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| Friday, September 14, 2001 24:17 EST |
Rosenborg covets Rapids' keeper
By Jeff Bradley
[ESPN The Magazine]
Last season, after getting off to a smoking start, the Colorado Rapids' season took a turn for the worse when they got the news that goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann was leaving MLS for Fulham of the English First Division.
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THE FIRST XI
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Evan Whitney's List of Sub-30,000 Stadiums to Inspire MLS:
11. Molineux, Wolverhampton Wanderers, England
Capacity: 28,425
10. Phillips Stadium, PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands
Capacity: 30,000
9. Alfred McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield Town, England
Capacity: 25,000
8. Stadio Nereo Rocco, Trieste, Italy
Capacity: 25,000
7. Reebok Stadium, Bolton Wanderers, England
Capacity: 25,000
6. Bayer Stadion, Bayer Leverkusen, Germany
Capacity: 22,500
5. Stade du Pays de Charleroi, Sporting Charleroi, Belgium
Capacity: 30,000
4. (New) Brann Stadion, Brann Bergen, Norway
Capacity: 19,000
3. JJB Stadium, Wigan Athletic, England
Capacity: 25,000
2. Gelredome, Vitesse, Netherlands
Capacity: 29,000
1. Madejski Stadium, Reading FC, England
Capacity: 24,200
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Now, less than a year later, the Rapids could be losing another keeper as Norwegian power Rosenborg is prepared to make a $1 million offer for U.S. Olympian Adin Brown. Representatives for Rosenborg were on hand to watch Brown shut out Honduras in Hershey, Pa., last Friday night in CONCACAF Olympic qualifying. That performance convinced the club to make the offer.
It's not a shock that Rosenborg is interested in Brown. The club has been hotly scouting the U.S. ranks for players for much of the past year -- enquiring about everyone from Chris Armas and DaMarcus Beasley to Brad Friedel and Ben Olsen.
Brown's situation is a little more interesting because if he does tell MLS he'd like to go to Europe, it will make his decision to enter the MLS draft this winter a costly mistake. Several coaches advised the William & Mary keeper that, with all the MLS games he'd miss due to under-23 commitments, he might be better to remain a free agent as long as possible. That way, if he decided to go to Europe, he'd get the money and not the league.
At least Rapids coach Glenn Myernick -- who traded up in the draft to get Brown -- can rest a little easier knowing that if Brown bolts for Norway, and the $1 million transaction is made, the league will be forced to pony up a significant allocation to Colorado.
Only in L.A.
With their trade discussions with the Los Angeles Galaxy at an impasse, the San Jose Earthquakes have heated up their search for a Mexican player they can call their own. Only problem is, the league's not likely to empty the register for the e-Quakes the way they would for the Galaxy, so San Jose's got to get a little bit creative.
A week ago, it looked like San Jose was going to work out a creative way to sign Manuel Abundis, in which MLS would buy the contract along with a loan agreement with a Mexican club that would cut the cost significantly. But the cost was still too great.
So now, San Jose is targeting Morelia and Mexican Olympic forward Emilio Mora, who would also come with a significant price tag, but could be viewed as a future investment.
SoccerTown, U.S.A.
Of course, we're talking about you, Kansas City, home of the unbeaten Wizards. You've got 16 points (out of a possible 18). You've got a hard-fighting team with more players carrying chips around on their shoulders than any other team in the league. You've got a bald Danish striker who's not afraid to hurl F-bombs in the face of coach Bob Gansler, when he's subbed out with five minutes remaining -- and the team's ahead!
And, what's more? You've got fans who proved that they can storm past the five-digit mark (OK, maybe 53 more than five digits isn't exactly storming) on any given (or any giveaway) night. Congratulations to everyone involved.
You are Soccer Town, U.S.A.
At least in my eyes, you are.
Note to first-time visitors to The Boot Room: The preceeding note was Jeff Bradley's way of paying back a bet he lost with K.C. fans last week.
But seriously, what's not to like about the Wizards' fast start? This team has shown that it is possible to turn a team from sorry to competitive in one offseason, without getting any favors from the league. All it takes is a little ingenuity.
For example, Miklos Molnar - the aforementioned high-scoring, foul-mouthed, Danish striker -- came to K.C. because Chris Henderson recommended him from days they spent together in Germany. Peter Vermes and Matt McKeon may have worn out their stay in Colorado, but Gansler identified them as useful, hard-working MLS players. Even MetroStars reject Kerry Zavagnin -- who repaid his dues with Lehigh Valley in the A-League last summer -- is panning out as a solid draft pick.
The only sobering thing about KC's start is that they've played four of their first six at home, got to play Colorado on a night when the Rapids could barely field a team, and faced Chicago when Chris Armas and Peter Nowak were out of the lineup.
It's a long season, which also means the Wizards have plenty of time left to prove they're for real. The same holds true for Kansas City soccer fans.
Money Matters
Nick Sakiewicz and Octavio Zambrano have been vocal about wanting to weed out the MetroStars players who've gotten too used to losing, which most Metros fans applaud. However, the way they've handled Miles Joseph is going to cost them some money.
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E-mail exchange with ... Kevin Payne
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Jeff Bradley: Hey, Kevin, what's going on down there in D.C.? Ever think you'd be 1-4?
