Bautista got the game winner in the 69th minute beating Hernan Cristante in goal for the Red Devils.
A forty five yard free kick from Ramon Morales almost made it three for Chivas who rode out the final minutes to secure their title.
Amerigo Gallego the head coach of Toluca was not on the sideline for this one due to suspension and one wonders if that had any effect? In the end attacking philosophy won over defending with Chivas yet it was tough to bet against Toluca being up 1-0 at halftime. A dramatic finish to the Mexican league season!

What a day for soccer on television! It might be a day that wives and girlfriends are going to be upset with their men.
Here is what your day should look like……
10 AM- Chelsea vs Arsenal FSC : Gunners come to Stamford Bridge and so do their fans. Highlight of this match is former Gunner Ashley Cole up against his former teammates. Fact is Chelsea adminstration is worried about fan confrontation and Arsene Wenger has even diffused the situation remarking about Cole’s great contributions for Arsenal. Wenger wants this one bad over Mourinho. Who doesn’t?
Cole in his autobiography (Why write your autobiography before you have retired ? MONEY or greed?) criticized teammates adding even more intrigue to this game. Lets not forget, Arsenal has advanced in the Champions League and beat Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford, but truth be told their focus has to be on Champions League 16 points out of the top spot in the Premiership.
This will be all about pride.
Time to get the vcr ready:
1:00 PM Univision Toluca vs. Chivas for the Mexican League title (See prior post)
1:30 Lazio vs Roma FSC Some of the most dramatic viewing I have ever seen watching soccer on TV has come during the Rome/Derby between these historic clubs. This game will definetly win the battle of the flares.

Chivas owner Jorge Vegara has vowed that Sunday Chivas will be eating chorizo. I assume that means that Vergara feels that Chivas will knock off Toluca in the Mexican league final in a city known for great sausage.
Not so fast Jorge, the first leg ended 1-1 in at Chivas and was controversial with a clear penalty missed when Omar Bravo was brought down in the penalty area by Red Devils goalkeeper Hernan Cristante, this singular play could utimately be the difference.
Americo Gallego’s Toluca side deserves credit for what they did in game one to put them in position to take the title.
Toluca is very difficult at home with a record of 6-1-1 while Chivas has only won once on the road 1-3-4.
Bofo Bautista needs to have an impactful performance if Chivas is to win the title while Omar Bravo needs a 90 minute game.
Fact is that Toluca is tough to break down period, even tougher at home in the vein of Gallego. Vicente Sanchez and Bruno Marioni lead the Toluca attack. This is must see tv this Sunday at noon.
Prediction: Toluca

A recent Fox soccer report saying Jurgen Klinsmann had signed a contract and would be hired as the new national team coach for the United States proved false.
“Certainly there was never a signed agreement on any side,” said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati who did not provide a reason for not landing Klinsmann.
Gulati made a two part announcement naming Bob Bradley the interim coach until May and naming him the new Olympic team coach for the United States.
“I am really honored and excited to lead the U.S. National team,” said Bradley who took the time to mention former U.S. assistant Glenn Myernick who recently passed away.
“I feel strongly about what we are doing in this country to push the sport forward,” added the former Chivas USA head coach.
In effect Houston fans saw Bradley’s last game coaching in MLS for awhile and maybe longer.
Bradley is in the five final candidates for the full time national team job which also includes two coaches who are currently under contract in Europe.
The move gives U.S. soccer time to make a final choice which Gulati says will occur in June. Hmmm does this mean negotiation with Klinsmann could re-open?
The U.S. have friendlies scheduled on January 20th vs. Denmark and February against rivals Mexico.
Meanwhile Bradley is ready to go.
“I really can’t worry about conditions. I’m excited to get going with the group in January.

A 76th minute goal from striker Bruno Marioni gave Toluca a 1-1 draw in Guadalajara, Mexico before a packed Jalisco stadium crowd. More importantly the goal now makes the Diablos Rojos the favorite to take the Mexican League Championship.
Talented Vicente Sanchez got behind the Chivas defense as their last line of defense made the mistake of trying to play Sanchez offside a few yards above the eighteen yard line. Sanchez then found a streaking Marioni at the far post.
Chivas had taken the lead in the 44th minute after a wonderfully angled header from Omar Bravo.
Bravo earlier had drawn a clear penalty that was not called after being brought down by Toluca goalkeeper Hernan Cristante.
The second leg is this Sunday in Toluca and is a game not to be missed.

