Tuesday, March 11, 2008

More on Piojo

Kansas City technical director Peter Vermes spoke highly of Claudio Lopez on Monday but I wonder if his words are accurate.

"When you talk worldwide, it’s obvious Claudio is a bigger name than anyone in our league outside Beckham,” Wizards technical director Peter Vermes said. “His success on the field — in playing two World Cups, the Olympics and two of the biggest leagues in the world in Serie A and LaLiga — creates an aura around him.”

Lopez is a fine player, no question about it. He can and will contribute. Perhaps he will come in and start scoring in a pace as quickly as Juan Pablo Angel or maybe it will take him a little more time to adjust.

But as far as name players go, I wouldn't say it's obvious that Lopez is Big Name No. 2. The aforementioned Angel was a star in England and Argentina before heading to MLS and those are two pretty big leagues. Marcelo Gallardo had fine careers in France and Argentina as well while Cuauhtemoc Blanco is a recognizable name outside of North America. Even Abel Xavier is a pretty recognizable name, if only for his eccentric hairstyles.

Names alone, though, don't win anything and don't draw much in this league. So it surprised me that Vermes would throw that out there. Still, I'd be more concerned about ensuring that Lopez settles into the Kansas City area smoothly and eases into the club in equally smooth fashion than touting him as an obvious big name.

5 comments:

Gabriel in Argentina said...

I think he is right..Gallardo only played in France..Blanco..was horrible in Spain..and then played in Mexico..Angel had a so-so time in the UK..Lopez played everywhere and was pretty successful..he may have even played for Argentina more than gallardo..and certainly more than Schelloto..so..I think he may be right

The Hammer said...

Lopez is a runner. You have to worry about his age because so much of his game depended on getting in open spaces and running like a bat out of hell on the left side.

If he's lost a step, you have to wonder what's going to happen when he has to sprint against a straight-out-of-college rookie.

Anonymous said...

He might be a big name, but I don't think he's number two in terms if name recognition in the league. I think that goes to Blanco. Don't get me wrong, Lopez was a great player in Europe and Mexico, but I don't ever think he fell into the superstar mold, mostly because he's really a one dimensional player. His speed was his greatest asset, if he didn't have his speed, he would've been just a mediocre player.

Anonymous said...

last time i saw him playing for America the speed was gone. his age is showing and growing his impact will be good at best but definitely not great

Gabriel in Argentina said...

He may not be second in name recognition in the league..I agree..but I think the question was whether he has the name recognition in the world..or if the has the second best pedigree in the league..the argument could be made for both