Heaps to be named as New England Head Coach

Congratulations to Jay Heaps, who appears to be the new Head Coach of the New England Revolution.

The former Duke University and New England Revolution standout would succeeds Steve Nicol, as reported in the Boston Globe.

Last Wednesday, Revs president Brian Bilello revealed to MLSsoccer.com how the board had lined up 12 potential candidates and that they would be announcing a new manager sometime this week.

Bilello was insistent that New England would not rush into appointing someone, and that a thorough interview procedure would ensue.

“Throughout the head coaching search that I've been doing with Michael [Burns], we're not just looking at a guy and saying who is going to be the best coach,” Bilello said. “We're also understanding what we want to be as an organization and then applying it to the interview process.”

The Bleacher Report discusses the decision to hire Heaps as the top man in New England.

Continuing with a new trend in hiring ex-MLS players to coach their former teams—think Jason Kreis at Real Salt Lake and Ben Olsen at D.C. United—the Revolution ownership has chosen retired defender Jay Heaps to be the organization’s new head coach heading into the 2012 season.

Some fans may worry that Heaps doesn’t have any previous coaching experience. What he lacks in soccer coaching experience he makes up for in other areas.

For starters, Heaps who enjoyed a fine 10-year playing career (eight with New England), is one of the most popular and productive players in Revolution history. He’s first in the team’s record books in games played (243) and minutes played (21,619). He was the 1999 MLS Rookie of the Year with the Miami Fusion and he has been capped by the United States Men’s National team four times. He was a successful player at every level and knows what the players are going through.

He also has championship experience. He was a member of the U.S Open Cup champion team in 2007 and the SuperLiga champions in 2008. He was on the USMNT that finished second in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup and played for the Revs all four times the team made it to the MLS Cup final. He knows what it takes to be a champion, especially in the MLS, and that can go a long way in guys buying into what he has to tell them.

While he played for Nicol, who was a fine coach, he’s also been exposed to legendary coaching. While at Duke, Heaps was spotted by basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski—who tied an NCAA Division I record with 902 career wins on Saturday—and was given a spot on the team’s roster.

In four years he only played in 30 basketball games and scored eight points (compare that to 45 goals for the soccer team), but Heaps picked up a few valuable lessons from his time with the team.

Heaps acknowledged in an interview in 2008 that being one of the bottom guys on the bench helped him fully understand the true concept of what a team is.

“On the soccer field at Duke, I was the guy that played every minute of every game and was a player looked at to lead the team from a playing standpoint,” Heaps said. “Then I went to basketball, where I was probably the smallest guy on the team, one of the last guys off the bench, and I saw how you can still impact the greater good of the team no matter what your role might be.”

His time as a bench warmer makes him not only relatable to his lower-end players, but he knows how to get the most out of every player and keep everyone engaged in practice.

Heaps’ relationship with Coach K can also help guide him as he begins his own coaching career. During some of his offseasons, Heaps returned to Durham to spend time with Krzyzewski and his staff, observing the legend at work. While Krzyzewski coaches basketball and not soccer, and won’t be able to help Heaps with tactics, you don’t win 902 games (and counting) without having great leadership skills that transcend your sport.


It also should be mentioned that, for the past couple of seasons, Heaps has been the color commentator for Revolution games on television and radio. He has observed every game, seen not only the talent and flaws of the Revolution players but also witnessed first-hand the same qualities in every team in the league. He has stayed familiar with MLS and the Revolution and that should keep him sharp as well as allowing him to figure out what would be good player-acquisitions for his team.

Don’t take the notion that he’s a Revolution-lifer for nothing, either. The fact that he has played and worked for the organization shows a dedication to the team. He’s going to want this team to perform well for beyond just personal ones.

Some fans worry that hiring such a popular figure with little actual experience is just to make the fans forget about bigger issues inside the organization’s framework, but that isn’t Heaps fault. As far as being a leader and a coach, he should be up for the opportunity.

