All you need to know about the Coach of the Year was unveiled at MLS Cup 2001.
San Jose won, of course, completing an amazing transformation from last year’s unwatchable excuse.
But it was Frank Yallop’s charge off the bench and dive into the celebratory dog pile after Dwayne DeRosario scored a golden goal that most clearly defined what he and his team are about.
“I had to push over about four of our own players to get to Dwayne,” said Yallop. “I couldn’t believe it when he scored.”
Yallop, 37, played 14 years for Ipswich Town in the English League and played his final three pro seasons in Tampa Bay. He also earned 52 caps for Canada.
Assistant coaching stints with Tampa Bay, D.C. United and the Project-40 team followed.
San Jose had missed the playoff four straight seasons and had the league’s weakest roster when Yallop took over last February. The Mutiny had inteviewed him but didn’t offer him its head coaching job.
Yallop traded top scorer Abdul Thompson Conteh to D.C. United for Jeff Agoos and swung moves to bring Manny Lagos, Zak Ibsen, Landon Donovan, Junior Agogo and Ronnie Ekelund to San Jose. He welcomed back Troy Dayak, who had missed two MLS seasons with serious back and knee injuries.
“You have to work out who you’re going to keep and who’s going to fit in your system,” he said. “I wanted to get the best out of them and get them to believe in the system and in each other.”
In the Yallop system, players work and track relentlessly.
“I want guys to be brave, to want the ball, and want to express themselves and not hide from responsibility,” he said. “Our ball movement and movement off the ball is second to none.”
Just about every move he made turned out to be the right one. Even jumping into the dog pile on national television.
by Soccer America Senior Editor Ridge Mahoney