By DAN KARELL
A former American Abroad in Sweden has decided to further his career in Major League Soccer.
The league announced on Wednesday evening that 21-year-old midfielder Brian “Cobi” Span had signed a contract with the league and will be allocated in a weighted lottery on Thursday at 10 a.m. Span spent the last two seasons with Djurgårdens in Sweden’s Allsvenskan, the top division, but the club chose to part ways with him at the end of the 2013 season.
Five teams have entered the weighted lottery, with FC Dallas holding the best chance (41.1 percent) of acquiring the Somers, N.Y., native. Also participating are the Chicago Fire (27 percent), San Jose Earthquakes (18.7 percent), New England Revolution (12.3 percent, and Real Salt Lake (0.9 percent).
Whichever team acquires Span in the lottery is not allowed to participate in another one for the rest of the year.
Prior to becoming a professional in Sweden, Span played two seasons with the University of Virginia, scoring 12 goals and adding eight assists in his collegiate career. During his two years with Djurgårdens, Span played 19 times in all competitions, scoring once.
Span is a former member of the U.S. Soccer Under-17 residency program.
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What do you think of this news? Do you see Span starting for any of those five teams? Where do you see him falling?
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