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| Friday, September 14, 2001 24:17 EST |
Quite an ordeal to make this deal
By Jeff Bradley
[ESPN The Magazine]
They burned up the phone lines, wore out their cell phone batteries, even filled up the each other's e-mail inboxes. The coaches and GMs of the Los Angeles Galaxy, San Jose Earthquakes and New England Revolution were bunkered in this week, trying to figure out a way to make a blockbuster trade that would not only get Luis Hernandez to the Galaxy, but also satisfy the Revs and e-Quakes and keep the MetroStars out of the mix.
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THE FIRST XI
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NASL Stars we'd like to see coach a MLS game or two, for the heck of it:
11. Rodney Marsh
10. Gerd Mueller
9. Tatu
8. Jomo Sono
7. Marinho
6. Roy Wegerle
5. Vladislav Bogecevic
4. Frankie Klopas
3. Kyle Rote, Jr.
2. George Best
1. Johan Cruyff
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But they couldn't pull it off.
One more time, the background: To get Hernandez to Los Angeles, the Galaxy were asked by the league to do the following:
1. Clear salary cap room by trading Roy Myers, who makes $180,000.
2. Trade for one of the allocations owned by New England or San Jose, or have the league designate two quality players who would enter a dispersal draft.
The first part of that deal seemed easy enough. By midweek, the MetroStars were getting close to a deal for Myers, who would fill a void in the center of their midfield. The deal will likely go through the Dallas Burn, who will eat some of the money in exchange for some "future considerations" because no one wanted Myers at $180 G's. Fine, but in the eyes of all the involved parties, that was going to be enough help for the Metros.
Only the second part of the deal complicated everything.
For nearly two months, the Galaxy and e-Quakes spoke, but never came close to a deal. The e-Quakes finally decided they wanted to use their allocation on Mexican striker Jose Manuel Abundis (who will be introduced in the next few days). As for New England's allocation, it was kept pretty quiet for a long time, but last week L.A. coach Sigi Schmid was quoted as saying, "New England's allocation is not a major allocation and won't get us Hernandez." He was right. The Revs allocation is not the "major" they got for Joe-Max Moore, but the "minor" they got when MLS sold Giovanni Savarese to Perugia.
All of the Galaxy's trade talk with the Revs became moot.
So, as we wrote last week, the league will put Clint Mathis and Joey Franchino into a Dispersal Draft on Friday morning, and they will be picked up by the MetroStars and the Revolution, who, by virtue of their poor records in the past year, have the first two picks in the draft. There are plenty of coaches and GMs around the league who think this dispersal draft idea is a sham, especially because the MetroStars are the benefactors ("they stink and it's no one's fault but their own," says one rival GM).
But the league thinks any deal that didn't bring San Jose's allocation to the Galaxy would have looked "rigged." And, more than anything, the league office gets really irritated by anyone who suggests the Galaxy aren't getting a "great deal" here.
"Roy Myers, Clint Mathis and Joey Franchino for not only the best player in the history of MLS, but a player who's going to help Los Angeles build a 30,000-seat soccer stadium," is how one official worded it, "is a damned good deal."
Still on the table
Did anything come out of all the trade talk? Well, the e-Quakes are probably going to end up sending sweeper Mauricio Wright to the Revolution for New England's allocation and disgruntled defender Dan Calichman.
Of course, in reality, this is nothing more than Sunil Gulati, who calls the shots for both San Jose and New England, playing with a two-team, 40-man roster.
San Jose coach Lothar Osiander has apparently complained enough about Wright, his too-adventurous libero, and Gulati has probably tired of trying to find a quality defender for the Revs, so he'll insert Wright in Foxboro and turn his attention to finding some left-sided help for the Quakes.
Of course, the Revs will have Joey Franchino from the dispersal draft, so he could end up swinging another quick in-house deal.
Are we having fun, or what?
Deadline to discover
Monday, May 15, is the final day for teams to file paperwork on Discovery Players. Keep in mind, these players cannot earn more than $75,000 and must be free of transfer.
So, here are a few players you might see uncovered in the coming weeks:
Miodrag Belodedici -- A sweeper for Romania in the '94 World Cup, the 36-year old Belodedici has played all over the world and now looks to finish up in the States. He's an old pal of Preki from a stint with Red Star Belgrade, so he might end up in Kansas City. The key to Miodrag -- who is long and lean like Chicago's Lubos Kubik -- is that he's not looking for a lot of money. He is currently playing in Romania for Steaua Bucharest and will become available in a couple of weeks. He's also a possibility in Columbus.
