What They Said … … after Kansas CityÆs 1-0 win over Chicago in MLS Cup 2000. Kansas City forward Miklos Molnar: On his first half goal: “I saw it go in and that’s the most important thing. I don’t care how it went in. The ball went over the line and that was the main point.” On confidence after getting the first goal: “We knew that even if we scored the first goal, it would be a difficult game and we would have to work hard to get this result.” Wizards defender Nick Garcia: On KC’s season: “Even though a lot of people didn’t believe in us, most importantly we believed in ourselves and we got the job done.” On feelings after K.C. went up 1-0: “I think it gave us a good amount of confidence. We knew Chicago was a good team and could come back at any time. We knew we had to defend a lot tougher. We got lucky a couple of times. (Dema) Kovalenko probably should have had a goal but it hit the post. But that’s the game of soccer.” On KC’s defensive effort: “When we played L.A. (last weekend) and we were down a man. We dug in and moved well. That’s the strong suit of our team, our defense and communication. And we just believed in each and every one of us. I’m so happy right now and so tired.” Wizards goalkeeper Tony Meola: On feelings after winning MLS Cup: “I don’t even know what to say. It was incredible. It was so surreal when Paul (Tamberino — referee) finally blew that whistle. I thought last week felt good and it wasn’t even close.” On Fire’s pressure in attack: “They snuck in. They were throwing everybody in the box. I was able to come up with two big saves. We settled down defensively, got the goal we needed, and the team deserves this … The last 20 minutes they threw everybody … Wolff, Kubik, Beasley, Stoitchkov, Ante Razov. They had everybody. We had to defend. That’s all we had to do. We did it all year and there’s no reason we couldn’t do it again.” Wizards midfielder Mo Johnston: On Wizards absorbing Fire’s pressure: “We had our backs to the wall. We are a resilient team and we’ll fight till the end.” On key plays by Wizards players: “Tony came up big. Miklos came up big. They’ve been coming up big for us all year. And I can’t thank our younger guys enough. They’ve been tremendous.” On his personal feelings: “I’m so emotional right now. It’s unbelievable. It’s been a long five years.” Wizards Head Coach Bob Gansler: On his Wizards team: “They (Wizards) possessed the intangibles. We always said we have to find a way to win and that’s what they always do, whether it’s 1-0, the way we beat the Fire today or 4-3 the way we beat them in the beginning of the season.” On Wizards will to win: “It’s a talented bunch and a bunch that was really thirsty for success. They worked their buns off for nine months.” On his emotions: “I’m not a handstand kind of guy but inside I’m doing exactly that. I feel good.” On whether he may retire: “I enjoy the daily process of coaching. I enjoy being with talented, motivated folks like this bunch. And I’ve coached everywhere and enjoyed every moment. I have friends that are talking about retirement and I say retire to what? They’re looking for something to do now that they’re done working. But for me this is not work.” Wizards defender Peter Vermes: On Wizards game plan: “Our ideal was to come in ahead at halftime and we did that today. We felt that if we could do that, we were going to absorb a lot of pressure. But if we could score, it would open up the game a little bit and maybe we could get a second goal and put them away.” On will of the Wizards: “As I said all along, especially when we got into the playoffs, we’re a battle-tested team. We battled for 32 games and then we got in the playoffs. We know how to react with each other in situations like this. Tony (Meola) came up with big saves. At the same time we were also pretty organized.” On his emotions: “I’m happy for the Hunt family. As they said to us yesterday in training — they said they hadn’t won a championship in soccer for 30 years and they were hoping we could pull this off for them. As players, it’s an amazing story where we went from wire to wire in first place. And people doubted us and I say rightfully so. This team was the worst team in the league last year. We turned it around quickly and to gel this quickly and do the things that we’ve done there’s no doubt that a huge part of the victory goes to the coaching staff. They instilled a different type of philosophy and attitude and everytime we stepped on the field we are prepared to play.” On reflecting on his career: “I’m incredibly excited and happy to put away some of the old demons in 1997 on this field (RFK Stadium). I’m looking forward to defending this next year because we have a great team and I’m sure there are going to be a lot of guys returning. ôI can’t explain it. I’ve worked so long for something like this. I’m 33 now and I’m working