The problem that MLS is really suffering under is not lack of good players, but lack of good coaches. In my short look at some of these Coaches, half of them seemingly barely understand what is transpiring on the field, which is allowing below standard play to continue over the course of the season.

It is mostly their fault that we are looking at such an inferior product, in my opinion. The players are making bad decisions yes, but the coaches are saying that is good enough. These are not skill errors, but it seems to be tactical decisions on the field that are not corrected.

Hey, if you are making $40,000 a year, and no one is telling you to get better, well go ahead and have fun for 8 years playing soccer. You can live on some memories, but frankly the standards of the MLS will never rise past irregular football, where as, if El Salvador had our human and financial resources. That is, give El Salvador our soccer infrastructure.  They would put out a European or Mexican like product. In this case, buy Mexican, Have you seen some of the goals!

If not Savage Strikes, brings them to you every Monday!

But in reality, we must groom coaches to take players farther then they have gone. Many of these coaches have peeked at the College level, or at the standard that the MLS is at today. I am sure there are some new, hungry, innovative coaches that can make a difference in the lives of these players, to get them to play better and extend their careers across the border. Just as many players from El Salvador have plied their trade across theirs.

In the Premiership, if you are a coach and not getting the job done in the first few days, you are in the hot seat. In Brazil it is worse, three straight loses and you are out! We need to up our standards and get some coaching turnover out there. This will create a whole heck of a lot of competition from game to game, and as a fan, isn’t that what we want to see?

An abomination has been created! One that can destroy any team with its shear might and rage!

Question, how do you make a defensive midfielder attack?

You put someone more defensive behind him and in his position. Jose Mourinho has worked a bit of magic in which no one in the world has the answer to yet. That is, if you agree that Barcelona is one of the top three best teams in the world.

Jose Mourinho has succeeded where almost all have failed. He has made ugly football attractive. Attractive for losers who like to win! Now Chelsea is winning, no doubt about that. We can also agree that their style is ugly but effective. What he has done though, in the creation of this abomination is extra special.

The problem he faced was that he had put himself in a bind hiring on two offensive midfielders in Ballack and Lampard, both whom need to play for politics sake. To make matters worse, he has two excellent Defensive Midfielders, through Essien and Makelele that needs to be on the field. Whether Mourinho has crafted this midfield through necessity or from a brilliant vision of dark days for football, He has created an ugly beast. A one eyed, jerry curled beast that wears Portuguese shoes.

The head of the beast is Drogba himself, who I shall refer to as “The Drogba” from now on, due to the Ultra-Human feats that his is displaying. Shevchenko is a large growth out of this creation’s back. You can almost see him clawing his way to break the surface, but alas the skin is too hard and with every solo strike from “The Drogba,” his life force dissolves a little bit faster and melts into the Blue Body. The way Mourinho has tempered this beast is by narrowing the shoulders.

The shoulders are in the form of the two offensive guns that lay dormant, but at any moment can snatch a game winner, and the food from “The Drogba’s” jaws. These two shoulder blades are unimaginative, but are narrow and long, so that they can reach the goal from very far distances. This makes the defense of defending deep in the box not safe.

What is the weapon that this beast wields, well it is famous for expelling fireballs from its belly. Fire balls created from the “The Bison” Michael Essien. He receives the fire from the deepest parts of the belly and carries this brimstone ball to “The Drogba” to be expelled.

The source of the fire is from the belt, which is held together by a little belt buckle named Makelele. This buckle is small and takes no glory. It soaks up the pressure and transforms it into fire. The legs of the beast are strong with thorns it can sit like a huge oak all day and blow fire balls on you until you just burn away.

The Beast and the Beast’s Russian Master has won the day, but only because they have convinced the Scientist, General Jose that this is right. Once the corruption is discovered and clouded eyes are clear, then General Jose will grow beyond creating monsters for winning’s sake and go back to creating legends that embody poetry in its execution, with the humility that it exists.

The Blue Monster will stomp and blow, but will The Dragon of A.C. or the Thing of Inter allow it to be champion?

Well, Dunga is well into it—the downsizing of Brazil to a level where they are manageable: manageable, in terms of being coachable, so there is enough space in the locker room for players’ heads, as well as their cleats.

Carlos Alberto Pereira put a black mark against his name by fueling this soccer tragedy during the 2006 World Cup. Yes, I know the cup is over, but a mess was left for Dunga to clean up.

Pereira softened Brazil with their build up to the Cup. He had a hunch that playing super soft teams would keep his players happy and smiling. Well, of-course it did! Outrunning a defender who has the jump on you by 5 yards, to finish a goal from half field would put a smile on a cheetah. Well, against the Swiss Lucky 11 (Switzerland select team picked to play Brazil), Kaka did it with his shoes untied.

