Monday, October 22, 2007

Greg Ryan had always seemed curiously bulletproof, generally dodging the larger munitions in terms of media scrutiny. His highly favored team looked plodding in the Women's World Cup, but Ryan seemed to get a pass as all heads swiveled toward the Hope Solo fiasco.

When the same thing happens to the U.S. men's team -- such as at the last two World Cups in Europe -- the coach typically has been vilified in newspapers, on TV and in the combustible blogs.

Well, while Ryan escaped the media nicks and cuts, he couldn't escape the surgical slice from U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati, who has treated Ryan the same way he treated former U.S. men's coach Bruce Arena last year:

Gulati has declined to renew Ryan's contract as women's national team coach.

Ryan's deal ends on Dec. 31, 2007. His last match was Sunday, a disappointing 1-1 draw with a nation (Mexico) that has mostly been a punching bag for the powerful U.S. women's program.

In evaluating Ryan, Gulati said that U.S. Soccer weighed everything over the past two years, but gave additional weight to the preparation for and performance in the Women's World Cup. The move reflects U.S. Soccer's larger goal of keeping pace across the board, in men's and women's programs, youth and professional.

"It's clear that a number of [women's] teams around the world are playing at a much higher level than they had been previously," Gulati said.

Labels: soccer