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Waiver draft waived, Beckham to leave MLS, more

Photo: Earl Gardner

Philadelphia Union

Soon after the announcement that they had waived Gabriel Gomez, Porfirio Lopez, and Krystian Witkowski, the Union passed on picking up a player in Monday afternoon’s Waiver Draft. As we noted on Monday, the move frees up two international spots and $439,000 in base salary from the cap.

Shortly before the announcement, the club issued a press release saying that Freddy Adu, Michael Farfan and Amobi Okugo would be training overseas. Adu is off to Galatasaray for two weeks while Farfan and Okugo will be with Freiburg.

Ryan Bright notes at CSN that Adu’s stint is “unofficial.” The Brotherly Game translates two tweets from Turkish reporter Osman Altunterim, who says that Adu will be training with “a private coach” at Galatasaray’s training facility but not with the team itself. The coach, Scott Piri, is listed on Galatasary’s website as the team’s fitness coach.

Here’s a photo slideshow with captions by Adu in which he recounts various points in his life and career. The winking photo disturbs me.

FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman tells Big D soccer that Gomez and Reading-born Corey Hertzog were players available in the Waiver Draft that he is interested in. He says, “There’s some interesting players out there but I think what people are going to do is just kind of wait around until the players aren’t picked up and then maybe renegotiate their contracts.”

How likely is it that Gomez will end up in Dallas? Who knows. But earlier in the piece, Hyndman explains that Dallas waived Carlos Rodriguez because his salary was too big, he took up an international roster spot that could be better used, and “he’s on the Panamanian roster and he could miss ten games next year.” Which, in addition to sounding like a description of Gomez from the Union’s perspective, makes it sound like Gomez’s chances of ending up in Dallas are pretty slim unless he, at the very least, takes a substantial cut in salary.

Union fans wondering why the club didn’t move to acquire Corey Hertzog should take note of Hyndman’s comment that the local lad has graduated from Generation adidas, which means that he would have been a hefty addition in terms of salary for a player who spent most of the last season on loan in the USL, making no appearances for New York.

JP Dellacamera looks at four routes available to the Union for bringing in some game-changing new players: Make a deal with an MLS team; Pick up free agents or make good use of MLS waiver draft; Bring in international players, possibly a DP; Continue to draft well.

Union Dues wonders how the starting XI’s of LA and the Union compare. You gotta do whatever you can in the offseason.

MLS

David Beckham has announced that the MLS Cup final will be his last game with LA Galaxy. “I’ve had an incredibly special time playing for the LA Galaxy, however, I wanted to experience one last challenge before the end of my playing career. I don’t see this as the end of my relationship with the league as my ambition is to be part of the ownership structure in the future.”

Speculation about just where Beckham’s “one last challenge” will take him can now provide diversionary entertainment with the Guardian saying Australia or China being the most likely destinations. From Australia’s A-League, Perth Glory has “put its hat in the ring,” while Central Coast Mariners are “definitely putting our hand up.”

Only one player was picked up from the 42 who were available in Monday’s Waiver Draft: Real Slat Lake selected midfielder Cole Grossman, formerly of Columbus Crew.

Chicago Fire defender Austin Berry has been named Rookie of the Year.

Soccer America looks at the strong post-season attendance numbers. The 44,735 on hand for the second leg of the Western Conference championship in Seattle was a new record for a non-MLS Cup game in league history.

A group led by former Chicago Fire founding general manager Peter Wilt has launched an effort to bring a pro team to St. Louis “which would play in the North American Soccer League but aspire to join Major League Soccer.” The group has launched a website asking fans to commit to purchasing season tickets as well as name the team and choose the team colors.

US

Clint Dempsey has been named US Soccer’s Male Athlete of the Year. This marks the third time he has been so honored, having previously won in 2007 and 2011.

Elsewhere

The trial of Brazilian goalkeeper Bruno, accused of ordering the kidnapping and murder of his ex-mistress, has begun. Police believe that the victim’s body was cut up and fed to dogs after her murder.

Former France manager Raymond Domenech has released a book recounting his version of events surrounding the French players strike at the 2010 World Cup. Domenech singles out Nicholas Anelka, Thierry Henry, and Franc Ribery as being particularly disruptive and self-centered.

For where to watch today’s Champion’s League games on TV and online, check out this week’s Footy on the Telly listings.

 

9 Comments

  1. As Jonathan Tannenwald pointed out (ad nauseam) on his twitter feed last night, Beckham’s announcement said nothing of leaving MLS. Only the Galaxy. Taylor Twellman put up $1000 that Beckham would be with the Red Bulls next season.

  2. If I was a betting man (I’m not), I’d bet good money on Hertzog joining the Union in the next few weeks. Brendan Burke rates him highly and Corey has made no secret that he wants to play here. Hertzog presents the Union with a lot of value once his contract gets reworked. A very low risk option for Philly.

    Looking forward to that addition.

    • Do we need another young forward clogging the ranks of the Union fighting for playing time? Kids need to play to develop and he is better off in the NASL than sitting on the bench for the Union.

      • At the right price, he’s a great addition. Adds depth, creates competition and if any of our young forwards aren’t getting minutes, the Union can loan players out to teams (Harrisburg) to get them minutes. There’s no real downside.
        That being said, we still need a proven MLS goalscorer.

      • With actual game-time in MLS Corey may prove to be as good or better striker than Jack Mac. Nothing against Jack but Foregoing has slightly more size and can be a bit more physical, and even tho it was only the NASL he scored in bunches on his loan. I don’t care (or know, at this point) Where more goals will come from but this would be high reward-low risk in my opinion.

  3. Sell David Beckham as much stake in the Union as he wants. Instant global recognition, a huge bank account and an owner who knows EVERYONE in the soccer world. Becks would surely dish out money for Europeans looking for a new challenge. Make it happen.

    • In terms of MLS ownership I see Beckham buying two different teams potentially: Chivas or Houston. Here’s why.

      Chivas USA: The man has clearly stated two things he wants a challenge and he wants to stay in LA with his family. Chivas would clearly present a challenge, one that I think Beckham would relish. Secondly, the team is currently in LA. There is the potential that he moves the team. If he still wants to keep the concept of Mexican roots I see him moving the team to San Diego which is still close enough to LA to have a very hands-on operation should he want it.

      Houston: While less of a challenge than Chivas (much less) AEG owns both Houston and LA. I’m sure with his sly smile he could convince the execs that it is a conflict of interest to own two teams (especially when they keep playing each other in the final) and would sell Houston to Beckham. AEG wouldn’t sell LA because it is their golden egg after all.

  4. The wink does not disturb me. The disturbing part is remembering that the brightest minds in US Soccer had absolutely no idea what to do with a talented 14 year old player.

    • They knew exactly what to do with him. Promote the balls out of him and get as much mainstream publicity out of him as possible. But that was at odds with developing a young superstar. So here we are.

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