Proud Carver thrives where Gullit flailed
Toronto's head coach John Carver is flourishing in the MLS where Ruud Gullit, his former boss at Newcastle, struggled.
Shaka Hislop
Toronto head coach John Carver hailed the second proudest result of his entire career after seeing his depleted charges defeat Colorado 1-0, thanks to a fantastic Chad Barrett free kick, his first goal for the club. I watched this game and Carver's happiness was obvious - his post-match interview was moving to say the least.
Let me say I am slightly biased. I've known JC since the early 90s, when during my time as a player for Newcastle United he was the academy coach, doing a wonderful job under very difficult circumstances. Until researching this piece I did not realize the parallels between JC, his coaching career and the events at Los Angeles.
Both Carver and Ruud Gullit joined their respective MLS clubs (or former club, in the latter's case) at roughly the same time, although Carver's arrival could quite easily have been missed amid the fanfare that surrounded Gullit's appointment. Carver quite possibly had a soft spot for Gullit. It was Gullit who actually gave Carver his opportunity, promoting him to the first team coaching position at Newcastle in 1998. At least Gullit knows good coaches.
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