By MARC SERBER
Fresh off of scoring the game winner against the Columbus Crew, news has broken out that New England Revolution midfielder Diego Fagundez has received his Green Card.
The acquisition of his his permanent residence card also means that he won’t count as a foreign player on the Revolution’s roster next season, opening up an international slot for the team to use.
The striker has represented Uruguay at the youth level but is not cap tied because he hasn’t played for the senior national team in a competitive match. He is still not eligible to play for the United States, and is still between three to five years away from securing the American citizenship that would allow him to represent the U.S. national team.
Fagundez, who has 13 goals and seven assists this season, was born in Uruguay before moving to the Boston area at the age of five. He signed a homegrown contract with the New England Revolution as their first ever homegrown player when he was just 15-years-old.
Here are some more stories from around MLS:
DETROIT LOOKING TO DRIVE MLS INTO THE MOTOR CITY
A failed prison site might be the perfect place for Detroit to develop the land for a soccer stadium which could lure an MLS team to the Motor City by 2016.
The Apostolopoulos family, which owns the Toronto-based Triple Properties Inc. is planing a “$1 billion-plus development that includes a 25,000-seat open-air soccer stadium, a 275,000-square-foot retail complex with high-end retailers and food courts, 1 million square feet of residential space including two towers, and 1.3 million square feet of office space and parking,” according to Crain’s Detroit Business.
Crain’s also states that the stadium would cost somewhere between $230-250 million while the rights to an MLS franchise usually falls in the ballpark of $40-70 million.
MLS Executive Vice President for Communications, Dan Courtemanche has mentioned that the league has held preliminary talks with the Apostolopoulos about the possibility of an expansion side featuring in Detroit, but mentioned that there are no current talks.
With that said, Courtemanche did tell Crain’s Detroit Business that MLS is interested in bringing a team to the metro area and that they’ve, “been certainly monitoring the market.”
There are other groups competing for the same land site, but the Apostolopouloses say that even if they don’t get the bid for the land, they will continue their pursuit to bring an MLS team to Michigan’s most populous city.
NEW YORK RED BULLS ANNOUNCE PLAYOFF DATES
The New York Red Bulls impressive victory at the Houston Dynamo last Sunday wasn’t just a statement game to the rest of the league, but it also clinched a top-two place in the Eastern Conference.
As such, the Red Bulls were able to announce their playoff dates for the Eastern Conference semifinals, which will see them play the road leg on either November 2/3 and the home leg of their home-and-home aggregate series on November 6/7 at Red Bull Arena. The club also announced that though the opponent is still unknown, tickets are already on sale.
After running rampant in its 3-0 victory over Houston last weekend, starting with Tim Cahil scoring the fastest ever goal in MLS history, the Red Bulls have a chance to capture the clubs first ever Supporters’ Shield. A win at home versus Chicago on Sunday means the club would not only win its first piece of pertinent silverware, but it would also gain direct entry into next year’s CONCACAF Champions League.
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What do you think of these reports? Do you see Fagundez attempting to acquire U.S. citizenship? Are you worried about the Red Bulls falling in the first leg? Do you see Detroit joining MLS in the future?
Share your thoughts below.