Opening Comments by MLS Executive Vice President Ivan Gazidis “I’ll start off with the quest for Mexican players. Again, just to say pretty much what I said last week, things are progressing positively. I feel good about the direction that we are headed. There are two or three different things we are talking about, and at the appropriate time we will make an announcement. I wished it could have been prior to today, but it wasn’t to be. I hope we will be able to make an announcement that will make an impact. “We have a new Project-40 signing Mario Longo, who was assigned by our new lottery system this week. This is the system by which that players signed late are assigned to teams. Mario is the first ever to be signed by this process. “Finally, there was a play this weekend that involved Ariel Graziani receiving a red card. We are reviewing that incident and there may be some repercussions from that. It’s a one-game automatic suspension from the red card. I think we will be able to announce what that course of action will be taken by early tomorrow.” Opening Comments by Miami Fusion Interim Head Coach Ray Hudson “I am very proud right now, my heart is bursting out in pride to represent what I regard as my hometown that I grew up as an adult in. I grew up in that stadium down there, Lockhart Stadium, so the attachment is huge for me. I’m very pleased to work closely with the players and try to take them in the short term to another level in terms of invigorating them, getting their pride back. It’s asking a lot to turn it around in 36 hours, but we’ll give it a good shot. The reaction from the boys has been phenomenal and I’ve been touched by that, as much as the reaction from our fans.” Opening Comments by Miami Fusion Vice President and General Manager Doug Hamilton “First off, I’d like to thank Ivo Wortmann and his staff for their tireless efforts in trying to be successful. We certainly wish him all the best and success in the future. “As for our choice of Ray Hudson, we are learning quickly that’s it’s a popular choice. We’ve gotten well over 1,000 E-mails, phone calls and faxes showing support for Ray as the interim coach. With Ray, we have somebody that has intimate knowledge of our team, players and organization. He is someone that can step right in and help us to achieve the things that are possible for our team. “Our immediate focus is a on a really good D.C. team, and really allowing Ray and the players to spend some time together and form that relationship that is necessary for us to be successful.” Hudson on the short-term difficulties “I think a lot of that stems from their attitude right now, I’m not going to blind them with tactics, styles and Xs and Os. I probably couldn’t do that if I tried anyway. That’s never been my style. We’re going to try and get some structure on the team, but beyond that we have to generate the spirit, which has been slowly dissolving over the last several weeks. I think they will re-invent themselves as a team. It seems to be what they want, the reaction they’ve been looking for. I want them to go out there and express themselves, I’m not going to limit them and blind them tactically.” Hamilton on players giving up on Wortmann “I have a little more faith in the group. I think they have too much pride, too much on the line as professionals. I don’t think anybody would risk three points to make a point. I don’t think its in their best interests.” Hamilton on potential qualifications for the next coach “We certainly are looking for someone that is an outstanding communicator, a good man manager. He has to have the ability to manage the group. With the experience that this team has, there is a good deal of coaching to do, but it’s important to be able to communicate. It has to be somebody that has intimate knowledge of the U.S. soccer scene, and the daily workings of an MLS franchise.” Hamilton on Roy Lassiter’s unhappiness in Miami “From being in and around the team you pick things up from players, but never do we sit down and ask them to assess our staff. Roy is under-performing to his own expectations, but never has it been from a lack of effort in training or games from him. He’s been a bit unfortunate. His play has coincided with our play.” Gazidis on the potential of multiple Mexican players “Well, the league office has never confirmed anything regarding Luis Hernandez. It is true that Tigres has been eliminated this past weekend. We’ve said from the beginning, the transfer of any Mexican player to MLS would only likely take place at the end of the [Mexican] season for the relevant club. Now that we are coming towards the end of their season, I think we near the point where we can conclude some of these discussions and hopefully reach a positive conclusion. We are looking at a number of different possibilities. If there is more than one player on terms that make economic sense for us, we are not going to limit ourselves to just one player. Equally, if there are no feasible deals, we won’t force ourselves to sign anybody. The deal has to be right, and if there is more than one right deal, we’ll do it.” Gazidis on Jorge Campos’ future “We don’t have a contractual obligation for Jorge to play in our league this year. We would love to have him back in MLS, and I think that feeling is mutual. We have a great deal of respect and regard for Campos. If the timing was right, he could return but I don’t see it happening this year.” Gazidis on the timetable of deals for potential Mexican players “I think there is an outside possibility that we may get to something that we can announce this week, but it may take a little longer. In the next ten days we should conclude something. The types of things we are speaking about do require L.A. to make moves to get under salary budget, as all the teams have too. I imagine that will involve some degree of player movement and the allocation. It’s not inconceivable that the players could be available for next weekend, we are certainly working to finalize things as fast as possible.” Hamilton on Hudson as a permanent Head Coach “Ray wears a multitude of hats, and he brings so many things to the table, Community