PlanetFootball reports Peter Nowak has been traded from New England back to Chicago. http://www.planetfootball.com/article.asp?id=131717&cpid=218&title=Nowak+move+shocker
What a class move, I love seeing some of these great foreign players really care about mls, and not do a Lothar.
??? Is this legal? This is very strange; I've heard of players refusing trades but I dont recall ever seein a player be traded, wait a few weeks, and then decide he doesnt want to be traded. The article doesnt say what the Revs think but I cant imagine they'll just let him go back for free---they might let him go back to retire but even then they'd probably want some compensation. Maybe it makes sense somehow but the article really doesnt clarify the situation very well. If this is true then it is very, very messed up.
P.S. The article doesnt say anything about Nowak being TRADED back to Chicaco; it just says he "sensationally left New England to return to Chicago." Minor, but important diffence. As I said above the article really does not make anything clear, especially from the Revs end. Do they know about it?, do they care?, is it a trade? Anyway, further clarification is definitely needed.
Re: P.S. Yes, sorry for using the word "trade" in the first post, though I expect that's what happened. Another possibility is that New England released Nowak, and that he was picked up by Chicago off of waivers. But if New England in fact waived Nowak, wouldn't he have been included in the upcoming "supplemental" draft? Still another possibility is that Nowak has changed his mind about playing another year in MLS and has decided to retire. MLS may have negated his original trade to the Revs thereby allowing Peter to retire from the Fire.
Rev Management has clarified this: The trade stands. If Nowak didn't report theRevs were to get the Fires 1st or 2nd round pick in 2004 depending on where the Fire finish in 2003. If Nowak trys to play again for the Fire they must trade something to the Revs for his rights. Sounds like a Win Win Win for the Revs with the squeeze on the Fire. I'm betting that Nowak intends to play. Big question will be who price the Fire will need to pay to get him back. George
Funny, I was ready to post something almost identical to this, but with an apparently opposite intent...
This isnt new....Eric Dade was traded to KC a couple years ago for a pick. He decided he didnt want to make the trip north to play in KC. So he retired instead. The difference is that KC didnt cover their arses as it seems NE has. Maybe our shortcomings back them showed teams to prepare for this stuff. How'd it work out for Dade? He's playing MISL ball in Dallas. I think things like this will continue to happen as long as the salaries are minimal for MLS players. If they had multi million dollar potential when traded they would have no choice but to go.