Could someone translate, and perhaps give some sense of what the player's like? http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/soccer/world/news/20070206-OHT1T00055.htm
I will give you a vague translation, because I am in a hurry. Sorry, the translation got worse as I got farther. Takeshi Hirano (32), a player from Yokohama F. Marinos, will head to Boston (and a camp at Barmuda) for a trail with New England Revolution. He will head to the club within this week, and he will join the camp for a week or two. If the Revolution does sign him, he may be able to face LA's David Bechkam, and he will become the second Japanese [sports] player after Daisuke Matsuzaka to transfer to Boston. Then in the second paragraph, the article talks about the Revs. Appreantly, the Revs are a MLS powerhouse (we did finish 2nd two years in a row) and little about the Barmuda Camp. Third paragraph talks about the player: Last year, he had a hard season; he had to be hospitalized because of cardiac arrhythmia in September, and when he came back from the surgery, he did not get as much playing time. He was released by the club after this season. He thought about retiring, but decided to look forward to MLS. There is Beckham is MLS, and Matsuzaka in Boston. blah, blah, blah.... He played in 1998 WC and he has strong left foot. He also played under Arsène Wenger's Nagoya Grampus side and Arsène Wenger thinks Hirano [was] one of the better Japanese players. Just to add to that he was a decent player back in late 90s, but he lost the touch. He tried on the Released Players Tryouts organized by the J.LEAGUE in early January, but none of the clubs picked him up. May have a year or two left on him.
I'm trying to access the page in the link, but to no avail. Are there any other media outlets reporting it? It seems as if the Revs are keeping a tight lid on this. I, too, would like to see this work out for both parties. As a soccer fan who also has an interest in Japanese sports (namely, Japanese baseball and recently, Japanese soccer), I would definitely love to see a Japanese player find success here in MLS.
As of Tuesday's training, there were no sightings of him by my colleague at RevsNet. I will be attending both of tomorrow's training sessions, and if I see Hirano there, I will let you know.
Have serious trouble imagining how a 32-y/o with serious health concerns and not good enough for at least one (if not all) J-League team would suddenly be good enough for the MLS. I rate the two leagues as fairly equal and have watched plenty of both and just can't see it. However, if the international players trying out at Toronto FC's camps (Frenchmen, Colombians, Africans)are any indication, the MLS may be taking on tonnes of guys from all over the world, for a quick look if for no other reason. More power to him, in any event.