The Revolution team is a shell of its former self and Heaps doesn’t have a whole lot to work with, currently. It may be a rocky road to begin with, but there’s plenty of potential to turn this franchise around, and fans could very well be pleased with the results.

Arena named MLS Coach of the Year for record 3rd time

Los Angeles Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena was named MLS Coach of the Year for the third time, winning the 2011 award after leading the Galaxy to the Supporters Shield as the team with the best record in the MLS regular season. The Galaxy's 19-5-10 record was also the second best record in league history.

Arena, the first coach to win the MLS Coach of the Year award three times, won the award in 1997 when he led D.C. United to its second straight MLS title and in 2009 when he rebuilt the Galaxy, which finished second to Real Salt Lake.

Arena beat out Sigi Schmid (Seattle), Peter Vermes (Sporting KC), Peter Nowak (Philadelphia) and John Spencer (Portland) for the 2011 award.

MLS Coach of the Year Winners:
2011: Bruce Arena, LA Galaxy
2010: Schellas Hyndman, FC Dallas
2009: Bruce Arena, LA Galaxy
2008: Sigi Schmid, Columbus Crew
2007: Preki, Chivas USA
2006: Bob Bradley, Chivas USA
2005: Dominic Kinnear, San Jose Earthquakes
2004: Greg Andrulis, Columbus Crew
2003: Dave Sarachan, Chicago Fire
2002: Steve Nicol, New England Revolution
2001: Frank Yallop, San Jose Earthquakes
2000: Bob Gansler, Kansas City Wizards
1999: Sigi Schmid, Los Angeles Galaxy
1998: Bob Bradley, Chicago Fire
1997: Bruce Arena, D.C. United
1996: Thomas Rongen, Tampa Bay Mutiny

Kinnear & Arena chase MLS titles, and history

As we approach the 2011 MLS Cup, the coaches of both teams come to the forefront of this tactical chess match. Both Dominic Kinnear of Houston and Bruce Arena of Los Angeles have been as successful as any other coaches in MLS history.

Jose De Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle writes of the managers who are attempting to become the first coach with three MLS championships in league history.

As he celebrated with players and coaches after winning the 2006 MLS Cup title, Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear's eyes filled with tears.

It was a strange sensation for a man more gruff than gentle, more prone to showing his players love with a biting joke than a hug.

Enjoying his first title as an MLS coach, Kinnear was overcome with bittersweet feelings. Still mourning the 2004 death of his mother, Mary, and the 2005 death of his father Hugh, he regretted not having them to share the moment.

Kinnear, 44, has come a long way since his parents died during his first two seasons as coach of the San Jose Earthquakes. On Nov. 20, he'll attempt to become the first coach in Major League Soccer to win three MLS Cup titles.

To do that, the Dynamo must beat the Los Angeles Galaxy to deny Bruce Arena his chance to become the league's first coach with three titles.

History will be made at Home Depot Center when Kinnear or Arena gets that third MLS title.

"There have been a lot of coaches that have had great success in the league's brief history," Arena said. "We're not talking about the Vince Lombardis and that kind of thing because we're still a league that's in its infancy. But in the short history of this league, certainly Dom is one of the most successful."

When considering the greatest coaches in the league's 16-year history, no list is complete without or Kinnear.

Berbatov praises Ferguson's man-management

Dimitar Berbatov has praised Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson’s man-management style despite the striker struggling to break into the first team this season.

Berbatov, 30, has started one league game and his future at Old Trafford is far from certain with a year remaining on his contract.

But the former Bulgaria international, who signed from Tottenham Hotspur for £30m in 2008, still feels he has the support of Ferguson.

“The way he treats players is unbelievable,” said Berbatov. “Even when not playing or you’re injured, he’s still speaking with you and encouraging.

“He makes you feel special and lets you know your place in the team.”

Berbatov has fallen behind Danny Welbeck, Javier Hernández and Wayne Rooney in the United pecking order – but he is eager to fight for his place in side while taking on board Ferguson’s advice.

“Some players need to be pushed and others need to be talked to separately,” he said.

“For me, he just needs to come to me and tell me what to expect from the game and the training ground, then it is up to me to show I can play every game.”

