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Cooper nets brace in what may have been his last FC Dallas match

Kenny_cooper_ap

Maybe he just wanted a souvenir, or maybe he wanted a memento from his last MLS appearance.

When Kenny Cooper  secured the game ball from FC Dallas’ 4-0 win against Los Angeles tonight after the match it sure looked like the actions of a player fully aware that this was his last match in MLS. (Okay, so he was securing the ball to commemorate Schellas Hyndman’s first win in MLS.)

Cooper delivered two goals and an assist to help FC Dallas trounce the Los Angeles Galaxy, 4-0, on Sunday. With multi-million dollar bids being made by Welsh club Cardiff City as well as Norwegian club Rosenborg, Cooper looks all but out the door this summer.

While it remains unclear whether Cooper has made a decision on which club he will move to, it seems like his exit from MLS is all but secure.

I must say that Cooper’s gesture of getting the game ball, then having his teammates sign it to give to Hyndman is pure class. I know Cooper had glowing words for Hyndman when he was hired (and for those of you who don’t remember, Cooper was set to play for Hyndman at SMU before embarking on his pro career by signing with Manchester United). I wonder how much harder it is for Cooper to leave now that a coach he clearly respects so much is in charge in Dallas.

What do you think about Cooper’s likely departure? Happy to see him make the move? Wish he could stick around MLS for the entire season? Think MLS should have held onto him as his goal-scoring exploits continued?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. it’s good to see more talent go abroad. cardiff is a great city, i was just there a week ago. with cardiff city’s appearance in the fa cup final, hopefully he will get some time and play some quality games.

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  2. The circle of life continues…

    Good for Cooper, though it’s a shame it’s not better leagues willing to buy him. Hate to see MLS lose good players to comparable leagues, but don’t blame the guys for wanting to get paid.

    With Cooper and Toja gone, it may be time for Brek Shea to ascend into the regular rotation so he can fill the void with what I hope will be some star power over the next couple of seasons prior to his departure to Europe.

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  3. cooper is a top talent, and place him on a team like DCU, Chicago or LA who all have quality distributors and he’d have LOADS more goals… the fact that he would be on the hunt for the golden boot this season on a team like FCD says loads about him….

    he’ll excell for whatever team, and make his Nat’l team splash soon enough…

    perhaps this first WCQ?? with the olympics occuring we may see him up top with Dempsey??

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  4. I believe that they way overspent on AJ but you are right in saying that is the reality of the situation. It just seems to me that Cooper would have fit so well and Fulham are currently without a good header of the ball on set pieces with Bocanegra and McBride gone. Clint is decent but I am not sure how many matches he is going to start honestly.

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  5. Cooper is a bit of an unknown quantity to replace McBride with. did they over spend on Andy Johnson? I think that’s the price of being Fulham – you might have to over pay to get deals done.

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  6. Anybody think Fulham really missed the boat on Cooper? They lose a player like McBride and have a chance to get another target striker who can score in for a cheap price and yet they want little Andy Johnson who while being a very decent striker is not anywhere near worth 12 million GBP…. just seems odd to me.

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  7. Great game by Coop last night. To whoever said most of his goals this year were slow rollers…take another look. I think you ahve that wrong. His finishes have had some serious quality.

    I expect Cooper to do as good as any of our exports. He has a combo of unwaivering confidence and technical ability that US palyers lack. Put that together with the usual American work rate and he’ll show really well. I hope he oges to Cardiff. They will be in for a big pay day in a season or two. How many games does Rosenborg actually paly in the European leagues anyway? Is it that much more of a benefit? I’d understand the argument if it was Rangers or a team on that level where they tend to play deep into the tourney.

    If Jaqua got looks playing in Austria…I think this impending move should get the attention of Bradley – pleeeeeease.

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  8. Cooper is far more quality that Eddie Johnson. This guy needs a serious look on the National Team. It’s great to see him possibly moving abroad where he can continue to grow and develop. Hopefully this gets us closer to not seeing EJ in the starting line up for that National Team anymore.

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  9. Cooper is 23.

    Cardiff should simply be a stepping stone to bigger things.

    He needs to embrace the opportunity, score goals and set them up. He does this, a bigger club will come calling.

    His real value will be between the ages of 25-30.

    I think he could have been there sooner had it not been for the broken leg last year. Then again, he has come back strong.

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  10. lprevolution, that is a novel idea. I’d also lift the limit on the amount of players MLS can bring up from their youth squad. 2 MLS? And then if you take 2, other teams could potentially poach your hard earned work? That makes sense. At any rate, congrats to Cooper, go get em if true.

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  11. Whenever a player is transfered to a foreign league the team should be allowed to sign a player above the salary cap. This will get teams more interested in development and also provide the money to pay for young talented players.