What a day for U.S. Soccer.
No sooner does Jurgen Klinsmann remove himself as a candidate for the U.S. National team job then we get the announcement of Chivas USA head coach Bob Bradley being named the interim coach for five months until a new USSF search begins next summer.
First off don’t begin to think that Klinsmann will not coach the U.S. National team. In fact word was that Klinsmann did not want to begin the job until 2008.
It is interesting to think about this negotiating process between US Soccer Head Sunil Gulati and Klinsmann. What could have been the sticking point blocking this deal? Klinsmann was genuinely interested……Money maybe. Power, control.
Control is what I think it came down to. Lets hope ego doesn’t get in the way of making the proper hire for the future of the national team. After all alot of what people will remember about Sunil Gulati will be his choice as national team coach not if he can somehow bring together all the different levels of soccer in this country by providing a common thread.
Or maybe this is just a stop-gap measure by Gulati and the Federation to bid time and continue negotiations with Klinsmann. After all it is not imperative he is hired this instance for anything other than to satisfy the many fans that want a high profile coach like the German.
Work it out in five months, let one of your top coaches in Bradley slide in to the assistant role and in comes Jurgen.
By all standards no one has ever had the credentials that Klinsmann would bring as a player(Stuttgart, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Tottenham, Germany) and with his semi-final finish as a coach of Germany this past summer.
Something fresh and optimistic is needed to add a new air to the national team program.
My belief is that Klinsmann is not out of the picture yet.
Game on!

DC United head coach Peter Nowak and Dynamo chief operating officer Chris Canetti are guests tomorrow night on the Soccer Hour starting at 7pm on 790AM radio the sports animal.
Nowak is back from a scouting mission in Brazil while Canetti will offer insight into the Dynamo youth development program plus the post Championship optimism that sourrounds the Houston Dynamo.
Also an update on the Soccer Game for Cancer Awareness and participants for the December 21st game at the Pin Oak Elementary School in Bellaire.
By the way Jim Rome was talking up his NCAA UCSanta Barbara Gauchos who won the NCAA Mens title this past weekend.
Iv’e always wondered about ‘Rome’ ever since he flew by me in his maroon porsche on the Twentieth Century Fox lot in LA.
I guess back in 98 Rome felt a bit privledged with the support of his ‘clones’. I once went on his show and he told me I would be welcome back in the ‘jungle’ but it has never happened. Maybe now that he is a soccer fan …………
Oh by the way someone explain the similarities of hockey and soccer to him, you can start with the common give and go, forechecking and high pressure in soccer, posession…Never mind this is too easy…..Giving props to hockey and can’t see the similarities…Just Rome’s schtick, keeping promoting soccer Jim it is appreciated.
Don’t suck, OUT!

Barcelona advanced in the Champions League this afternoon with a 2-0 win over Werder Bremen behind goals from Ronaldinho and Eidur Gudjohnsen in five minutes apart in the first half.
First impressions were that after alot of pre-game talk and hype how tentative Werder Bremen came out at the Nou Camp for a team that has been high on confidence.
Ronaldinho struck off a free kick in the 13th minute that once again reminds us of how silly it is for walls to jump. Ronaldinho smacked it underneath the wall.
A wall is designed to cover a portion of the goal and take options hopefully away not create them.
By jumping the Werder Bremen wall gave a world class player another option that Ronaldinho gratefully accepted by hitting his free kick underneath the wall past Tim Weise( who was excellent for Werder Bremen).
With his wall jumping Weise has to think about being beaten underneath the wall as well as over it.
A defensive wall is designed to take options away from a free kick taker, not add them.
I am from the school of make a free kick taker beat me with brilliance over a wall. Enough said about walls.
Five minutes later Eidur Gudjohnsen connected to make the Germans chase the game.
Improved performance notably from Brazilian Diego and Miroslav Klose along with Torsten Frings the rest of the game only exemplified a poor shaky start that could not be recovered from.
Your thoughts on the game?