| | Associated Press
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The captain of the struggling Miami
Fusion accused some of his teammates of playing poorly on purpose
so coach Ivo Wortmann would be fired.
At a news conference to announce Wortmann's firing Monday,
Francis Okaroh said he could tell that some Fusion players were not
playing as hard as they could in a 3-0 loss to Chicago on Saturday.
"Several of them, about five or six whom I will not name ...
but they know who they are ... were not trying to win Saturday,"
Okaroh said. "They wanted to make Ivo look bad. I was not happy
and I made my feelings known to them."
Okaroh called his teammates' conduct "embarrassing, shameful
and disgusting."
"I was out there Saturday yelling at teammates 'Move or get off
the field,' " he said. "I have never had to worry about a teammate
before."
Miami general manager Doug Hamilton said if Okaroh's allegations
are true "there will be a new series of issues to deal with."
"We care tremendously about our product and what we give the
fans," Hamilton said.
Wortmann -- 21-28-4 overall in two partial and one full season
with the Fusion -- did not attend the news conference and did not
return phone calls seeking comment.
This year the Fusion are last in the Eastern Division of the MLS
with a 1-3-4 record and last in the league in wins and goals.
During one stretch they went 457 minutes without scoring, a team
record.
New coach Ray Hudson, hired on an interim basis, has been a
television analyst for Miami for 2½ seasons and works as its
community outreach manager. He's a former midfielder and captain
for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the defunct North American
Soccer League.
Hudson said the Fusion players have seemed to lose their drive.
"I will challenge them to stand up for the colors of the Fusion
and for their professional integrity," he said.
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