Pereira wanted to keep his players happy, but with a miscalculation, he made them soft. They sat on the field waiting for someone to start the play. When someone kicked into gear to finally start a play, they would expect the greatest highlight to happen instantly. The mind of Brazil was not Jogo Bonito, it was “Money, Money here we go.”

So, Brazil lost and has been shamed. Where does that leave us now? Frankly, welcome to the Cave of Dunga. These young players will be taught “to be and not be,” in the Cave of Dunga.

So if you didn’t before, now you know the damage that Brazil has suffered. Dunga has begun to rebuild, breaking down the poisoned mentalities and building from within. The super stars are out of hand, so the plan is to break the big boys down to size. This is Dunga, this is not Sven Goran Erickson. Dunga lives in a cave, and you will live with him in that cave, learning in the dark, resetting your outlook on futebol.

We are not going to see some cerebral answer to Brazil’s situation. I guarantee, everyone is afraid of Dunga in that cave and treat Dunga like “if you mess up, you will not eat.” That is how much respect he commands, or should command, in such a big situation. They have bowed to him before as a player.

He has sent the big heads away, stripped them down to pupils and has begun his brain wash. You laugh at the Brain Wash. Why is Ronaldinho wearing the No# 20 then? Just because he got into the second half of the Ecuador game and didn’t start. Wrong! Ronaldinho has forgotten his place, he thought he was a “Galactico” in the Cup, and he needs to be brought down to earth.

Where is Earth? It is where Brazil attacks from the wings. Where you have no idea where they will make a mockery of your team. That cannot happen right now because of the current situation. Dunga must play 2nd rate players because they are good yes, but not world class.

The label of Brazil being World Class is surely cast off in the cave. There should not be even a whisper. Brazil was Brazil in 1994! Brazil was less Brazil in 1998! Brazil was kinda Brazil in 2002 and now Brazil is crap, and Dunga is breaking down walls to rebuild on the Brazilian playing foundation, that can never be changed, just the players who interpret it.

Even Dunga from his cave is still producing wins and therefore less, or no controversy. By the way, Ecuador imploded in the friendly last week, after going one up in the very early stages. One fire averted. 

Good Luck Dunga! It will always be tough for Brazil when they are fielding a team that can barely break individual tackles. He has until Copa America 2007 to get this team out of the Cave and back to Brazilian style, or the hounds will start a callin’. He is 50-50 to be canned by 2008.  I think he can do it though, he is a Matador. 

Kamal de Gregory
Soccer Luminary
www.4skills.com

Ah, it is so nice when the under dog starts to achieve. That has been the case for Bahamas Soccer in the past few weeks. A country that stood at the bottom of the Caribbean Soccer Totem Pole has begun to climb.

What has made this former weak team into a power house in the region? Quite frankly, their Technical Director Gary White will tell you “its work.” Something he likes to exclaim on the sidelines of their many nail biting matches.

Currently the Bahamas is through to the second round of the Digicel Caribbean Cup, a tournament created to crown the champions of the Caribbean. Some might say, “that is small potatoes,” but to be crowned champions of any tournament is difficult, let alone one that has 3 world cup finalist amongst the competition (Trinidad and Tobago (06), Jamaica (98) and Haiti (74). This cup is no joke, and the top 3 teams at the end of the tournament will automatically qualify for next years Gold Cup, where all the big boys in the Concacaf battle it out. The Gold cup names the champion of one of the 5 world soccer regions.

So besides work, what can be attributed to the Bahamas’s success. Well, a proper developmental structure that is producing consistent NCAA players, churned from their ranks. A structure that produced a diamond in the rough a short time ago, has begun to roll out a new type of diamond created from the pressure of the Bahamas Football Association.

This Association’s five year goal is to become a power in the Northern Caribbean Region, and they are well on their way. From minnow to middle-of-the-road, Bahamas is producing results–Results that have made country history! The challenge now is to maintain this structure, this manufacturing environment that would most definitely solidify this country with the names of Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba.

The Bahamas play their next round of qualifiers in Barbados on Nov. 15 - 24th. You can find out more information about how all the teams in the Caribbean are doing at www.digicelfootball.com

Was Michelle Lissel forced out of the FSW Report because of her forbidden love with co-anchor Jeremy St. Louis? You mean you didn’t know. Well if their on-screen antics mean anything, surely these two are a couple, and that means, they would be breaking normal business policy by fraternizing.

