MLS Commissioner Doug Logan won a "power struggle" by
dismissing MLS Deputy Commissioner Sunil Gulati, according
to Michael Lewis of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. During a four-hour
meeting in Dallas on Monday, the MLS Management Council "had
an opportunity to dump or keep" Gulati, but it "did neither,
leaving the decision to Logan." One MLS GM: "They had the
power to make him (Gulati) stay and they didn't." Lewis
writes that "judging by initial reaction," Gulati's firing
"did not go down well" with some MLS execs (N.Y. DAILY NEWS,
2/25). ESPN.com's Jamie Trecker writes that while Gulati
"did indeed care deeply about the development" of U.S.
soccer, he was "frankly, disliked by many." Trecker: "What
he did not do was make friends. ... Worst of all, he played
favorites." Trecker writes that "the real loser" in
Gulati's dismissal is former U.S. Soccer Federation
President Alan Rothenberg, who "has gone from being the
undisputed king of U.S. soccer to being a footnote."
Trecker: "It can safely be assumed Gulati was Rothenberg's
man, and perhaps vice-versa. Without him in the deputy's
seat, Rothenberg is an increasingly isolated voice on the
MLS board of directors" (ESPN.com, 2/25).