toward the end of my career, Having done this caps off an incredible situation for me. I’m fortunate to be playing the game of soccer and to win a championship is just extra.” Fire striker Hristo Stoitchkov on the non-penalty call: “Let’s not blame the referees. It’s a team loss — from the goalkeeper to me on top. We are a team, that’s why we have eleven players on the field.” On the team’s confidence: “We know we have more options than [Kansas City]. We have more options on goal. We have a better attack, but they had more defense today. That’s soccer. You have to take advantage of chances, and that’s they did when they got in front of the goal.” Fire coach Bob Bradley Opening Statement “First congratulation to Kansas City. Obviously they capped off a great season with a championship. That is soccer sometimes. On our end I thought we had a good start to the game and came out to try to be the aggressor. And then the first time they were in our end they scored and again that is something that happens. Then it is up to us to try to continue to push the attack and to do it in an intelligent way because obviously they are organized defensively.” I think we created a number of chances. We didn’t do well on how we took those chances. Tony (Meola) made a bunch of saves but we also – not to take away any credit from him – took a lot of shots right at him. He was able to hold his position and come away with saves. But look — they are saves, and he came up with the shutout. There is disappointment on our end, that’s for sure. We came here to take away a championship and that didn’t happen. Certainly I am proud of our team and their effort today. Now we look forward to next week (U.S. Open Cup).” On bringing Kubik in the game: “We felt at that point in the game Kansas City had a lot of people back and that Peter (Nowak) needed to come off the field and that Lubos could possibly make a play for us. Obviously he is still a skillful player and someone that can create for us. We weÆre thinking that maybe he can make a play that could make a difference.” On what may have gone wrong besides finishing: “There are stretches where I think we lost our rhythm a little bit. I credit them for that. I think in most cases like that we were able to find our rhythm rather quickly. Late in the game there were a number of 50-50 balls where we didn’t do well enough and they maintained possession. We weren’t able really in the last few minutes to get any good chances.” On the U.S. Open Cup game: “Like all year, we will have a day or two to regroup. And then we will begin to focus on an important game and obviously we want to win that championship.” On the game and close plays: “There are close plays in every match. The referee makes the decisions and some days the decisions go for us and some days they don’t.” On Stoitchkov: “I felt that today he gave a great effort. He was determined to bring us a championship. He is a special individual who brings so much passion to the game. ” Fire goalkeeper Zach Thornton on the KC Goal: “It was a little lucky. He got the ball to my left, his right. He played a hard, good ball across the face of the goal and that’s what happens with those balls. Either their player can hit it in or a defender can hit it in. Josh Wolff general thoughts on game: “I thought our team did well throughout the game. We just could not seem to find the goal. They got an early goal, and they packed it in. That is what good teams are able to do.” Peter Nowak on number of chances for Fire: “Sometimes soccer goes this way. We created a lot of chances. Our strength the whole season was to create a lot of opportunities. One game we score six goals, one day we can’t score at all. I am still proud of this team, because we played hard all year.” Carlos Bocanegra on the Fire’s defensive effort: “I was pretty proud of our defense today. We played together as a unit. I actually thought our defense played a little better than their defense did today. They only had three shots on goal, and they scored one of them. We had ten shots on goal, and we could not put one away.” Johan Cruyff On veteran players in MLS: “It’s never a good thing if the core of players are nearly at the end of their career but on the other hand it is something that adds experience and quality so you can help the young players especially the American players. But one day it should be that they can do it themselves.” On Hristo Stoitchkov: ôThe things that I have heard about him, not from him but about him, is that he has been very good for the public because the way he plays with his heart, with his qualities, scoring nice goals, a lot of ambition. That is a good thing in the game.” On why the NASL failed before: “I didn’t check why it did not work. That time when I played here was 20 years ago. It’s not good to make a judgment if you do not know exactly.”