One month after winning the 2000 MLS Cup, Kansas City Wizards coach Bob Gansler discusses his teamÆs offseason plans, how it intends to cope with the retirement of three veteran forwards, and the status of star midfielder Preki. Q: What are your plans for the team? Do you want to keep the same formation and what other additions are you looking to make? BOB GANSLER: Well, it’s not about formation, it’s about talented players. The players will come up with their formations. It is their abilities that will enable us to come out with a way to addressing the game. We took a big hit with Mo Johnston, Miklos Molnar and Alex Bunbury announcing retirement but the cupboard isn’t completely bare. One of the gentlemen, had he been completely healthy would have been in the starting lineup, is Gary Glasgow who showed what he could do. He had a late start but I think he’s going to do very well. Chris Brown is jumping at the bit and Peter Byaruhanga. We do have some forwards in place but that is the area that we have to bring in some additional people and we’re looking at that. Q: Would you like to complement a speedy player like Glasgow with a forward with a physical game like Miklos Molnar’s last year? GANSLER: What you would need to do is get someone who scores goals. Whether he goes about it in the Molnar manner or it’s with repeated bicycle kicks and side volleys — it doesn’t matter. We’re looking for goalscorers. Miklos filled the bill in his way last year. Gary [Glasgow] is a guy who is not only going to score goals but get assists. For him to play all the way up top, it’s not the best spot for him. We need some folks he can play off of. Chris Brown is a very good shooter. I’m looking for him to make his way next year. I’m also looking for more experienced folks — box players — and there are different ways of playing in the box. You want to give me Jaime Moreno? I’ll take him and the players would figure out a way to play together. Goalscorer yes — but it doesn’t have to be a particular kind. It just has to be one who is effective at it. Q: Where are you conducting your forward search? GANSLER: You look everywhere just as we did last year. But until we know exactly what the guidelines are we’re not jetting to foreign places. We’re doing our homework here just as we did last year. We not only had Molnar in sight last year but a couple of other guys who were in the mix as well. We decided Miklos was the best fit for us and with the help of the league we were able to get him here. You need to look everywhere in order to fill those holes. Q: Mo Johnston has been around postseason practices. Any chance he may be back from retirement? GANSLER: I haven’t seen him training. I’ve seen him hanging around and smiling and talking with the guys. I think for Mo, that was it. He was extremely valuable to us not only because of his ability but his soccer intelligence and his heart. And he led by example in a very effective way. I think that’s the way he wanted to go out — on top. I think that’s great. Would I entertain it? Certainly. Do I expect it. Not really. Q: Is Preki expected to be back next year? GANSLER: Preki left the very next day after MLS Cup. He left for Yugoslavia, specifically Belgrade to be with his parents and relatives. And as far as I know he has not returned. When he does return we’ll have to see what is on his mind and his heart. No determination has been made in any which direction in terms of Preki and next year. Q: Do you plan to stay with the Wizards long term? GANSLER: We’re still working out the details but we’ve agreed on the most important thing: They want me back and I want to be back. On what the duration will be and the other details, we’ll figure that out. But it’s been a good two years that I’ve spent here and I’m looking forward to quite a few more. Details are ôTBAö but I’ll be back here and enjoying myself. Q: Have you watched MLS Cup again since winning it? GANSLER: I don’t have to watch it. I remember it. I can replay it and I have replayed it in my mind. But I have not sat down and watched it. I will do that sometime down the line. I plan to go and instruct at the USSF Coaching School in January someplace in Arizona or in Florida. So maybe we’ll use it on that occasion to study that film. But I have not looked at it since then because it is something to enjoy and not something to study at this point. Q: What’s the plan for the Wizards through January? GANSLER: We’re done. We pretty much called it a day late last week on Thursday. Then the coaches, we jetted out to scout the [college] conference tournaments. A couple of players are doing some stuff on their own. We have three of them in Argentina playing with the Pro-40s. It’s been a long trek. Last year in the middle of January people started doing things for themselves and we officially got together on February 1. For now we’ll call it a year and we’ll get together again early next year.