Feyenoord Puts Gullit in Charge
Ruud Gullit, one of the great names in Dutch soccer history and a former world and European player of the year, Monday was named coach of the Rotterdam club Feyenoord.
Gullit, 41, will have to be released by the Royal Netherlands Football Assn. (KNVB) from his position as coach of the Dutch under-19 national team to accept the position, but he expects no difficulty in that regard.
“I always wanted to work as coach of Feyenoord,” Gullit said. “The club still means something special to me. The KNVB knows that as well, so I don’t expect that they will deprive me of that chance.”
Gullit scored 16 goals in 66 games for the Netherlands and was captain of the Dutch team that won the European Championship in 1988. His club career included stints at Feyenoord, PSV Eindhoven, AC Milan, Sampdoria and Chelsea.
He won the Italian Serie A title three times while with AC Milan, where he was part of the famous Dutch trio that also included Marco Van Basten and Frank Rijkaard.
After retiring as a player, he coached Chelsea, winning the English Football Assn. Cup in 1997, and Newcastle United, before returning to the Netherlands to take charge of the under-19 team.
He will serve as assistant to Dutch national team Coach Dick Advocaat at the European Championship in Portugal in June before taking up his new post at Feyenoord.
Rivaldo Decides
After spending five weeks weighing offers from three continents, 2002 World Cup winner Rivaldo signed with a team in his own backyard, joining Brazilian champion Cruzerio of Belo Horizonte on a one-year contract.
The move marked the end of seven years in Europe for the 31-year-old forward, who played for Deportivo La Coruna, Barcelona and AC Milan.
Terms of the contract were not revealed, but it does contain a clause allowing the 1997 world and European player of the year to return to Europe in June if a club there wants to sign him.
Human Error
Graham Poll, one of England’s leading referees, threw his support behind calls for goal-line cameras to be employed in an effort to determine whether goals have actually been scored.
“Most, if not all, referees are in favor of using modern technology on matters of fact, and have been for a number of years,” Poll told England’s Daily Mail newspaper.
“I understand the F.A. (English Football Assn.) experimented with laser beams and the cost worked out at $85,000 a goal. That was seen as prohibitive, but if the game isn’t prepared to pay, it must put up with human error.”
Quick Passes
Denmark, which will play the United States at the Home Depot Center on Jan. 18, named Brondby midfielder Morten Wieghorst, 32, as its player of the year for 2003. Wieghorst finished ahead of Thomas Gravesen and Jon Dahl Tomasson in voting by Danish league and national team players.
Nigeria fired Musa Abdullahi as coach of its under-23 national team after the team was beaten, 4-3, by Senegal in Dakar, Senegal, on Sunday in a qualifying match for the Athens 2004 Olympics.
Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand was given two weeks to decide whether to appeal an eight-month ban imposed on him for failing to take a drug test.
Spanish international forward Javi Moreno, 29, has been lent by Atletico Madrid to the Bolton Wanderers for the rest of the season.
Assistant coach Ralph Perez has left the Galaxy to take a similar position with the United States under-23 team, according to the Web site, ussocceruk.com.
Times wires services contributed to this report.
