Participants: MLS Executive Vice President: Ivan Gazidis New England Revolution Head Coach: Fernando Clavijo Dallas Burn Head Coach: Dave Dir Ivan Gazidis’ Opening Comments: “The match in Dallas is going to be a tremendously attractive one. New England is coming of a very positive performance in L.A., and Dallas also has a very strong team this year.” Dave Dir’s Opening Comments: “Our play has been very sporadic at best, we feel we’ve really had some trouble incorporating guys who haven’t been here the whole preseason. A lot of our possession is a little bit off and it’s made the games a little more sloppy from our standpoint. We still try to play an attractive open style of soccer, but we’re losing possession of the ball in a lot of places we don’t feel we necessarily would be at a different point in the season. Looking at New England, they are obviously very much improved, and we’ve been very impressed with their intensity. They seem to have a lot of fire on the team and in every tackle and every possession they have a lot of desire, and that’s always good to see when a team maybe comes off a disappointing season. That team (New England) is clearly much improved and we will have to play a good game to beat them.” Fernando Clavijo’s Opening Comments: “Of course I think we have our hands full with an outstanding team in Dallas. They proved last year that they have quality players and that they play a quality game. We feel comfortable with the players that we have, but we still have to be realistic when we have four away games at the beginning of the season which is a big obstacle for us to take. So far, things are going better than I expected. The team is, little by little, playing the way that I want it to play. We’ve made crucial mistakes at crucial times of the game and that hasn’t allowed us to get out with a win. Overall I am pleased with the way we are playing. We are definitely headed there to entertain the people and come out with a result.” Gazidis on rumors of Gheorghe Hagi and Gheorghe Popescu coming to MLS: “We’ve had no talks on either of those players, and at the moment they are not on our radar screen.” Clavijo on the absence of Eduardo Hurtado: “As much as I know, all the visa problems with him and his family have been solved and I expect to see him back in Boston.” Dir on criticism of MLS: “A lot of times we don’t accent the positive and we’re so intent on bringing out the mistakes, and with every mistake I think there’s been probably six or seven positives in this league. Even as coaches, when you’re looking for something from your team, you take kind of a pessimistic attitude of what’s going wrong, and that’s the natural behavior, but if you are doing your job coaching you have find a way to bring out the positives and there’s a lot of them in the league. There’s a lot of exciting things happening in the league and every year it seems to go in the right direction. What I’m most impressed with is the fact that when we make mistakes, we work on correcting them. It’s not that there’s never going to be mistakes, but we keep on concentrating on trying to make it better. That’s much more important than the mistakes that we make.” Clavijo on Eduardo Hurtado’s visa problems: “Hurtado is always a handful for any coach, and from working with him as an assistant coach in New York I can tell you that some days were good and some days were not. We had some times that he came here and was a model player and was training well, and then we went to Tampa and he had a great game. I wish I could tell you more, but it would be very premature of me to say what happened in Ecuador because I don’t know. I can’t make and intelligent decision until I gather the right information from the league, the embassy and from Eduardo.” Gazidis on pending allocations to New England or San Jose: “We are in talks with a variety of different players and player agents, but at this stage I want to be very careful not to prejudice any of those negotiations by entering into a public discussion of them. I really prefer at this stage not to comment about any of our ongoing player signings. This year has been a little unusual in that we’ve managed to put most of our player signings in place prior to the beginning of the season. There are still a few more that we want to make, and we want to make them as quickly as we can.” Clavijo on the league’s new crop of foreign allocations: “There are players with a lot of great success in their careers and it can only build the league’s reputation. At the same time we have a very young player by the name of William Sunsing from Costa Rica and I think people are really going to appreciate his play. With the allocation, we are trying to identify a player who is going to make an impact not only for our team but also for the league. We want to make sure that the decision is made right and that we don’t want to rush into it.” Dir on the league’s new crop of foreign allocations: “People have to see growth within the league, and some of the names show that we’re constantly trying to get better and acquire better talent. There will always be some mistakes in the allocation process, you’re weighing age, versus how the experience can help some of the younger players in the league versus bringing in some young, exciting players to add things in a different way. It’s always a percentage game, and you’ll never hit home runs on all of them. The personalities are a big issue, and I think it’s important that we keep improving the league and making those changes when we need to.” Gazidis on the league’s new crop of foreign allocations: “We’ve had a lot of focus on the big-name players that we have brought in, but personally I’m more excited in the quality of the young American players who have chosen to make their careers with MLS. These players are going to be long-term assets for this league and the fact that they are choosing to develop their careers and progress within Major League Soccer says a great deal about the respect in which they hold this league and about what we can give to young players. The fact that they are choosing to play here in the United States is extraordinarily important.” Gazidis on Roy Lassiter’s contract dispute: “I’m not going to have any comment on the situation myself, neither Roy nor his agent have contacted me about a meeting so I can’t speak to that. I’m not going to comment on what Roy makes or doesn’t make with the league. I’ve seen a lot of numbers quoted and they are not necessarily accurate. The issue for me is that when we sign players to contracts we respect those contracts, and we expect the player to respect and honor that contract in return. If Roy Lassiter had been injured or had not performed well under his contract, I’m quite sure he wouldn’t be coming to us volunteering to give up the guaranteed salary or other benefits we offered in those contracts. At the same time, I don’t expect to have the contracts dishonored by the players either. Respecting the contract is an important part of the negotiation process, and if there is not respect for a contract, I have very little reason to think that anyone might benefit from negotiating a new contract.” Dir on the league’s signing of high school players: “From our standpoint, every situation is different and a guy like Bobby Convey is going to be a professional soccer player. He’s got a great future, but the balance is how D.C. can help him adjust to life as a professional. That’s what he’s going to do for his profession, and in my humble opinion it’s a good move for him. If he’s not doing it here he’s going to do it somewhere else, and who’s to say that he might not go somewhere else and even come back here in the long term. I think it’s a huge positive for the league that people are starting to feel confident that the league is going to be here and that we can help develop these players. Every situation has to be done individually.” Clavijo on how New England’s younger players: “I think the league is benefiting from a lot of young players coming out. I think the league is making the right decision in giving an opportunity for younger players to find out what it takes to be a professional. Guys like Jamar Beasley and Shaker Asad may see some time. They’re younger players that haven’t had the opportunity to show themselves, and this year definitely they are going to have a lot of time to prove not only to me but to themselves and to the fans that they are quality players.” Dir on MLS’ new rules for overtime and ties: “I’ve seen a different result in each tie that we’ve had. For the most part its going to be positive, anytime you give the teams extra minutes to win the game it can only help get a positive result. I think its just more in line with the way the game is played around the world.”