Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/USA Today Sports
By DAN KARELL
Unable to ink an MLS contract this winter, Heath Pearce has gone against the strong current of Americans returning from Europe and signed with a club in Sweden.
IFK Goteborg announced on Thursday that they’ve signed Pearce to a five-month contract, with an option to extend. Pearce was a free agent, after his contract with the Montreal Impact expired at the end of the season and no teams selected him in the MLS re-entry draft. Pearce had recently been training with Orlando City.
“He can play at any position in the defensive line,” Goteborg sporting director Mats Gren said in a statement. “He’s experienced, strong, skillful game, great physics and has a good pass.”
The 30-year-old Pearce spent 2005-2009 abroad, playing for FC Nordsjælland in Denmark and Hansa Rostock in Germany, before joining FC Dallas in late 2009. He helped lead FC Dallas to the MLS Cup final in 2010, and since then has played for Chivas USA, the New York Red Bulls, and the Impact.
Goteborg finished second in the Swedish Allsvenskan last season, qualifying for the UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds. The 2015 Allsvenskan season begins in early April.
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