Photo by ISI Photos
Call it one of the more shocking soccer stories to emerge today. Japanese club JEF United Chiba is reportedly lining up a bid to lure English national team striker Michael Owen to the J-League.
Now, let me start by saying that I’m not buying that report in the least. It would be one thing if it were a top Japanese team, and even then it would be pretty far-fetched, but for some bottom-feeding Japanese club to "express" interest screams of a weak attempt to stir up some buzz (did Alexi Lalas go to Japan)?
So there’s my question. Would you want Owen as your team’s designated player? Tell me your MLS team and tell me whether or not you would want your team to break the bank to bring in the former Liverpool star.
As much as I’m not buying the story I couldn’t help but think about Michael Owen and whether he would be worth a Designated Player slot in Major League Soccer. He showed in the final months at Newcastle that he can still do damage as an attacking player, but there is always that image in the back of your mind of one of his legs buckling in ugly fashion. This is all assuming he would even want to live in the United States, which I’m not sure is something he has ever expressed wanting to do.
What do I think? I’m not sure it would be worth the injury risk and lack of box office impact. Would his arrival really sell a bunch of tickets? Would he make teammates better? Would he be a media-savvy marketing tool? Would a New England or Toronto or Houston be a good fit for him?
Share your thoughts below.