Good evening folks. If you are like me (and are digging out of an East Coast snow storm) you might be sitting at home after some snow shoveling wishing there was some MLS news to read. While it is a slow time of year, with plenty of team officials (and journalists) going in vacation, there is always news to be found and nuggets of info to pass along.
Here are some tidbits to help kick off your weekend:
Interesting info in Van Den Bergh contract talks
New York Red Bulls fans are waiting patiently and anxiously to find out if the club will re-sign Dutch winger Dave Van Den Bergh and one of the more perplexing developments surrounding those contract talks has been the word that the Red Bulls want Van Den Bergh to take a paycut. That is something that doesn't make much sense for a player who was arguably the team's most consistent and at the very least its second most valuable player in 2008.
Some new information may shed some light into the Red Bulls' logic. According to mulitple sources with knowledge of the trade that brought Van Den Bergh to the Red Bulls from the Kansas City Wizards, the Wizards paid as much as half of Van Den Bergh's salary in 2008, meaning Van Den Bergh only cost the Red Bulls between $120K and $135K against their salary cap last season.
With Van Den Bergh seeking a similar salary to the one he earned in 2008, the Red Bulls would have to double Van Den Bergh's salary cap hit if they oblige, which is why the sides are still negotiating. Van Den Bergh has already stated that he is ready to return to Europe to play if he can't either find a deal with the Red Bulls or with another MLS team.
No MLS offer for O'Brian White
When the 2007 college season ended there was a general consensus that UConn striker O'Brian White would be a first-round pick if he came out. The 2007 Hermann Award winner chose to stay in school another season and the decision has resulted in a major injury and uncertainty about his future in MLS.
White suffered a torn ACL in October and is still on the road to recovery, but ev
"We have not been approached about a contract yet," said Patrick McCabe, White's agent. "It doesn't make a lot of sense for the best player in the draft to not even have an offer yet."
Concerns about the status of White's knee could be delaying an MLS offer, but McCabe insists that White will be ready for the 2009 season.
"He is fine and he will be fine," McCabe said. "He has options overseas and will pursue them but you would think a player with his pedigree would have an offer by now."
A Toronto native, White figured to be one of Toronto FC's three first-round draft picks next month, but his uncertain contract status has that in doubt. The MLS Draft is set for Jan. 15 in St. Louis.
Odds & Ends
Shortly after word came out that Omar Gonzalez and Jeremy Hall would be turning pro, a report emerged stating that Maryland fullback Rodney Wallace will also be turning pro. While there are still no reports on what exactly Wallace is planning to do, sources tell SBI that Wallace is very high on Major League Soccer's list of Generation adidas candidates and the belief is that Wallace would be a very high draft pick if he signed with MLS. ...Kansas City midfielder Roger Espinoza has been called up by the Honduran national team for a training camp ahead of the team's participation in the UNCAF Nation's Cup. Espinoza, who has yet to earn a cap for Honduras, is joined in camp by fellow MLS players Mauricio Castro (New England), Amado Guevara (Toronto FC) and Ivan Guerrero (D.C. United). ... In other Wizards news, retired KC midfielder Kerry Zavagnin has joined the Kansas City coaching staff as an assistant for the 2009 season. Zavagnin retired after the 2008 season and ended his career as the KC career leader in games and minutes played.
