D.C. United lands Guerrero from San Jose
Photo by ISIphotos.com
D.C. United made its first major move of the summer this morning by acquiring Honduran midfielder/defender Ivan Guerrero from the San Jose for a partial allocation, the club announced on its team blog this morning.
The acquisition is a bold one for a D.C. club that could certainly use the spark that Guerrero can provide. Equally capable of playing on the left flank as well as at left back, Guerrero's speed and versatility will be a very good addition to a D.C. squad that has struggled in recent weeks. He won't come cheap though. He is set to earn $147,000 this season, a price tag that helped lead the Chicago Fire to include him in the waiver draft last winter, and probably helped lead to his departure from San Jose, which added Darren Huckerby on the left flank last week.
Guerrero's arrival should help D.C. shift Colombian defender Gonzalo Martinez into a central defense role after spending time at left back. D.C.'s defense has struggled badly in recent weeks and Martinez should help stabilize the middle.
D.C. fans will remember Guerrero for his man of the match peformance in helping the Chicago Fire eliminate D.C. United from the first round of the MLS playoffs in 2005. Guerrero scored a pair of goals and assisted on a third to lead the Fire to a 4-0 win at RFK Stadium.
What do you think of the trade? Did D.C. United just get a steal? Will Guerrero be enough to help turn things around in D.C.?
Share your thoughts below.
Ives Galarcep is an American soccer columnist for ESPNsoccernet.com and creator of SoccerByIves.net.
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Ugh! As a Fire fan I hated to see Ivan go last winter now to think of him in United black........
DC fans you'll be happy with this one.
Posted by: Steve | July 31, 2008 at 10:08 AM
No interest in DC, just wanted to say nice plug on FSC last night Ives.
Posted by: Aguinaga | July 31, 2008 at 10:09 AM
What was the plug?
Posted by: Ives | July 31, 2008 at 10:12 AM
Jeez Ives, you should be aware of your own press clippings! :)
I don't know what the plug was either.
Posted by: mig22 | July 31, 2008 at 10:21 AM
How is it that DC adds a starting quality player in exchange for a partial allocation? This has got to be a joke, right?
It is another reason why dealing from a position of relative strength always pays off.
Posted by: Tom in Newark | July 31, 2008 at 10:24 AM
This is a good move for DC. I never know exactly what a "partial allocation" means, so as long as DC didn't give up serious money, then I think it is a good move. San Jose just needed to make some space for further changes, and a salary of $147k was probably an albatros around his neck. He is a solid veteran performer who should fit well into DC's passing and possession oriented play. He and Burch should give DC some nice service down the left side. Now if we could only get Bennie healthy.
Posted by: Mike | July 31, 2008 at 10:28 AM
I'm disappointed to lose him. Obviously he wasn't going to keep Huckerby off the field, however. Adding Alverez just makes the field that much more crowded. Still, I really like him as a player but I understand the move.
Posted by: Tony in Quakeland | July 31, 2008 at 10:32 AM
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Posted by: Johnny | July 31, 2008 at 10:33 AM
Ivan - nice take..I didn't think he'd play left back, but DC's experiment with 3-back clearly isn't working.
Not sure if it's a steal - but DC needed some assistance to get over the hump.
Posted by: Bill | July 31, 2008 at 10:38 AM
If he could play left back, he'd still be with San Jose. Or so I think...
Posted by: Tony in Quakeland | July 31, 2008 at 10:50 AM
Osorio dumped Ivan a few weeks before osorio left for NYRB. I always regarded this as a bit of departing sabotage. Another sign of just how unethical Osorio is.
Posted by: paul | July 31, 2008 at 10:58 AM
Was flippin thru channels and was out of it, but still fairly certain the SBI reference was with respect to their reporting of the Kenny Cooper situation. Got the pronunciation right on your name as well. Not sure if it's happened before, but props all the same.
