I suppose we will never know if the rumor reported by Jack Bell in the New York Times was actually true. But when I learned on Tuesday that the MetroStars might be considering the venerable Bora Milutinovic for the position of head coach I said “No, that can’t be. That’s too good to be true!”

Bora and the MetroStars. A super coach for the SuperClub. I believe the word is kismet.

Let’s face it. What Major League Soccer needs is a bit of show-business, a bit of pizzazz. And nothing screams lights, camera, action louder than Mr. Sexy Football himself, Bora Milutinovic. At long last it seemed the Metros were getting themselves on the right track. I knew next year it’d be MetroStars Playoff Fever for certain! Hell, I even thought, if they were really lucky, they might even make the 2006 playoffs.

I know. I know. Bora made some questionable decisions in the center of defense during the 1994 World Cup. Sure, Balboa was fine, but that other guy? Oy vey! But everyone makes mistakes. Was that really any reason for Alexi Lalas to deny him another chance to lead the MetroStars?

And so what if Bora was a disastrous coach for the Metros back in 1999? It’s not like it couldn’t have been worse. I mean, the Metros did win seven games that year. Well, OK, three of those were “shootout” wins. Still, don’t forget their gentleman’s fifteen points was better than the 2001 Mutiny’s lowly fourteen.

You can only imagine my shock and disappointment when I awoke Wednesday morning to read that Lalas & Company had chosen to stick with that Maurice fellow. It was the safe choice, the conservative choice. Some might even call it a sensible and intelligent choice. At any rate, it was for the Metros an uncharacteristic choice.

Rather than rolling the dice and taking the (fool’s) gamble on the greatest Serbian-born coach ever in Major League Soccer, Lalas went with the guy who actually had a reasonable chance of leading the team to something resembling respectablity.

RotMasters of old, please come back. I miss you already.