John Sulentic -- A 20-year old Croatian-Canadian who led the A-League in assists last year is in the Chicago Fire's camp (and played 30 minutes in the Fire's 3-3 draw with Toluca Wednesday night). Sulentic is said to be fairly smooth with the ball but not overly athletic.
Michael Blackwood -- A buddy of Colorado's Junior Agogo, the 19-year old Blackwood has been playing for Aston Villa's reserves but wants to follow in Agogo's footsteps and begin his career in MLS. In fact, he turned down a new contract with Villa so he can seek the adventure. Blackwood is a fast, left-sided midfielder. Destination unknown.
Sonny Silooy -- A 34-year old defender who came through the Ajax system (and has played for Holland) is looking for work in America. Currently on the books at De Graffschap, Silooy may be Columbus' next discovery.
In tight space
Not only are the MetroStars allowing Lothar Matthaeus to depart early for the Euro 2000 tournament in Holland and Belgium (he'll play on Saturday then head home to Germany), they hope he has so much fun that he doesn't come back. Really. "Maybe he's tired of being on vacation in the States," said one Metro. "But I doubt it. He seems to be having a blast off the field."
Clint Mathis on joining the MetroStars: "I'm going to look at it as a great opportunity for my career, and I'm hoping I can be a big part of turning that team around. The Galaxy were honest with me every step of the way, so I was prepared for this."
Chicago assistant Mike Jefferies inteviewed for the vacant Fusion coaching job but Boston Bulldogs boss (and former Liverpool player) Steve Nicol is emerging as the favorite to take over. That is, if the fans allow Ray Hudson to go back to the booth.
Expect the Branco Rule to be instituted soon in Columbus. What's that? Well, remember Brazilian bad boy Branco? He came to MLS because of the little-known Marquee Player Replacement Rule. That is, he replaced Tab Ramos in '97 when Ramos was put on season-ending IR. Well, it's expected that Brian Maissoneuve, one of the Crew's original allocations, is done for the year, and the Crew will be allowed to institute the BR. Former Crystal Palace defender Steven Horvat, a 27-year old Aussie, could be the man to go to Columbus if they get to replace Maissoneuve.
Romanian Gheorge Hagi is more likely to join MLS next season than this year, and his likely destination would be Chicago, especially if the Fire determine that Peter Nowak can no longer pull the midfield strings for another year.
Another name to remember is Costa Rican midfielder Wilmar Lopez, who plays for Alajuela. The Rapids are putting out strong feelers on Lopez, a player MLS has always liked but always avoided because, among other things, he doesn't know how to drive. If Adin Brown is sold to Rosenborn, Lopez could be the man to replace him.
Pub talk
The Rumbling you hear coming out of DC is the groundswell of voices getting ready to scream, "We haven't had an allocation since we got Jaime Moreno in 1996!!"
I can't agree with anyone who thinks Lockhart Stadium is the reason the Fusion don't draw. The reason the Fusion don't draw is the reason the Marlins don't draw. Because South Florida will never support a team, other than the Dolphins, until it's on the verge of a championship. Lockhart is still a gem for MLS and a stadium that should be copied.
Also, if Ray Hudson is as popular as it appears in South Florida, the Fusion should name him "manager," using the term that they use in England for coach, but make sure they have a few guys working around him who know all the other ins and outs of running an MLS team. It can be Manager Hudson's job to give the halftime talks and the interviews. Silly as it sounds, this is not a concept that would be considered strange in Europe.
Whether it's fair or not, a big part of the future of MLS now rests in the hands of the Mexican and Mexican-American soccer fans in Southern California. That is who the league is banking on to drive up attendance, which will lead to media exposure, etc. If it works, Chicago (where 13,000 showed up to watch Toluca and the Fire tie 3-3 last Wednesday) should be the next city in line if, say, Ramon Ramirez becomes available.
Asked Bruce Arena what the key to turning a struggling MLS team around is and he answered: "The core players, mainly the foreigners, because 95% of the American players in the league are about the same."
Metros vs. undefeated KC in SoccerTown, USA, this Saturday. Five digits again?
Jeff Bradley covers soccer ... among other things ... for ESPN The Magazine.
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