By Ridge Mahoney
Senior Editor, Soccer America
No matter who is named as Chivas USA coach to replace Coach Bob Bradley – and all of the candidates appear to be from south of the border – he will have a unique player on the club’s books this spring.
The club is finalizing details on a program modeled after “Survivor” and “American Idol” by which one young player will earn a contract after a field of thousands is narrowed down by a series of tryouts, or auditions, as the case may be. Each week, a popular Spanish-language sports program will track the action.
There won’t be any 45-year-old veterans of the Southern California ethnic leagues spinning pirouettes or lunging late into tackles, however. An age limit, probably late teens, will limit the applicants to those eligible for the club’s youth development programs.
At some point, of course, “Survivor” winner Ethan Zohn should be among the judges. And just to give it the real Hollywood treatment, would an invitation for the “American Idol” panel of Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, and Paula Abdul be a bad idea?