Is Claudio a sacred cow of U.S. soccer?
Dyer takes a look at Reyna's value to his New York team specifically, and MLS in general.
Frankie Hejduk vouches for Reyna in the piece, but I know another former World Cup teammate of Reyna was far less complimentary.
"Claudio Reyna is not worth a million dollars in this league," he told me. "Please."
The thing is, that's what he said when Reyna was signed, before the injuries started piling up.
I have to admit, I had to use journalistic objectivity to overcome my personal hope that John O'Brien would be a good signing for MLS. His skill and creativity were thrilling, but his track record of health and fitness couldn't be ignored. Rather sadly, I wrote an article that was more than a bit skeptical of the investment Chivas USA made. Things turned out even worse than anyone expected. O'Brien cost only a fraction of what Reyna did, but he only played five minutes for the squad. There's no way the team got good value out of that.
Is Reyna worth a million? If not, what is he worth? Is he perhaps a better fit for another team? Is he delicate creme brulee instead of tough Jello, or completely insubstantial cotton candy?
Showing posts with label John O'Brien. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John O'Brien. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
JOB on the beach
"Where did John O'Brien go?" say the plaintive emails I get every now and again. It's not that I'm ignoring the requests, but Johnny O. seems to prefer a low profile.
Short of stalking the guy, I can't really track his whereabouts. I've put in a few requests for interviews, but he's declined to talk about what he's up to these days. I did hear that he'd occasionally pop up for a soccer game here and there, with Hollywood United F.C., for example.
Anyway, he's now supposedly playing in this beach soccer tournament.
So, he's not dead, or in the Witness Protection Program, still getting in a little soccer, and working on his tan, I suppose.
Short of stalking the guy, I can't really track his whereabouts. I've put in a few requests for interviews, but he's declined to talk about what he's up to these days. I did hear that he'd occasionally pop up for a soccer game here and there, with Hollywood United F.C., for example.
Anyway, he's now supposedly playing in this beach soccer tournament.
So, he's not dead, or in the Witness Protection Program, still getting in a little soccer, and working on his tan, I suppose.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Oh, oh, Johnny O
That new U.S. soccer blog needs to catch up with this guy.
Like I told Luis once, "How does he play in the World Cup and then drop off the face of the earth?" It may not be that drastic, but it seems that way at times.
We get emails asking about JOB, but there's not a whole lot we can do to pass along news when he declines all interviews.
Which doesn't mean that I've personally seen him this year. He used to work out at the Home Depot Center and there were whispers of a comeback, even earlier this year, when Preki said he was waiting to hear from Johnny if he ever got healthy.
Chivas USA, the last club team he ever played for (they still hold his MLS rights), has contact info for him and they field a lot of requests for John to do interviews (including mine). So far, he's always said no. He didn't want to issue even a generic statment through them, such as, "Hey, I'm retired, I'm perfecting my bongo drum playing and getting a tan in Puerto Rico. I plan to become a chef one day - a kinder, gentler Gordon Ramsey. Leave me alone."
I did actually hear that Johnny was playing soccer again, with Hollywood United FC. He played twenty minutes of a recent match, along with some other ex-pros like Ian Russell. I drove out to HUFC's next match, hoping JOB might be amenable to a word or two if someone was there in person. Except Johnny never came. Not too surprising - players pop in and out of that club all the time. Lalas and Wynalda play for them sometimes, as does Vinnie Jones and a host of other recognizable names.
Even if JOB never plays for them again, he already put in more onfield game minutes for HUFC than he ever did for Chivas USA.
Like I told Luis once, "How does he play in the World Cup and then drop off the face of the earth?" It may not be that drastic, but it seems that way at times.
We get emails asking about JOB, but there's not a whole lot we can do to pass along news when he declines all interviews.
Which doesn't mean that I've personally seen him this year. He used to work out at the Home Depot Center and there were whispers of a comeback, even earlier this year, when Preki said he was waiting to hear from Johnny if he ever got healthy.
Chivas USA, the last club team he ever played for (they still hold his MLS rights), has contact info for him and they field a lot of requests for John to do interviews (including mine). So far, he's always said no. He didn't want to issue even a generic statment through them, such as, "Hey, I'm retired, I'm perfecting my bongo drum playing and getting a tan in Puerto Rico. I plan to become a chef one day - a kinder, gentler Gordon Ramsey. Leave me alone."
I did actually hear that Johnny was playing soccer again, with Hollywood United FC. He played twenty minutes of a recent match, along with some other ex-pros like Ian Russell. I drove out to HUFC's next match, hoping JOB might be amenable to a word or two if someone was there in person. Except Johnny never came. Not too surprising - players pop in and out of that club all the time. Lalas and Wynalda play for them sometimes, as does Vinnie Jones and a host of other recognizable names.
Even if JOB never plays for them again, he already put in more onfield game minutes for HUFC than he ever did for Chivas USA.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Uh, oh, O'Brien
Just when Preki signed on as coach of Chivas USA, I'd asked him about John O'Brien and his chances of returning to the squad. Preki seemed pretty optimistic, mentioning that O'Brien looked ready to participate in preseason training to prove his fitness.
I'd also sighted Johnny O myself around the HDC complex, though I didn't get to talk to him. He was working, I understood, with the Athlete's Performance gurus who helped bring him back to fitness before, the year John participated in the Gold Cup.
On top of that, there was news out of New York that Bruce Arena was interested in his services - I started to think we'd actually see John play a full game in MLS this year. Doesn't look like it though, as now Preki says O'Brien's not fit to practice.
I'd also sighted Johnny O myself around the HDC complex, though I didn't get to talk to him. He was working, I understood, with the Athlete's Performance gurus who helped bring him back to fitness before, the year John participated in the Gold Cup.
On top of that, there was news out of New York that Bruce Arena was interested in his services - I started to think we'd actually see John play a full game in MLS this year. Doesn't look like it though, as now Preki says O'Brien's not fit to practice.
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