Sockers Welcome Segota : He Signs Deal for 3 Seasons, Reduced Salary

Ron Cady, the Sockers’ president, received a phone call late Tuesday night.

Branko Segota was on the other end. “I’m here,” he said.

So ended a month’s worth of speculation concerning the whereabouts of the Sockers’ best player. Wednesday, Segota signed a 3-year, no-cut, no-trade contract beginning in 1988-89. The new deal sharply reduces Segota’s salary from the $200,000-a-year contract he signed last year to a salary believed to be about $90,000 per season.

“What a relief!” said Ron Newman, the Sockers’ coach. “We’re very glad to finally have him here.”

According to Cady, Segota agreed to a contract in early October. But as the weeks went by without any sign of Segota, there were questions about whether he would really show up. One report even said Segota was close to signing with a team in Amsterdam this season.

“I actually had a couple of options in Europe (one to play in Amsterdam, one to play in Greece),” said Segota, 27. “I wanted to check them out. The way it sits now, the options to play there are still available to me.

“But I would have had to pay my way to go try out, and then if it didn’t work out, I would have been left with nothing. It seemed to make the most sense to me to come back and join the Sockers.”

Segota, a forward/midfielder, practiced for the first time Wednesday morning, and Newman announced he was fit enough to play some Saturday night in the Sockers’ season opener against the Los Angeles Lazers at the San Diego Sports Arena.

“Yes, I’m ready to go,” Segota said. “They knew I was coming all along. I called them last (Friday) and told them I’d be here Wednesday. I was a day early. I don’t know what the big fuss was all about.”

Mostly, it was because Segota led the Sockers with 56 goals last season and is considered one of the most exciting players in the game. Without Segota, the Sockers--who have lost stars such as Fernando Clavijo, Hugo Perez and Juli Veee from last year’s MISL championship team--would have been given little chance to repeat.

“There’s no doubt he is one of the greatest players in the game today,” Newman said. “He can be a magician out there.”

This summer, he disappeared.

When the Sockers were trying to survive in bankruptcy court in July, Segota was Europe and could not be reached. When the MISL and the MISL Players Assn. were trying to reach a collective bargaining agreement in August, Segota was gone.

Nobody got a hold of him until September, when he joined an outdoor team in Toronto. Upon his arrival, Segota was informed that the MISL’s new agreement would limit his salary to $90,000 per year.

“When I first heard that, there was no way I was going to come back,” Segota said. “I had just worked out a new contract. Now I was going to have to take another cut. I just didn’t see how I could come back and do it.”

Cady flew to Toronto to try to persuade Segota to return, then told everyone Segota was close to signing. After about a month went by, and Segota hadn’t shown, Cady flew to Toronto again.

“He told me that they could offer me a certain amount, and that was it,” Segota said. “It hurt to be in that position, but in the end, returning to the Sockers was the best decision.”

Socker Notes

To complete their roster, the Sockers must sign one more player before the league’s Friday 3 p.m. deadline, and Coach Ron Newman said it will be either former Socker Gus Mokalis, Ernie Buriano (formerly of Chicago) or Chris Dangerfield (formerly of Los Angeles). All are defenders, and the Sockers are hurting at that position: Hormoz Tabrizi hurt his back, and is doubtful for Saturday’s game against the Lazers, Cacho is having visa problems and might not be available Saturday, and Gary Etherington (knee surgery) will be out at least 3 more weeks.