World famous soccer star David Beckham on Thursday got a new
coach, Ruud Gullit, who was a Dutch soccer star of the 1980s and
1990s.
Gullit, who once played against Beckham in England, succeeded
Frank Yallop to coach Beckham and the rest of the Los Angeles
Galaxy.
Yallop was released from his contract on Monday to become coach
of the San Jose Earthquakes.
Gullit was named the world's "Player of the Year" by the British
magazine World Soccer in 1987 and 1989. When he was named
"European Footballer of the Year" in 1987, he dedicated the award
to the then-imprisoned anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela.
Gullit coached Chelsea to a victory in England's FA Cup in 1997
and Newcastle United to the FA Cup final in 1999.
Gullit has been absent from coaching since 1999, outside of a
nine-month stint with the Dutch club Feyenoord from 2004-2005.
Since then, he has been a soccer commentator on British television
and hosted a talk show on Dutch TV, where his guests included
Mandela.
Gullit, 45, inherits a team that has missed the Major League
Soccer (MLS) playoffs each of the past two seasons.
The Galaxy's fortunes were expected to rise with Beckham's
midseason arrival, but a series of injuries limited him to five
games in MLS play in which the Galaxy went 0-4-1, as Beckham was
held scoreless with two assists.
(Xinhua News Agency November 9, 2007)