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Red Bulls deal Ballouchy to San Jose

BallouchyCrew (Getty)

With the arrival of Tim Cahill giving the New York Red Bulls a plethora of attacking options, midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy suddenly became expendable, and on Monday the Moroccan was sent packing.

The Red Bulls traded Ballouchy to San Jose for an international roster slot in 2013 and a conditional 2013 draft pick, both teams announced on Monday.

Ballouchy gives San Jose some added central midfield depth. The Earthquakes were looking for that type of player after parting ways with Tressor Moreno and Anthony Ampaipitakwon earlier this summer.

What do you think of the trade? See it helping San Jose? Think the Red Bulls will add another player before the roster freeze deadline of Sept. 15th?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I hate to do this but although you were very close, you forgot the G.
    It’s Ampaipitakwong. I also memorized it when he was with Akron…

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  2. I always wanted to like Ballouchy. But for every nice play he makes there are are 3-4 boneheaded plays or miscues. Simple as that, for me. NYRB definitely made out like bandits in this trade.

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  3. That is the most entertaining comment I have read in ages. You should write for Jon Stewart. I like the Cahill trade. But where’s the sanity and perspective. When the NYRB, with the highest salary budget in MLS and a guy named Henry, actually win a Shield or a Cup…then I will take such comments seriously (not to mention we just got our a##s handed to us by first year Montreal) Until then, this is Soler’s IK Start with a larger budget and increasingly older roster.

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  4. Seeing as he is a graduate of Santa Clara University, i think he will be very comfortable in the Quakes lockerroom at Buckeye stadium.

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  5. I thought Ballouchy was an above average player but I guess I trust Soler at this point; he seems to be making good moves.

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  6. Great pic Ives… should have used this for your “caption” contest. I mean seriously… looks like the crew player is doing a “package check” on Mehdi. But I like…. “So THAT’S why you wear #10.”

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  7. Ballouchy looked great in the Showdown in Chinatown. Too bad we aren’t playing Steve Nash and Tony Parker on a regular basis.

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  8. Ballouchy was very up and down for the Red Bulls. I was probably one of the few who liked him, and even I am not too bothered about him leaving. with Teemu coming back and Cahill coming in, and getting other players healthy, he would be pushed down the depth chart anyway.

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  9. Tressor Moreno was good the times I saw him–great passer and crosser of the ball.

    Ballouchy’s not as good, but perhaps a lot cheaper.

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  10. Ballouchy is a solid player. He definitely has his flaws such as back passing and situational awareness. Given the chance he will do good things for San Jose. I think RB got the better end of the deal though with opening up another International spot and this “conditional” draft pick. RB have a abundance of talent we just need to see where everything fits

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  11. Great action shot there. The only problem is that he was facing back toward his own goal, looking to get the ball to the right back. 😉

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  12. Not the summer signing i hoped to see, but I’ve always liked ballouchy as a player. Certainly needed another CM option after cutting two loose.

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  13. How many times did you have to double check Ampaipitakwon?

    (SBI-I managed to memorize it while he was at Akron. Not sure how.)

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  14. I love this move for opening up the international roster slot.

    But man…I don’t take anything for granted here, but let’s just say RBNY and San Jose meet at MLS cup. Would anyone be surprised if Ballouchy won it for SJ in extra time?

    (KNOCK ON WOOD)

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