Valderrama Brings Prestige as Major League Soccer Signee
Carlos Valderrama, former South American player of the year and three-time Colombian player of the year, signed Thursday with Major League Soccer, instantly becoming the league’s marquee player.
Valderrama is one of international soccer’s premier midfielders, a playmaker of exceptional skill. At 34, his best years are behind him, but as he showed recently in leading Colombia to a 2-2 tie against Mexico at the Coliseum, he has lost little of his pace and none of his vision.
According to Sunil Gulati, deputy commissioner of MLS, the 5-foot-9, 157-pound Valderrama will be assigned to the Dallas Burn, New York/New Jersey MetroStars or Tampa Bay Mutiny.
Valderrama plays for Atletico Junior in Colombia. He also is captain of the Colombian national team, for which he has played 90 games, including the 1990 and 1994 World Cup tournaments.
He spent three years in France with Montpellier and a year in Spain with Real Valladolid.
MLS also announced the signing of Dominic Kinnear, former U.S. national team midfielder, and two Cameroon national team players, defenders Victor-Akem N’Dip and Samuel Ekeme.
The league, which begins play April 6 in 10 cities, has signed 105 players. Several teams are still holding tryouts. The Los Angeles Galaxy’s is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. Saturday at the fields next to Area H of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
