Other than Roner's HUGE goal against the Gals in that playoff, I have one other fond memory, which illustrated an aspect of Chris' potential. I'm pretty sure it was during the 2003 season. The Quakes were playing a scrimmage against the USMNT at Maloney Field at Stanford. At one point, Roner jumped so far over Joe Cannon (who was on the USMNT for their game that weekend v. Wales) to head one in, it wasn't even funny. I'm talking WAY over Joe, who also was jumping for the high cross.
I am bummed. We needed his mobility and speed on defense. He's great on set pieces too. I also hope that he recovers sufficiently this year that he can try again next year. In any case, good luck to Chris! GO QUAKES!! - Mark
This is a very unfortunate, sad example of what happens when an athlete tries to play through an injury. I'm not criticizing Chris, if I were in his shoes, I would have probably been doing the same thing, but I was looking forward to seeing that potential blossom. I hope something good can come out of this. W
I'd like to fall in with all the others who are wishing him well and remembering the best. I too had high hopes for him this year. He may be gone, but I hope he will be able to return! If he doesn't, then I just wish him the best from here on out.
So why the hell couldn't our mascot Cyberdog (or whatever his name was) donate one of his bionic legs to Roner?
From the latest Mercury News article (too lazy to link here) it sounds like he may be on IR again, instead of cut from the team.
Does that really make much difference? The end result for the Quakes is the same: He will be unavailable this year...
True. Here's the quote from the Merc article by Dylan Hernandez (the link is on the boards in another thread): "Defender Chris Roner will miss a second consecutive season, still recovering from surgery on his right ankle more than a year ago." That's not the same as saying he was let go, but he's not with us, either.
A while back it was reported that his option was not renewed after last year, and he was invited to camp to get a chance to earn his way back onto the team. So if that's true, they didn't have to waive him or put him on IR or anything--he just wasn't offered a contract.
There is now an MLSNet article that explains what happened. http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20050304&content_id=23475&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp
SAN JOSE (Friday, March 4, 2005) - The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that midfielder/defender Chris Ronér has stepped away from his professional soccer career, ending his current attempt to rejoin the team in the preseason following major surgery on his ankle in 2004....
The euphemism is that he's "retired" in quotes... he could try out again next year, or officially call it a playing career... just have to hope he gets well soon and return as a non-roster invitee... This is key from the release: Because the Earthquakes have not exercised their option on Ronér for the 2005 season, he will not count against their roster and will not have to be put on the season-ending injury list again. The Quakes will, however, retain Ronér's MLS rights. And, his "leaving" in quotes will free up a roster spot, and again, if he returns it will be here again. Cheers!