http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/...transfer+Swiss+club+Zurich/6918828/story.html Leaving because of playing time
Playing time? He started 15 of 18 games this season, and (or rather, because) he's been quite consistent, unlike last season. Plus he leads the Caps in assists. This is totally coming out of nowhere. What this move tells me is that Hassli's days are definitely numbered in Vancouver and Chiumiento, his good friend and best man at his wedding, was not happy about that.
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/07/11/vancouver-transfer-chiumiento-swiss-side-fc-zurich This article and the one linked above have quotes from Chiumiento and Rennie that emphasize being closer to his family. It sounds like family was the driving force behind the transfer. It doesn't sound like there was a rift of any sorts.
Yeah, I know that's what they said, and perhaps that really is all it is. But as we saw last season, they needed to keep him happy for him to play well. When he wasn't happy he may as well have not been playing at all. Which was about half the time. And that's something that Rennie has seemed to be able to do. Maybe because both his parents were psychologists (or psychiatrists, I forget.) He's been able to get the consistent performances out of Chiumiento that he was lacking last season. But with the rumours of Hassli's departure I had been wondering how that would effect Chiumiento's play if it did come to pass. Now Chiumiento's gone. Perhaps it's just a coincidence, perhaps not. It's not usually a good idea to shit on your old team anyway unless they really screw you around big time. And even then it's not a great idea. Best to keep it classy and recite the cliches a la Bull Durham.
Between all the exciting players leaving or getting benched, that God awful turf they play on and the sleepy dull atmosphere at BC place this is quickly becoming one of my least favorite teams to watch. Rennieball is almost unwatchable IMO with the 3 holding midfielders and strikers who favor speed and work rate over technique and creativity.
The setting for that stadium is incredible. It has to be one of the most beautiful stadium settings in teh world. But I agree that the actual game atmosphere seems a bit sterile.
If Chiumiento has any national team aspirations left that may also be a driving factor. He's not going to be in Ottmar Hitzfeld's field of vision playing for Vancouver.
Are the fans not into it or is it just the fact that the stadium is too big for soccer and not intimate despite the downsizing. It seems like a big cavernous bowl on TV and the blankets on the second tier are not as effective in hiding the upper deck as the tarps in Seattle.
Definitely comes out of the blue. As has been noted, unlike last year when he was unbelievably inconsistent, particularly in the 2nd half, this year he was consistently one of their top players. I was looking forward to him and Robson being in the same midfield but I guess that's not coming to pass.
In light of the Le Toux trade I feel I have to repost my earlier post. Rennie is turning this team into Steve Nicol 2.0
Now official on the FCZ website. Chiumiento will have to start from scratch in the RSL. When he left the league in 2010 to the (then USL) Whitecaps his reputation had been reduced to a spoiled prima donna that, albeit talented, was never going to fully capitalize on that. A second Johan Vonlanthen if you will. Unless he plays a truly exceptional season he will continue to sit on a single national team appearance.
I think he's returning with his head screwed on a bit straighter than when he left. He seemed far more committed this year, was tracking back far more than his first two years here. Certainly will miss him. His first touch for Vancouver was all of about 20 yards from me in that little bandbox at Swangard, and he immediately split two defenders.
First interview with Chiumiento since returning: http://www.blick.ch/sport/fussball/...meiner-karriere-falsch-gemacht-id1967235.html He mentions his daughter living in Bern and his desire to improve himself on the field as the primary reasons for returning. He has the Swiss national team in sight but knows that it's going to be very difficult due to several mistakes he has made in his career. The primary one being his flirting with the Italian national team when he could have played Euro 2004. After that it took six years for him to get his first (and probably only) Switzerland appearance.