there is a rumor on the www.ussocceruk.com message boards that says colorado is looking into (maybe signing) an african striker. assuming it isn't diallo or amokachi (), does anyone have anything to add?
If it's Finidi George then ballboy's rumor (in this thread) would be way off... George is a wing midfielder currently playing for Ipswich and is at least 30 years old. Hardly the "young, big, african striker not playing in europe." Should be interesting to see how things unfold.
george was released after ipswich was relegated. he was a big money earner (3 million pound transfer) and they had to cut costs... evidentally he is a free agent, but i have no idea if he is the man in question.
Actually, Ipswich only decided in December 2002 to allow George to leave on a free transfer... but he has yet to move to another club and has continued to train with Ipswich. From August through December he made 17 appearances for Ipswich, roughly two-thirds of which were as a sub. That he's currently with Ipswich is confirmed in a news release from the club on January 17th. That said, he's still a big fella (6'2") and from what I've seen of him with Nigeria and Ipswich, I wouldn't be at all complaining if the Rapids were able to bring him in. I'd have no doubt he'd find success as a forward with the Rapids. In a way, he's the kind of player that everybody hoped Amokachi would be...
No, not that guy. This striker can play defender, sweeper, midfield and striker and is a very good utility player, but foremost he is a striker. He is not from Nigeria, he last played for Olympiakos in Greece he got injured playing in the African nations cup in 2002 and after that was not resigned again by Olympiakos. He is not injured now nor was he injured when he trained with the team last November for a couple of days. Any guesses??? BTW I agree that it is a FIFA rule about the paperwork but MLS is just "interpeting" the rule the way the want to apply it.
guesses?? ahhhh, maybe it's Dikembe Mutombo? George Weah? (no way!), or King Tut! (OK...I have no freakin idea, but who is is it? Please?) RLH
It could be this guy. Either way, I'll be interested to find out who (if anybody) Colorado ends up singing...
Zizi Roberts? A google search on this guy indicates that he was signed last year. Curiously the headlines all say he'll partner with Musa Shannon. Looks like he typically plays defense. http://www.liberiansoccer.com/pLAYERSPAGES/zizi_roberts.htm
i seriously doubt that. zizi roberts is a very good player indeed. i do not think that mls could afford him.
Someone did run across Zizi Roberts a while back, here's the link to the article mentioning he's signed with the Rapids "to partner Musa Shannon in attack" http://www.liberiansoccer.com/zizi_roberts_joins_colorado_rapi.htm Sure sounds like the player ballboy is hinting at. A google search found this same article on a number of African websites. Who woulda thunk way back when that this article actually had some credibility? (now we just need to disappoint the Liberian press corps that Musa is no longer with the team) Miscellaneous tidbits I've been able to pick up on Zizi Roberts: Citizenship: Liberia Age: 22 Birthdate: July 13, 1979 Birthplace: Morovia (Liberia) Height: 1.84m (6'0" - 6'1") Weight: 80 kg (176 lbs) Profesional Clubs, most recent at top Olympiakos (Greece, $1.6M transfer from Panionios) Panionios (Greece, unknown transfer from AC Milan) Ionikos (Greece, on loan from AC Milan) Bellinzona (Switzerland 2nd, on loan from AC Milan) Monza (Italy Serie B, on loan from AC Milan) Ravenna (Italy Serie B, on loan from AC Milan) AC Milan (Italy Serie A) 36 caps for Liberia and somewhere between 8 and 12 international goals (reports of goal totals varied) Full international debut at age 17 Played in the 01/02 Champions' League with Olympiakos, but did not get any time with the team in their 02/03 CL campaign. Squared off against ManU in October 2001 and "missed a great chance to score" in the closing minutes. The BBC commented on Zizi in a preview of the African WC qualifying: Scored a couple of goals for Liberia during the final round of African Group B qualifying for the 02 World Cup. Credited in many writeups as a real utility player, it seems during WC qualifying he did indeed get time at both forward and defense. Fun Google translation from a Liberian website written in French: Snippets From the Sunday Times of South Africa, leading up to the 2002 African Nations Cup: From the Guardian (UK), this opinion of Zizi following his performance in Liberia's opening match of the Nations Cup: Was once arrested in Athens for attempting to cash a stolen check. Police later discovered he was the victim of fraud. Found a large number of links with articles and quotes from Roberts talking about his decision to "never don the colors of Liberia again." Seems is was extremely broken up over the fact that nobody gave him the time of day following his injury during world cup qualifying. Also found a few mentions to his getting married to an American woman in July of 2002.
That's him in the red playing against South Africa... he played in defense, squaring off against Shaun Bartlett (who scored in the 2-0 South Africa win). Oh, the irony.
well ************, if he is married to an american woman then this could be a distinct possibility. that definately adds credibility to your theory. we will find out today though, bergin is running a story... roberts would be a MAJOR aquisition. with zizi and spencer up top, the rapids would be lethal.
Zizi Roberts? He would be a great acquisition. He could be the final piece in the puzzle. And if he is married to an American, then everything does make sense. Hope the rumors are true.
Hell of a hold-up. I'm finding links saying this was a done deal as of late November. http://www.liberiansoccer.com/zizi_roberts_joins_colorado_rapi.htm http://allafrica.com/stories/200211190354.html For those interested, BTW, Zizi's real first name is Kolubah.
Chris Bergin is notorious for running these rumor stories after seeing a few BigSoccer posts like this. Full credit and thanks to ballboy for pointing us in the right direction.
Here's an article at Planet Football on the player. Didn't see it here.. http://www.planetfootball.com/article.asp?id=128439&cpid=218&title=Can+Zizi+be+top+in+Colorado?
Actually Chris Bergin got this one right. He had this story a few weeks ago and sat on it waiting for confirmation (I got the information from an a MLS coach who Chris confirmed it a few weeks ago). So on this story, he actually was correct.
OK, but Bergin runs rumors all the time, and this was first announced in November... so why sit on the story? Just curious.
Greenie...do you like, have a life? Where do you come up with all of this!? (OK fine, "Google" but still you seem to have too many answears!). Actually, if Zizi iz all he iz cracked up to be, maybe he iz too expensive. Then again, his American wife may want him to play in the USA, and after being married for 22 years, I sure know how that is!!!!!!!! With McBride the toast of England, it could not be a better time for Zizi to come show his worth, too. We could introduce him to Zsa-Zsa and Yao Ming. RLH