And he also spoke of the inspiration he has drawn from the United manager, who celebrated is 25th year in charge at Old Trafford last Sunday, in team-talks before games.

“I cannot speak for other players, but it is always good when the manager comes to ask how you’re feeling and makes you feel calm before you play the game,” he added.

“For me, he knows how to motivate you and how to speak with you, about football or some issues you have outside of football.

“Just in the way he speaks with you in the team-talk – before important games he can make you feel like it’s the last game you’ll play in your life, so you go out there and want to give everything you have.

“It’s great – you just need to be there to see it.”

34-game schedule announced for MLS in 2012

MLS Commissioner Don Garber confirmed on Thursday that the league would, in fact, go to an unbalanced, 34-game schedule in 2012.

SB Nation Soccer had first reported this likelihood back in September when teams first started to release season-ticket packages and multiple league officials anonymously confirmed that an unbalanced schedule was the plan.

For the last two years, MLS teams have played two games against every other league opponent. Next year will mark the first time in the league's history that each team will not both host and visit every other team at least once. With the Montreal Impact giving MLS 19 teams, Garber said further expanding the schedule would have been extremely difficult.

"It’s simple math: 389 games would almost be impossible for us to execute with the other competitions we’re required to play, the weather issues we have … the challenges in a handful of markets, the FIFA dates," he said. "All the thing we have to do differently in the United States from a competitive standpoint, just the travel impact that exists in our country."

Part of the problem may be that Garber's math is not exactly up to snuff. With 19 teams playing a balanced schedule and following the same playoff format, the league would actually have to play 355 games. In fact, the only way the league would have to play exactly 389 games is if they played a balanced schedule with 20 teams and then cut four games out of the playoffs.

Garber did not reveal much about the format of this 19-team, 34-game schedule, but he did allude to the possibility of it featuring more in-conference games. One scenario could involve every team playing three games against in-conference opponents. That would have the added benefit of limiting cross-country plane trips, as Garber noted the Vancouver Whitecaps had to travel more than 60,000 miles this year.

"The more games we add, the more travel for our players and reduces the quality of our play," Garber said.

Guardiola suggests playing career is not necessary to become good trainer

In regards to the notion of needing to have had a successful playing career to be a manager, Arrigo Sacchi coined the phrase "you didn't need to be a horse to be a jockey".

Pep Guardiola had a standout playing career for Barcelona prior to becoming their manager, but he agrees with the fact that a career as a player is not a requirement to being a successful coach - using Jose Mourinho as an example.

"It is not necessary to have played football to become a great coach," he is quoted by AS as saying. "Arrigo Sacchi changed this sport without having played and Jose Mourinho is probably the best coach in the world. Having been in a dressing room gives you advantages in certain situations, but not having been in one also gives you other advantages."

The 40-year-old Guardiola took charge of the Catalan side's senior squad in 2008, with his 12 titles conquered to date making him the most successful coach in the history of the club.

Despite enjoying success as a midfielder in the '90s, Guardiola stressed that a career as a player is not a requirement to be a successful trainer, giving the example of the man on the bench at Santiago Bernabeu.

MLS evolving at a rapid rate

Seattle Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer is delighted with the rate of growth within Major League Soccer.

The North American domestic league has been going from strength to strength both on and off the pitch in recent years and Hanauer is ‘thrilled’ with how things are fairing in MLS.

"To repeat the words of the MLS president, Mark Abbott, who I've been friends with for a lot of years, this is an evolution, not a revolution,” he told the Seattle Times.

“I'm thrilled about the way the league is evolving. The weaker teams are getting stronger from a financial and foundational standpoint. The stronger teams are continuing to thrive.

“Attendance was obviously very strong this past year. The new franchises are exceeding everybody's expectations.

“TV viewership, albeit starting at a fairly low number, is growing, which is critical for us. Relevance of the MLS teams in their home markets is growing. (Media coverage) and whether it's sports radio paying more attention, ESPN putting goals in their Top 10, all that stuff (helps).”