I would guess that a few inquiries around the league could give the Rev's front office an idea of who/what they might expect to get in a trade. They hopefully aren't guessing in the dark about this like you and me. So if tomorrow we learn that Cancela is unprotected, then I think you've laid out a fair guess at why that might make the most sense. We could suppose that this indicates that (1) Nicol doesn't want Cancela anymore and (2) they felt that they'd be unable to make a favorable trade for him. I hope very much that this whole business is moot and that Cancela is protected.
I like the idea of not losing many starters, having lots of Cap space and ST/TI slots open. There has been a lot of interest from players from players from other National Teams in our Confederation wanting to make the jump to MLS as a segway to Europe. I'm sure SN has had a shopping list in Tattoo's hands for the past few months. Exciting stuff
Isn't it interesting... Cancela, dropped from a Vergara-owned team in Costa Rica because the team decided to employ only Costa Rican players, now may be drafted in another country by a Vergara-owned team that may ultimately only want to employ Mexican players;-) Rand
For what it's worth, during Revs/DC conference championship game. Spanish broadcast commentators mentioned Cancela's agent contacting mexican teams and if I recall correctly, also added more than one mexican team expressing being interested in Cancela's services. It was mentioned as well that Pepe was looking forward to trying his luck once again in mexican league.
I don't think that Cancela "fell out of favor" with Nicol, so much as the fact that Nicol is very aware of his weaknesses - which are amplified when he is not on top of his offensive game (for reasons that may have nothing to do with his own performance, ie., if he's not receiving the ball in positions where he can make a final pass). The conference final was a clear example of "life with Cancela". While he was a major contributor offensively, around the 65th minute, DC was ramping up the pressure, effectively using the advantage at Cancela's position to create mismatches. With the score tied at 2-2, I was pretty alarmed at the ease at which DC was advancing through the middle. I'm sure Nicol noticed this as well, because he was getting Dorman ready to come in. Alas, the substitution didn't happen in time as DC scored in the 67th. The goal wasn't Cancela's fault, per se, but he allowed an avenue that DC was able to use to break down the Revs defense. And, late in the season, it was apparent after Cancela had sat a few games, that he did work harder (and was better) defensively. So, I don't think it's that Nicol doesn't like Cancela (or see his value), it's just that he needs more defense from his position.