MLS notes

Johnston is elevated to MetroStars coach; Fraser retires.

Mo Johnston was elevated to MetroStars head coach after serving as an assistant since 2003. -- MetroStars web site photo --

SECAUCUS, N.J. (Wednesday, November 9, 2005) -- Mo Johnston, who took over the MetroStars on an interim basis with three games remaining in the regular season and rallied the club into the Major League Soccer playoffs, was elevated to head coach, club president and general manager Alexi Lalas said today.

Johnston, 42, who retired in 2001 after playing six MLS seasons for the Kansas City Wizards, relieved Bob Bradley as coach on October 4. A MetroStars assistant since 2003, Johnston became the eighth head coach for a club heading into its 11th season.

"We've had a diamond in the rough and, in the last month, that diamond has started to shine," said Lalas , who was president and general manager of the San Jose Earthquakes until moving to the MetroStars June 14. "I'm excited to see Maurice guide a MetroStars team of his own making and I expect it to be entertaining and successful throughout the year. The fact that he's a fellow redhead only made my decision easier. I've been saying for years that we don't have enough of the mutant gene in MLS."

Contract terms were not revealed.

Under Johnston, the MetroStars closed the season with a 2-0-1 record and slipped past the Kansas City Wizards into the fourth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot on the final day of the season. The New Jersey-based team was eliminated 3-2 on aggregate in a two-game series against the New England Revolution in the first round of the playoffs, letting a two-goal advantage slip away as the Revs, traililng 1-0, won 3-1 in the second leg at home.

Johnston, a native of Glasgow, Scotland, played for 15 seasons as a midfielder and striker in Europe for five Scottish teams, as well as clubs in England and France. He was best known for playing for Glasgow Rangers during a run in which they captured consecutive Scottish Premier League championships from 1990-93.

He recorded 310 goals in 529 club matches and added 15 tallies in 30 appearances for his national team. Johnston played in the 1990 World Cup in Italy after scoring six goals in eight caps during qualifying.

"I am thrilled that my first head coaching job can come here in Major League Soccer with the MetroStars," Johnston said. "Working with Alexi and moving into the new stadium in 2007 certainly make this job the best in MLS, and I am honored that I have been given this opportunity. Now, I am excited about getting to work to bring our great fans the championship that they want so badly. "

Johnston started 142 of his 149 MLS games, scoring 31 goals and adding 28 assists. In four of his seasons, the Wizards qualified for the playoffs and he started 11 of the 15 postseason games he played, chipping in a goal and two assists.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Defender Robin Fraser, an MLS original, has retired after 10 years in the league and a professional career that spanned 16 seasons.

Fraser, who will turn 39 on December 17, spent the past two seasons with the Columbus Crew after being a member of the Los Angeles Galaxy for MLS's first five seasons, followed by a three-year stint with the Colorado Rapids.

"After 16 long years of playing professionally, I have decided that it is time to retire," Fraser said in a Crew press release. "While it is hard to leave, I leave with such wonderful memories that it is somewhat bittersweet. I've been fortunate to play for a lot longer than most, and certainly longer than most would have thought I would have, including me. I've played in only three cities and I've enjoyed them immensely."

Born in Jamaica, Fraser is the only defender to be named five times to the MLS Best XI and one of 16 players to have been in the league for all 10 of its seasons. He was the fourth overall selection in the first round of the inaugural MLS draft by the Galaxy. Having played collegiate ball at Florida International, he began his professional career with the Colorado Foxes in the American Professional Soccer League from 1990-95.

"Robin has been an exemplary professional in this league and an outstanding player," Crew coach Sigi Schmid said in the release. "His accomplishments are many and he has many friends in the soccer community. I am sad that I will not get to coach him in my time in Columbus.

In MLS, Fraser starting 256 career regular-season games, playing 22,836 minutes, both fourth all-time in league history. He appeared in 260 regular-season games, fifth most in MLS history, and started all 30 playoff matches in which he appeared. He finished with one regular-season goal, one playoff goal, four regular-season assists and one playoff assist.

His playoff goal was the first-ever playoff goal in L.A. history. After becoming an American citizen in 1986, he appeared 27 times for the United States men.

"I'm not sure that I can say anything about Robin Fraser that hasn't already been said," said Mark McCullers, Columbus general manager. "