Sockers’ Newman Considered for U.S. Coach : Soccer: Rothenberg interviews Socker coach for World Cup slot.

Ron Newman got his wish Tuesday when Alan Rothenberg, president of the United States Soccer Federation, interviewed him for the U.S. national team’s coaching job.

Only Newman, longtime coach of the Sockers, didn’t know it was an interview. He was under the impression that a coach already had been hired and it wasn’t him.

Earlier that day Newman read a report that Rothenberg would announce a decision either Tuesday or Wednesday and that the job would likely go to Bora Milutinovic, a Yugoslav who has coached Mexico and Costa Rica in past World Cups.

Late Tuesday afternoon, however, Rothenberg announced the decision will be delayed until April.

“First of all,” Newman said, “I felt he just wanted to talk to me because he knows I’ve been in the game a long time. I didn’t know that they had postponed the decision for a month. When I found out (later that night), my mouth dropped open. I thought back, ‘What did I say? Would have I said anything differently?’ ”

Newman, 56, said he thought the talk was going oddly as he tried steering the conversation to his proposal for a professional outdoor league, only to have Rothenberg bring it back to the national team.

“Finally I asked him, ‘Are you interested in me for the coaching job?’ ” Newman remembered. “And he said, ‘Well, yeah, we wouldn’t be wasting our time if we weren’t.’ ”

Newman cautioned against thinking a correlation exists between his interview and the postponement of the decision. However, he also realizes that the longer the USSF ponders the situation, the better his chances of getting the job.

“They were very determined at one time that there wasn’t a coach in the country who could do the job,” Newman said. “Now they seem to be holding off on hiring. I think they don’t want to make a mistake, and that’s good.”

Newman has made it known in the past that he thinks the hiring of Bob Gansler, who recently stepped down, was a horrendous mistake. Gansler, who never had coached beyond the college level, assembled a team almost solely of college players, ignoring MSL veterans as well as others playing in Europe such as Hugo Perez and Roy Wegerle.

The team faltered badly in World Cup competition and in ensuing international exhibitions. Finally, Gansler resigned under pressure after the United States fell to Bermuda, 1-0, on Feb. 21. He compiled a 14-17-5 record. The record was not bad considering the orphan status of U.S. soccer, but not good considering many of the recent losses came to small third-world nations such as Bermuda.

“I think Bob wanted certain things done in a certain way at a certain time,” Newman said. “His players didn’t have any freedom.”

Newman on Tuesday stayed in Los Angeles to watch a soccer game between the U.S. and Mexico and saw a changed U.S. squad, which tied Mexico, 2-2. Newman credited interim Coach John Kowalski for loosening the reins.

“I think the U.S. played some very entertaining soccer,” he said. “But I still think there’s a better team out there.”

Newman would like to assemble that team, although he continually reminds reporters that he doesn’t know if he would take the job if it is offered.

“I know I could do it,” Newman said. “But I’m not sure if I want to.”

It was previously reported that Newman had been ignored in the USSF’s hunt because he has not coached outdoor soccer for seven years and because he has never coached on the international level.

Newman’s reply to his layoff from the outdoor game has always been, “You still know how to ride a bike don’t you? It’s not like I’ve been coaching cricket.”

In fact, Newman is the winningest professional outdoor coach in the country, having compiled 232 victories in the North American Soccer League before it folded in 1984.

Though Newman has not coached international games, he did bring many international players to his NASL teams:

Kaz Deyna was part of Poland’s 1972 gold medal Olympic team, 1974 World Cup team and 1976 silver medal Olympic team. Leonardo Cuellar led Mexico into final group of 16 in the 1976 World Cup and Hugo Sanchez played on Mexico’s 1978, 1982 and 1986 World Cup teams.

Still playing for Newman are Branko Segota, who played for Canada in the 1986 World Cup, and Kevin Crow, who played on the U.S. Olympic teams in 1984 and 1988.

While Newman insisted he was a long shot for the job, Erich Geyer, Sockers assistant coach, thought otherwise.

“Ron went up there and shook them up,” Geyer said. “They listened to someone who is experienced in the American game and they found he has strong opinions and thought, ‘We’ve got to look into this more.’ ”