Nicol, Johnston story a real Scotland yarn

Maurice ''Mo" Johnston and Steve Nicol have crossed paths several times in their soccer careers as players. But when Johnston's MetroStars play host to Nicol's Revolution at Giants Stadium at 7 p.m. Saturday, it will be the first time the former Scotland national team stars will meet as head coaches.

''The first time I played with Maurice was when we were with Scotland's Under 21," recalled Nicol, a reference to the 1982 UEFA tournament. ''We had a good side but we lost to England in the semifinals of the Euro."

Johnston was born in Glasgow and Nicol in Ayrshire County, just south of Glasgow. Both began playing in that area, Nicol soon becoming a fixture with Liverpool and Johnston experiencing a nomadic career in which he became the first Catholic former Celtic player to move to Rangers, in 1989. By Nicol's reckoning, Johnston blazed the trail to the United States by moving to the Kansas City Wizards in 1996.

''He was a good goal-scorer in the top flight," Nicol said. ''With the ability he has, when he moved down a peg, he could do a lot more for the team. He was a true professional, and more.

''He did a lot more flitting about, moving to France [FC Nantes] and America, and he made it easier for the likes of me to come over here. He always represented himself and the team well. Some other players came here and did not cover themselves in glory."

When Nicol was named to coach a Major League Soccer select team to play at Real Madrid in August, he chose Johnston as his assistant.

''We have similar ideas about the game," Nicol said. ''When we went to Spain, making decisions and substitutes, we agreed on most of them."

Johnston was an extremely effective forward with several clubs in Europe, and scored 14 goals for Scotland's national team, including one against Sweden in the 1990 World Cup. Johnston's move to Rangers caused him to be ''one of the most controversial figures in Celtic's history, nevertheless in almost every match he played for Celtic, and his other clubs, [he] was a model professional," according to the club guide ''A Celtic A-Z."

Both Johnston and Nicol were elevated from assistant to head coach at their current teams. Johnston, 42, replaced Bob Bradley Oct. 4 and rallied the MetroStars to the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Nicol, 43, took over for Fernando Clavijo in May 2002 and has guided the Revolution to their fourth successive playoff appearance.

Asked what Johnston's strengths as a coach are, Nicol replied, ''Common sense. He knows players and what they are capable of doing, and sets up the team accordingly."

The MetroStars and Revolution have produced wide-open matchups this season, each game decided with goals from the 86th minute on.

''Both teams know about as much as they need to know about each other," Nicol said. ''We need to be prepared mentally. If we are in the right frame of mind, we should be all right."

The Revolution have set an attacking tone in each game, even at Giants Stadium. But the MetroStars were able to counter by finding space behind the three-man defense and beating offside traps in a 5-4 victory last month.

''I don't expect anything else," Nicol said of the chance of another late-game deciding goal. ''The way they play, they are flinging bodies forward. When you do that, you leave holes behind you, and we hope to exploit that. Everyone wants to go on the road and win, but we wouldn't be too disappointed with a draw, either."

The Revolution won the Eastern Conference regular-season title for the second time in four years and will play host to the MetroStars in the second game of the series Oct. 29. If they advance, the conference final will be Nov. 5 at Gillette Stadium. The Revolution won the conference regular-season championship and reached the MLS Cup final in 2002 but lost in the conference final in '03 and '04.

''We wanted to win the division, and the next goal is the MLS Cup," Nicol said. ''And the home-field advantage has been huge the last three years. Against Chicago [in '03] we were well-beaten away; they were the better team and deserved to win, but if we had been at home, maybe the balance could have gone the other way.

''Last year, the crowd was behind D.C. the whole game; we were unlucky not to get through, and the home crowd could have tipped the balance in our favor."