Octavio Zambrano

The Los Angeles Galaxy and their coach, Octavio Zambrano, seem convinced that all they have to do is bring any Mexican player to the team and those [fans] with a Mexican heritage will come flocking to the stadium like sheep. If I had any Mexican blood in me, I would be very insulted by this philosophy. Does this mean that if the Galaxy loses a Mexican player, the fans will go away? The Galaxy needs to win Galaxy fans, not only fans of Mexican players. Any fan of soccer wants to watch their local team play entertaining soccer and win. Carlos Hermosillo is not the answer just because he is Mexican.

Galaxy tonight AT KANSAS CITY When: 5:30 PDT. Where: CommunityAmerica Ballpark. On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 570, 1330. Records: Galaxy 4-0-0; Wizards 2-1-0 Record vs. Wizards (2009): 0-0-2. Update: The Galaxy has given up only one goal in 2010, and so have the Wizards. Edson Buddle has scored all seven of Los Angeles' goals, the same number that Kansas City forward Josh Woolf has scored against the Galaxy in 19 games. The Wizards' assistant coach is Octavio Zambrano, who was the Galaxy coach from 1997 to 1999 and built the team that scored 85 goals in 32 games in 1998, still the best offense in MLS history.

Galaxy tonight AT KANSAS CITY When: 5:30 PDT. Where: CommunityAmerica Ballpark. On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 570, 1330. Records: Galaxy 4-0-0; Wizards 2-1-0 Record vs. Wizards (2009): 0-0-2. Update: The Galaxy has given up only one goal in 2010, and so have the Wizards. Edson Buddle has scored all seven of Los Angeles' goals, the same number that Kansas City forward Josh Woolf has scored against the Galaxy in 19 games. The Wizards' assistant coach is Octavio Zambrano, who was the Galaxy coach from 1997 to 1999 and built the team that scored 85 goals in 32 games in 1998, still the best offense in MLS history.

Octavio Zambrano, the former Galaxy and New York/New Jersey MetroStar coach, has left the MetroStars after an apparent falling out with Nick Sakiewicz, the team's general manager. Zambrano was fired as the MetroStars coach near the end of the 2002 Major League Soccer season but remained with the organization as reserve team and youth academy coach at a reported salary of $200,000 a year. That relationship has ended.

Octavio Zambrano planned to say little after his unexpected firing by the Galaxy last week. Then he heard what the team had to say about him. In announcing the change last Thursday, Galaxy President Tim Leiweke claimed Zambrano wasn't communicating with players or making halftime adjustments. "I was stunned by those comments," Zambrano said Monday. "There was no need to say those things." Zambrano had a 41-22 record since 1997 and led the Galaxy to the Major League Soccer semifinals last season.

Octavio Zambrano will be retained as coach of the Galaxy by the team's new owners, it was announced Monday. When Tim Leiweke was named Galaxy president Oct. 23, he said he would begin a review of all team employees, expressing disappointment over the Galaxy's elimination in the Western Conference finals by the eventual MLS champion Chicago Fire. "Throughout the process we heard positive things about Octavio," Leiweke said in a conference call.

Gee, another loss for the Galaxy in MLS playoff time. Make that another shutout loss. Another scoreless game, and another mediocre season, for Cobi Jones, the unanimous winner of the league's MOP award--Most Overrated Player. Unless, of course, you prefer the latest import flop, Luis (Show me all your money) Hernandez. Jones wants $5 million to stay with the league? Funny guy, this Cobi. Perhaps "Saturday Night Live" should be his next stop. And can anyone out there tell me why Sigi Schmid was brought in as coach in place of Octavio Zambrano, who has turned New York/New Jersey into a winner in his first season?

Major League Soccer's first expansion draft will be held Thursday, which means that Octavio Zambrano's initial task as Galaxy coach is clear. Zambrano, who Tuesday officially had the "interim" tag removed from his title when he signed a two-year contract, has to protect as many of his players as possible. Like the rest of the league's 10 founding teams, the Galaxy has had to make a minimum of 10 players available so that two newcomers, the Chicago Fire and Miami Fusion, can stock their teams.

On his first day as interim coach of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Octavio Zambrano faced the predictable slew of questions Tuesday. But one stood out. Can Zambrano turn fellow Ecuadorean Eduardo Hurtado's slumping game around or is Hurtado destined soon to be shipped off to parts unknown? The eventual answer will play a large role in determining whether the 3-9 Galaxy can salvage its second Major League Soccer season.

