Opening comments by MetroStars general manager Nick Sakiewicz “I’m really looking forward to this game. I’d like to say to Tim Hankinson that I’m sorry we did such a good job last season [in Tampa Bay]. I’m very excited about the direction that the MetroStars are going. We’ve had our ups and downs this year, but overall I’d say we’ve had more ups. We are playing some good soccer. With the comeback of Tab Ramos to the park, we’ve been able to put together some entertaining soccer together. All of our home matches have been fun to watch, the results haven’t all gone our way, but that will change as we continue to play good soccer.” “It will be good to see a lot of the people I worked with from Tampa, and would be even more fun to have a drink afterwards to celebrate a win over Tampa Bay.” Opening Comments by MetroStars midfielder Tab Ramos “I always have to start with saying that I’m happy to be playing. Hopefully, if everything goes well during the week, I’ll be playing again at our home game. As far as our team, there is always a sense of urgency with our club, so its very difficult when you don’t get the results that you need. It’s time for us to focus on the positives. We played a solid 60 minutes this past weekend. It was some of the best soccer since I’ve been at this club. Our club is brand new this year, from the front office all the way down to the players, it’s important that we take bigger and bigger steps each week.” Opening comments by Tampa Bay coach Tim Hankinson “It’s good to see Tab back on the park, the team has missed him and he’s a great player for the league. Nick, I love you too. Certainly, playing against Sakiewicz’s team makes for some added fun to the match. Tampa’s kept a group together from last year, a group that understands what it has to accomplish as far as how to tactically work together in attack. The fact that we’ve played well at home builds confidence.” “The fact that we’ve not had success on the road, it’s not really reflective of confidence. These things will turn around. Most of our games on the road we’ve played well enough to win but fell short. A road win will come in time, as long as we keep training and fighting hard. We’ve got a little bit of a struggle going into this weekend, with players like Steve Ralston, who got kicked pretty hard last week.” “We feel very good about some of our additions, like Diallo. He’s a player that we’re glad we signed. It’s great to add a player to your team that can help raise elements of your game.” Opening comments by Tampa Bay forward Mamadou Diallo “I am so happy here, it is really important for me to play well here. The group is a good group, I have very good relationships with each player. I work very hard because the players are very important to me. If the trainer and players upset you than it’s tough. But, they have made it easier. We should have a very good year.” Sakiewicz on Lothar Matthaeus’ absence “I think that all along, Octavio [Zambrano] and I had planned on Lothar missing a significant number of games. We tried to bring in player personnel to replace him. We don’t need players from the outside. We have the internal solutions on our roster now. I hope we go on a massive win streak, so when he comes back it is a difficult decision on how to integrate him into our team. We’ve yet to see the best of Lothar. It’s evidence that our league is not a pushover, he has had a tough time adjusting. As many foreigners do, he’s had a tough time adjusting to the speed of our league. We still haven’t seen the best of Lothar, and I believe we will. I am very confident in the player personnel that we have in filling Lothar’s role.” Ramos on Matthaeus’ absence “The whole team has been prepared for his departure. At this point, maybe it’s a week earlier than we expected. We have a roster good enough to fill in his spot. He’s had some tough times, as many of foreigners have had in this league. Diallo’s an exception to the rule. He’s adjusted real well. When Lothar comes back, he’ll be able to help us a lot more. He’ll be a lot better prepared, however, losing a great player is never good for the team.” Ramos on the difference between this and past comebacks “It’s so hard to compare, for all my other comebacks I knew I’d be out for certain time. This time, I’ve been two weeks away for 10 months. It has been really difficult, but at the same time easier on my legs. At least I feel a lot better this time. I feel I can contribute a lot to my team. I thought maybe the first week a tackle might make me afraid, but I wasn’t. As the weeks go on, I feel better, getting involved in more tackles. At 33, I appreciate being on the field more than ever. The way we played last week gives us a lot of hope for the season.” Hankinson on Steve Ralston’s injury “Ralston was not in the training session, he was getting therapy today. It’s too early to have him in training. There’s still 72 hours, but he needs to turn a corner quickly. We are looking at a number of ideas if Ralston