Outreach, our broadcasts, and our public awareness in South Florida. That can’t be replicated by anyone else. For that reason alone he is our interim coach and when we find a permanent coach he will move back into those responsibilities.” Hamilton on the background of the next coach “Ethnicity will not play a role, they have to have intimate knowledge of the U.S. soccer scene, it doesn’t mean they have to be an American. They have to understand it, and preferably worked in it before.” Hudson on coaching beyond the interim status “I’ve never been beating the bushes to be recognized as a coach at any level. I was a player all my life, and still live my life through the game. This is an easy transition. I’ve been such a big part of this club. I think to take me out of those other areas would leave such a big hole, I’m just looking to lay a foundation now for the next coach. I have really no aspirations, no illusions that this will lead to bigger things. I’ll be sad to see this end, I must be the only coach ever hired that knows he’ll be sacked in a couple of weeks. That’s fine with me, I love the club and will do anything for them.” Hamilton on connecting with Miami community “This is not a publicity move by us. We think Ray in the short term can help us turn things around. He has intimate knowledge of the players already and he knows them personally. He’s watched as many Fusion games as anyone. This is an easy transition, one that allows us to continue the search and grab as many points as we can. I don’t think anyone has lost hope in the market. We have under-performed to date. We know that this market is as passionate and knowledgeable as any in MLS.” Hudson on dealing with the players as Interim Coach “I don’t see it as a problem. Not at all, the reaction hasn’t been anything like that. I told the lads on the first day that I’m going to be a babysitter, the toughest babysitter you’ve ever had. The next guy will be their real boss. I’m coming in to try and get them all together. A few of the lads were asking me if I’m going to be kept on if we get the results. I’m a very happy camper in this club and love being with the club. I’d like to be part of the guys in any way I can. I’ve felt 100 percent backing from the players.” Hamilton on possible player rebellions under Wortmann “From my conversations with the players, we talked about what we need to be successful. I think the relationships between the players and management are fine. We have a lot of players that feel remorse and take responsibility for the current situation.” Hudson on moving from TV booth to the sidelines “It’s going to be special, I feel really privileged to be able to smell the roses again. It looks so easy from up there in the TV booth. In this last 36 hours, I’ve been in this storm of publicity, trying to get my head on right, trying to keep focused with the group. It’s a challenge. I can expect to be criticized for some of the moves I make. The reaction has been uplifting to me, now I want to see that taken on the field.” Hudson on what he expects from his players “The amount of effort and spirit in the team must be raised. The technical ability is nice to watch, but, it’s been the lack of real endeavor, the bravery, I want to see daring in these guys’ games. They’ve felt very much inhibited in the previous regime. I want to take those shackles off. Also, it’s supporting the players up front. We don’t seem to have that thrust from the midfield into the danger area. A lot of that stuff comes from spirit and real belief in each other. We’ll battle for each other, and cover for each other. Whether it will work against the Goliath team we are facing tomorrow [D.C. United], we’ll see. Tomorrow is a big task for the boys.” Gazidis on WUSA “We are hopeful that we can reach a cooperative agreement, we have continued to talk, and that’s why the deadline has been extended. The type of discussions have to remain confidential, hopefully we can reach a resolution.” Hamilton on hiring a current MLS assistant to lead the Fusion “That’s certainly in the universe of options, but we are not limiting this opening to MLS assistants.” Hudson on comparing notes with Ken Fogarty “Kenny told me to get away while I can, but then this morning he’s faxing me all these Xs and Os. He’s been great, he did a pretty good job in a short time in Kansas City. Kenny absolutely loved the experience, probably best time of his life past his playing days. Just being involved with the boys in training and the locker room, I fully understand what it is to coach.” Hudson on the struggles to draw large crowds at Lockhart Stadium “It’s one of those things, we know that the crowds are there. We can attract good crowds, they are waiting for us to perform. Our team has never had a winning record, and this community has some fair-weather fans. They are a fickle bunch down here. I think the crowd is waiting there, willing us to win. Whenever we get an opportunity to impress a good-size crowd, we don’t come through. If you are not putting a good show on the stage, you won’t get the crowds. I do believe we’ve got the best stadium in the country and a heritage of great soccer fans here. We’ve got to give them something to be proud of.” Hudson on Miami’s forwards “I talked to Diego this morning, we needed two translators, one for me and one for the Spanish. Diego’s just coming off the injury, he told me he will give everything he has for the team. Eric [Wynalda] is out injured, so he’s out of the loop. I told him to get himself right, he’s going to be a big player for us. Right now, its Serna and Roy [Lassiter] that will do the tango up front. Hopefully, they’ll start to do that tomorrow night.” Gazidis on the review of Graziani’s red card “What we are reviewing is not so much the incident, its the sequence of events afterwards. The suspensions and fines an suspensions handed to [Khodadad] Azizi and [Marco] Etcheverry have some precedence value. It would be wrong to say at this stage that we equate this to the Azizi situation, but if we find after review that it rises to that level, then you will see that precedent have some affect on the decision.”