The time is fast approaching when soccer players, coaches and fans will all have a single goal in mind: to enjoy World Cup '98 to the fullest. Octavio Zambrano is no exception. In order to get the most out of the tournament in France, the Galaxy coach will switch his unbeaten team's June training sessions to the afternoons so that he and the players can spend the mornings watching matches from Europe. He might catch a game or two with the team, but he really doesn't want to be interrupted.

Successful as he was in his three years as assistant coach and then as coach of the Galaxy, there were a few things that bothered Octavio Zambrano while he was in Los Angeles. One of them was management's insistence on trying to tailor the Major League Soccer team's roster to the demographics of the community. In New York, or at least across the river in New Jersey, Zambrano doesn't have that problem.

Gee, another loss for the Galaxy in MLS playoff time. Make that another shutout loss. Another scoreless game, and another mediocre season, for Cobi Jones, the unanimous winner of the league's MOP award--Most Overrated Player. Unless, of course, you prefer the latest import flop, Luis (Show me all your money) Hernandez. Jones wants $5 million to stay with the league? Funny guy, this Cobi. Perhaps "Saturday Night Live" should be his next stop. And can anyone out there tell me why Sigi Schmid was brought in as coach in place of Octavio Zambrano, who has turned New York/New Jersey into a winner in his first season?

One game into Major League Soccer's new season and Octavio Zambrano already finds himself facing a barrage of increasingly difficult questions. The former Galaxy coach is now in charge of the once-hapless but presumably rejuvenated New York/New Jersey MetroStars, whose high-profile signings from Germany and Colombia were supposed to produce a new beginning. It didn't quite work out that way.

Octavio Zambrano planned to say little after his unexpected firing by the Galaxy last week. Then he heard what the team had to say about him. In announcing the change last Thursday, Galaxy President Tim Leiweke claimed Zambrano wasn't communicating with players or making halftime adjustments. "I was stunned by those comments," Zambrano said Monday. "There was no need to say those things." Zambrano had a 41-22 record since 1997 and led the Galaxy to the Major League Soccer semifinals last season.

The Galaxy signed new Coach Sigi Schmid to a three-year contract amid lingering questions about the firing of his predecessor, Octavio Zambrano, five games into the season. Schmid accepted the Galaxy's offer for an undisclosed amount after having spurned other Major League Soccer clubs in recent years. As coach of the UCLA men's team for almost two decades, Schmid led the Bruins to three NCAA championships and sent 19 players to the U.S.

Sigi Schmid, UCLA's soccer coach for the past 19 years, today will be named coach of the Galaxy, replacing Octavio Zambrano, who was fired Wednesday by the Major League Soccer team. The move comes in the wake of the Galaxy's poor start to the season. The team, which went 24-8 under Zambrano last season, setting league offensive and defensive records in the process, failed to win any of its first five games in regulation and scored only three goals while going 2-3. Zambrano, 41, had been given a vote of confidence as recently as Saturday evening by Sergio del Prado, the Galaxy general manager.

There is a quiet elegance to the way Octavio Zambrano works the sidelines. No shaking of fists, which might wrinkle the smoothly tailored look of his suit. No stomping around, lest the Galaxy coach tousle his perfect hair. "I'm not sure laid back is the best way to describe him," veteran defender Dan Calichman said. "But he's not a screamer, he's not yelling during the game 'Do this!' or 'Do that!' " Therein lies the substance of Zambrano's style.

Successful as he was in his three years as assistant coach and then as coach of the Galaxy, there were a few things that bothered Octavio Zambrano while he was in Los Angeles. One of them was management's insistence on trying to tailor the Major League Soccer team's roster to the demographics of the community. In New York, or at least across the river in New Jersey, Zambrano doesn't have that problem.

It was a gray and chilly morning in Oxnard, the sort of morning when rain and sea mist sink deep into the bones and summer seems far away. Octavio Zambrano, wearing a dripping black poncho, stood unmoving on the sideline, staring across the field as his Galaxy players--or at least most of them--drilled on the first day of spring training. Zambrano was only mildly concerned about the several missing players.

Octavio Zambrano will be retained as coach of the Galaxy by the team's new owners, it was announced Monday. When Tim Leiweke was named Galaxy president Oct. 23, he said he would begin a review of all team employees, expressing disappointment over the Galaxy's elimination in the Western Conference finals by the eventual MLS champion Chicago Fire. "Throughout the process we heard positive things about Octavio," Leiweke said in a conference call.