Gullit quits, Lalas axed in double Galaxy blow

Source: Agencies  |   2008-8-13  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

THE flagging fortunes of the Los Angeles Galaxy, which is captained by England midfielder David Beckham, were dealt a further blow on Monday when the team's head coach Ruud Gullit resigned for personal reasons.

Dutchman Gullit, who was appointed last November, will be replaced on an interim basis by first-year assistant coach Cobi Jones, the club said in a statement.

In a related move, Galaxy President and General Manager Alexi Lalas, instrumental in luring Beckham to the Major League Soccer (MLS) club in July last year, has been fired from his job.

A former United States international in his playing days, Lalas was "relieved of his duties effective immediately," the club said.

"With Ruud moving on, we believe that this is the right time to make more sweeping changes throughout the organization," Timothy J. Leiweke, head of Galaxy's investors/operators AEG, said in a statement.

"Our commitment continues to be focused on not only winning the MLS Cup this and every season but to build a club capable of competing at the international level.

"This decision is the right one for the organization, the right one for the players and the right one for our fans.

"We thank Alexi for the tremendous hard work and dedication he brought to his job each and every day."

Gullit's presence, along with the arrival of Beckham last season, had raised expectations for the club.

Although it made a promising start to this campaign, it is in the midst of a seven-game winless streak and lies fourth in the MLS Western Conference. Its defense has been particularly poor, conceding a league-high 40 goals in 19 games.

"In truth, it has proved a lot more difficult than I anticipated for my family to settle in the area and the club has been very supportive and understanding of my decision," Gullit said in a statement.