Galaxy Goes for Gonzalez in MLS Draft
As expected, D.C. United made forward Alecko Eskandarian of the University of Virginia the top pick in Friday’s Major League Soccer draft. The Galaxy, picking eighth, selected former Bellflower St. John Bosco High midfielder Guillermo “Memo” Gonzalez, a standout on the United States under-17 team.
The 2002 MLS Cup champions also acquired Honduran forward and 2001 league most valuable player Alex Pineda Chacon and the No. 19 pick in a trade with New England that sent goalkeeper Matt Reis to the Revolution. The Galaxy used the pick to select Loyola Marymount forward Arturo Torres. Others selected by the Galaxy included two UCLA players, defender Scot Thompson in the second round at No. 16 overall and midfielder Jimmy Frazelle in the fifth round, and goalkeeper Joe Barton of Cal State Northridge in the sixth round.
Gonzalez said he intends to remain at residency camp in Bradenton, Fla., with the under-17 team until he graduates from high school there in June.
Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid described Gonzalez as a solid left-footer with excellent technical skills, and Vice President and General Manager Doug Hamilton said that Gonzalez probably won’t join the team full-time until after the under-17 world championships in August.
“He’s awfully talented,” Hamilton said. “And he doesn’t have to step onto the field right away and that’s good for him. He has a long and prosperous career ahead of him.”
Eskandarian scored 25 goals at Virginia last season. The 2002 Hermann Award winner as the nation’s best college player had hoped to play in New York, but D.C. United couldn’t strike a deal, making him its third striker on a team that includes Santino Quaranta and U.S. national team veteran Earnie Stewart, who was acquired Wednesday.
Among the other local players selected were UC Santa Barbara forward Rob Friend by the Chicago Fire, California goalkeeper Josh Saunders (El Toro High) by the San Jose Earthquakes, UCLA midfielder Ryan Futagaki (Fountain Valley High) by the Fire and Southern Methodist defender Kevin Friedland (Irvine Woodbridge High) by the Kansas City Wizards.
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Athletes of the Year
Goalkeeper Brad Friedel has been named male athlete of the year by the U.S. Soccer Federation. The award for young male athlete of the year went to U.S. under-20 national team midfielder Bobby Convey.
Friedel, 31, who plays for Blackburn Rovers of the English Premier League, was a key reason that the U.S. advanced to the quarterfinals of last summer’s World Cup. He tied a World Cup record by saving two penalty kicks, one each against South Korea and Poland.
Convey, 19, who plays for D.C. United, was captain of the under-20 team that made a record fourth consecutive World Championship appearance. With D.C. United last season, Convey was second in scoring with five goals and eight assists.
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U.S. vs. Canada
U.S. Coach Bruce Arena has opted for youth in today’s 4:30 p.m. game against Canada at Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with 20-year-old Landon Donovan -- 29 international appearances -- the most experienced player on his roster.
“It’s basically a starting point for evaluating a new pool of players,” U.S. Coach Bruce Arena said. “You want to give some new players some opportunities and see how they respond. I imagine our average age on the team will be 23 years old.”
Among the other World Cup holdovers on the roster are midfielders DaMarcus Beasley and Pablo Mastroeni, forward Clint Mathis and defender Eddie Pope.
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Batistuta to Inter
Veteran Argentine striker Gabriel Batistuta will go to Inter Milan on loan from AS Roma for the rest of the season, giving the Milanese club a replacement for injured fellow countryman Hernan Crespo, the team said.
Crespo is expected to be out for three months, after injuring a thigh muscle in an Italian league match last Sunday. Batistuta, 34, has had a frustrating season with Roma scoring only four goals and spending much of his time as a substitute.
According to reports, Inter will pay about half of Batistuta’s $6 million salary. His contract with Roma ends in June.
Because Batistuta already has played Champions League matches this season with Roma, he will not be eligible to play in any future matches with Inter in the European competition.
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Controversial Referee
After a lengthy investigation, controversial referee Byron Moreno of Ecuador, whose decisions in a 2002 World Cup game between co-host South Korea and Italy drew international scrutiny, won’t receive sanctions from FIFA, soccer’s world governing body.
A FIFA spokesman said that the organization found that there was an “absence of proof of any violation of FIFA regulations from a disciplinary perspective.”
In Italy’s 2-1 loss to South Korea, Moreno ejected Francesco Totti in overtime for diving. Later in an Ecuadorean league game, Moreno added more than 13 minutes of injury time but reported that the game lasted only the required 90 minutes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
