Ray Hudson, coach of the top seed Miami Fusion, talked of his teamÆs great season, his relationship with Diego Serna, U.S. World Cup qualification, and more, on the eve of MiamiÆs semifinal series’ kickoff with San Jose. Ray Hudson’s opening comments: “I’d like to congratulate the American lads who have done our country and our league a tremendous achievement. This country doesn’t quite get the enormity of the achievement, but they will. Bruce Arena gets a thunderous round of applause from everyone down here. I’m full of pride for the country and our league as well. One hand washes the other and this is a great advertisement for MLS.” “We’ve got an almighty battle-royal waiting for us tomorrow at Lockhart Stadium between two of the finest teams that Major League Soccer has ever seen. Both teams are very fluid and attacking sides and it should prove to be a real ding-dong battle. We are a weakened team, but we’ll be there ready with spear and shield in hand, ready to take it to the brink.” “I picked [San Jose] to win the whole damn thing during the preseason, which I totally regret now, but that is how much appreciation and admiration I have for them.” “Our season has been a dream come true. It was supposed to be a rebuilding year, but we’ve created a competitive and exciting environment for these players to strut their stuff. I can’t tell you how much all the accolades mean to me and to the rest of the guys, who have tasted the bitter end of the glass a lot of the time. We’re giddy about the success but we feel as if it is a job half done so far. “We’ve sustained top-dog position since day one, and all the smart alecks were predicting when the wheels were going to come off, but we’ve run over those guys and left them in the dust. We’re still here, still standing and we hope to be standing in Columbus. We know full well that there is an enormous mountain in front of us in the shape of the San Jose Earthquakes.” Hudson on Landon Donovan: “Landon is a very special, special player. He’s high caliber, high quality and high octane. He’s the sort of player this country has always yearned for. Technically he’s beautifully balanced with tremendous vision touch and grace. ôHe’s got that tenacity and hunger to achieve what is just out of his grasp. He’s always reaching. That is why he’s on that meteoric ride to the top. He doesn’t just do it with his club football he also does it in the national pressure-cooker situation. It’s pure talent. This is not a lot of induced coaching, its pure touched by the hand of God talent. How good he’s going to be remains to be seen. The fairytale so far has come wonderfully true. I hate him to death though, I just wanted to add that. “Bruce Arena has got to be thanking his lucky stars for Landon, and I’m sure Frank Yallop gets on his bended knees every night and gives thanks. He [Landon] is one of those kids you can’t say enough about. He’s right, he’s got and long may it continue. I just hope we’ve got enough about ourselves to avoid trying to contain his expression. He’s worth the price of admission.” Hudson’s key factors in the Miami-San Jose series: “We’re both on the high wire juggling balls in the air, and I think that failure to take the chance, the little bit of a slip on a banana peel will cost either team a game. Both sides are going to get their opportunities.” “Who is it in the stars for? I don’t think it will hinge on tactical awareness or overall strategy. I think both teams are going to rely on producing the dagger out of the sheath at that final time. It’s crucial for both sides to play well defensively but it will come down to which team will make the best of their opportunities.” Hudson on the “first-to-five” points playoff format in MLS: “I don’t have any problem with the rules to be honest. Whatever is handed down, it really makes no particular difference to me, or my players. I’m quite comfortable with this setup right now. I wouldn’t be one to argue about using the aggregate system, and I’m not so sure that would be the way to go. There is a lot of things to be worked out of this equation, with the expenses of travel and the demands on the players. As it is right now I don’t have any problems with the way the system is.” Hudson on his reputation: “There is no question that you always want to be thought of as a football man. The fact that I have a personality to go with my knowledge and soccer instincts isn’t my fault. ôIt is not something I worry about. People who know the game realize that is who I am. You earn that respect, and I’ve done that in the time that I’ve been with the Fusion. This year has been beyond the dream. I think that we’ve deconstructed this team and rebuilt it in my image and I feel that alone stands by itself as a testament to what I’m about. I don’t have problems with people thinking that I’m a character or a box of toys. That’s who I am. As long as the players like me that’s the main thing. We’re in the entertainment business and as long as it is kept in check its fine. I’m proud of who I am. “I was a five-time NASL All-Star, and I knew what it took to challenge players and to extol good performances. When you’ve had a life enriched with the game as I have, it carries through in a monumental way. If this team had not of come through for me last year, it would have all fallen apart. Doug Hamilton and Ken Horowitz would have been made to look rather foolish. They made a brave decision and I’m just proud and delighted I backed it all up.” Hudson on whether recent world events will effect recruitment of international players: “I doubt it very much. I just got off the phone with two players — one from Europe and one from Central America who would come on the plane tomorrow to play here in the United States next year. ôThese are big-name players. I think this will dilute itself over the passage of time. This is a wonderful country and everyone knows the splendor that the United States has to offer culturally and in its society. Our sport and our league have grown leaps and bounds and people recognize us. We’re definitely on the map and people see us as a very viable alternative to the other big leagues in this country. ôThe recent events shook everybody to the marrow and it’s a scary time we’re living in whether you live in Dublin or Johannesburg, Sydney or Miami, Florida. Guys want to play here because they love the country and they recognize what MLS is developing into. I honestly don’t think there will be a sense of trepidation from the guys considering a career move. If things are handled right I don’t think people will back away at all from the United States. I have no indication of it whatsoever — quite the contrary.” Hudson on whether Diego Serna’s positive attributes have outweighed any negative ones: ôSure. Diego is a good kid. He’s a wonderful character and a lovely, lovely personality but he has a bit of the devil in him and it’s hard to put that into a player especially with an antagonistic forward like Diego is. ôHe is a very provoked player and what he did was wrong and he’s been punished for it. My run-ins with Diego have been purely professionally. I have to reconfirm this: personally I love Serna. He’s an angel of a kid and I have no problems that way. But it’s his timekeeping, his lackadaisical attitude at practice that the team feels sometimes. When that has happened I’ve absolutely taken a verbal flamethrower to him. He’s been man enough to appreciate it and respond. ôWhether you love him or hate him, the kid produces incredible results and that’s what’s got to be taken in consideration. And the fact that he did it this year after the chastising on two or three occasions, that has paid dividends. He responded and went out and demonstrated what a big man he can be. He could have melted but he didn’t. He got better and stronger. ôUnfortunately it’s been a tense season for all of us at the Fusion and everybody has their breaking points. Diego learned a valuable lesson in the response to the Wizards player and that cannot be tolerated and he will probably never do that again. But me and Diego are fine. I threw some toast at him in the locker room today — it was still in the toaster.”