Luis Arroyave reports that Paulo Cesar Wanchope is all but set to join Chicago as his signing is imminent.
Wanchope has long been a quality player. He broke through with Derby County in the mid-90s and also played for West Ham as well as Manchester City in England and enjoyed a spell in Spain with Malaga. Most Americans, though, are likely familiar with Wanchope because of his international career. Long the top Costa Rican national team striker, Wanchope has been one of the better strikers in this region over the last decade.
Last summer, he had two goals in the opening match of the World Cup, a 4-2 loss to Germany.
Wanchope gives Chicago a vital attacking piece and along with Blanco and a healthy Chris Rolfe, Chicago seems poised to shed the offensive woes that have plagued them all season.
3 comments:
Good signing for them if he is fit, stays healthy, and gives a damn.
He's got another year or two in him.
Hopefully he'll act as a mentor for Chris Rolf as well.
I may be wrong, but I don't see how a guy FC Tokyo thought was not worth keeping is going to help the Fire much. When Rolfe is 100%, then Wanchope will probably be coming off the bench anyway. I wonder what they are paying him, and how does a 1 year contract work when you sign a guy in July? Is he only going to work until next July?
As far as the contract goes, I'd imagine he is signed through the end of this year or the end of 2008. With the salary, we'll find out when all the paperwork goes through what he makes because it'll be on the players union site after a while.
I think Wanchope definitely has a couple of good seasons left in him. I don't know why it didn't work out with FC Tokyo but I can tell you that living in Japan is very difficult. I spent a month there for the 2002 World Cup and it was terrible. The only thing I enjoyed was going to the soccer games; everything sucked, mainly because I was alone. If he had a hard time adjusting to the Japanese culture, perhaps he asked for and received a release.
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