For Chivas USA in order; Arturo Torres Orlando Perez Ezra Hendrickson Francisco Gomez Antonio De La Torre Matt Taylor Craig Ziadie Jamil Walker Thiago Martins Jeff Stewart For Salt Lake in order; Andy Williams DJ Countess P. Brenes Brian Kamler Nelson Akwari Chris Brown Matt Behncke Rusty Pierce Kevin Ara Erick Scott On paper, I would have to say Salt Lake chose the best, but we will have to wait till next season for proof.
Even with John Elinger knowing DJ Countess I still think they could have done better with another GK. Walker or Garlick would have been a better choice on paper. Hopefully it works out for them and hopefully Elinger can keep control of DJ in the locker room. Andy Williams was a great pick to complement Jason Kreis and if the get Clint Mathis which it sounds like they are. I can foresee some struggles with them in the defense. Will also just have to wait and see for next year with their wing play. Chivas USA, well, I feel like they picked a couple of goodies there but they're relying on who they're bringing up from Mexico a bunch, regardless of what Rongen says. Their lasts picks seemed to be them just using up the rest of their picks on people instead of really trying to get team builders. I really think they might try to use Ziadie in some sort of trade.
Well, I guess both sides can probably say that each of them likely got 2-4 starters out of this. If Pierce stays healthy, it's not unrealistic to say that Akwari and Pierce start for RSL. Kamler could contribute and Brenes as a huge upside and was impressive in the Olympics but I'm not anyone should assume either is starting--they'll be in the mix and will likely make the team. Williams is a serviceable A-mid depending upon the scheme and I assume he's projected as a starter. Countess as a starter is a bit scary though--unless Ellinger is going to turn his game around. I know you can project any of these guys (if you're wearing rose colored glasses) as a starter but realistically RSL can say that Williams, one of those defenders (Pierce/Akwari) and probably one other player will be starters. As for CDC, who the heck knows? I"d guess that Torres, De La Torre, and Perez (b/c he can on the backline or midfield) are likely starters. Matt Taylor is probably a wise choice b/c he's like another college draft choice--he basically didn't play much this year. Rongen originally drafted Craig Ziadie out of Richmond and used him in a strong overlapping/attacking role as a right back so maybe he can work magic.
yeah, Salt Lake is actually trying to build through the draft. I think their draftees will comprise their core team. Chivas is building through transfers from Mexico, they're just using the draft to supplement their core team. That's why they stayed young.
From looking at the list of players who weren't taken, it's clear how price-conscious both teams were. IMO, this also explains why Rusty Pierce went so low. The Rejects (Players who went undrafted and unprotected) Jeff Agoos Adin Brown Eric Denton Joe DiGiamarino Ronnie Ekelund Sergio Galván Rey Scott Garlick Stephen Herdsman Steve Howey Matt Jordan Manny Lagos Brian Maisonneuve Ty Maurin Tony Meola Joe-Max Moore Toni Nhleko Oscar Pareja Dan Popik Daryl Powell Tim Regan Chris Ronér Marcelo Saragosa Earnie Stewart Joselito Vaca
Okay I think REAL got the better of the pair... Chivas, got some good talent, what the hell we're they thinking on De lA Torre?? He takes up a SI spot... Chivas can get 1 more SI, and look for it to be a winger or # 10... Last I heard, they wanted one from the big guns, Brazil, Argentina, or Uruguay.... So what dose NOT getting picked by either team mean for the following... Tony Meola- Out of contract, and may NOT return to KC, you know Tony's ego, His coach put the CAPTIAN up on the draft.. A possible move to Europe seems unlikely at Tony's age. How about South of he Border????? Johnny Walker- Nick the pig dosen't want him, as made apparent in his classless statement.. What's Bob's take on on him? We he stay, rumors has it he may return to Colo Colo, or be trade somewhere else in the leauge. SGR- Adios MLS? He STILL a Metro"star" right now. Jeff Agoos- 5 time champ. was put up in the draft... Preki- I think KC will keep him, but again will he stay in KC, ego must have been hurt when coach and team put him up in draft.
I think half of the draft: Meola, Preki, Agoos, Lagos, Moore, Stewart, etc. were the high price veterans on their downhill slope. They were as likely to retire as go to a new team.
Don't underestimate Behnke. You may never have heard of him but he is 6-3, has decent foot skills and is a good defender (left footed too). Dallas put him on the list because he asked. He thought he haad a decent chance to start in RSL as opposed to Dallas where he was Gibb's backup.
The feeling I get from Chivas is that they took Mexicans/Mexican-Americans and then "whoever." Torres is the "proof" that they care about the local community. Perez and Gomez are serviceable and of Mexican descent. The pre-draft mistake was in believing they would be a Hispanic team and not a Mexican team, that they were somehow concerned about Spanish-speaking talent alone. (Obviously, they already have a keeper picked out from Mexico.) Chivas didn't take a single non-Mexican Hispanic (Martins is Brazilian). Brenes and Scott wound up, ironically enough, on RSL.
Preki was not on the draft board. Seems likely we'll hear a retirement announcement in the next few days.
When looking at the picks, I too would say that RSL has less holes to fill than Chivas. RSL, especially if they get Mathis, can put some real firepower on the field. Now, whether they can get along as a team might be real interesting! (Rusty, can I introduce you to Andy, no thanks we already know each other). I wish Chivas the best of luck, but I think their first overall pick was a disaster - Thomas Roengen... Besides his first season in MLS, he has been an almost total disaster, and 'almost' is being nice.
