You're not just another pretty face are you? Dead right here, the problems being a) admitting that you screwed up previously by hiring idiots and b) not turning aroubd and hiring replacement idiots.
And sometimes you hire the right guy but at the wrong time and/or place. Like Belichik with the Browns.
The rather unceremonious way he left and lack of news/info out in the world about his status or plans always leaves me curious if hes still connected to the organization somehow. Like maybe hes in line for an academy position or role with the future USL team like you said, or some kind of FO role, and the timing just hasnt been right for them to want to announce it yet.
BREAKING: #DCU are targeting a big #MLS name: former Columbus Crew playmaker Federico Higuaín. Pipa was in camp with them in Florida. Details to come shortly.— Pablo Iglesias Maurer (@MLSist) February 26, 2020
I received that info via text message. What a disappointment. He should be off traveling the globe with @chr1st. Not in the DC slums.
If we are gonna talk about Federico Higuain in this thread can we please update the title to "Ex-Crew Legends, Flameouts, and Burnouts." Accuracy is important.
Very much disagree. The article states they are paying him $100,000 for his playing salary in addition to his coaching salary. If he was willing to just retire and head into coaching then yes, absolutely I believe he would be here on the coaching staff. But the guy clearly wants to keep playing, for whatever reason. It would've made very little sense for him to be hanging around here, taking up a 6 digit salary and a roster spot languishing on the bench for no reason. God, just imagining this realty is getting me infuriated. A bunch of bird brain fans screaming to get Pipa back out there the first time Lucas hits a shot over the bar. No, no thank you. Absolutely not.
For the record I'm a firm believer that Federico's playing career is over. He's done, stick a fork in him, he has nothing to contribute to an MLS attack. That said, I think he'll be a great coach. My opinion is to pay him $100k to be a player/coach, don't ever put him in the 18 for league matches but let him dress for friendlies and Open Cup, etc. He wants to run around for one more year? Fine, but not in games that matter. I very much doubt that he'll be on their bench on MLS matchdays.
So your opinion is pay him $100k to waste a roster spot just so he can be a part time assistant coach? That's an insane idea. Spend your $100k and use that roster spot on a younger guy who actually has a future as a player. I'm guessing our FO told him there is no way he will be taking up a roster spot because he's 35, coming off a serious injury, and we just spent big money on his replacement, but he is welcome stick around as an assistant and get his coaching career started. Pipa, being Pipa, still wants to play and didn't want to want to hang up the boots quite yet. That's fine, but he's not going to waste one of our roster spots just so he can be an assistant coach and make everyone feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
I have no general feeling about his ability to coach. I never got the sense he was much of a "field general" nor do I see him as a student of the game that has lots of wisdom to impart. I don't think we owe it to long term servants to the club to help them transition to the next phase of their life. If DC wants to use a roster spot to offset his "coaching" fees, have at it.
Based on the most recent update to the roster thread, we have two open slots in the senior roster. That said, I would not be upset if we had used one of those slots to pay Pipa $100k to be some sort of player/coach/mentor whatever, even if it meant him only suiting up for Open Cup matches and the like. While I was one of the loudest voices here for him to be replaced, we - assuming Zelarayan fits in - have that replacement. This would be a different role altogether, and there's every reason to think he might facilitate Zelarayan's acculturation. To put it bluntly, employees with 'institutional knowledge' are valuable, and Pipa has that. Also, I don't begrudge him going to a rival, especially since we cut him and he doesn't seem to have other options. I wish him well.
I am surprised you have not taken this opportunity to put the blame of Higs not being a player/coach on Porter. But then I remembered you are not a Higs fan so that would be a compliment for you.. Damned if you do.
I had a long, increasingly drunken and in the end unresolved discussion with someone who was adamant that Higuian "absolutely" belongs in the Ring of Honor. I wasn't suggesting that it's an outrageous notion but neither am I convinced that it's a slam dunk. Good player, solid even sometimes spectacular contributor and certainly a fan favorite but in the end I'm just not positive he clears the bar. As many people have noted in the past, he was never Guille. Not even close. When all else failed, GBS would sometimes simply put the team on his back and will them to a win because he refused to lose. That was never Pipa.
One of the requirements for being eligible for the Circle of Honor is that you won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, MLS Cup, Supporters’ Shield or CONCACAF Champions League title. So, Pipa will never be up for discussion. Same for a guy like Will Trapp.
Tough legacy. Fated to be compared to GBS. Not a flattering comparison. Though he did not have the same team, the same coach, much of his time here was under the lack of ownership by Precourt, etc., I agree that he was not the sort of player that could will us to win (as shown time and time again, unfortunately). Higs seems to be one of those players that falls on a very broad spectrum. You mostly loved him if you were a newer fan than so-and-so year, you acknowledged his weaknesses and inability to win much of anything if you were a fan in 2008/before (but you respected him for his time here playing for Crew), and you did not like him if you were a part of Kei's fanclub, complete with a Higs-hating badge and decoder ring.