can’t go. We have to prepare in the case that he is not healthy enough to play. We’ll still put 11 guys on the field, but we’ve haven’t made any adjustments yet.” Ramos on his effect on the game “I want to think I am helping the team at this point. I’m only a couple weeks away from being exactly where I want to be. Two weeks ago against L.A. when I came into the game in the second half, I was no where near as fit as I wanted to be. I think I’ve done a lot more as the weeks have gone on. As the weeks go on, my fitness level will go up. I feel that I’m 2-3 weeks away from being in top form.” Ramos on the success of Kansas City “I think that K.C. is just a very organized team, not so much that they are going to beat you with great plays, but it’s just so hard to create opportunities against them. Even though we played a good game this past weekend, we made one mistake and paid for it. That’s how we lost the game. Bob Gansler’s going a great job, organization is the key over there.” Hankinson on the success of Kansas City “They are very strong through the middle, with Tony [Meola] and [Peter] Vermes up through [Matt] McKeon, Preki and Mo [Johnston]. They compliment that middle strength with [Chris] Klein and [Chris] Henderson flying on the flanks, where they are very dangerous. They are a complete team, the real thing. As time goes on it will be interesting to see if we can get at their defense and see a change in results. They are certainly right at the top of the league.” Sakiewicz on the return of Mark Semioli “Semioli won’t be taking Lothar’s place, but he got his first touch of the ball last weekend, and it was good to see that. It’s been quite disappointing for us not having him available. You may see him in the lineup now that there’s a spot vacated.” Hankinson on a surplus of forwards “There are no plans to make a roster move. Raul [Diaz Arce] has been the best professional I’ve ever been around, in what he brings to training and the club everyday. He’s a good guy that we plan to keep. Mamadou is making his mark everyday. When we started we didn’t have Diallo at first. He had work permit troubles. Then we were without Raul, who was in World Cup qualifying with El Salvador. We really had to devise a way to play with only one striker in town. We’ve built some confidence with it. In an ideal lineup we’d like to have both of them in it. So far things have worked fairly well with this system. It’s a very healthy situation for us to be in, having two quality players fighting for a job. They know it is about performance. We will look at adjustments to make, based on injuries and opponents. There will be games where we see both of them on the field at the same time.” Sakiewicz on the MetroStars open foreign spot “As you know the discovery period ended yesterday. We didn’t get a foreign player though that process, although we were looking for potential candidates. We are in discussion with a number of teams around the league with regards to a player that may fill that position. We may not fill that position it at all. We are exploring some personnel moves that may bring a foreign player in the mix. If not, we have some competent American players that can get the job done this year. It’s up to them to perform.” Diallo on impressions of MLS “I’d had never seen an MLS game before I came here. I wanted to come to America, I would never think of the league here. But now I think it’s a very good league. I am very happy to play here.” Hankinson on the demise of D.C. United “I think generally, losing Roy Lassiter has hurt their plans. The loss of Roy put a lot pressure on the young players. I think [Marco] Etcheverry came in with series of injuries, that have kept him from being at full form. He’s missed some games, forcing [Jaime] Moreno to drop back. They’ve had a number of other injuries and Olympic absences that have hurt. When they are fully fit, they’ll make a second-half run. Kind of like the run that Colorado had in the first half last season, D.C can make that run in the second half this year.” Ramos on the demise of D.C. United “United has been slowly losing players, and replacing them with younger players. It takes time to gel. They’ll be just fine over time.” Ramos on finally playing 90 minutes last week “I am feeling better and better as the weeks go by. I obviously ran out of gas last week, but I felt like I covered a lot off the field in the first 70 minutes. In a couple weeks I’ll be able to contribute a lot. I’ve been hurt for so long that everyone expects me to get hurt again. This is what I do, and I have to keep going, and play as hard and aggressive as possible.” Hankinson on foreign officials working in MLS “Like any referee, it depends on who the referee is and the quality of their experience. To open it randomly to an international exchange doesn’t help, but bringing in select quality refs is a favorable idea. If we can bring in some quality refs to raise the bar here, then it helps the overall situation and everyone gains.”