In the case of Toja, an agency representing players contacted clubs that he was out of contract. He’d been loaned to River Plate by Colombian club Santa Fe, and despite having played impressively for the Colombian U-20 team in the South American qualifying tournament and the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup, neither club wanted to keep him.
The big-money deals – Angel, Blanco, Beckham, Claudio Reyna – attract the most notice, but all teams search anxiously for players who can be acquired for small fees or as free agents.
“I knew him already from seeing him play for our national team,” says FC Dallas assistant coach Oscar Pareja, who himself came to MLS from Colombia to play for New England in 1999. “When I saw him on a list of players, I got his phone number and we had a direct communication with Juan and his mom.
“He told me he wanted to go to play for the team and if he did good, the money will come afterwards. But he wanted to prove to himself and everybody else that he could play. That was a great cue for me, that made me know that Juan was going to be a good signing for the team, and the connection of me being from Colombia and played for FC Dallas helped, too.”
Toja will earn $100,008 this season and the Argentine Richetti, $120,000. Marinelli is on $165,000. Emilio ($265,000) and Fred ($190,008) are on the high end of this year’s non-DP imports. So far, Schelotto, who led the Crew in goals (four) and assists (eight) with two months left in the season, is a great bargain at $150,000.
Those are certainly bargains compared to salaries paid by Toronto FC for Carl Robinson ($300,000) and Andy Welsh ($195,000).
“Richetti was different, he was older [30] and had played for some big teams,” says Pareja of stints in Spain (Real Valladolid) and Argentina (River Plate). “He knew about our league and said he wanted to play here.”
The availability of players for such salaries is usually dependent on teams offering allocation money as a signing bonus, or other compensation. A major allocation is worth $250,000, a minor allocation $100,000, and teams are allowed to split up allocations or combine them.
fridaylights: DMN writer Gabriel Cabarrouy picked Lake Highlands over Southlake Carroll in this weeks picks? Is he really a sportswriter or does he sell ads? Is he sober?
Keith Whitmire: Gabby is also our FC Dallas writer. Perhaps he thinks the game will come down to penalty kicks. Hey, Lake Highlands barely lost to Tyler Lee last week on a field goal in the final minutes. Lake Highlands can play some defense and there’s always the chance Southlake Carroll will be rusty. I still wouldn’t pick Lake Highlands, even though I’m an alum. But if Gabby is right, he looks like a genius. It’s no fun making picks if you’re never going to go out on a limb. And the picks are just for fun, in case anyone takes them too seriously.
No comments yet.
