Sockers Lose Fernandez to Cleveland

The Sockers lost their top defender of last season when George Fernandez signed a free-agent contract Monday with the Cleveland Crunch.

Fernandez, who started his indoor soccer career in Cleveland with the defunct Force in 1983 but was cut two years later, has since become one of the league’s premiere players. He led the Sockers in blocks last year with 98 and was named the most valuable player at the Major Soccer League’s All-Star game in San Diego.

Terms of the contract, believed to be for one year, were not disclosed, but Sockers Coach Ron Newman said it was “a substantial increase” from the $30,000 Fernandez earned last season.

Fernandez, like most MSL players, became a free agent when a new salary cap of $630,000 was instituted last week. That is down from $770,000 last year.

Newman said the Sockers could not justify matching Cleveland’s offer when management is asking many players to take pay cuts.

Cleveland, an expansion franchise, finished with the league’s worst record last season (20-32) and is looking to make wholesale changes.

“They got rid of a lot of their players up there,” Newman said, “so they’ve got a lot of money available. Meanwhile, we’ve got to try to mix and match here with a team that won a championship again, and yet we’ve got less money to do it with. It’s not easy to do. You can’t keep taking money away from Peter to pay Paul, or from so-and-so to pay George.”

Not only were the Sockers unable to match Cleveland’s offer to Fernandez, but the city of San Diego could not offer what the city of Cleveland did.

Cost of living played a role in his decision.

“It’s too expensive out there,” Fernandez said from Cleveland. “I think (taking Cleveland’s offer) is in my best interest. It’s better for me and better for my family.”

Newman said he feared this sort of rationale would some day hit his team.

“I said this sometime back,” Newman reiterated. “At one time, it was a bonus to have San Diego as your home town because it’s a beautiful place to come. But when the money starts to get tighter and tighter, suddenly people realize they can’t afford to live here. Now the money is much more easy to handle in a Wichita, or somewhere like that. So it’s starting to play against us.”

Starting may have been the key word.

Ralph Black is also pondering a move. He is expected to inform the Sockers today on whether he will accept an offer from Tacoma.

Black, 26, who could not be reached for comment, is a nine-year veteran who owns a house in the Tacoma area.

Black was No. 3 in blocks for the Sockers last year with 57. Kevin Crow was between Fernandez and Black with 92.

Though the loss of Fernandez appears significant, Newman is confident the team can make up for it. He has found players in a pinch before.

One of Newman’s best finds, in fact, was Fernandez. The Sockers picked him up after the Los Angeles Lazers cut him in 1987. It was the second MSL team from which Fernandez had been released in two years.

Now Newman is hoping his first selection in last week’s annual draft, U.S. national team defender Marcelo Balboa, can step in like Fernandez did three years ago.

“This is one of the reasons we went after a defender in the first round,” Newman said. “I’m hoping Balboa can come in and fill a big gap for us.”