A day before the Portland Timbers host the first home game in their Major League Soccer history, the club has signed its first Designated Player.
The Timbers signed Colombian playmaking midfielder Diego Chara to a DP deal on Wednesday. Chara, 25, was formerly with Deportes Tolima in his native Colombia, where he was a key component of his league's most-potent attack.
"We’ve stated that should a player become available that is exciting, young, talented, attack-minded and worth an investment of this type, we would definitely look to sign him," Timbers general manager Gavin Wilkinson said in a release. "Diego is the right fit for the city and this organization.”
Chara is the latest Colombian to sign a DP deal, joining Fabian Castillo, Fredy Montero and Juan Pablo Angel. He was a teammate of current Timbers forward Jorge Perlaza at Tolima last year and also at Quindio in 2006.
What do you think about the signing? Do you think Chara is the missing piece for Portland's attack?
Share your thoughts below.
more fun to watch than Princeton
in spite of…you are funny. Experienced foreign players are elevating the standard of the league and the country. It started with Beckham. Our young talent has to “learn” how to play from/with great players.
Quality players at a fraction of the cost.
South America can really churn them out. Argentina and Brazil are dominated by Europe, I’m glad we’ve found a good source of our own.
My fiancee is from Colombia so I’ve been paying more attention to the league with her – they do have a lot of young talent. I hope this tradition continues!
I think a Colombian All-Star MLS team would beat a US All-Star MLS team… Mondragon, Ferrira, Angel, Valdez… Good players.
I think this is how DP money should be spent. Why should Mexican League get all the talented players from South America?
The aging formula does not seem to be working, as far as production goes.
Overall, the quality of MLS is improving, in spite of Beckham, Henry, etc.
I agree.
You can’t. Unless you donate $10. Even then the formations don’t really change, you can just put a midfielder where a forward is, or a defender where a midfielder is, etc.
Chara on a soccer pitch? Good Lord. Every opposing player would be mutilated!
(SBI-Not necessarily. His skates would get stuck in the grass. LOL)
Zdeno Chara switched sports ahead of the upcoming Bruins-Canadians series afraid of retribution?
For what it’s worth, Grant Wahl’s tweet on the signing after asking his “Tweeps Colombianos” for a scouting report: “Gracias Colombianos. Consensus report on Portland DP signing Diego Chará: talented MF who covers space, drives offense, can finish too.”
If they are here to teach the younger guys then why not bring them in as coaches and save yourself the roster spot? The fact is these guys are brought in the play and produce and they aren’t.
Nicely done…
Well, Timbers still have a couple roster spots open. Always the summer window and Horstache – out for a few weeks unfortunately – isn’t half bad.
I’m going to start calling Kevin “Bobcat”.
“Visa still pending.”
Yours truly,
Kerrea Gilbert
Good one.
maybe he doesn’t wanna play in your garbage stadium
because it would create inequity. Bigger, richer teams would be able to buy up all the Chara like players in south america in a heartbeat.
I also believe teams can get some sort of transfer exceptions stemming from prior transfers ie) dempsey to fulham, jozy to Villareal, etc
players usually get around 10% of the fee, so i guess this is so teams don’t circumvent the cap, also, if fees weren’t part of it then richer teams (NY, LA) would have an advantage over less well off teams and the league would lose parity….
For an expansion team I guess its an ok DP. If this was the gaLAxy or my Sounders signing I would be piss. Due to the level and pressure the new team has he will contribute.
I don’t understand why MLS makes teams count the transfer fee towards the salary cap. I believe only the players wages should count.
my thought too! i bet he could cross over to a CB. similar position in hockey and he is from Slovenia im sure he played at some point growing up.
also what is a young player going to teach to another player there age huh?
why are people complaining of players like henry,beckham and other older players? will you rather see henry scoring all the goals than a young player like agudelo scoring them. henry and other olders players are there to teach them because they have a higher Hierarchy. Older players bring experience to young players and they learn.
According to this article out of Colombia, $2.4m paid by the league for his transfer
http://www.caracol.com.co/nota.aspx?id=1454240
Can someone tell me how to change formation in MFLS? Thanks
haha, got a good laugh from this.
http://www.oregonlive.com/timbers/index.ssf/2011/04/portland_timbers_sign_first_de.html
Source that says, “No.”
Visa still pending.
“Chará will be added to the Timbers roster and will be eligible for selection upon the receipt of his P-1 visa.”
http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2011/04/timbers-sign-diego-char%C3%A1-first-designated-player-club-history
Smart. Who cares if unknown. Beckham, Henry and Marquez are known and what have they shown so far. Would rather have a Lindpere, Saborio, Ferreira, Schelotto, or Montero type player that is still in their prime and have much to play for be brought in. Even JP Angel who did well at Aston Villa wasn’t a big name type player.
Source?
The best defense is a good offense… or something like that.
The Timbers paid a 1.7m transfer fee for him.
I asked a question about this in yesterday’s SBI Q&A, unfortunately Ives chose to answer the 5000th question about The Wire instead…
I don’t understand why more teams don’t sign talented young foreigners where the transfer fee is high enough that they are classified as a DP in their first year, basically young guys with high upside like Fabian Castillo instead of aging guys like Henry.
As a Timbers fan, I am happy about this signing. From what I have been reading he is a holding midfielder and isn’t lacking in playmaking ability. Buuut I have to agree, we seriously need more defensive players.
Hey, don’t underestimate the incredible talent that is Kevin Goldthwaite.
By all indications this is a smart signing. But seriously, who’s playing defense for Portland? Portland is striving to become the Loyola Marymount of MLS.
i mean thursday?
will he play tonight?
Good to see a relatively youthful DP signing.
for a second i thought that Zdeno Chara had left the Boston Bruins and decided to play soccer…boy how the mind can deceive
You know who could use a young playmaker with Hispanic flair? DC United. If Chara turns out to be a real find (not like Marcelo Gallardo), and DC passed him up for Boskovic, Dave Kasper should be fired.
Damn Spencer, stop stocking up on defenders for this team…
Never heard of him.
I’m excited about this move even if I’m not that familiar with his body of work. And for those certain to ask if he’s DP worthy, I believe the rumors floating around are that a transfer fee was paid and that’s why he’s classified as a DP.
Are there any soccer players left in Colombia?