...per cybersoccernews (http://www.cybersoccernews.com/ - under 'daily shorts'): "With Brian Ching sidelined indefinitely, the Earthquakes are trying out Romanian forward Adrian Iordache, 23, who spent his two previous seasons with FC Energie Cottbus of the German second division. He trained with the Earthquakes in San Jose this week and will do so again next week. He also trained with the Quakes in 2002. "
Give him a shot. We all know that ALL the fowards that the Quakes have are not 90 minute players. Go Quakes!
I think that is what I heard too, I just didn't type it out as well as you do. I had to ask a Romainian co-worker...
Energie Cottbus is not a bad team--they've been in the BL1 fairly recently, and Gregg Berhalter plays for them. I'm not sure what kind of minutes this guy's been getting at Cottbus but if he's good enough to see regular time for them he should definitely be able to hack it in MLS.
Don't forget that his wife is from Santa Cruz. She may be influencing him to play in SJ. If we add a player, we'll have to change someone's dev status or drop/trade someone. At 23, does he qualify for TI or SI?
I went on kicker and looked up his profile, but i only found his name, nationality, and birthdate, no statistics at all, that's probably not a good sign...
Here's what Cottbus has on him: http://www.fcenergie.de/spieler0304/iordache.html He played 29 games with 5 goals in 2L. That would seem pretty respectable. He kind of looks like Mutu. If he brings half the skill and none of the chemical problems, he would be a great help.
He would qualify as a Youth International, and could be signed to a developmental player on the roster. So, we have a spot open with Twellman's injury. Just like with US guys under 25, it just comes down to whether he'd accept the developmental roster spot/salary. From the MLS Roster Regulations:
Doesn't look so good there, Hannah... well, at least we know he jumps... You wouldn't catch Bebeto just ball-watching! Sign Bebeto!
61 matches and 7 goals in BL2? I'd want to see how many minutes he got. If they've been bringing him on as an 85th minute sub, he could rack up a lot of matches without playing a lot of minutes. In any case, it will be a question of both how well he plays in his trial, and how well he fits in with the team. GO QUAKES!! - Mark
Gotta love Google! So he's played 1752 minutes in, I think, 61 matches with 7 goals? That's still not terribly impressive. He's also only 5'9". Maybe we should look for someone a bit bigger? Or give Nash more minutes? We've already got two short forwards, I think we need some height on the front line. I don't read German. Anyone want to try: Energie Cottbus I think that link only goes to their home page. You need to navigate to statistics. GO QUAKES!! - Mark
Using some limited German skills, here's what I got from the site: He has played with Energie Cottbus for two seasons. Stats for both years: 2003/4: 29 games, 724 minutes, 5 goals, 2 assists, 2 Yellow cards, 1 Red 2004/5: 32 games, 1752 minutes, 2 goals, 4 assists, 4 Yellow cards, 0 Red Total: 61 games, 2476 minutes, 7 goals, 6 assists The team played in the Bundesliga second division during this time. The previous 3 seasons they were in the Budesliga first division. The team record was: 2003/4: 15 W, 10 L, 9 D (52 team goals scored) 2004/5: 10 W, 15 L, 9 D (35 team goals scored) So, he has been only a small part of their offense (7 goals out of 87 goals scored), for whatever reason his stats were worse in his second year even though he got more than twice as much playing time (but the team stats were worse).
Thanks LGF!! Perhaps he got worse service in his second season? It's hard to say. We'll have to trust in Dom as far as evaluating his skills. Recall that Dom and Frank passed on Jonny Walker, and that was a good call. At least he's looking outside the league. So that should make other MLS teams believe that they need to make us a good offer if they expect to trade with us. Hopefully, Dom finds a good player or two somewhere. GO QUAKES!! - Mark
I'm trying to get some info from some friends I have who follow Romanian players and I know a couple of people in Germany, so if I can uncover anything I'll let you all know.
If his wife is from Santa Cruz then shouldn't he be a full blown, David Regis-esque, nat eligible, citizen?
Not unless she works for the State Department or something like that, which was the loophole for Regis. In ordinary circumstances a spouse of a US citizen must reside in the US for 3 years after receiving a green card before being eligible for naturalization.
But if he is married to an American, he'll be eligible for a green card very quickly if not immediately. I think green card holders do not need to use SI or TI spots.