The Houston Dynamo's search for a Designated Player appears to have come to a fruitful end.
According to a report from Greece, the Dynamo has agreed to a DP deal with Spanish striker Sergio Contreras Pardo, who goes by "Koke" and currently stars for Aris FC.
Koke, 27, previously played at Malaga and Marseille before joining Aris in 2006. He would certainly fit the bill as a complement to Brian Ching up top for the Dynamo and would augment the team's forward corps, which includes Ching, Will Bruin, Jason Garey, Cam Weaver and Calen Carr.
Although the team was reportedly after Mexican striker Edgar Pacheco only to have a deal fall through, it appears that Koke will become the team's second DP following in the unsuccessful steps of Luis Angel Landin.
What do you think about the potential signing? Do you see Koke having success in MLS?
Share your thoughts below.
???
Greece League blows
Wake up..Bowen isn’t that good….JPA at 50 will be better than Bowen will ever be.
He might be reall good…but what service will he get? They still havent replaced De Ro, Holden, or Clark….
Landin was already considered garbage in Mexico. Another bad DP signing. Pacheco in the other hand is a stellar young guy, if not watch the Mexico vrs Bosnia game. Kid has game and is young and with huge potential.
I completely agree. JPA I disagree in getting him over a young prospect like Bowen and especially giving him DP money. Beckham is Beckham and well Donovan is worth every penny.
It would take 2 Koke’s to equal 1 Landin….in body mass anyway.
Heard this guy was recommended by Mista.
10 goals a season?!?! If that’s all that’s expected from a DP striker that’s pathetic!
To justify a DP striker to me, you need 18+ a season.
Whatever happened to Felix Garcia as a forward. He played in the PDL and tore it up. Even scored against the Dynamo…get him back up there and he will make a huge difference.
Yes, I’ve heard of him. He played for Sporting Lisbon in 2005-06 but did not do much.
Link: http://www.foradejogo.net/player.php?player=198304270002
Too bad it’s not Koke of Atletico Madrid. An uber-talented 19-year-old Spanish midfielder. At first, I thought that’s who the Dynamo signed and I freaked out for a second. I’ve seen him play. He’s a gritty forward. Good nose for the goal.
Kinnear has lost it. Guy is too damn slow….another bust
Yes, maybe he can go a 1,000 minutes without scoring like other DP’s from LA.
given some of the guys that have bombed, that’s a stupid thing to say before he’s stepped on the field. Remember Landin? Man was garbage, and there are a bunch that weren’t much better
I have a feeling this guy is not DP material especially when Houston was after Pachecho. He hasnt been stellar. Bad move on Houston. I think out of the DPs this guy is one of the weakest if not the weakest
I’m pretty sure the transfer window lasts until April 15.
It will be interesting to see how many more signings there are in the next few days…
Can he join the team now or does he have to wait until july? i’m not strong on all the mls rules…
I remember this guy playing with Adu. Pretty good, will be interesting to see how he does.
As any with signing time will tell if it pays off positively. But on paper this is a very good signing. Koke doesn’t have the “wow factor” or name recognition but he is an impact player. Silky smooth with the ball at his feet and makes the right decisions on and off the ball. He won’t razzle and dazzle you but the guy is super efficient. Koke maybe a striker but he’s always been a de facto #10 and with good reason, he can control the flow of a game. The Greek Super Liga isn’t the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, or Bundesliga but it has imported and exported good players. Koke fits into that category.
Now the league will fear us, we’re all high on Koke!
ha yeah right
Yeah but he’s already on the team, whereas this adds someone and improves the team.
?=, ives you really need a edit button
The team will of course be coached by Kiki Vandeweghe…
not worth a DP slot? Geoff Cameron is probally better.
Just wait until they sign Kaka as their next DP… and then there is an NBA lockout and Kobe follows Ochocinco to MLS!
I don’t think the sticking point was price, I think Pacheco decided against coming to MLS, unfortunately.
The story says Houston will pay Koke 1.2 million euros a year. Don’t know what the exchange rate is now but I’m sure that amount is well in excess of $1.5 million. The article also says Aris was on the hook to pay him 1 million euros a year for the next 3 years. So they suggest it is money that is motivating the move. In typical Greek media fashion they have a loud headline: “Koke departure is a bomb!”
Interesting…surprised that they are spending DP money on guy who was last playing in Greece.
Kofi and Koke are going to be a nightmare for announcers to keep apart.
Koke, they name him in the article…:)
If only his vowel’s were a’s.
Will there be a Kokeheads section at the new stadium?
New Koke?
I’d take a productive serious, unknown to a Beckham or Denilson anyday!
Success is all relative. I’m sure the fast food eateries in Houston found Landin’s time with the Dynamo super successful.
I was thinking the same thing. What I saw of him was good, not great.
He is not overly tall or fast but he did appear to be an above average player with some good ball control (from what I remember).
All that said, he must of shown Kinnear something because there is no way this can be classified as a publicity signing.
It will be fun to watch. If he makes some noise, people will be blown away. If he doesn’t, Landin part 2.
Edgar Pacheco would have been a great addition. I saw him play a friendly with Mexico and he looked good.Its too bad Atlas was probably asking for some ridiculous amount.
I’d much rather take a guy who can ball that’s in his prime than someone “big” that has the impact Henry’s been having on games recently.
Word is he was playing more as an attacking mid and had some physical issues the last few seasons, I’m hopeful that he’s going to be a good fit in Houston.
Did none of you guys watch streams of Eddie Johnson/Freddy Adu at Aris?
All I can say is I am glad that some teams in the league these days are using the DP clause to purchase players under the age of 32 these days, and that’s a good thing.
I don’t know what to think. Wait and see is probably what I am going to do before trashing this guy. His strike rate for Aris was about 1 in 4.5.
Who?
Never heard of him either. At least he’s still only 27 and in his prime, and seemingly with much still to prove. Aris is an okay team, they’ve played in the UEFA Cup and taken a scalp or two. He looks like a consistant 10 goal scorer for them.
What happened to go big or go home….this is hardly big.
Never heard of him.