Gullit has challenge of making U.S soccer "sexy"

By Simon Evans - Analysis

MIAMI (Reuters) - North America's Major League Soccer (MLS) took another step towards entering the sport's global mainstream when Dutchman Ruud Gullit was appointed head coach of the Los Angeles Galaxy on Friday.

Former Chelsea, Newcastle and Feyenoord manager Gullit is the biggest name coach to join an MLS team and in linking up with David Beckham in LA he will be expected to transform that club into a major force in the U.S game.

LA have missed out on the play-offs in the past two seasons and parted ways with Canadian coach Frank Yallop before moving for Gullit.

While LA general manager Alexi Lalas will have clearly defined goals for Gullit in terms of the team's performances next season, the MLS as a whole will hope that the Dutchman can inject some flair and excitement into the league.

For while the MLS has established its credentials as a decently supported, financially stable league with plenty of good footballers from North and South America, what it has sorely lacked is the kind of 'sexy football' Gullit has always been associated with.

As a player, particularly during his best years for AC Milan and the Dutch national side, Gullit, with his flowing dreadlocks and sublime skills, brought games alive with his control, dribbling, passing and vision.

As a coach he has been less successful -- the FA Cup he won with Chelsea in 1997 is the only major trophy he has to his name -- but he coined the phrase 'sexy football' while working as a television commentator and that idea of exciting play was surely what was behind Lalas's promise to bring in a 'sexy coach'.

ENTERTAINING FOOTBALL

Gullit said on Friday that the phrase "haunts" him but at the same time indicated that he did in fact want to see some sexiness about the Galaxy's play.

"It is football you like to see, its an expression you can use for all sorts of things, hopefully we can play it," he said.

However transforming the Galaxy from a run-of-the-mill MLS team, albeit one including Beckham in midfield, into a team capable of producing spectacular and entertaining football will be a difficult task, particularly given the restrictions of league regulations.

The salary cap makes it hard for teams to go looking for new talent to bring in from Europe or elsewhere -- unlike at Newcastle, Gullit will not be able to go freely shopping for fresh faces, instead he will have to patiently play the more restrictive trading game.

Nonetheless he says he has received interest already from Dutch players.

"We will do everything within our power to make this team better. A lot of Dutch players have already texted me, I'm not giving names, but they are all excited about it," he said.

What is much more likely however, is that Gullit, helped by his American assistant Cobi Jones, will have to try and wheel-and-deal within the less tempting domestic market, build a team around the creative skills of Beckham and then try to inject the squad with a spirit of adventure that is all too rare in U.S soccer.

Doing that will require some qualities that no-one doubts Gullit possesses -- charisma, motivation and the willingness to take on a challenge. It will also provide a real test of his ability, as a coach, to improve the players at his disposal.