Jones Wants Time to Decide on Next Career Move
If the Galaxy is willing to wait until May or June to get Luis Hernandez back in its lineup, the Major League Soccer team should be able to wait a few more weeks to allow Cobi Jones time to decide if he will be coming back.
That was the stance Jones took Friday when he called for patience from MLS and the Galaxy while he ponders his next career move.
Today, Jones and Cory Clemetson, his Los Angeles agent, leave for England to talk with a Premier League team that they only would identify as being among the top 10 in the league.
As of Friday, among those top 10 was Leicester City, whose coach, Peter Taylor, was widely believed to be pursuing Jones.
Jones might well decide he likes Los Angeles better than anything offered in England, but he does not want to be rushed.
“It hasn’t been an easy process and I haven’t been taking this lightly,” he said Friday. “It’s not a decision I want to make in haste at this stage of my career. It’s the last major contract that I will sign, so I’m definitely going to look at all my options. I want to be as thorough as possible and explore everything.”
Jones said that because of commitments to the Galaxy, the U.S. national team and his family, this is the first opportunity he has had to explore his options.
“There really hasn’t been a good time for me to leave the country,” he said. “My contract only expired Dec. 31. I honored my contract all the way through.”
After it expired, he was involved in helping the Galaxy prepare for and play in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
“I have no regrets about playing in the tournament, but at that time I could have been in Europe,” he said. “Instead, I chose, rather, to stay with the Galaxy and help it to win the title, something that obviously will be a highlight of my career.”
After that, Jones spent time with his family, mourning the death of his maternal grandmother, then was involved in playing for the U.S. against Colombia in Florida.
“Realistically, this is the first chance I’ve had to go to Europe and to actually listen and see what these clubs have to offer,” he said.
“I realize that the Galaxy needs to begin preparing for the upcoming season, however, I believe strongly that after all I’ve given to the club and the league and U.S. soccer, asking for a little more time to make up my mind is not an unreasonable request.”
Jones emphasized that he has not rejected the contract offer made by MLS.
Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid, meanwhile, has said that the team also must explore its options and prepare for a season that possibly might not include Jones.
“I can understand where he’s coming from,” Jones said, “but I’ve known Sigi for quite some time and I know how he gets. Obviously, he has a team that he has to look out for, but he does get a little impatient with things.
“My feeling is that the [MLS] season doesn’t start until April 7 and today’s only Feb. 9. . . . I know that if things work out with the Galaxy, me coming in a few weeks later wouldn’t be that detrimental or hurt the team in any way.
“A lot of people have asked me why I can’t make a decision at this point in time. To be honest, there are pros and cons in both opportunities and I need to weigh all of that.
“With Europe, I have the opportunity to play against many of the best players in the world, game in and game out. That’s a passion that I’ve had. I’ve done it once before [with Coventry City in England in 1994-95] and it’s something that I’m looking to do possibly again.
“There’s also the passion for the game that the people have over there. That’s a big draw for any player. Of course, also there’s the economic outlook.
“But when I look at Los Angeles, I look at the fans here that are great, guys on the team that I’ve gotten to know over the past five years, some of the friendships I’ve made, and it’s very important being part of the whole [Phil] Anschutz family and living in Los Angeles, which is where I grew up. All of those are important.”
