Thanks to ForZaAaB for showing this to us in the Marcus Tracy thread. A rep-worthy find for ForZaAaB. This news needs a thread of its own though. Goal.com breaks the news that Chris Rolfe is transfering from the Chicago Fire to AaB Aalborg in January. http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/66/u...ve-chicagos-rolfe-to-join-danish-club-aalborg
Good for Rolfe and I really hope he does well. He's been good for the Fire and for MLS. It would be nice for him to have some success overseas
"Originally, Rolfe was planning to extend his contract with the Fire, which finished at the end of 2009. But negotiations between the player and MLS, which owns all the contracts of MLS players, collapsed this summer. In early July, according to a source with knowledge of the deal, AaB offered to purchase Rolfe during the summer transfer window. The league turned down the offer." “I love Chicago, they’ve been great to me,” he said. “The fans, especially, have been awesome. But with the way the contracts are in MLS, now was really the only time for me to make this jump.” Another upper-level American MLS player has to transfer to Scandinavia due to salary constraints. That will surely cause more debate in the MLS boards. The Chicago Fire's window of opportunity for a Championship seems to be closing. This year is their chance.
I always hoped he would leave for Europe and I am glad that he finally is. Would have liked for him to leave earlier in his career though. I wish him the best of luck. In another note, the Fire are going to be a very different team next year
I can add that a player matching Rolfes description was given a tour of the AaB trainingground yesterday. However, it was unclear to the supports at the time who the player was. Furthermore, AaB have also just signed Costa Rican NT (left wing back) Dennis Marshall.
I know most of you know Rolfes well, but we (The AaB supports) don't. Could someone please describe him? Strengths, Weaknesses or funny stories.
they change weekly. When he's on his game, an excellent finisher who knows how to find space in the box and knows how to diagnose and read a game. He's also pretty mobile though not great dribbling, but decent technially.
You really shouldn't comment on things you don't know about, poo. Chris Rolfe is a consistent finisher when he's not being played out of position by Denis Hamlett (the reason for the apparent "they change weekly") crack. Rolfe is a poacher/withdrawn forward and when healthy and played as such, has been a consistent scorer. His ability to turn and shoot quickly is very good. He holds players off fairly well for his size, and even better when the refs do their jobs.
He's the kind of player who, if he was a hell of alot better, would be a winger/forward with Arsenal. In that Pires/Henry/Walcott mold (nowhere NEAR as good, obviously, but that type of player.) He seems kind of injury prone. A better place to ask this would be at the Fire forum.
I'm a Chicago fan and have seen Chris play many games. Here are my opinions, for what they are worth. Strengths: When he is on his game, he is a top-level finisher. A threat to score from anywhere really, sometimes in spectacular fashion. He possess an excellent first touch, and can get a dangerous shot off with either foot in an instant. Somewhat versitile as he played right-mid for the Fire almost as much as he played forward. However, many Fire fans will tell you this was a mistake and he should be as close to goal as possible. High character player and good teammate. Fire fans mostly loved him, even if he never made the leap into the MLS Elite like his early promise hinted. Weaknesses: Small frame, can be pushed off the ball. Not a great passer, but not a poor passer either. Has had several nagging injuries over the past several seasons. Can disappear at times. Not great in the air. In summary, he could end up being an excellent player in the Danish league who will score some goals. He's not exactly young anymore, so I don't see him setting the league on fire and jumping ship. If he can stay healthy he will be a solid contributor for many seasons.
Translated from Aabsport.dk http://www.aabsport.dk/B02F4995-D1D5-46F6-A65B-4C8D024B2652.W5Doc?id=0E7E132E-8D00-477B-81C6-C6132B74A9DC The AaB Head coach gave the following statement to the AaB site: ”Chris Rolfe is a player, who will strengthen our squad from day one. He is a lethal finisher, has a great ability to breaking though a defense and always works hard. He can play both as a striker and as a right winger and he has a lot of experience from a high level of play.“ Said Magnus Pehrsson Chirs Rolfe is joining AaB on a three-year contract, which expires December 31st 2012. Chris Rolfe will get the number 17 jersey.
I cannot wait to see Rolfe in action, looks like a decent signing for a danish side. Clinical in front of goal, quick with okay technique. Perhaps he is too small to be the perfect striker, although the danish league isnt as much about muscles, but he will do well with a partner up front in our 442 system, our coach loves the counter attacking aspect of football. I can see him adapting quickly, most danes talk decent english, kind of with our own danish twang to it, and im guessing he'll like the ladies here too.
Strengths: Quickest shot of any American player. Needs very little time to get his shot off. Accuracy isn't great, but for an American (shot accuracy is a bit of a problem for us) not too bad. Can score with either foot. First step is quick though not particularly fast. Weaknesses: Kind of small and has never liked physical play. Sort of caught between a support striker and an Attacking Midfielder (lacking in athleticism in the former, passing ability in the latter). I think he can be a good player in a league like this, but probably not a star. At an age where he's not likely to get much better. The best thing to say is that he's always contributed his share of goals wherever he's played.
Curth and Daniel Friedheim Holm are the ones he needs to knock off the first team. But as he has signed a deal starting from January, its not gonna be soon.
This post sums up perfectly what I was gonna say. Rolfe has such a quick shot and can score from distance with both feet. Unfortunately, he is small and inconsistent and there are games he plays where you forget he's out there. That makes it tough when he plays wide mid but as a striker you can live with it if he cracks a couple long range shots on frame. Always happy to see American players cash in overseas, especially after toiling in MLS and then getting lowballed by the league. I think he'll do well in Denmark. Not a star, but a solid player like Jeremiah White.
The American invasion of Denmark continues! At this rate we could call Denmark the 51st state! Seriously, I couldn't be happier to see another Yank head over to Denmark. The Yanks currently there are producing and opening doors up for others. It says a great deal about the Danes and their belief in our players. We know all about AaB. We know they are a class club. Rolfe could be the perfect addition with his skills. A little small but that hasn't prevented him from succeeding in MLS. We tend to focus too much on player's sizes anyway. Losing Rolfe is going to hurt the Fire. But I think there is going to be a large turnover in players (and potentially management) for the Fire this off-season. So from Rolfe's perspective it was probably perfect timing to leave. He's earned the right to a nice pay check. I wish him well. It would be pretty cool to see a Rolfe-Tracy pairing down the road at AaB. Now too many Yanks have paired together in a European league sans the Fulham boys.
How does Rolfe compare to the only other striker i remember joining our league from the MLS, Jean Philippe Pequero? He got a bad injury very early, but we did get to see a little of him.
Most of the posters have done a good job summarizing Rolfe's strengths and weaknesses. The one thing I have not seen mentioned is how quick his feet are with the ball at them. Along with is finishing and great first touch, that is his biggest strength. He can make people look silly when he's in form.
JPP relied more on his speed while Rolfe relies more on his brain to get into position and fire the quick shot.
It's hard to tell with Jean-Philippe cause he had such a short career in both MLS and SAS Liga, but I think Rolfe is better overall, though less athletic.