It was to be expected.
Top assistants being interviewed in Chicago for the heading coaching job vacated by Juan Carlos Osorio.
Probably the top two candidates in the league are Paul Mariner of NE and John Spencer of the Dynamo.
Certainly you would look to the assistant coach of both of these teams. There is alot to like about both candidates. Both played at extremely high levels of professional soccer, both have been around the American game long enough, both have strong soccer brains and both are competitors. The unknown is the player management side because until someone becomes a head coach it is tough to say how they will coach a team. Assistants change and have to change to some degree when they become a head coach.
There is not alot to bet against here with these two but clearly in this day and age it is about dealing with a variety of personalities .
Lets look at CHicago and the Fire. It is a risky leap in that you will have to deal with Cuahutemoc Blanco and what he means to the Fire. Right now that is everything on and off the field. He will have to play and you will have to build your team around him. I suspect that both Spencer and Mariner will want to find out how much control they have over the squad as well as player movement.
Both have the luxury of making the right choice when it comes to their head coaching careers.
The path to being a head coach is being an assistant. College coaches are not getting jobs in MLS and won’t it seems in the future.
So for all you ex-players that want to be handed a head coaching job, it is a pipe-dream. What happened with Peter Nowak is a rarity and those who want to have the chance to be a head coach will have to do their time as an assistant.

Here it is. The greatest league on the planet and we are down to 16 teams:
Celtic vs. Barcelona
Lyon vs. Manchester United
Schalke vs. Porto
Liverpool vs. Inter Milan
Roma vs. Real Madrid
Arsenal vs. AC Milan
Olympiakos vs. Chelsea
Fenerbache vs. Sevilla

Some interesting draws here. Arsenal/AC Milan , Liverpool/Inter and Roma/Real Madrid all stand out.
First leg matches will be played on Feb.19/20 and second leg matches on March 4/5.
Reaction anyone?

AC Milan and manager Carlo Ancelotti recently won the World Club Championship in Tokyo over Boca Jrs 4-2.
Yet despite the success facts are facts and AC Milan are currently languishing 22 points in 11th place behind leaders Inter Milan whom they share the San Siro Stadium with in Italy.
You might be the club champions of the world but the fact of the matter is you are #2 in Milan.
All this despite having the FIFA World player of the year on your team in Kaka.
Rumors are circulating that Jose Mourinho could be the next manager.
Put yourself in Milan management’s shoes. Would you fire Ancelotti and hire Mourinho?

According to Dynamo team president Joseoph Ngwenya remains in Europe pursuing options.
Ngwenya’s situation is the priority right now after his best ever MLS season and the Dynamo can’t wait forever.
The Dynamo will hope to lock in Ngwenya come January but if they don’t they will need to pursure other options as the go forward. Concacaf Champions Cup against Municipal of Guatemala is just around the corner. The Dynamo also must be looking for a back-up plan and indentifying other strikers around MLS that they might try to acquire if in fact Ngwenya is not re-signing.
This is a significant off-season moment for the Dynamo because they need the depth and support of Ngwneya or an additional forward that create space for Brian Ching and Nate Jacqua and run at defenses.
The other area is clearly finding a back-up goalkeeper to replace Zach Wells who has moved on to DC United.
Check out the podcast of last night’s Dynamo Power Hour’s at 790thesportsanimal.com
Greg Berhalter of 1860 Munich, Zach Wells of DC United, Jay Vidovich of Wake Forest and Patrick Ianni of the Dynamo were guests.
Berhalter commented on the US National team at the 2006 World Cup and made a comment sourrounding Bruce Arena not having a set line-up and experimenting too much going into the Czech Republic game.
You remember amazingly he put Bobby Convey and Eddie Lewis on the same side of the field and that is where the Czech Republic’s goal came from early . Interesting to say the least.
Your comments on Ngwenya and last night’s show.

Soccer fans unite.
We talk the beautiful game tonite at 7pm on 790 The Sports Animal with the Dynamo Power Hour’s with Glenn Davis. The two hour show tonite features guests Jay Vidovich the head coach of NCAA Champion Wake Forest. Dynamo fans can speak with Patrick Ianni after playing in China for the U.S. under 23 squad.
Greg Berhalter of 1860 Munich will also be on the show on break from Bundesliga play.
We get a live report from Germany concerning the Bayern Munich UEFA Cup match.

The MLS Cup will also be in studio tonite in all its glory.

