Photo by David Bernal/ISIphotos.com
After a one-year hiatus, the Columbus Crew will have a jersey sponsor once again.
The club announced a five-year sponsorship deal with shaving products company Barbasol, which is headquartered in the Columbus suburb of Dublin, Ohio. Financial terms of the agreement were not announced.
The Crew's previous deal was with paint manufacturer Glidden, but the company withdrew its jersey sponsorship ahead of last season. With Columbus taken care of, just FC Dallas, Sporting Kansas City the Colorado Rapids and San Jose Earthquakes are the lone MLS teams without a kit sponsor. San Jose recently ended its deal with Amway.
Here are a couple of more items from around MLS:
DAWKINS HEADED BACK TO SAN JOSE
The San Jose Earthquakes have reacquired one of their main offseason targets.
Simons Dawkins is headed back to the Earthquakes on another loan from Tottenham. Dawkins was a revelation for the club in the midfield last season, scoring six goals and adding an element of class
"It was one of our primary offseason goals to bring Simon back to San Jose, but we had to be patient. In the end, that patience paid off," Earthquakes general manager John Doyle said in a team release. "We liked what we saw out of Simon last year. He's a versatile player who adds another dimension to our lineup and we’re excited for his return to the club."
The reacquisition of Dawkins adds to the Earthquakes' impressive offseason haul. Between extending Chris Wondolowski's contract again, trading for Marvin Chavez and Shea Salinas, signing Honduran centerback Victor Bernardez, Colombian playmaker Tressor Moreno and Turkish striker Sercan Guvenisik and drafting UCSB product Sam Garza, San Jose has taken major steps to improving on last year's 8-12-14 record that saw the club miss the playoffs.
FERRARI JOINS IMPACT
Veteran Italian centerback Matteo Ferrari has joined the Impact in California for preseason training with the aim of agreeing to terms on a contract.
According to club president Joey Saputo, if Ferrari gets signed he would not be a Designated Player, something that the club maintains it is still on the hunt for as it nears the opening of its expansion season.
Ferrari is a longtime Serie A veteran, with more than 200 top-flight appearances to his name after stints with a number of top teams including Roma, Inter Milan, Parma and Genoa. He was most recently with Besiktas in Turkey.
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What do you think of the Crew's new sponsorship deal? Think San Jose can be a player in the Western Conference now that Dawkins is back in the mix? What do you make of a defender of Ferrari's caliber possibly joining the Impact?
Share your thoughts below.