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Earthquakes sign Geovanni as first Designated Player

Geovanni (ISIphotos.com)

Photo by ISIphotos.com

The San Jose Earthquakes are within striking distance of a playoff berth and made a move on Monday they will be hoping helps them reach the post-season for the first time since MLS returned to San Jose.

The Earthquakes announced the signing of Brazlian playmaker Geovanni as the team's firsts Designated Player. A midfielder with Hull City last year, Geovanni has had stints with Barcelona, Benfica and Manchester City. A key figure in helping Hull avoid relegation during the 2008/2009 season, Geovanni fell out of favor at Hull during the nightmare that was last season.

San Jose will be counting on Geovanni, 30, to give the team the creative midfield presence the club has been lacking since its debut as a re-born expansion team.

What do you think of the signing? Think Geovanni can help the Earthquakes reach the playoffs? See him struggling in MLS?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. that’s what the nasl did and what happpend….poof no more proffessional soccer.

    big names yeah they are good but if the play is bad the bread and butter season ticket holders go away.

    35 year old ex stars from europe will not grow mls if they get injured (beckham) or can only play 35 per game because their legs give out.

    bring on the geo’s!

    Reply
  2. Henry has been more productive recently. Geovanni has not played since the end of 2009-2010 season. In 2009-2010 season, Henry appeared in less games in the league play (mostly of the bench) and scored more than Geovanni (4 vs. 3). In 2008-2009, when Henry was a starter, the disparity is even greater 19 goals vs 8 for Geovanni. Again, Geovanni had more appearances in the league play.

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  3. I think that one of the defining reasons for the DP was to bring in “names” that even the averge sports fan has heard about and would support. “Butts in seats” is the operative word here and I think teams are missing the point in bringing in very skilled but relatively unknown (to the General public) players. DP’s should be used to bring in players popular in certain countries that would attract fans from the locality/. Signing Mexican stars to Chicago is a good example and a good move as Chicago is has one of the largest Mexican populations in the US.

    I think it would be better for some clubs to forgo signing “middle”-tier European players who are used to a far higher pay scale and settle on some emerging Central?south American talent available far cheaper, and bring in at least one “name” using one of the three dp slots.

    Reply
  4. great siging by the quakes. just when we were convinced the head office didn’t give a darn they come up with some clever moves to make the team better quick!

    who needs a big name like beckham or henry to bring fans to the game as these fans are fare weather. let these wannabe fans go somewhere else to try to sit on the sidelines next to spike lee or jack nicolson.

    geo can play and he’s youngish so he can make an impact for the foreseeable future on the team. also he should find mls to his liking (easier), let the goals rain in!

    for me the starting line up should be (when everyone is healthy):

    wondo

    convey geo khari gertsen

    cronin

    corrales opara burling ward

    busch

    that’s a good team

    Reply
  5. Can’t bash the guy for his performance at Hull the second half of last year. He was basically the only skilled player on the team. Nice pickup just for his free kicks alone!

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