Of course there is no evidence to say this is the cause of her leaving, and probably being the head of PR for the newest M.L.S. side “The Toronto Whatever”, is actually a better gig, but we sell more magazines talking like this.

Tonight will be Michelle’s last night on the Report, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Jeremy sheds a tear for her. Guaranteed to make the moment awkward will be everyone’s ditsy Uncle Bobby McMahon, trying to make a joke, but just coming off dry like normal. Still we might see an on-air kiss, or at least a wink.

Michelle props to you, the first women soccer MC I could listen to. She is better then most guys who are talking about ball out there right now, AKA Ridge Mahoney.

Well, if you are American and watch Fox Sports World, realize that there is no American based highlight show. I mean not any that are at least half way presentable.

We at Savage Soccer are working to change that bit-by-bit. Look forward to Savage Strikes starting back up next week. Big Goals from everywhere! Hopefully we will see some of Michelle’s Team next year. Bye Michelle, you have left the game better then you met it. Good Luck!

About Arsenal’s last game in the league. I will be honest, I only saw the first half with both eyes. In the second half, they both wanted to look away because Arsenal looked foolishly hard pressed to produce an offensive answer, or an offensive hero.

In the second half, I heard there was a penalty, and Henry after scoring, picked up the ball and held it as a trophy, while running back up the field. Hmmm…that game ended 1-1. What trophy is Arsenal looking to hold if 1-1 vs. Middlesbrough is cause for celebration?

There is a player that I associate directly with the downfall of Arsenal to middle-of-the-road status, which is the same level as Middlesbrough themselves. This player is known to a few as the thing that decimated 1/3 of Europe, and today more then half of Arsenal. To most he is known as Alexander Hleb, to a few keen observers, he is none other then the “Bubonic” Hleb.

Hleb robs Arsenal’s standard of play with each of his mis-touches. Arsene Wenger is seemingly infected because he sees Hleb’s touch through rosy goggles. This makes the problem into one that is club-wide, because he is measuring the “Bubonic” Hleb without the ruler that Arsenal of old would have been measured by. These slipping standards is allowing Thiery Henry to get away with kissing the ball for the tying goal against Boro on a PK.

If Hleb is bubonic then Henry, right now, is smoking chronic. He is just sitting back and relaxing trying to score easy goals, but let’s focus on one problem at a time.

The root of Hleb’s problem is he is stuck on the spectacular. He believes that the moves he was pulling off in the Germany will be transferable to England. Most of the time they are transferable. We will see how Ballack does, but Hlebs’ game is non-transferable, non-refundable.

Christiano Ronaldo’s skills have transferred, and he is revolutionizing touch and decision on the English stage, but Christiano possess speed to implement his quick visions.

The “Bubonic” Hleb is average. So in his case, things boil down to extra sharp skills to outplay opponents. Well, he is brilliantly open minded for a Belarusian, but short on the extra-perfect Rosicky-skills that top English League players need to shine.

Ex-Arsenal favorite, Pires didn’t have incredible skill or great speed, but his decisions put him above the pack. This is the “Bubonic” Hleb’s biggest problem because it seems he doesn’t want to look reality dead in the face and say I can’t do some of the things I am trying to. The easiest way for him to produce in England would be to build on common passes to better one’s position and try to get forward.

Yes, it’s just that easy, but until Arsene stops giving this player rope, Arsenal will continue to resettle at the middle-of-the-pack as chasers. “Bubonic” Hleb will make all of Arsenal’s win-bonuses die a horrible death.

Yes, I am not afraid to say that I jump on a band wagon or two. I have my teams that I am 100% loyal too; however—Football being interesting—I jump on a few ships of teams destined for praise and glory.

They call people who do this fair weather fans. When the weather is fair, we all come out to play. When there is bad weather a foot, a few losses, a few ties—well, we are all calling in a mayday, looking to jump ship in search for sunnier seas to sail.

Is this a problem? I think not, as long as any team has its base of devoted fans, they should welcome anyone else who is just along for the ride even if it is for only five minutes.

Why is five minutes enough for a fan to be on the boat? Because five minutes is long enough for them to buy a shirt. Yes, that sweet revenue made from being a winner. You not only get a trophy, but you get 25% more people buying and wearing your gear.

For Arsenal, the black cloud has been hovering over London for a year now and to hear Thierry Henry say on the last game of the season with a sense of accomplishment that undoubtedly they are fourth in the Premiership, and in the Champions League Finals, will not wash with many people who have climbed aboard.

Fourth as an accomplishment doesn’t sell you shirts or make people go out of their way to watch your specific team. Fourth gets you turned off in the first 15 minutes when you see where the game is going.

