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MLS Ticker: Montero approached by Portuguese club; Rafael cut by D.C. United; and more

Millonarios vs Envigado

By JUSTIN FERGUSON

Since he returned to his home country on a loan move earlier this year, Sounders fans have held out hope that star forward Fredy Montero would return to Seattle at the end of 2013.

But the current Millonarios player could be saying goodbye to the Pacific Northwest for good and making his move to Europe.

In a recent interview with Colombian radio station Antena 1, Montero said that he had been approached by a Portuguese club. A Millonarios official later confirmed the existence of the bid, but he was not allowed to say which club made it.

Although the forward signed an extension with the Sounders before his loan move to Millonarios, there is a clause in his contract that would allow him to move to a European club before the loan ends in December. The Sounders would receive a portion of the transfer fee if Montero makes a move.

Montero has scored five goals in 19 appearances, all starts, for the Categoria Primera A club this year. The Seattle designated player scored double-digit goals in all four seasons with the Sounders.

Here are some more stories from around the league:

RAFAEL CUT BY DCU

Just over six months after becoming D.C. United’s first-ever young designated player signing, Rafael is no longer with the club.

The 20-year-old forward, on-loan in Major League Soccer from Brazilian side Bahia, had his loan contract terminated on Wednesday in a mutual decision between D.C. United and the player. After all the excitement that followed Rafael to the American capital, he never came through on the potential that general manager Dave Kaspar and head coach Ben Olsen once saw.

We thought he would be further along at this point of the season in his adaptation and development,” Kaspar said about Rafael on D.C. United’s website. “Additionally, Casey Townsend has come into the picture recently with solid play, and Rafa lost playing time as a result. We did not see this changing. In the end, with a looming decision on a big transfer payment for a player on loan, we felt it would be wiser to look to invest funds toward players elsewhere.”

Rafael played in seven matches this season for D.C. United, scoring just once, on a long-range blast against the Columbus Crew on his MLS debut.

DYNAMO WAIVE CAMARGO

In a move that came as no surprise in Houston, the Dynamo announced Wednesday that they had waived Brazilian midfielder Luiz Camargo.

Camargo originally joined Houston on loan from Brazilian second division club Parana in September 2011. He was a part of a late-season surge that sent the Dynamo to the MLS Cup Final, assisting Carlo Costly on a crucial goal in the 2011 Eastern Conference Final.

The 28-year-old Brazilian midfielder appeared in all but two regulars season matches for the Dynamo in 2012, and he provided another major assist in that year’s Eastern Conference Final.

But in 2013, Camargo had only appeared in seven matches, none of them in a starting role. He tallied only one goal and five assists during his time in Houston.

TFC CONFIRM FRIENDLY WITH AS ROMA

It’s official: Toronto FC will take on Michael Bradley and AS Roma in another one of the club’s star-studded summer friendlies.

TFC confirmed Wednesday that AS Roma will visit BMO Field on August 7, exactly one week after the Serie A side faces the MLS All-Stars in Kansas City.

“We are excited to play against Toronto FC,” AS Roma CEO Italo Zanzi said. “Playing in Toronto is a great opportunity for us. The city has deep Italian roots and many AS Roma supporters. We are confident this will be a fantastic visit and a platform for future activities in the city and other parts of Canada.”

Tickets for the friendly will go on sale to the general public in two weeks. Roma also announced they will have an open practice at BMO Field on August 6.

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What do you make of these reports? See Montero making a move to Portugal? Disappointed with Rafael’s stint with United?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. “The Sounders would receive a portion of the transfer fee if Montero makes a move.”

    Implying MLS would receive the other “portion”? Surely Millonarios would receive zero funds from a potential fee, correct?

    Please tell me they (Millonarios) would not receive anything.

    Reply
    • I just posed a similar question, I a$$ume when talking about MLS transfers it is implied that MLS gets part of the fee so you would just say that the team gets it all to keep from confusing people.

      Reply
      • My main objection is if MLS set up some kind of ridiculous language that allows Millonarios to receive any funds related to a potential transfer.

      • yes this is the way it has always worked before, the players contract is owned by MLS so they get the transfer fee, part of which then goes to the team.

      • I’m aware of the MLS single-entity set up regarding transfer fees.

        Perhaps it’s just me or the way it’s simply worded that leaves some ambiguity on who would receive the remaining portion of the transfer fee.

        That’s the source of my confusion.

