An interesting list from Cheatin' Bob's brother. EDITED TO SAY :: Oops! I skimmed over the first paragraph a little too quickly.
Re: Jeff Bradley. Huh? It's a list of players who came over for little money. So Etch and Jaime aren't really missing, but number 8 is.
Re: Jeff Bradley. Huh? It's ok. For redemption, you can guess who number 8 is. Was Jaime brought in for cheap? I'd assume not, as he had played at Middlesborough.
Stern John was a force. 44 goals in 2 seasons before his prime? He could have 125+ if he had stayed in the league all these years.
An interesting list. I have problems with Diallo on there. He was cheap the first year. The last two he was expensive and a team cancer too boot as well. I wonder if Carlos Llamosa would qualify. He was born in Colombia and was discovered playing in a recreational league in NYC. He's obviously had a phenomenal career in MLS and the USMNT and only recently got decent coin. Heck--MLS told him to take a hike when he wanted to make $175K (which is less than what Cerritos was making--and he made the list). Onstad probably hasn't been in MLS long enough to qualify but otherwise he's been a real bargain for SJ. I think Ekeland qualifies--not very expensive and yoeman service for a 2-time champion. Since this is the DCU Board, who from DCU would qualify? RDA initially offered real value but quickly went up in pay and down in performance. Diego Sonora might be a candidate. A quiet right back who served several MLS teams with quality performances over two periods in MLS. I definitely think Ryan Nelsen qualifies--an all MLS XI selection, a team captain going on 2 years now, has spent his entire pro career in MLS and he's certainly a bargain financially.
Re: Jeff Bradley. Huh? If I remember correctly DC paid $100,000 for Jaime. I don't know what his salary was at the time.
1.) I would be very interested in actually seeing how truly "expensive" either Moreno OR Etcheverry were... (Anyone?) With our team already having Harkes I cant see how either were really big money signings. Of course I could be wrong but I smell crap... Frankly Adu's or Lothar's aside I dont see how ANY MLS foriegn players really qualify as "expensive" in relative soccer salary terms. 2.) Nelsen is one of the best defenders in DC United and possibly MLS history. Not having Nellie in there is another joke.
Not a bad list but I think a Best XI should include a goalkeeper. So I would add Onstad. Zenga, Campos, and Ravelli wouldn't have been cheap. Have there been any modestly priced foreign keepers other than Onstad in MLS?
While he counts as a foreign player on the roster, he came into MLS via the NCAA, so he wasn't really a "foreign acquisition."
I'm pretty sure Marco was "expensive" (max salary and some off the books money), but Jaime was almost certainly not as much salary. He was from England, but I think DC used Suarez's salary and a little of MLS's standard funny money accounting to pick him up rather cheaply. He then signed a max salary and long term deal later on. I can't believe the Baby Faced Assasin isn't on this list. Nor is that little Italian, Guiseppe something or other. Or how about the smurf? Or Miklos Molnar? Or Leonel Alvarez? Or Adrian Paz? And I'd take that crazy Roman long before I'd take Podbrozny. Which one did Pope punch anyway?
For the record, it was reported in the MLS lawsuit disclosure that throughout his MLS tenure Etcheverry made several times the max salary from the league plus endorsements, even though only a portion counted towards DC's cap. Jaime was a max salary player from year 1 until this season. Cheers, Tim
I appreciate the ancient DC help there... Good additional picks as well too... Aunger and Alvarez were bother very hardnose and MLS accomplished players. Alvarez's hair alone scared me almost as much as Aunger's tackles. I guess I can drop the anti-DC conspiracy theory... this time!
No Jaime was not a max salary player if the Post is to be believed. He signed a contract on July 30th '96 after he was denied a work permit to play in England, so it's unlikely he commanded top dollar (at that time). It was also reported in the Post on Oct 20th of '99 that he signed a max salary contract extension, and in the article it said his salary would rise from 200K to the league maximum 250K (at that time).