Morning Ticker: Gallardo to join DC United, Crew selling Gonzalez
According to reports in France, Argentine playmaker Marcello Gallardo is set to sign with D.C. United. The highly-coveted attacking midfielder's arrival would mean that former MLS MVP Christian Gomez's days in D.C. are over. Whether Gomez goes elsewhere in the league via trade, or if he takes one of the foreign offers he was considering this month, remains to be seen. (As Steve Goff rightly points out though, you never know a deal for an Argentine midfielder is done until he's actually in uniform).
D.C. is loading up on foreign players, having landed Argentine forward Franco Niell on a one-year loan deal on Tuesday and signed Colombian defender Gonzalo Martinez on Wednesday.
Red Bulls fans bumming about the Red Bulls missing out on Gallardo should know that, according to one high-ranking team source, the Red Bulls never made a serious inquiry about Gallardo and were never in the running for his services.
The Columbus Crew has agreed to sell Chilean defender Marcos Gonzalez to Universidad Catolica for an undisclosed transfer fee, sources with knowledge of the deal told SBI. Gonzalez figured to anchor the Crew back-line but needs on offense and the drafting of highly-regarded center back Andy Iro made selling Gonzalez a necessary decision. Look for the Crew to start out with Chad Marshall and Danny O'Rourke as central defense starters until Iro shows he's ready to take the job.
That's all for now. I'll be looking to uncover some more player movement news, and get more details on these stories, as the day goes on so stay tuned.
For now, share your thoughts on these moves below.
Ives Galarcep is an American soccer columnist for ESPNsoccernet.com and creator of SoccerByIves.net.
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Gallardo is a good addition to DC and the league. DC already plays attacking soccer, so Gallardo's arrival should see more of the same.
BTW, I'd love to see Gomez stay in the league. He is s avery good player and someone several teams could use.
Posted by: Ed Ho | January 24, 2008 at 10:31 AM
hey Ives,
any idea what it is that New England and Columbus are in trade talks regarding?
any chance of Gomez coming to the Revs?
Posted by: Andrew | January 24, 2008 at 10:37 AM
Any chance of Gomez finding his way in the RBNY kits? Screw New England . . . and Gallardo . . . what a heart breaker. Ugh. Terrible way to start a thursday.
Posted by: Dave M | January 24, 2008 at 10:40 AM
I'm excited about Andy Iro, but this sucks for us Crew fans. Now, we have a converted mid (Danny) and a CB with post-concussion issues (Chad) as our primary options. I don't want to see Ezra around for another season!
Hopefully Sigi has one more move for another CB ready.
Posted by: Elliott | January 24, 2008 at 10:46 AM
Muñeeeeeeeeeeeco! Muñeeeeeeeeeeeco!
Posted by: chicago millonario | January 24, 2008 at 10:48 AM
Oh man, You have to give it to DC United. All these years they manage to build good teams. Get real players and compete against other international clubs. Something Metro/Red bulls have not learn yet.......... One Day.......... One Day!!!!!!
Posted by: Mighty | January 24, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Gomez to New England to replace Noonan as the one remotely creative attacker that the Revs have. Sounds like a good move to me.
Any more updates on the draft picks looking for Euro contracts?
Posted by: AJ | January 24, 2008 at 10:55 AM
So do you have any idea who the player playing in the french league that Osoro is interested in?
Posted by: emilio | January 24, 2008 at 10:57 AM
Gallardo is a gamble, but one worth taking as he is an amazing player when he is on his game. I have been living in Argentina for the past 2.5 years and I was able to see him play and I hope he gives his all to MLS.
Gomez should go to Columbus and team up with Guillermo Barros Schelotto. Good luck Christian!
Posted by: Uncle Jason | January 24, 2008 at 10:58 AM
Yeah, the Red Bulls never made a serious iquiry about Gallardo because they'd rather keep the biggest, single waste of an MLS salary and DP slot: Claudio Reyna. Thank you Claudio for not retiring. And thank you Arena for being an insane idiot and signing Reyna, the tremendous impact player that he is. Once again, we'll have great forwards with no one to feed then the magic passes they need to score. The Red Bulls will be lobbing balls into the box, hoping someone gets a head or a foot on them. Oh, well... Wait till next year!
Posted by: miguel | January 24, 2008 at 11:00 AM
RBNY weren't serious contenders for Gallardo because of salary cap issues, I blame it on Arena for wasting a DP slot on Reyna, but how are the galaxy able to do it?
Posted by: Peruco83 | January 24, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Pat Noo-nan is going to Norway, awesome.
Peruco, if you are new to the blog I'll fill you in. The Galaxy are allowed to do whatever they want. They currently have 3 DP's on their roster but are only using 1 DP slot. The league wants them to be champions as much as possible.