Posted by: Aguinaga | July 31, 2008 at 11:31 AM
He will be taking the $ that we saved by dumping Niell.
Now we need another keeper to push/replace Wells.
Injuries and too many changes may of already sabotaged this regular season, but there is still a chance for a USOC win and maybe a run in the playoffs as well as the new CL so we need more depth and steel badly!
Posted by: jgildea | July 31, 2008 at 11:35 AM
That's a great deal for DC.
Posted by: Haig | July 31, 2008 at 11:46 AM
Excellent pick-up by DC.
Terrible move by SJE.
I wish Guerrero the best with his new team.
Posted by: Roblar | July 31, 2008 at 11:53 AM
Ivan was one of the few bright spots for SJ this season, why would they let him go? Do SJ want the salary space for someone else?
Strange move by SJ, great for DC.
Posted by: nico | July 31, 2008 at 12:20 PM
Sad to see him go...but if Yallop can AFFORD to do without him, things are finally getting better.
Posted by: Wolfvillage | July 31, 2008 at 12:25 PM
Nothing against San Jose but they would have been better off keeping Ivan and getting rid of Yallop.
Posted by: mig22 | July 31, 2008 at 12:34 PM
That was small and petty of me. Sorry. Just not a Frank fan.
Posted by: mig22 | July 31, 2008 at 12:36 PM
So much for finally feeling comfortable with the Quakes depth.
Posted by: SFTony | July 31, 2008 at 01:15 PM
Good pickup.
he is missed in Chicago.
I hate JCO!!!!!!!!! let him go before leaving for NJ metro Bulls
Posted by: mike ruze | July 31, 2008 at 01:49 PM
If he's making $ 147K now, then he took a pay cut from last season's number, which was somewhere in the $ 190K range.
Posted by: kebzach | July 31, 2008 at 02:04 PM
Very good pickup by United.
1. Goff is reporting that SJ will pick up some of Guerrero's salary this year. Which makes it an even better deal for United.
2. I imagine that Guerrero will miss some MLS games due to WCQ matches for Honduras.
Ives, I don't know if this moves Martinez into the middle again. I think what it does is allow Fred to play CAM while Gallardo is out a few more weeks.
Posted by: John | July 31, 2008 at 02:05 PM
DCU scrambling to pick up cast-offs from an expansion team. How the mighty have fallen. I love it!
Also makes me wonder if there are any legs to the Pat Noonan to San Jose rumor...
Posted by: Matt in SF | July 31, 2008 at 02:07 PM
Wasn't Guerrero picked up by San Jose from Chicago in the expansion draft, not the waiver draft?
Posted by: Pete | July 31, 2008 at 02:10 PM
Did San Jose play in the Open Cup? Is Guerrero cup-tied?
Posted by: JohnnyG | July 31, 2008 at 02:14 PM
Ives (and Aguinaga),
FSC picked up your report about Toronto offering Cunningham to RBNY and ran with it during the MLS news & notes section of the Fox Soccer Report last night. They gave you (and the blog) full credit for the news.
Posted by: Kenobi | July 31, 2008 at 02:16 PM
Pete, yes.
Chicago still misses you, Ivan.
Posted by: Fire_Juve10 | July 31, 2008 at 02:34 PM
johhnyG; The Quakes showed up in uniform with a ball. Whether they "played" is another question.
Posted by: Tony in Quakeland | July 31, 2008 at 03:07 PM
If the Galaxy knew how to work a salary cap, they'd have Guerrero instead of D.C. -- and, boy, do they need experience on the left side.
Another reason to fire Lalas, Bravo and Leiweke -- and, for that matter, Cobi Jones, who is supposed to keep Gullit "updated" on MLS.
What a boatload of maroons!
Posted by: Joseph D'Hippolito | July 31, 2008 at 04:04 PM
Hope this doesn't come back around and bite us (SJ) in the proverbial butt.
Posted by: Albany58 | July 31, 2008 at 10:20 PM