Add Crew president Mark McCullers to the list of people who insist that Argentinian star Guillermo Barros Schelotto will be returning to Columbus for the 2008 season.
"I talked to (Schelotto) last night and he was confirming when the reporting date was," McCullers said. "He did get some offers and some attention from some clubs in Argentina and that’s the nature of the business, but he in no uncertain terms expressed his desire to come back to the Crew."
As you know, nothing in life or soccer is guaranteed, but all signs point to Schelotto returning this season. That is good news for the Crew and for Major League Soccer.
Ives, loving the new page. Schelotto is a personal fav of mine. And I would be doing back flips if he was back. I havent heard anything out of Argentina in a long while, so it does support the current chirping on the Crews side of the story. fingers crossed . . . .
Schelotto is by far the most talented midfielder (probably more of a withdrawn forward) in the league.
With him on the roster, Columbus is tolerable to watch..without, I’d rather watch college soccer (Sigi’s style of non-play).
Good news for MLS and the Crew. I hope they find some complementary talent to really take advantage of his skills.
Keeping talent, especially that of GBS, is essential for this league. I don’t know how the Crew were ever going to improve if he didn’t stay.
Yes, they have some OK players and some young players that are developing but GBS is the cookie to the Crew’s cream.
Cream isn’t the same without cookies.
I agree that GBS is one of the most cerebral players in the league. He had a great partnership with Moreno, feeding great balls up front. I’m still hoping some of the savvy rubs off on Gaven, Garey, Ward, Rogers, and the rest of the kids.
But just one question: couldn’t you find a picture that didn’t make him look like he’d just been arrested on child molestation charges?
From someone who sees GBS play in person very often, He is definitely one of the most talented players in the league. You can just see he is two or three steps ahead of everyone else in the league. When he doesnt play the Crew struggles to have any continuity on offense
Agreed with Edho, this is defo one of the first places i check for updates and info.
Keep up the great work!
Back to Barros, I think its very good news that he is returning. The 2-3 times I saw him play he added a lot of technical skill and attacking excitement to the game. I think the league desperately needs players like him to stay as they build the skill base and fight the expansion dillusion.
BTW – I would agree that Ives doing this full time has hit a home run with the depth and scope of coverage.
Chicago Millionarios:
Great idea, I was thinking of the same thing. . . Ives what do ya think?
Shouldn’t there be an SBI logo made up first? I’m thinking reader contest, hint hint…
Ives merch! Ives merch!
SBI soccer jerseys would be awesome.
I play for Team Ives.
Yeah we need some SBI merch fo sho – hows bout some wifebeaters with “preview” on the front and “post” on the back. or not.
I hope Sigi made his players study the history of Boca Juniors before the season starts. That way they’ll know that Martin Palermo, Carlos Tevez, and Juan Roman Riquelme were all former teammates.
Welcome back GBS, try not to dis the league this time.
This is great news. Really GBS is our only consistent offensive player. Him and Hejduk are the cornerstones of the team for now which is good. Hopefully Robbie Rogers and other young guys will continue to learn and develop with schelotto on the team
Seriously, Ives, where’s the merch?
Honestly, Ives, this blog is now head-and-shoulders above the rest; both in breadth of coverage and in frequency of updates.
This is the most offseason coverage I’ve seen of the Crew since I’ve became a fan of the club.
Thank you for all the hard work. I say we get someone to start printing up some “Soccer by Ives” t-shirts!