Wenger, fair weather can’t take rebuilding, fair weather can only take winning.

Many of you say, well who needs the fair weather? You guys can all go jump in a lake! Well, I agree. I am just upset that it is Lake Chelsea that everyone is jumping in, and the beautiful game of the Immortals will be a memory of remember-when, Oh what a team they had!

So, this time I sign off with my eyes welling up, not because I am super sad about Arsenal, but because I have been up all night looking for a good deal on a Chelsea away jersey.

It’s obvious to everyone, with Brazil coming off their embarrassing Germany 2006 World Cup Quarterfinal exit, that the team is broken.

Who is in charge of whipping this team back into the most feared soccer team on the planet? None other then the hardest man to play Brazilian soccer in the last 15 years—the heavy, hardcore, I just scored a pk versus Italy in the ‘94 World Cup Finals, and I am going to play like I’m putting a sword through Italy’s heart in front of a billion people—Dunga.

Yes, surely he has four other names on his birth certificate, but no one cares about that. His name is Dunga, and his animal spirit is that of a Brahma Bull. I can only dream of Ronaldinho mouthing off to the once-leader of Brazil on the field, and Champion of the World.

I see Dunga being able to impose his fighting spirit and combative perseverance to quell the current attitude that has taken over Brazil—the so called best players on the team believing that they automatically win every game just by showing up.

Even though Dunga has my trust and more importantly the trust of the Brazilian public, that doesn’t mean that everything is a picnic though. Right now, Brazil is looking at a shortage of players. A shortage compared to what Brazil is used to. Today is not the day where you can say that they could field three full world class teams. Right now, they are struggling to field one.

This is actually Dunga’s first documented coaching experience. I say documented because Dunga has been coaching the boys from the field for years. It is easier to coach from the field—you see exactly what is going on. So decisions on the sidelines will be a bit of a change.

As for the job of managing characters and personalities there is only one way that Dunga will play it. “Get thee behind me, weak minds! Show boat beyond what helps the team and you will lose your spot!” Dunga will cast the ego demons from Ronaldinho’s mind either by exorcism, or by straight jabs.

The International Friendly against Norway, Dunga’s Debut, is a simple tune up where they could have won, but the tie maintains respect. Good luck, Dunga! We will see next month when you play Argentina in England—that is where things will start to get interesting.

Undeniably, this World Cup has been one of defenses. Here is what tips you off–it was the second lowest scoring cup on record, second to 1990; moreover, Germany 2006 now has the record for the most cards ever shown in a World Cup.

This means that the team that sports the best defense would come out on top. In this instance, Italy gave up only two goals in Germany. Irrespective of how many they scored, which was upwards of twelve, success came their way.

There is no argument to deny that Italy is equipped to win this type of Cup. My question is, “Why would teams like France and Brazil, who are more equipped to win cups, geared toward offensive movement, allow them to get suckered into playing defensive soccer?”

A few of the great coaches of the world were hypnotized into thinking that this was the way to go–horrible miscalculations to think that you can walk into a spider’s web and fight the spider.

I rarely agree with Tommy Smyth, ESPN pundit, and all around old geezer, but when he made the inflammatory statement, “The Greeks killed football,” I can see that success for the Cinderella Greeks in Euro 2004–reeling off 1-0 defensive wins one after the other, all the way to the finals–would make any coach reconsider his game plan.

So, we are left with the best defensive team in the world and everyone else trying to match their goal strangling prowess. Normally you would drink champagne from this Cup, but this year they should fill it with gruel.

Class work for the Italians. For the other teams of the Cup, leave the web spinning to spiders, and if you are a cheetah, take your fights to the open plains.

Kamal de Gregory
Soccer Luminary
www.4skills.com

No mate, it is not because they lost out of the cup. It is because they have lost Roberto Carlos. Yes, he has been lost and retires amidst what I have seen as a shunning of this gifted left footer.
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They disrespected Roberto Carlos on that field! Brazil themselves thought nothing of him to the point they didn�t use him.
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So much fan fair, so much love for R10 (Ronaldinho the lie of the Cup) No love was left for Roberto, who was looked at not as a great, but as a do-boy that had to earn his right to take a shot or even run up the field.
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I am glad Roberto has retired from International play, only for the fact that I cannot take him being treated that way. Ronaldinho should get busted in his horse tooth for leading Brazil from �A beautiful way to play� to �how much do you pay.�
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Roberto, I promise to watch as many Real Madrid games or Chelsea if England is lucky, because �You Da Man.� You have one World Cup metal to lean back on and a Mongoose�s respect.���

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Kamal de Gregory
Soccer Luminary
www.4skills.com