Radio Unica said last night that Pablo Mastroeni will join Tenerife (Spain 2nd div.) next season. The question is whether Mastroeni will finish the MLS season or leave the Rapids mid-August?
I hate to say this, but cool! Tenerife is one of the clubs in Spain that periodically switches between the first and second division. They are located in the Canary Islands. Right now, their prospects don't look good to get promoted this year (they are 10th right now, with 44 points. The lowest of the 3 promotion spots, Zaragoza, has 63.) He could really give Tenerife a boost, but I am thinking they are probably looking to rebuild their team after moving down from the first division two years ago. Don't know much about them other than that. The preseason for the '03-'04 season usually starts in late July in Spain. If they are really planning on signing him, they will have to buy him off of the Rapids in midseason.
Tenerife is known for finding young talent, which ends up graduating to big Spanish clubs A Dutch U20 Nats player by the name of Roy Maakay, went to Tenerife for two seasons, before graduating to La Liga.
Hmmm...Igor Simutenkov got out of Tenerife to come to MLS after Tenerife was relegated. I'll also go with the I'll believe it if it happens outlook as well.
When is Pablo's contract up? If this is the last year, MLS might as well sell him in the summer and get something for him. Otherwise, he just walks at the end of the season. If he isn't out of contract at the end of the year, what do we thing MLS would want for him?
Right, because that $60K or whatever MLS got by selling Hahnemann right at the end of his contract did the league such a whole lot of good. If MLS is not going to make a concerted effort to re-sign Pablo, or the guy is going to leave anyway, then I'd just as soon they go ahead and sell him now. They'll make more off the sale and his departure won't hurt Colorado as much today as it would come late August.
He would very likely make about the same, or even better money in Tenerife. And if they make a run at promotion to La Liga next year, he'll be the only US Nat in arguably the best league in the world. Tab Ramos had a similar situation when he played for Real Betis in the early 90's, as they fluctuated between second division and La Liga. The Spanish second division is very competitive, certainly on par with the MLS, probably better. As much as I would love to see Pablo make a move to a more established club in Spain (Malaga has no money, or I would root for them to sign him), most teams in Spain are in the same boat, without a lot of cash to throw around at big signings. I wouldn't be surprised if the right offer came along from Tenerife, if he took it.
Mastroeni can hold his own, but don't get carried away. And another thing is, there doesn't seem to be any other club that has expressed interest. I hope, if this is true of course, that he does go and does very well. I like Pablo. Great potential.
Like I said, he can hold his own. But there is a difference between playing for a club team and playing in an international match. League play is always more physical, especially in Spain. I'm not saying that it isn't physical in international play but you better be in better shape than you are in MLS. I've only seem Pablo play once this season and he didn't impress me. I just don't want him to turn into a Kirovski if you know what i'm saying.
League play is more physical than the World Cup? That's craziness...nothing is more physical than the WC, in that heat, those games were ferocious. More physical than MLS? Without a doubt, but Pablo will adjust to that within a few weeks.
My point is, the season is long and i mean long in la liga and the physical play can catch up to you very quickly. I think la liga and the premier league can rival the world cup as far as physical play goes.
I think Pablo's just sick of John Harkes mispronouncing his name Mastri-oni. Hey Captain America, you've had several years and a World Cup to learn it. It's Mastro-eni!
Stop digging. Pablo Mastroeni was very sound and strong in the World Cup (the game's big stage) and he could play in any league n the world. Learn to live with that and enjoy it, in fact.
Phil Ball wrote a good article on players like Mastroeni on soccernet this week. Spaniards do appreciate players of Pablo's caliber, the "hunting dogs", so to speak. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=266935&cc=5901 And check out the first picture, put the afro on Pablo and those guys are dead ringers for separated-at-birth.... Going by this article, and from my own experience living in Spain, Pablo would really be able to find a place on a Spanish side, if they chose to pursue him and I could see him becoming a fan favorite for his work rate and ability to generate turnovers and play hard. He could really thrive in Spain, and if he must leave the Rapids (don't want to see him go) I hope he gets a shot at playing in La Liga.
I think that Mastroeni can improve a lot even in Spain 2nd Division, where a midfielder is required to win/hold/pass the ball better than in MLS. No more errand passes, "red card type" slide tackles, etc. He will be more important to the US attack than he is rigth now playing MLS.
I don't doubt that Mastroeni could play and play well on a La Liga side. That said, however, Tenerife would be a great fit for him. Half the battle in going abroad is just getting on the field consistently. At a place like Tenerife, he could likely plug right in and his level of play would be of primary concern as opposed to his trying to deal with the additional pressure of cracking a starting lineup. ricv56
Maybe. But clubs may not be willing to gamble until he's proven that he can play well in a league better than the MLS.
Tab Ramos never played in Primera. He came to Betis from Figueras and Betis was in Segunda. He was injured during the latter part of the 93-94 season when Betis under the reins of Lorenzo Serra Ferrer earned 20 out of a possible 22 points during the last 11 games of the season to win promotion to Primera. Serra Ferrer did not ask that Tabs contract be renewed and told the directors that Tab did not fit into his plans for the upcoming year. He was probably right as that next year Betis finished third in the liga in what was their best season since winning their only liga in the 1934-35 season. I have always said that the MLS is comparable to the mid level teams of segunda division. Saludos y viva er beti manque lopera! Pichi