Clearblue, the resident-in-training "Deep Throat" of Revolution rumors has indicated both Patrick Buhlmann and Christian Uribe are likely to join the Revolution in Brazil as part of their preseason training trip. The following are two brief bios on each. All information is believed to be correct although my apologies in advance for any inconsistencies: Name: Patrick Buhlmann Born: 8/16/71 Height: 5"9 Weight: 165lbs. Nationality: Switzerland Position: Midfielder Previous Clubs: FC Zurich - Swiss 1st Division (2001/2002) FC Zurich - Swiss 1st Division (2000/2001) Lausanne Sports – Swiss 1st Division (2000/2001) Lausanne Sports – Swiss 1st Division (1999/2000) Servette FC - Swiss 1st Division (1998/1999) St. Gallen – Swiss 1st Division (1997/1998) FC Sion – Swiss 1st Division (1996/1997) FC Luzern – Swiss 1st Division FC Aarau – Swiss 1st Division FC Sion – Swiss 1st Division National Team: 17 caps earned for the Swiss National Team. Participated in Group-1, 2000 European Championship Qualifiers, including a 1999 match against Wales where he scored in a 2-0 victory. Also participated in Group-1, 2002 World Cup Qualifiers against Luxembourg, Yugoslavia, and Russia. Other/Comments: Does not currently appear to be in the first team for any Swiss 1st Division club in 2002/2003… Played with former MLS player Shaun Bartlett at FC Zurich before he transferred to Charlton Athletic in the English Premiership… Revs were looking to use a discovery pick on him last season, and he was transfer listed by FC Zurich… Frank Dell’Apa said the following after Buhlmann’s efforts in a 2002 pre-season scirmmage against Boston College: “ (Buhlmann offered) a clinic in midfield play on the left side. The 30-year-old Buhlmann made precise touches, took on defenders, sent several swerving crosses from the end line, and covered for teammates… At the time, Buhlmann said: “’I also had a good understanding with [Franchino],’ Buhlmann said. ‘It's easier when you know how to read the game…’" Name: Cristian Uribe (Lara) Born: 6/1/76 Nationality: Chile Most Recent Club: Hauchipato (Chile, First Division) Previous Club(s): Benfica (Portugal, First Division), Colo Colo (Chile, First Division), Hauchipato (Chile, First Division) Played for Chile in a 1-2 loss to the United States on 2/21/99. Has played in the Copa Libertadores, and was named to the Chilean Team of the Year (i.e., all-stars from top Chilean domestic league) in 1998. FYI, The Magpie
Revs trialist Patrick Buhlmann (#25 in blue) seen in action last year in a pre-season scirmmage against Boston College, April 2, 2002. Photo courtesy of Revsnet, http://www.revsnet.com
Revs management was talking about bringing in an attacking mid. I think he's supposed to fill the bill.
If all we have left is $100k - $120k in cap space then I think we are only getting one player. One has to wonder however... If these guys are such quality players, why don't we know what team they are currently playing for? (If they are playing for a team now) If they are not playing for a team at the moment, why not? Will/Can any of these players represent a significant change to the talent level on our team? Don't we also have two SI players at the moment (Griffiths and Kante)? Unless one gets a green card, we would be over the limit. Am I mistaken?
My guess (and you know that my % is horrid) is: We will sign both Uribe and Buhlman and waive Griffith.
If none of Llamosa, Nowak, and Serna are on the team, it seems reasonable that we would be more than $120k under the cap.
From what I recall, Uribe isn't an central attacking midfielder. I could be wrong, but I believe he's an outside midfielder. He didn't do much in his time at Benfica; he rarely saw the field, and was shipped out there after. I think Buhlman would definitely add value to the squad, but I think we could do a whole lot better than Uribe.
The Swiss theams that Buhlmann played on were quality teams. Looking at the list, most finished in the top four in the more recent years. FC Zurich and Servette are two of the bigger clubs in Switzerland (Basel and Grasshoppers are the bigget). Lausanne Sports has run into serious financial problems and sold all their good players. But when he was there, they were one of the to teams in LNA. He would be a good addition to the Revs.
you probably could even throw Rooney's name in that hat too. I would put money on the fact that these four guys took up more than 200k in cap room. We should have enough to sign both if they are good enough.
If I'm not mistaken RevMgt03 in their first post (which I can't seem to find) said that Griffith and Kante are senior internationals. If we sign Buhlman and a SI AMF (Uribe??) that Griffith will be cut loose unless the AMF is young enough to be a TI. Lets also remember there will be a supplamental and weighted draft a some weeks from now. If we sign two players (Buhlman and an AMF) but needed to cut one (Griffith) we would still have a roster slot open so that we could pick up one player from the draft (s). If this plays out the way it seems to be in my "Crystal Ball" SN et al have done a masterful job of draft and roster management and roster upgrade this offseason. Other teams have also made significant improvements but whole the Revs have kept their starting lineup from last year almost intact they are adding significant depth and strength at a number of positions. For once it looks like we are entering a season with a quality, stable roster that has been fine tuned in the offseason rather then completely remade.
The thing about Buhlmann that intrigues me is: I can't recall any recent Revolution foreign trialist who's illicited such universal positive reviews in terms of his efforts. Frank Dell'Apa was impressed, the players were impressed, and any number of respected contributors to this list were impressed.... and these are all individuals having been weened on a wide variety of playing styles. How easy is it for pretty much everyone (from such diverse footballing backgrounds) to be on the same page, eh? The Magpie
Not to put a damper on the Buhlmann enthusiasm, but... keep in perspective that his one-day "impressive showing" was against a BC college team that was just completely overmatched, with Patrick coming in for Ted C. for the second half of the scrimmage, against tired legs. Can he achieve the same level of performance against an above average MLS team? Hopefully we'll find out in 2003.
Let's remember that the vast percentage of trialists do not end up on the team. Even if they like the player, there is a huge hurdle to sign them once the MLS salary structure reality kicks in. I believe the roadblock to Buhlmann last time was that the league was unwilling to do a 2 year guaranteed contract. I doubt if they've changed their stance, maybe he has. We've strengthened our attacking pair and our backup goalkeeping. It looks like we've lost a starting central defender, and done nothing to improve the areas of attacking midfield and left wing - so far. I'm not sure it rates a big improvement at this point (I felt a lot more positive when I thought Nowak and Llamosa were with us). Once more, we're awaiting a POTENTIAL impact of trialists.
Re: Re: Rumored Trialists: Patrick Buhlmann & Christian Uribe Yes, that's how I remember it too. My guess is that they must have come to some sort of agreement in principle, otherwise there's no way either side would go through this again. Given the world market for players who are not superstars, maybe Buhlmann has re-evaluated his requirements and figures that he could do pretty well living in the US on $150,000 or so, guaranteed or not, with a team and coach that fits his style (pure speculation on my part) and has a chance to go places in the league and internationally. It's not like he's geting lots of offers from Man United and Real Madrid, or even Leicester City or Rayo Vallecano for that matter. Tom
although I'm trying to contain my excitement with the prospect of Buhlmann joining the Revs, I really can't.... I have my swiss jersey and flag all ready to go. I have to think that something has changed (positively) regarding Buhlmann's contract demands or mls' stance, otherwise why would he bother coming over to try out again?