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  12. While it is a step in the right direction that europe is beginning to want our players regularly, it also means that we need to start raising our prices. 2 million us is 1 mil euro. ITs PEANUTS. We need to start holding out for more.

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  13. @Posted by:Ted | July 28, 2008 at 12:03 AM

    it’s hilarious that you mentioned Pearce in the pro-Scandinavia screed considering he wasn’t prominently featured in the Nats until Bradley’s first choice Bornstein went down and Pearce had moved to Bundesliga.

    The fact is most players who go to Scandinavia get largely ignored because it’s not a better league than MLS overall, they can just pay more which is why so many teams there readily scoop up players from here. They know it’s essentially a lateral move in terms of level of competition. (oh and most clubs there play in front of tiny crowds too so Cooper should be used to it)

    That being said, I’d prefer Kenny go to Rosenborg for the simple fact that they feature in CL and UEFA Cup regularly and he is more likely to get picked up by a big boy team from there than he is toiling in Wales in the Colaship.

    It’s sad to see him go now that he is starting to really put it all together but who can blame him for wanting to make some more money?

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  14. @aj, who asked about British work permit issues: Kenny holds both US and British passports, so there wouldn’t be a problem in that regard.

    I was also at the game tonight and I definitely agree that it felt like a ‘last’ game. I can’t think of a better send off for him, and I will wish him nothing but the best, but I really REALLY don’t want him to go 🙁

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  15. if he went to cardiff, wouldn’t he have to fulfill the tough british work permit requirements? it doesnt seem like he would have the requisite caps.

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  16. @Caldwell

    Doing well @ places like Rosenborg is better. If the players do well, it could pave the way to be picked up bu top teams in the stronger leagues.

    Regarding Scandinavia based Yanks, I think it is the snobbery and MLS pressure that they don’t get picked up for national duty. The incestuous relationship between MLS and USSF has a hand at that. It then creates pressure for worthy Americans not to go to Scandinavian leagues.

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  17. Good for Cooper if he can do well abroad. If that happens, USMNT fans will not suffer no more if a well performing cooper is preferred over the non scoring strikers.

    If MLS will block his move, he should pull a “Dempsey”. Better to try one’s luck abroad than be in MLS and not get called up for national duty while the likes of Wolff and Johnson get to be starters. Who knows, if he can do well abroad, he could potentially be a mid table player in any league.

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  18. It is just a pity that such a talent has to leave the MLS but good for Kenny I suppose but a lot of the other posts are right, if the MLS is supposed to improve, we have got to improve our youth and keep ’em.

    Also a pity that the MLS top place doesn’t go to the Champions League, that would be really interesting to watch actually, even though none are a European…

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  19. Good to see Kenny come back so strong from the broken leg he suffered last season.

    I’d like to see him get more time with the national team.

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  20. Assuming this was Cooper’s final game w/ FCD, I’m impressed that he gave the effort that he did. It would be easy for someone to phone in this game knowing it was his last, but Cooper showed his class and competitiveness by turning in the performance that he did.

    Potential hypothetical debate topic: is it better for Americans plying their trade overseas to play for a mid-table or even relegation-threatened EPL side (or a Championship squad like Cardiff), or to go somewhere like Rosenborg where they have a real chance to make the group phase of the Champions’ League?

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  21. I think the most telling detail of all today was the fact that Cooper’s dad was crying during the post-game activities. Why else would he be crying unless he knew that his son was playing his last game for the home team?

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  22. I wouldn’t wish trying to carve out a career with FC Dallas on anyone.

    On the other hand I seriously question his ability to finish against better opposing defenses and goalkeepers overseas. A lot of his goals this season have been slow rollers. I don’t mean to imply that the English Championship is such a huge step above the MLS in quality, but if Cardiff does get promoted I don’t know how much playing time he’d get.

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  23. @ mike Ruze

    I know what you mean. What the hell happened to Danny Califf? There was also this young left-sided player… Heath… Pearce? Is that it? Yeah, when he went to Denmark he just completely disappeared.

    Remember Jeremiah White and Tally Hall? Man they fell off the map. Wouldn’t it be funny if they were called in to national squad camps in the past year?

    As to Cooper, he needs to go. The Dallas FO and HSG lied to him over and over again. Cardiff and Rosenborg are both good clubs and I wish him luck for whenever he leaves.

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  24. it depends where he goes…

    If he goes to England (Wales) and does well it will be hard for Bradley to keep passing him up for mopes like Twellman and Ching.

    If he goes to Norway hell fall of the Nats radar like everyone else eho has gone to Scandanavia.

    The next MLS player who goes to a Scandanavian side and improves his game will be the first one.

