Guatefc
10 Feb 2006, 01:11 PM
Now signed for FC dallas and MLS property
he will make 500k compare to the 30k he was making last year
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/columnists/sdavis/stories/021006dnsporuiz.f25f14f.html
Promising to be more dedicated soldier, mercurial striker Carlos Ruiz pledged a greater allegiance to FC Dallas on Wednesday as the sides shook hands on a four-year deal that elevates him into Major League Soccer's elite-earner status.
Ruiz, 26, will make about $500,000 a season if he reaches all the bonuses in the incentive-laden package, according to a source close to the negotiations. He will count $350,000 toward the MLS salary cap. (For technical purposes, $350,000 is the maximum a player may count toward the cap.)
FC Dallas general manager Michael Hitchcock said Ruiz would be among the league's top five earners if he achieves the bonuses.
Ruiz hopes to compensate by continuing his steady march toward MLS careers scoring marks and, he says, through enhanced dependability and availability to the team.
That's Part I of this tale. Part II may not be so palatable to local fans, who have proudly watched FC Dallas striker Eddie Johnson mature into a valuable commodity on the global market.
Johnson is suddenly far more expendable. Re-signing Ruiz (the club's acknowledged top off-season priority) and acquiring forward Kenny Cooper significantly increases the odds that Johnson's days in Dallas may be nearing a close.
The club has logjam at forward and is substantially above the salary cap.
Ruiz drove manager Colin Clarke to distraction last year with unexcused absences. The Guatemalan international, with a prodigious 61 goals in 91 MLS games, said he knows he made some mistakes last season but insists all the personal trouble, mostly related to family back in Guatemala, is behind him.
He recorded 11 goals in 19 matches last year. Ruiz's target is 20 for 2006. And without the oppressive weight of carrying underdog Guatemala to a World Cup – a dreamland for such a tiny nation – he says that and more is possible.
"This is a different year, not like last year," Ruiz said. "I don't have the pressure of all the games for my national team, and of all the fans in Guatemala, on my shoulders."
Whether he'll have Johnson alongside is the vexing question that FC Dallas must answer. Clarke and Hitchcock acknowledge only that moving Johnson is among the options.
BRANDON THIBODEAUX/Special Contributor
FC Dallas signed forward Carlos Ruiz to a four-year deal. Ruiz will make about $500,000 a season with incentives.
Beside Ruiz and Cooper, there is Ecuadorian international Roberto Mina at forward. Plus, Ronnie O'Brien, Ramon Nunez and Arturo Alvarez are forwards depending on the team's alignment.
O'Brien, Simo Valakari, Richard Mulrooney and Greg Vanney, all make more than $150,000 annually, are the other high earners. Vanney and Johnson seem most vulnerable to trading because the club is deepest in those positions.
Clarke appreciates Johnson's ability. But the young American, currently in Bruce Arena's national team camp, conceivably could be available for three or four MLS games in 2006.
He'll stay with Arena's team through much of the preseason and, assuming he makes the World Cup squad, through most of May and June. If he produces at the World Cup (and he has scored in almost every international opportunity so far), enticing offers from Europe will tumble in, and he'll probably be sold for north of $5 million.
So, distasteful as it may be, FC Dallas officials may have to swallow hard and grab what they can now for Johnson within the league – even if his value is a tad low because of recent injuries and his unsure MLS future.
he will make 500k compare to the 30k he was making last year
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/columnists/sdavis/stories/021006dnsporuiz.f25f14f.html
Promising to be more dedicated soldier, mercurial striker Carlos Ruiz pledged a greater allegiance to FC Dallas on Wednesday as the sides shook hands on a four-year deal that elevates him into Major League Soccer's elite-earner status.
Ruiz, 26, will make about $500,000 a season if he reaches all the bonuses in the incentive-laden package, according to a source close to the negotiations. He will count $350,000 toward the MLS salary cap. (For technical purposes, $350,000 is the maximum a player may count toward the cap.)
FC Dallas general manager Michael Hitchcock said Ruiz would be among the league's top five earners if he achieves the bonuses.
Ruiz hopes to compensate by continuing his steady march toward MLS careers scoring marks and, he says, through enhanced dependability and availability to the team.
That's Part I of this tale. Part II may not be so palatable to local fans, who have proudly watched FC Dallas striker Eddie Johnson mature into a valuable commodity on the global market.
Johnson is suddenly far more expendable. Re-signing Ruiz (the club's acknowledged top off-season priority) and acquiring forward Kenny Cooper significantly increases the odds that Johnson's days in Dallas may be nearing a close.
The club has logjam at forward and is substantially above the salary cap.
Ruiz drove manager Colin Clarke to distraction last year with unexcused absences. The Guatemalan international, with a prodigious 61 goals in 91 MLS games, said he knows he made some mistakes last season but insists all the personal trouble, mostly related to family back in Guatemala, is behind him.
He recorded 11 goals in 19 matches last year. Ruiz's target is 20 for 2006. And without the oppressive weight of carrying underdog Guatemala to a World Cup – a dreamland for such a tiny nation – he says that and more is possible.
"This is a different year, not like last year," Ruiz said. "I don't have the pressure of all the games for my national team, and of all the fans in Guatemala, on my shoulders."
Whether he'll have Johnson alongside is the vexing question that FC Dallas must answer. Clarke and Hitchcock acknowledge only that moving Johnson is among the options.
BRANDON THIBODEAUX/Special Contributor
FC Dallas signed forward Carlos Ruiz to a four-year deal. Ruiz will make about $500,000 a season with incentives.
Beside Ruiz and Cooper, there is Ecuadorian international Roberto Mina at forward. Plus, Ronnie O'Brien, Ramon Nunez and Arturo Alvarez are forwards depending on the team's alignment.
O'Brien, Simo Valakari, Richard Mulrooney and Greg Vanney, all make more than $150,000 annually, are the other high earners. Vanney and Johnson seem most vulnerable to trading because the club is deepest in those positions.
Clarke appreciates Johnson's ability. But the young American, currently in Bruce Arena's national team camp, conceivably could be available for three or four MLS games in 2006.
He'll stay with Arena's team through much of the preseason and, assuming he makes the World Cup squad, through most of May and June. If he produces at the World Cup (and he has scored in almost every international opportunity so far), enticing offers from Europe will tumble in, and he'll probably be sold for north of $5 million.
So, distasteful as it may be, FC Dallas officials may have to swallow hard and grab what they can now for Johnson within the league – even if his value is a tad low because of recent injuries and his unsure MLS future.