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MLS Ticker: Timbers add Valeri as DP, FC Dallas sign Peruvian goalkeeper, & more

By J.J. DUKE

The Portland Timbers were looking for a playmaker to spearhead their attack, and after a lengthy search, they landed an exciting option in Argentine  Diego Valeri, who joins the Timbers on loan for the 2013 season as a Designated Player.

The 26-year old featured for Argentine First-Division side Club Atlético Lanús from 2003-2009 as well as 2011-2012. He featured in 158 matches and has scored 25 goals and was the team captain and led his side to the 2012 Copa Libertadores Round of 16, the club’s best ever finish.

“Valeri is a tremendous acquisition and his desire to join the Portland Timbers was an integral part in getting him on loan,” said Timbers general manager Gavin Wilkinson. “At his age and with his ability, we expect to be in a position to purchase this player and make him a permanent fixture in Portland.”

Here are some more moves made by MLS teams on a busy Thursday around the league:

FC DALLAS SIGN PERUVIAN GK FERNANDEZ

The Hoops made a strong move to bolster their goalkeeping corps today as they signed Peruvian international and former Ligue 1 ‘keeper Raul Fernandez.

While the 27-year-old hasn’t seen much time with French side Nice over the past few seasons, he featured with Peruvian side Universitario between 2005 through 2011, making over 140 starts. He also has started in six of Peru’s nine 2014 World Cup Qualifiers.

This signing will eliminate any need for FC Dallas to add a third goalkeeper. And the club hopes that Fernandez will share experience towards Chris Seitz to get the top goalkeeping spot for 2013.

SPORTING KC CONFIRM ZUSI TRAINING WITH WEST HAM

Before Graham Zusi heads off to join the US National Team in Los Angeles next week, he is spend the week in London with Premier League side West Ham. Sporting KC confirmed the training stint on Thursday, after days of speculation about Zusi’s time with the Hammers.

While many do not know if this stint is for training purpose or for a future move, Zusi will have the opportunity to impress Hammers boss Sam Allardyce for the next few days.

Zusi is also joining fellow US National Team teammate Juan Aguadelo at West Ham before the pair head back to join the January National Team camp later this week.

SOUNDERS CONFIRM MONTERO DEAL CLOSE

While many Seattle Sounders fans are assuming that striker Fredy Montero’s loan to Millonarios of Colombia is complete, the 25-year old may have jumped the gun on the news.

Sounders owner and general manager Adrain Hanauer confirmed today that the loan deal is nearly done, a day after Montero tweeted a supposed farewell to Sounders fans Wednesday with him leaving an airport.

Sources confirmed to SBI a week ago that the deal had been agreed to in principle, with the final thing to be sorted out being

KIROVSKI NAMED GALAXY TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

Former U.S. Men’s National Team player and long-time MLS veteran Jovan Kirosvki has been appointed the new technical director for the Los Angeles Galaxy, becoming the first person to hold the position for the Galaxy.

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What do you think of these moves? See Valeri being a star for the Timbers? Think Zusi could help West Ham? Skeptical about FC Dallas replacing Kevin Hartman with Gonzalez?

Share your thoughts below

Comments

  1. i know many will disagree but i feel the west ham move would be great for juan but wouldnt have much effect on zusi. i feel like the role zusi plays on skc touching the ball in dangerous touches throughout every match is going to help his technical skill just as much as becoming a role player for west ham whose players will not show zusi the kind of respect the skc player sdo allowing him every set piece oppurtunity, i think he is already one of the best technical players in the usmnt system and is a great player who developed in MLS. on the contract side of things though, i could see him getting a big par raise moving to london

    Reply
    • I actually think the opposite. I don’t think Juan would progress in a meaningful manner playing in Big Sam’s longball system. I think Juan’s ideal situation would be a team like AZ in Holland, where Jozy has learned how to score goals on the end of linked-up passing movements. On the other hand, West Ham really haven’t gotten great wide play this year, and even though Zusi isn’t an out-and-out wide player, his ability to create the space and deliver a killer cross would be suited very well for West Ham. Just my two cents though.

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  2. Good move for the Galaxy and Kirovski. But didn’t a certain Jurgenn Klinsmann hold down a position described by the Galaxy as a “technical director” before and at the time of the construction of the HDC? If I remember right, the Galaxy hired JK to “evaluate potential players” and also provided the Architects and the Galaxy on improvements to the HDC. As I recall, it was Klinsmann who suggested and fought for, the roofs on the HDC, which in Klinsmann’s opinion, if designed right, would reinforce the ambient crowd noise level to reinforce the home field advantage.

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  3. I think the Valeri and Fernandez signings are actually iffy. Valeri has two seasons with more than 3 goals in a 10 year career. 29 goals in 10 years is actually meh, and the Timbers would be the third sucker to take him on loan…..err, he has been lended twice previously. Didn’t score on either previous loan.

    Raul Fernandez does play some for Peru, and did play a fair amount from 05-10 for Universitario, but has played 12 club games since then. He did sign with Nice who lended him back to his Peruvian team after playing him twice. In theory he’s decent for playing for Peru, but then why’s he not playing club much? My Carlos Costly Alarm is going off (he gets routinely called to Honduras but is a club journeyman who had 1 goal for the Dynamo during his loan here).

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  4. “And the club hopes that Fernandez will share experience towards Chris Seitz to get the top goalkeeping spot for 2013.”
    ^That does not make grammatical sense.

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  5. Can someone bring me up to speed on why Montero is leaving MLS and Seattle? Why would he want to go back to Columbia (no offense but people I’ve met from Columbia). Why would Seattle want to lose him?

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    • We see the same thing with Carlos Valdes in Philly. Wanting to impress the national team coach with an eye to playing in the World Cup. Valdes is more established on the NT right now as Fredy hasn’t made a NT appearance since 2009, but I’m guessing that is the reason.

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    • I’ve been to Colombia 8 or 9 times and I’m always struck by how many people want to stay. For those of us who travel, our reputation has sunk. We are not the dream country we were.

      Mongrel arrived in Colombia today and was featured on the news. He was greeted by the press and a bunch of fans. I was surprised how much attention he got, and based on his quotes, so was he.

      Many people forget how big his reputation was before Seattle snagged him. Big European teams were after him.

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      • I’ve spoken to a few Colombians that were planning on going back to Colombia because their economy has gotten better. Colombia’s economy is expected to grew between 4.5 – 5% this year, while the US is expected to grow at 2.5 – 3%. A few economists see it as a Latin American market that could boom in a few years even further. While it still has it’s problems. I can see why some Colombians feel optimistic enough to want to go back.

    • Colombia is currently in the running for qualification to Brazil 2014, and maybe he thinks he should be in on it. Perhaps he also thinks what he does here gets ignored or discounted but that if he did it right under the coach’s nose it would be hard to overlook.

      FWIW, with Brazil automatically in, this is an unusually easy cycle for CONMEBOL teams to qualify. 9 compete, 4 make it auto, plus a 5th in a playoff, and Brazil doesn’t take up a spot.

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      • I also think he’s done enough to get to “some sort of Europe” so going to Colombia would be for either NT or family reasons. I’m sure some Scandinavian team at minimum would take him with his MLS production.

      • Outside of Juan Toja.. I can’t recall a “foreign” player making the jump from MLS to Europe. Maybe Montero thinks that playing in Colombia will make it easier to get in the Colombian NT and a transfer to Europe?

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