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  25. MLS needs exactly this to happen, ask Kasey Keller. MLS needs to grow good young talent, sell it abroad for some $$$, then bring back top quality big name players back to finish their careers in style and pass some of their wisdom on to the young guys. It’ll now be exciting to follow Cooper’s career abroad and I hope he gains the experience he needs to produce consistently and give us some much needed depth at forward for the national team.

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  26. I just made it home from the FC Dallas match and I have to say it felt like a Cooper send-off match. The guy gave his all today and gave what I believe to be his best performance of the year. I’m a local Dallas guy and I have seen Cooper play from the time he was in junior high and high school playing against my younger brother. I wish him the best across the pond because I am fairly certain he is done with FC Dallas.

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  27. I hope he goes. Until the wages go up in MLS across the board this will be the norm. As far as the move I would have liked Rosenborg to be the place he started in Europe. Champions League action would have been great for him and eventually the MNT. Still Cardiff is not bad. I think they’ve finished near the top of the Championship and played in the promotion playoffs. If he does well he could be in the PL with them or another team you never know. Happy for KC.

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  28. The MLS has become a feeder league for the big boys which is a HUGE STEP UP FROM WHERE IT WAS 5 YEARS AGO. We should all be happy for that if you truly support the league.

    You say “but moron- The Championship in in England isn’t a big league nor is Norway’s best club”. Point taken but Rosenberg plays in the Champions League year in and out and Cardiff is one good season from the EP and made it to the FA Cup final last year. Look – considering his transfer fee – reportedly $2 million- is about 80% of his current clubs salary cap. That’s pretty damm good for the league and demonstrates that a league with such a small salary cap can produce the amount of quality players it has in the last few years.

    Want the MLS to get finacially better so they can keep their quality players? Go to games if you live near a team, watch every game on TV in case Neilson calls and wait for the league to turn a profit. Meanwhile be happy with a vastly improved product over 5 years ago and let the nature of league’s growth take a healthy, natural course.

    Good luck Kenny- play hard and stay healthy and enjoy the fruits of your hard work.

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  29. As a Dallas fan I am very happy for Kenny. I met him at an autograph session for fans and he seemed like a great guy. We will miss him, but he deserves to make the move. Though if he’s comfortable here I wouldn’t blame him for taking FCD $415k offer, make it easier on Bradley to hopefully call him up, and wait for a higher profile Euroclub to come knocking.

    As for Justin’s ignorant comment: every league in the world, with the exception of England, Spain, and maybe Italy and Germany are feeder leagues to some extent. Hell, ManU is about to lose it’s best player. MLS and its fans should be proud, not ashamed of moves like this.

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  30. Good for him. He deserves it and it should help his National team stock.

    Face it. MLS is going to take some hits. Dallas especially is going to be in trouble to lose two of its best players this month.

    Hopefully MLS can continue to find quality signings from abroad and with expansion over the next few years hopefully teams will continue to scout and draft well. A lot of new stars are going to be needed over the next five years and hopefully they can continue to replenish.

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  31. ultimately its up to the player to decide where he wants to go, and if KC wants europe, then more power to him. I am, however, growing more and more concerned about the mass exodus of MLS talent overseas…just an uneasy feeling.

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  32. Can this guy finally get some decent national team looks? He seems like a natural fit to be paired with Altidore, and is a perfect super-sub candidate for qualifying.

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  33. I really hope that the deal with Rosenborg pulls through…they showed relatively well last year during the Champions League Group stages and they have a very good young Norwegian in Per Ciljan Skjelbred. It could also be that I’m a bit biased and would want to see him play against Brann in Bergen if I have to go over there again this year.

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  34. More tea leaves to read:

    Cooper came over to the Inferno (FCD Supporters Group) before walking back in. He took time to shake everyone’s hand — and hand off his jersey. It’s classy, but not unheard of for him.

    I did see him walk off with LAG’s Klein; Klein asked him something, and Cooper shrugged and shook his head.

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  35. I think Cooper’s presumed exit is a little premature. I’m with Jeremy on this – I think he saved it for Schellas Hyndman, who deserves a lot of credit for the way FCD played tonight. It was a very impressive match from Dallas all around, and the defense looked much more secure in Hyndman’s preferred 4-4-2.

    Congratulations to Schellas Hyndman on his first MLS league win!

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  36. Coopers a good US prospect and now is a perfect time to move overseas and build his resume further and eventually get some national team looks. He’s big, good footwork, and can score, the potential is there.

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  37. I actually think it’s a great sign for MLS. Here’s a guy whose career was stalled so he came home to get it on track. He did that and clubs took notice. Good for him. And good for MLS – it shows that clubs are looking to MLS for quality players. What really matters now is how he performs from here.

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