Kevin Payne: Hi, Jeff, how are you? The team is trying to deal with our most difficult start to date right now. I think the players understand that the first
challenge they face is really an individual one -- each player needs to do
their job better, and more consistently. Mental breakdowns are really what
have hurt us the most. I didn't expect to be 1-4 ... I don't think anyone goes
into the season expecting to be 1-4!
JB: Do you believe what Bruce Arena says, that the good teams have gotten a little worse and the bad teams have gotten a little better?
KP: There is some truth to what Bruce says. Because of the cap rules and the
resultant loss of players, it's hard for the good teams to remain good.
Having said that, though, I think Chicago should be better with the addition
of Stoitchkov, and the league is likely to make a move to help L.A., as well. I
think in time we can be better than we've been in the past, but our depth is
generally younger than it has been, so it will be a while before we see where we
are. Since 1997 we've lost Raul Diaz Arce and
Roy Lassiter (the No. 1 and No. 2 all-time leading scorers in the league), John
Harkes, Tony Sanneh, and Diego Sonora, and been able to replace them with a
22-year old and some draft picks. While we think Chris Albright is going to
be a big-time player, that is still a lot of quality to try to replace. But,
we also know we're not going to get sympathy anywhere ... I don't think there
is a person in the league outside our organization who isn't loving what's
going on with us right now. To which my comment is, enjoy it while you can!
JB: Will this be D.C.'s toughest year when it comes to national team conflicts?
KP: This will certainly be the toughest year yet in terms of absences. Ten of our
starters are either regulars with their national or Olympic teams, or at
least in the pool of players, so there will be times where we are really
stretched. And with our reserves being less experienced, it will really put
a lot of pressure on us. We've responded well to this in the past, but this
year will be our toughest challenge, no doubt.
JB: Can we expect to see an changes?
KP: We aren't really looking at significant changes. We don't seem to be a team
the league is willing to help from the outside -- I think you have to do a
bad job on the technical and/or the business side first before that happens
-- so our options are limited. We're hoping Stephen Armstrong signs with us,
we think he will help. But the fact is we've only been outplayed in one
match, the opener against L.A. We could be 4-1 or 0-5, depending on bounces.
The players we have are still capable of being the best team in the league.
We don't really have any maneuverability to anything significant, because the
rules apply to us.
JB: Any news on the sale of the club?
KP: Can't talk about the sale of the club. Sorry. The sign is still up, but I
hope it'll be down soon!
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Last week, prior to the Metros' trip to D.C., Joseph and Mohammad Khakpour were told to clean out their lockers, that they were going to be traded. Problem was, the Metros had yet to find takers. With Khakpour, it was no big deal because the veteran defender's contract is not guaranteed. In other words, if all else fails, they can waive him.
Not so for Joseph, who has a guaranteed contract in the high-$60,000 range (inked back in the day when Joseph was on the national team bubble and considered one of the young stars of MLS). If the Metros waive him, that's wasted money against the cap. So, in order for the Metros to gain even a draft pick for Joseph, they're probably going to have to pick up a big chunk (perhaps more than half) of that salary.
In Tight Space
Could Molnar's success pave the way for more Scandinavians in MLS? "They're hot to come over here," says one agent, "and most of them are aware of the money situation. These guys want the American lifestyle, and still see this as the land of opportunity."
Eduardo Hurtado is returning to New England, supposedly with hat in hand, and the club really has no choice but to play El Tanke -- if only to showcase him for a trade or sale. Hurtado has a guaranteed contract, which means, of course, the Revs can't release him.
When Ante Razov's penalty was stopped by New England's Jeff Causey last week, Razov said it was the first PK he'd missed since he was 8 years old. Dating back to last season, the Fire have failed to connect on three of their past five penalties.
One league official says there's no way the MetroStars will get an allocation if Tab Ramos is placed on "indefinite IR." He did not rule out the possibility, however, that the Metros could get some cap relief, which would help their discovery search.
Another hot Metros rumor has the Galaxy sending Clint Mathis and Joey Franchino to New York/New Jersey in order to get the Luis Hernandez allocation. There's really no way to explain this one, folks, just that the league's claiming it's not going to give L.A. Hernandez for nothing and the Metros are deemed the club most in need of charity.
Pub Talk
If Miami doesn't score soon, expect chaos to take over that club. There are simply too many large mouths in that dressing room to expect that guys are going to accept sitting while Ivo Wortmann experiments with a different lineup every week. And is this what Roy Lassiter meant? You know, when he said, "If they want cheap, I'll give them cheap."
The only way Cobi Jones gets the $1 million per year he and agent Cory Clemetson are seeking is if some non-MLS club comes up with a real offer in the $2 million range.We wonder if Jones' star power has stretched South of the Border?
Couldn't help but think, when I saw the other day that Roberto Baggio wants to leave Inter Milan for a club where he will play regularly, that Baggio could have been had in 1997 for a lot less than the league is getting ready to dish out for Luis Hernandez. Baggio, who was playing for Bologna at the time, probably could have been a MetroStar for a $2 million transfer (same as Ariel Graziani) and a $1 million salary. Of course, post-Bologna, Baggio earned his way back onto Italy and was sold to Inter.
All right, one more stadium to check out, this one is the proposed soccer-only stadium in San Diego. As the Metro supporters like to chant, "This is what we want, this is what we want, this is what we waaaaaaah aaaaaaaaaaaaant!"
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