Posted by: kpugs | January 24, 2008 at 11:11 AM
I don't know how the Gals are able to do it, but if their results for the last two years are any measure, I'm not envious of them.
I'd love to see Gomez come to NY! Hopefully JCO is lining up a comparable player at attacking mid.
Posted by: Eugene | January 24, 2008 at 11:14 AM
Uggh, not more whining about the Galaxy. I don't like them more than anyone else. But they are not breaking the rules.
On the other hand they are fielding a starting 11 that will be half high-priced guys and half minimum salary guys. I don't see how it can work any better than last year.
Glad to see Gallardo and all of the other S. Americans who have been coming in. Based on the success of Angel, Toja and others last year, it's a plan that could work for the league. We'll see.
Posted by: scott47a | January 24, 2008 at 11:18 AM
I still have vomit in the back of my throat. This stinks.
And JCO has ruled out Guevara, who I seriously think can help out. Who else will pop up? We have a couple of weeks to see I guess . . .
Posted by: Dave M | January 24, 2008 at 11:24 AM
If you look at the Galaxy's salary figures and allocations, you'll see that they are not over the cap. It is unfair that they have 3 DPs, but they're not going to be much of a threat unless they manage to stay healthy and everyone plays as they should all year long.
Posted by: Joamiq | January 24, 2008 at 11:26 AM
Yeah the reason they cant sign a player like Gallardo if he did get dp money, is because Arena waisted a DP spot on a defensive midfielder who wears the number 10 shirt.
Posted by: emilio | January 24, 2008 at 11:34 AM
Nobody vomits in their mouth as much as SBI readers. Being an American soccer fan is frustrating, I guess.
Posted by: Ilya | January 24, 2008 at 11:59 AM
Perhaps Osorio did not make a serious attempt to sign Gallardo because Gallardo wants a great deal of money and his time at PSG has been an unqualified disaster. He has been a superlative player in the past but he is not worth Designated Player money at this point in his career. It seems more than likely that the Red Bulls are going to sign at least two midfielders; wait to complain until you know who those players are.
Posted by: nathan3e | January 24, 2008 at 12:03 PM
A few things. First, while it is true that money would have likely prevented the Red Bulls from going after Gallardo, the Red Bulls weren't completely sold on Gallardo being a can't-miss impact player. If the Red Bulls had a designated player spot to use I doubt it would have been used on Gallardo.
Posted by: Ives | January 24, 2008 at 12:20 PM
Nobody vomits in their mouth as much as SBI readers. Being an American soccer fan is frustrating, I guess.
Posted by: Ilya
I would have said Metro/RedBull fans but, funny nonetheless.
This does have the feel of a great signing by DCU. Strange that there is no actual confirmation out there. If Goff hasn't said it is real, then sorry, it ain't happened yet.
Posted by: marksman | January 24, 2008 at 12:22 PM
DC is becoming the Arsenal of the MLS...signing all these new foreign players...Fulhamerica will soon have more american players in its XI then DC hahaha
Posted by: Matt G | January 24, 2008 at 12:28 PM
Adios Marcos, you served your club well and best of luck at Catolica.
Back line for the Crew could look like this come opening day
Miller/O'Rourke Frankie
Marshall Iro
Also, I like the idea of Gomez coming to Columbus. The Crew could definitely use his 10g/10a stats and I'd like to see him and GBS together in the attacking third. Should be fun to watch.
Posted by: Hudson_Street | January 24, 2008 at 01:47 PM
Miller/O'Rourke ------------ Frankie------
---------Marshall-------Iro/O'rourke-------
sorry for the bad format in the previous respone.
Posted by: Hudson_Street | January 24, 2008 at 01:50 PM
Gomez will not be traded to a rival like New england. Expect to see him (if he stays in the MLS) at RSL or Colorado.
And yes, the galaxy are within the rules, because the front office changes the rules every year to make sure that the galaxy are within the rules.
Posted by: DCAustinite | January 24, 2008 at 03:41 PM
Gallardo looks like that creeper who slept with the 15-year-old in Fast Times At Ridgemont High.
Posted by: JesseMT | January 24, 2008 at 06:40 PM
Marshall/Iro/O'Rourke/Ezra could be the slowest (pace-wise) centerback combinations in the history of the sport!
Posted by: J-Man | January 24, 2008 at 10:26 PM
Hey Red Bull Needs an Offensive Midfielder. I think Christian Gomez would be a prefect fit. He could like Guevara but less bitchy-er.
Posted by: Paul Camarda | January 24, 2008 at 11:12 PM
With regards to the Red Bulls, this off-season seems rather quiet. No huge overhaul, no impact signings. We'll see how this plays out.
Posted by: inkedAG | January 25, 2008 at 01:00 PM