*streaming live on the internet at 790TheSportsanimal.com and MLSNET.com

CALL IN NUMBER : 713-212-5790

And it’s Bayern… by a nose!
Guten tag Fussball Freunde. The first half of the season is over for the Bundesliga, and thanks to a Bayern goalless draw in Berlin, coupled with a Bremen thrashing of Leverkusen (5-2), both teams are even with 36 points. Bayern takes the Fall Championship title due to a better goal differential (+5). Looking closer, the real difference is Bayern’s beat down of Bremen 4-0 back on Aug 18th. I’ve got my calendar circled for Feb 10th – Bremen visit Munich for the rematch. Before the holiday break, one more important match for Bayern in the UEFA Cup. They have not been playing well, and their recent form of draws will not get them to the next round. For Nuremberg, they need a win Wednesday at Larissa and they will continue since they beat AZ Alkmaar last time out. Leverkusen, Bremen, and Hamburg are already through to the Round of 32.For all the other teams in Germany, last weekend’s matches provided the last action until the first weekend in Feb (!!). It’s the longest mid-season break of the major European leagues. I spoke to US national Gregg Berhalter of 1860 Munich, he clarified the misconception. Yes, they don’t play a real match but the team returns to training January 3rd. But the break comes at an ideal time for the Lions. “We are looking forward to it,” explains Gregg. “It will be a time to recover from injuries – we have many key starters out – and to refocus on the task at hand.” 1860 has played well versus the top of the 2nd league, but failed against teams they should have beaten. However, their win 5-0 on Sunday vs Aue is a great early holiday present for the team and leaves them only 3 points from promotion. I’m looking forward to their return to the top league and rekindling the city derby with Bayern.

The Dynamo will take on Municipal the most successful team in Guatemalan soccer history in the Concacaf Champions Cup. Hard to believe that this home and home series competition begins in Guatemala City on March 11 or 12. The return leg will be at Robertson Stadium on March 18 or 20.
The winner of the Dynamo/Municipal series takes on the winner of Atlante of Mexico and Saprissa of Costa Rica. What an opportunity for Houston fans to get meaningful international competition.
We talk about it Wednesday night on the Dynamo Power Hours with Glenn Davis on 790 The Sports Animal or weigh in on it now.

Mexican international Nery Castillo has moved from Shaktar Donetsk in the Ukraine to Manchester City in England. Castillo who prior played at Olympiakos in Greece did not adjust to the hardness of playing in Ukraine lets face it.
His desire to leave the Ukraine was supported by the fact that he paid a part of the transfer fee during the period that will start in January. Castillo shined in the Gold Cup and Copa America and is considered a key to the future of the Mexican national team especially as Jared Borgetti and Cuahutemoc Blanco’s time is up with “EL TRI”.
I never thought the Ukraine move was a good one in the first place for Castillo. Tell me how you think he will do in the English Premier League?

After a short-term revival of the Chicago Fire that led them to the Eastern Conference title after knocking off DC United in the playoffs Juan Carlos Osorio is now a Red Bull coach.
Some suggested his wife wanted to be back in New York where Osorio had been an assistant with the Metrostars back in the day.
So he will have an opportunity to put his team togther sans Cuahutemoc Blanco.
Seems a good move for Osorio based on timing I suppose. I “pity the fool” who will now have to coach the Chicago Fire because they will have to come into a team that has to build it’s tactics around Cuahutemoc Blanco that will be a pre-requisite for Chicago team president John Guppy. He will have to find a coach that can deal with Blanco .
The best option for an MLS assistant to move up to head coach in MLS is Paul Mariner of New England.
Mariner is savvy enough to make sure that he will find the right team to support him as head coach.
He is not desperate to move.

Lots of news in the world of soccer and I have gotten home after enjoying calling the NCAA Mens College Cup Final in Cary, NC. Congratulations in order to Jay Vidovich and Wake Forest for their come from behind win over Ohio State. These coaches commit time and effort to their programs and the college game still remains and will remain an important part of our soccer landscape in the future.

*All hail Kaka who was named World Player of the Year . What makes this award significant is that the voting is done by his “peers” . Votes are accumulated from national team coaches and captains.

*Fabio Capello is the new England coach. There is nothing on his resume that says he is not qualified. A true autocratic winner . So what is really wrong with the English game? If you think this is the answer than you are fooling yourself.

*Dominic Kinnear’s contract was extended through 2010. He needed to be rewarded and was and that is another positive from the Dynamo organization. Ultimately this team will change alot in two years and Kinnear will be here to see it through. In the mean-time going for an unprecedented three titles in a row plus more international competition next year gives fans in Houston a front-row seat to history.

*Lets face it. The English League title is down to Arsenal and Manchester United and we are only at the halfway point. Am I crazy to say this with so many games remaining? Liverpool? Chelsea? John Terry with broken bones in his foot…