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MLS Ticker: Whitecaps push back on Camilo move; Earthquakes look to sign Ligue 1 midfielder; and more

CamiloSanvezzoWhitecaps2012 (CanadianPress)

By CAITLIN MURRAY

So, Camilo Sanvezzo to Liga MX’s Querétaro? Not so fast.

The Vancouver Whitecaps came out hard against photos Querétaro tweeted Monday showing Camilo wearing a Querétaro jersey, with Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi calling it “unacceptable and inappropriate.” The tweet had implied Camilo was undergoing medical evaluations ahead of joining Querétaro’s Gallos Blancos.

In a statement issued Monday, the Whitecaps said they had picked up Camilo’s contract option for the 2014 season back in November, a deal Camilo initially agreed to back in February 2012. The Whitecaps told Querétaro so last week and again today in writing.

“They were well aware of the fact that he was contracted to Whitecaps FC,” Lenarduzzi told reporters Monday. “From where I stand right now, I really believe the situation has been misrepresented to Camilo. I think he’s put a lot of faith in an agent and gone with his agent’s advice.”

Camilo is under contract with the Whitecaps and cannot join Querétaro without the Canadian Soccer Association transferring his international transfer certificate, which they haven’t, the Whitecaps said.

“We’re frustrated that it’s actually gotten to this stage,” Lendarduzzi said. “Having said all that, I think you need to take a step back from your frustration and make the best decision available to our club and also hear Camilo out.”

The Whitecaps won’t give up Camilo without a fight. The 2013 MLS Golden Boot winner had scored 22 times for the club last season and tallied six assists.

Here are some other stories happening in MLS today:

EARTHQUAKES LOOK TO BRING PIERAZZI FROM FRANCE

The San Jose Earthquakes are inching closer to a deal to bring in French player Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi, the club told local media Monday.

The two sides have agreed to terms, but the deal has not been finalized yet. A defensive midfielder, Pierazzi, 28, could give the Earthquakes some needed help where Rafael Baca left for Mexico’s Cruz Azul.

Pierazzi was previously the captain of AC Ajaccio in Ligue 1, France’s premier division. Ajaccio is the only club he’s played for, having joined in 2006. Pierazzi reportedly comes to MLS on a free transfer.

UNITED ADDS HOMEGROWN DEFENDER IN ROBINSON

D.C. United’s latest homegrown talent is 19-year-old Academy product Jalen Robinson.

The club announced Monday they signed the former Wake Forest player for the 2014 season.

“Jalen is one of the most athletic players in all of college soccer who can play center back or right back,” said United GM Dave Kasper in a club press release. “He is very composed on the ball as he looks to play out of the back, and he also excels at one on one defending.”

He will become the seventh homegrown player in United’s history, joining 2010 MLS Rookie of the Year Andy Najar, goalkeeper and U.S. international Bill Hamid, defender Conor Shanosky, defender Ethan White, forward Michael Seaton and midfielder Collin Martin.

Robinson has represented the United States at the U-15, U-17, U-18 and U-20 level.

GALAXY ADD COACHING ASSISTANT IN ARENA

The Los Angeles Galaxy have added a new coach to its staff, the club announced Monday.

A former head coach in the Galaxy Academy, Kenny Arena joins the Galaxy as an assistant coach after spending the last two years as the head coach at Florida International University.

“We are pleased to add Kenny to our coaching staff,” said Galaxy coach and GM Bruce Arena. “Kenny’s familiarity with the Galaxy, experience in player development and his knowledge of the college game make him a good fit for our club.”

Arena led the Panthers to an 8-8-2 record in his first season in charge, giving them their most wins in a single season since 2005, and left FIU with a 14-18-3 record overall.

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What do you make of the Camilo/Whitecaps saga? Will Camilo be lighting up scoreboards in MLS again in 2014? Would Pierazzi be a good addition to the Earthquakes?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. The Caps are screwed here. You don’t want to be a position of nixing the deal (so the player had his heart set on LigaX and higher cash and you force him to stay with his original contract). I personally thing it’s bad work by Vancouver. You need to stay in touch with your players (and their agents) over the offseason. Now Vancouver has a losing hand–they can insist that they’ll refuse to sell Camilo but that’s not really going to fly.

    On Kenny Arena, he is Bruce’s son. Yeah, it’s probably mostly nepotism. But on paper Kenny has more than enough credentials to justify an assistant’s position. He’s NT program, college, and pro experience. He’s coached at a bunch of levels. And college record in soccer means little. Some coaches win a lot b/c they are superb college coaches, others b/c they recruit very well. If you insist on playing college ball similar to a professional setting (and don’t sub players off and on the field willy-nilly, play a more posesion-based approach) than you usually lose. I haven’t followed FIU much to be able to critique Kenny’s performance there.

