Gullit Speaks Out On Beckham, MLS

Ruud Gullit has kept his silence for the most part since leaving his post as head coach of the Los Angeles Galaxy on August 11th, but is now speaking out about David Beckham and Major League Soccer among other things. The former AC Milan and Oranje star took over the reins of the "Jewel of MLS" in the most recent offseason, but left L.A. as the club was in the midst of a 7-game winless streak and had plummeted from league leaders to bottom feeders in the course of six weeks.
"The football is different [in MLS], and the salary cap prevents the league from attracting the very top players," said Gullit in an interview with England's Mail Online. "But the standard is higher than people think. It's unfair to make comparisons with football in this country. For a start, they play in the summer and that means it can be 90 degrees and 80% humidity. You just can't play high-tempo football. Then there's the travelling. If you're in LA and you've got a game in New York, you're talking about a six- or seven-hour flight.

"I'd liken it more to the leagues in Holland, Belgium and Norway," he continued. "The players can play. I watched the All-Stars against West Ham in the summer and the All-Stars outplayed them."

Gullit leveled some criticism at the league, however, especially when the topic turned to scheduling.

"We could have a game the day after a round of international matches; that was ridiculous and so was the draft system. I could have players I wanted to promote from the under 21s but they were no use to me because they weren't actually mine - they could go into the draft system and end up elsewhere. It all became very frustrating and it has to change."

On the subject of David Beckham and the superstar's role with the current England squad, Gullit offered nothing but support for the 33-year-old Galaxy midfielder to continue being called up by Fabio Capello.

"Beckham has already proved he can do it. His crossing and dead ball delivery is still important to England. Sometimes decisive. It's only become a discussion now because of the sudden emergence of Theo Walcott. But Beckham can remain an international footballer while playing there."