  2. Why would the Sounders only get a portion of the transfer fee? Unless I am mistaken don’t they own him 100% now and are merely loaning him out? Also very few if any Sounders fans have been holding out hope that he’d return, I like him but we have long since moved on.

    Reply
  3. ————–Martins———–

    Martinez—Montero—-Johnson

    ——–Alonso—–Evans——-

    That would be an impressive front 6 for the Sounders.

    Reply
    • And a lot of them were quality goals that showed a level of class most MLS players only dream of.

      The Sounders fans dissing Montero on here are smoking crack. I’ve been a Sounders STH since day one, and I’d take Montero back in a second. He’s a good player.

      Reply
  4. I never completely understood why Seattle lent him to Millonarios. That is the situation right? Sounders own him and he is on loan in Colombia?

    Reply
    • A few reasons: 1) Montero wanted to make the national team squad for the World Cup and figured it was easier to do it Colombia than MLS. 2) Montero scored many goals in the regular season but didn’t do well in the playoffs. 3) Move allowed Seattle to move for Ofebi Martins

      Reply
    • Seattle did not really want the player anymore but wanted the value of some portion of his rights, ie, the value of the balance of his contract. As frustrating as he apparently was to them he was not so frustrating they were willing to outright release him.

      Reply
  5. Camargo was solid during the 2011 playoff run, but after that I guess he was done contributing. I saw him “practice” a few times during preseason. Everyone else was playing a scrimmage and he was just jogging at a less than pedestrian pace (off the field). I wish I got paid to play……

    I hope this means the Dynamo are making a big signing, but probably not….

    Hear anything Ives?

    Reply
  6. One could see flashes of quality from Camargo, but he never seemed match fit after his first season in MLS. It’s good to see some moves happening.

    Reply
    • My personal view of the Dynamo is that what works in year 1 of a new idea often doesn’t work in year 2. Current form could be taken to support that argument, a lot of holdovers from last year’s runnerup team and it is not that effective, headed mid-table. Every year Kinnear buys his own recent headlines and makes minimal spring changes, the team doesn’t work the next year, he tries to fix it in the summer, often with better results.

      Camargo was an integral part of the finalist two years ago but got hurt in a car wreck that offseason and never was the same, often seemed unfit, and at DM I think you’re done if the motor slips. He’s been hardly playing and not effective when he does.

      But as important is I don’t think he’s CBA guaranteed and we obviously need some changes to compete. The midfield is more than full and is being called upon to fill forward and backline gaps. A lot of the forwards and backliners you might want to ditch are CBA guaranteed. So the trap door out is to cut a surplus middie and use the international spot, roster room, and cap room to try and fix an issue area. I assume this is prelude to that kind of summer activity. If we can’t get a second forward healthy and/or a back upgrade I’m not sure we’re back in the final. Personally I think we need to get rid of a lot of the veteran forwards and backs because they’ve had several years to succeed and are clearly not getting us past second place. Kinnear is loyal but at some point you have to break some Boswell- or Ching-type omelettes if you want hardware. Cutting Camargo allows him to play around the edges there but at some point we have to look at the problem players themselves because the team’s core is ageing and the window’s about to shut on some of the players.

      Reply
  7. Montero may come back to the Sounders eventually. But, I feel his move to Colombia was doomed from the beginning. Obviously, he went to convince Peckerman to call him up. He was always going to have to compete for spots on the national team with stars like Falcao, Jackson Martinez, and Gutierrez who just reached the Liga MX final with Cruz Azul last month. I do not see him in the national team unless the Portugese team is either Porto or Benfica. I’m not a hater, Montero is one of my favorite players to have played in MLS. I’d love to see him succeed and be able to go to the world cup next year. It might be too late or he might be able to give a crazy star run in Portugal. But if it is with a lower or mid-table team, I highly doubt it.

    Reply
  8. As a Sounders fan, we have not been pining away for Fredy and most fans are OK with him being loaned out and now possibly transferring especially if we get allocation funds and can make the team better.

    Reply
    • haha ya i don’t know any sounders fans that expected or hoped to have him back..getting him some national team exposure, free cap space and drive up the transfer amount was the plan from day one right?

      Reply
  9. Remember when DC was striking gold in foreign signings but whiffing on the draft. Now it’s been reversed.

    Of course, I remember the days when DC drafted well and had great foreign signings. How I miss the days of “Kevin Payne, Jedi Knight”!

    In terms of Rafa, his one goal was truly a beatiful goal. Too bad it didn’t even amount to a flash in the pan.

    Reply

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