It’s the Give and Take That Concerns Galaxy
The search for a striker from Mexico to add to the Galaxy’s attack continues, but the tale took a new twist this week.
“Addressing the situation of the Mexican player for Los Angeles, I’m sorry to sound like a broken record on that, but I don’t have any comments to make at this time,” said Ivan Gazidis, Major League Soccer’s executive vice president.
Gazidis might not, but Sigi Schmid certainly does.
The Galaxy coach is concerned that if and when MLS does sign a marquee player for his team, Los Angeles might have to give up almost as much as it receives.
That, he said, doesn’t make any sense.
“We certainly would not turn that player away if he came,” Schmid said, “but there’s also a question that there’s a cost to it, and they [MLS] can’t tell us what that cost will be.
“Last year, New York got Lothar Matthaeus and only had to give up Roy Myers [now with the Galaxy]. In the past, other teams have replaced players for nothing. So now, we lose Carlos Hermosillo, but in order to get another guy, we’ve got to give something up.
“Why? I don’t understand that.
“Hopefully, the cost to us won’t be too great, but I know there will be a cost.”
Which leaves every Galaxy player wondering just who might be packing his bags should, say, Luis Hernandez suddenly show up on the Rose Bowl doorstep.
SLIPPING AWAY
The need for a player of Hernandez’s quality is more a matter of putting fans in the seats than goals in the net.
In four games this season, the Galaxy is unbeaten at 2-0-2 and has outscored opponents, 10-5. Now, however, the demands of Olympic and World Cup 2002 qualifying are about to catch up to it.
Three players--Sasha Victorine, Dan Califf and Peter Vagenas--left Los Angeles on Monday to join the U.S. team that will take part in the six-nation CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament in Hershey, Pa., next week. They might not be available to the Galaxy again until May 1.
In addition, starting midfielder Simon Elliott has been given permission to miss Saturday’s game against the Dallas Burn to attend his sister’s wedding in New Zealand, and starting defender Ezra Hendrickson has been called into the St. Vincent and the Grenadines national team for its next World Cup 2002 qualifier, against St. Kitts on Sunday.
“We’re going to go through a tough stretch for the next three weeks,” Schmid said, “because beginning with the next game we’re down to 16 players.”
SEEING RED
The Chicago Fire has set an MLS record of which Coach Bob Bradley is not especially proud--the team has had a player red-carded in four consecutive games.
Peter Novak was tossed out of the season opener against the Dallas Burn. Hristo Stoitchkov was ejected from the next game, against the Kansas City Wizards. Diego Gutierrez received his marching orders against the Columbus Crew, and Andrew Lewis was red-carded against D.C. United last Saturday.
In 1998, when it won the MLS title, the Fire received only three red cards. Last season, it had five.
AGOGO GOES
The Colorado Rapids have benefited from Chicago’s signing of Stoitchkov. Adding the Bulgarian standout caused the Fire to go over its salary cap and something had to give.
Turns out it was Junior Agogo who had to go.
The 20-year-old Ghana-born striker, who has played in England the last four years, was traded to the Rapids this week for a third-round draft pick in 2001.
“We just found ourselves in a very fortunate situation,” said Dan Counce, Colorado’s general manager. “Junior is a player we’ve had our eye on for a while.”