While watching the draft they keep say Chivas will be bringing in 9 players from Mexico. I thought they could bring in only 5 (correct me if I'm wrong). I think RSL pick the better players. Good job by ESPNnews. Let's Go MLS
Actually, 4 SIs & 5 TIs at first for both LA Chivas & RSL. Later, the 5 TIs will be reduced to 3, like everyone else in the league.
Here's the list, including those players pulled back by their clubs: ROUND-BY-ROUND SELECTIONS: ROUND 1 # Team Name Pos. Hometown Years in MLS Status 1 CD Chivas USA Arturo Torres FW Wilmington, CA 2 -- Los Angeles Galaxy protect: DF Paul Broome 1 Real Salt Lake Andy Williams MF Kingston, Jamaica 7 -- Chicago Fire protect: DF Evan Whitfield ROUND 2 # Team Name Pos. Hometown Years in MLS Status 2 CD Chivas USA Orlando Perez MF Fontana, CA 5 -- Chicago Fire protect: MF Scott Buete 2 Real Salt Lake D.J. Countess GK Sacramento, CA 3 -- Maximum three players selected from Chicago Fire. ROUND 3 # Team Name Pos. Hometown Years in MLS Status 3 CD Chivas USA Ezra Hendrickson DF Lagou, St. Vincent 8 -- D.C. United protect: DF Ryan Nelsen 3 Real Salt Lake Pablo Brenes MF Costa Rica 1 TI MetroStars protect: GK Zach Wells ROUND 4 # Team Name Pos. Hometown Years in MLS Status 4 CD Chivas USA Francisco Gomez DF Watsonville, CA 6 -- Kansas City Wizards protect: DF Alex Zotinca 4 Real Salt Lake Brian Kamler M/D Ballwin, MO 9 -- New England Revolution protect: DF Joey Franchino ROUND 5 # Team Name Pos. Hometown Years in MLS Status 5 CD Chivas USA Antonio de la Torre DF Guadalajara, Mexico 1 -- Colorado Rapids protect: MF Seth Trembly 5 Real Salt Lake Nelson Akwari DF Houston, TX 3 -- Columbus Crew protect: FW David Testo ROUND 6 # Team Name Pos. Hometown Years in MLS Status 6 CD Chivas USA Matt Taylor FW Irvine, CA 1 -- Kansas City Wizards protect: FW Igor Simutenkov 6 Real Salt Lake Chris Brown F/M Portland, OR 6 -- San Jose Earthquakes protect: GK Jon Conway ROUND 7 # Team Name Pos. Hometown Years in MLS Status 7 CD Chivas USA Craig Ziadie DF Kingston, Jamaica 4 -- MetroStars protect: GK Jonny Walker 7 Real Salt Lake Matt Behncke DF Williamsburg, VA 3 -- FC Dallas protect: DF Philip Salyer ROUND 8 # Team Name Pos. Hometown Years in MLS Status 8 CD Chivas USA Jamil Walker FW Pittsford, NY 2 -- San Jose Earthquakes protect: DF Wes Hart 8 Real Salt Lake Rusty Pierce DF The Woodlands, TX 5 -- New England Revolution protect: DF Carlos Llamosa ROUND 9 # Team Name Pos. Hometown Years in MLS Status 9 CD Chivas USA Thiago Martins FW Sao Paulo, Brazil 2 -- D.C. United protect: GK Troy Perkins 9 Real Salt Lake Kevin Ara MF Upland, CA 1 -- Maximum three players selected from D.C. United. ROUND 10 # Team Name Pos. Hometown Years in MLS Status 10 CD Chivas USA Jeff Stewart DF Bellevue, WA 2 -- Colorado Rapids protect: GK Scott Vallow 10 Real Salt Lake Erick Scott FW Limon, Costa Rica 1 TI KEY: SI = Senior International TI = Transitional International
I'm not sure, but I remember him being a dual-citizen. Behncke was the best pick of the draft. What's up with Metrostars and Jonny Walker?
Look for a trade. Perhaps with RSL selecting Countess early, Chivas felt they could wait to take Walker. Then after the second selection, Metro said fine, we'll protect him and you can come talk to us about a trade. It also may strengthen Metros position in trying to trade for Ring/Thornton. They can say we'll just keep Walker instead.
Real Salt Lake would appear to have got the better of the expansion draft. But I remember thinking in 1997 that Miami had got a lot better players in the expansion draft than Chicago. And I still think that. The thing was, the Fire got Nowak, Kubik, Kosecki and Podbrozny as allocations and Kovalenko in the college draft. Miami got guys like Paulinho McLaren and Jerry Tomashiro. You can see who ended up with the better deal. On the other hand, in 1997-98 teams were more dependent in general on their allocations and star players. That's much less the case now. A few stars doesn't make you a good team anymore in MLS, as the MetroStars remind us.
I had no clue that Matt (or rather Matteo) Taylor was hispanic. Or you could have just missed that one.
To be fair, the term non-Mexican Hispanic isn't that clear. It was intended as meaning Hispanic, but not Mexican. But it can be easily read as meaning "not Mexican". No need for the attitude. non "Mexican Hispanic" vs "non-Mexican" Hispanic Are you sure Thiago doesn't have some Hispanic heritage being from Brazil? Are the Hispanic populations in Jamaica and St. Vincent non-existant? Clearly the dominant heritage of Ziade and Hendrickson appears to be African, but have we ruled out any Hispanic bloodlines? By the way, do they speak Spanish? does Portugese not count as "Hispanic" here? Sorry if I should know!
Pretty much. They're very few people from either country who speak Spanish or have Spanish heritage The CIA World Factbook is a great source whenever you have questions like this: Jamaica: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/jm.html St Vincent & Gren.: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/vc.html Yes, it counts if you're from Brazil. A Hispanic is a person of Latin-American descent living in the U.S.