im pretty sure Hong will plaly in LA for next season. Hong and Pohang are still talking and discussing about lowering his transfer fee. they still have plenty of time left for next season.
I am just curious. Are you guys just behind the latest news or already know the news but not bothering to post them here? Pohang lowered it from 1Mil. US $ to 800k. Hong earned some easy money off appearing on commercials (approx. 300k US $), so he will use that to lower the transfer fee. So All LA gotta do is increasing their offer from 200k US $ to 500k.
Seriously? The guy's going to use his own money to help pay his transfer fee? He must REALLY want to come to L.A.
He is 32 years old, he has played in J League for a long time and he was captain of that J league team most of the time... He has enough money. 300k is not a big deal for him. (But I might be wrong. 300k might be some company SPONSORING him. The news I read did not exactly specify which.)
Well Hong has all his family living in USA and he wants to learn English while learning coaching. There's more than just playing involved.
Basically there are 6 months to talk about the deal. The deal will not die as long as Pohang is willing to let Hong go for the right price and transferring to MLS is possible. The news you heard was probably saying that their initial negotiation did not go well.
Well the Galaxy fans and FO are waiting with open arms for a leader and good defender. MLS has said on MANY occasions that they will not pay transfer fees for any player, but have made exceptions for Donovan and possibly others. Donovan cost the league $1,000,000, but he is a young guy and could contribute for years (unless his German team takes him away). Point being that I doubt MLS would (or could - remember, we're kinda broke over here ) pay a big transfer fee for an older guy. I know he is a great player and a legend, but he is getting closer to the end of his career and our financial situation doesn't allow for big payouts. We're trying to avoid the pitfalls of the Argentinian and Italian teams that are going bankrupt from overspending. Again, I would love to see him on the field for my team and hope this can all get sorted out. The Korean fans who have come in a group to two of the Galaxy games this year were great and this deal would make the game and the stands better. Hope to see you soon.
Try to find robdog on these boards for the scoop. I think he and the Galaxy front office people are tight.
Wait, how do you know this? I haven't seen that figure before, although maybe I haven't been looking very hard.
Bayern wanted $3 mil for him so MLS put up 1 and Nike paid the other 2. It was one of the few deals MLS has not done behind closed doors.
Um, the league never paid anything for Donovan, because there was no actual transfer involved. He's still on loan from Bayer Leverkusen, and they still own his contract.
Go back and read again friend. BL was paid $3 mil for loaning him to the MLS. It was in LATimes, NY Times, Chicago Tribune, etc, etc, etc. Pretty easy to find 2 years ago.
well when you loan a player, you still gotta pay $$ to them. maybe Donovan isnt transfered to MLS club (SJ) just loaned.
I think Hong's addition is a great thing for the Galaxy from a business perspective. He is old but as a defender he still has a few years in him. Considering asian money flowing into the market and where MLS operates as a collective unit, I think anything to add to attendance will be considered as a plus. I have gone to a MLS game before and I was pretty saddened by the attendance and still don't know how they manage. Maybe the game I went to Galaxy vs Colorado wasn't a high profile game but because of the empty spaces, I didn't feel as connected with the game.
ive been to galaxy matches several times, and I always thought attendance was really low all the time, but on papers, its far from bad. I think it only look like stadium is almost empty cuz they play on 60k+ capacity football stadium. well yea it will be great addition for galaxy if Hong can come to LA. there's no korean player to support in LA after Park ChanHo left here, and Hong MB isnt that old, hes just 32 yrs old (in american age) also Galaxy need defender, and Lalas is much older than Hong and he still plays.
I agree. The Mexican fans really create a festive atmosphere. There was one guy who was banging on a drum the entire match, and he was wearing a hardhat with a bunch of blinking lights. In addition, the hat had a couple of propellers right above each ear that had lights on the tips and was spun with an electric motor. I was surprise to see the level of passion they had for Galaxy. I'm sure we, the Korean-Americans can generate something similar if we had Hong, or perhaps Hwang Sunhong to cheer for.