Ron Newman, one of the most successful and colorful characters in U.S. soccer history, saw his 30-year coaching career end four games into the 1999 season. ThatÆs when Bob Gansler replaced him at the helm of the Kansas City Wizards. from the December 4 2000 issue of Soccer America Magazine INTERVIEW BY MIKE WOITALLA SOCCER AMERICA: What have you been up to? RON NEWMAN: As little as possible. IÆve been on a cruise. Went to a couple reunions in England — a school reunion and one with my old club, Portsmouth. IÆm sort of in the throes of writing a book. We moved to a new house. I did color commentary for the Miami Fusion, replacing Ray Hudson, when he became coach. IÆve gotten interested in genealogy — charting the family tree. ThatÆs been real fascinating. SA: That sounds like quite a bit. Any interesting ancestral discoveries? RN: No Lords or Ladies, just run-of-the-mill people. SA: YouÆre still in Kansas City? RN: WeÆre working on three grandchildren here. No way my wife would let us leave. SA: When can we expect the book? RN: That might take a while. IÆm a one-finger type. I hit a letter then wonder where the hell the next letter is. I tried voice-recognition software. First I had to teach it the English language, then it went so slow I could have done it faster in Braille. SA: Did you watch your old team win the MLS Cup? RN: Oh yeah. SA: Were you happy for them? RN: I was real pleased for guys like Preki, Mo Johnston, Chris Klein and Brandon Prideaux. Seeing these guys that we [son and former assistant coach Guy Newman] dug up win the title was sort of a pat on the back for us. … Lamar Hunt sent us a nice letter saying we were part of the [championship]. ThatÆs the kind of gentleman he is. SA: What did you think of the this yearÆs Wizards? RN: They were good. At the beginning of the season, they had huge fortune not to lose players to international duty. Then, they became a very difficult team to beat, a team that really believed in itself. In the final, I thought Chicago was the better team, but when Diego Gutierrez hits the crossbar from inside the goal area, it reminds you that the best team doesnÆt always win. SA: Any comments on the playersÆ lawsuit against MLS? RN: ItÆs terrible. Every league IÆve been involved with in America has failed because of inflation of salaries. One thing IÆve learned: You can always find players. Finding owners is the hard part.