    On Jalen Robinson, that’s a lovely signing. He’s homegrown of course. He’s a superb athlete. And he comes from a program where ball possession and technical skills are big. Robinson is probably the replacement for Franklin in 2 years.

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  2. I thought Camilo was staying with the Whitecaps so he could earn Canadian citizenship and give them a solid chance of reaching the World Cup in 2018.

    I guess $$$$ was more important

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  3. Hopefully Pierazzi is the first of several new players for the Quakes. Everyone in SJ is still waiting for a true ACM.

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  4. Luis Gil should make a move to Burnley. He seems like he would be a good fit in their system. Burnley no longer plays that old defensive style. Ever since Sean Dyche took over they’ve been more attack minded and have a creative mid. I could see a Cameron Howieson-Luis Gil partership which would be deadly! Also Burnley are 2nd In the Championship. Sean Dyche seems to he a good manager considering this is his 2nd team. Not a burnley fan just so ya’ll know.

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    • Does Gil have an EU passport? If not, then he needs to meet the FA requirement for playing on the USMNT to get a work visa. Since Agudelo couldn’t get one, I doubt Gil can.

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      • Gil could sell his U20 leadership and involvement where Agudelo was hurt for most of the U23 and out of favor on the senior side.

        But I think he should wait and have a breakout season here for his own good. A lot of these players who get ahead of themselves seem to be the ones struggling. Establish yourself and then move.

        For example, Shea moved at a low ebb, so did Adu, Agudelo is barely on an uptick.

  5. Hey Bruce, you garbage, please tell us more about how important it is to develop in MLS when your nepotism is showing. No really, justify it. Fool.

    And if that story is true about Camilo’s agent, they should be banned by FIFA from representing players in any sanctioned league because misrepresenting contractual obligations for personal gain is tantamount to extortion. Not sure how Canada’s laws govern cases like this, but in gen con-law, that’s a major no-no that ends up with you disbarred and sometimes imprisoned.

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  6. Same Kenny Arena that played for the MetroStars back in the day?

    A couple of years ago the Crew had Milovan Mirosivic under contract. He wanted to go back to Chile and left. Next thing you know the Crew announces that they terminated the contract. I think when a player wants out, there is not much reason to want them on your team. It’s just a matter I compensation. Lenarduzzi seems to be saying as much.

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  7. I have a hard time believing MLS didn’t know about Camilo signing with Queretaro. Some times I feel like MLS tries to be the KGB….

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    • how do you figure according to the article Vancouver told Queretaro that he was under contract last week and no deal was done as his option was picked up in Vancouver

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    • When they option a player the message they send me is the agent and Querataro got ahead of Vancouver, there wasn’t sufficient financial agreement, and now Vancouver is peeved at the grandstanding and saying if you want him this bad we just exercised the option and his price went up.

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  8. So, is Kenny Arena Bruce Arena’s son?
    As a follow up, why was it a good fit to hire a guy who did worse in his second season of coaching (6-10-1) ? That just seems like picking up a coach on the decline.

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    • To answer your first question, yes he is Bruce’s kid.

      I thought the same thing to myself when looking through the record. I know I am in no way of judging coaches/ asst. coaches but that really does not bode well for the Galaxy.

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    • Kenny Arena is Bruce Arena’s son. He grew up in Charlottesville, played at UVa, played for the national team on some level or another, and spent a very brief time playing in MLS. As a coach he was an assistant at UCLA before taking the FIU job.

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    • It’s really not fair to judge a coach of a college or reserve/youth side on his record alone when it is such a short time. That type of coach – more so for reserve than college, but even so – has little ability to control his talent pool over the short term.

      He may very well have gone 6-10-1 with 11 underclassmen after the first team graduated, for all we know – which would be considered a pretty good season

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      • I think it’s fair, there are quite a few people like his dad in the league with demonstrated levels of success in college. 4 NCAAs in a row and 5 total is hard to render subjective or “he needs time to prove himself.”

        That being said, quite a few MLS assistants have limited coaching experience. Ralston and Barrett basically retired straight to our Dynamo bench, although there’s an argument to be made that the team was stronger under Spencer as an assistant. IMO a stronger assistant can be a better coach on the head coach playing out to his ad absurdum worst. Ever since Spencer left Houston has become a defensive stereotype and I wonder if it’s because the current assistants owe their careers to Kinnear and thus become yes men. If the assistant has more cachet of their own accord maybe they can tell you things are bad ideas….but then maybe the head doesn’t want that. Houston is a pretty closed loop, for good and ill.

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