Union Notebook: Zelaya Trial, Tranquillo Barnetta And Bournemouth Friendly
By Kevin Kinkead
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A few bits of Philadelphia Union transfer news came out on Monday, headlined by the arrival of El Salvador forward Rodolfo Zelaya.
He's a shifty second striker with good dribbling skill and a creative attacking mindset. Manager Jim Curtin told reporters that Zelaya will spend the week in Philadelphia. His rights reportedly belong to Dallas, so it's believed that the Union will have to compensate their fellow MLS club if Zelaya signs here.
More from Curtin
"Rodolfo is a guy we've had our eye on from the previous Gold Cup. He's done well with El Salvador obviously, and he's a guy that is a little different of a forward than what we might have, you know, we have a lot of target forwards. He had a couple of weeks with FC Dallas last week, we saw a window to bring him in and we'll see how it goes. Today was day one. It was hot and he was playing with a lot of our second team guys. That's not a true judgment of him yet, so nothing to report other than he is here."
Zelaya received a one-year ban for his alleged role in match fixing related to the national team. Other members of La Selecta received lifetime bans. Curtin told reporters that Zelaya was innocent of those charges and explained that the situation was now "in the past".
The 27-year-old has 17 goals in 30 appearances for El Salvador. He has played the majority of his club career for domestic powerhouse Alianza.
Barnetta Interest?
Philadelphia is also linked to Swiss winger Tranquillo Barnetta, whom sources say visited the Union last week.
Here's what Curtin said regarding those rumors:
"We're interested in all good players and strengthening our squad right now. He's a player that we do know of. He's on our radar but no decisions really have been made on a player of his quality. He's a national team player. We'd love any player of his quality to bring in."
Barnetta is available on a free transfer after his contract with Schalke expired.
Curtin also confirmed that Tiago Dittborn's trial has come to an end. The club is exploring different options with the 22-year-old Chilean but a signing does not appear to be imminent.
Bournemouth Friendly
Premier League debutantes Bournemouth will play the Union in a friendly on Tuesday night. It's the culmination of a week-long preseason visit that was organized by Chairman Jeff Mostyn and Union CEO and Operating Partner Nick Sakiewicz, who are close friends.
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe and captain Tommy Elphick joined Jim Curtin and Maurice Edu in a Monday afternoon press conference. Howe explained that fans will see two different sides at PPL Park, with the starters likely playing the first half and a second team playing the remaining 45 minutes. The Union will match that strategy.
Here's partial transcript of Howe and Elphick's comments:
Q: What do you know about MLS and the Union?
Eddie Howe - "Philadelphia Union obviously in a short period of time built up a good relationship with several people at our club. I've got to say, we've been made to feel very welcome here. I know the club is relatively new, just six years old, but growing all the time, much like MLS in my opinion. It's growing rapidly as one of the emerging leagues in world football. I think the rate at which the league is progressing, and the Union, almost in tandem, I think it's a very exciting time for American football, or soccer."
Tommy Elphick - "I haven't watched too much of the MLS. It's just started to come big into the United Kingdom as well. We came to the (Union vs. Timbers) game on Saturday and it was a great experience, the whole show that they put on and the football as well. You can see they worked really hard at their game, you could see a lot of patterns coming out and they got a great result."
Q: There's always a marketing purpose to this preseason trips. Do you see an opportunity to grow the Bournemouth brand?
Eddie Howe - "Yea, I think from our perspective the trip has had various, really good points. One is increasing our profile and raising the name of Bournemouth. We understand that most people in the states wouldn't have heard of us, but that's part of it. By going on this trip and playing this game, the name of Bournemouth is traveling, and traveling quickly. I think if we can put on a good performance and show everyone what we're capable of, hopefully that will increase the awareness and gain some new fans. The important thing from our perspective is the training and the work that we've done. That was always the main aspect of this trip. I've been really pleased so far how we've worked. We've put a lot of work into the players. They won't go into the game in the best shape because they'll be slightly tired but hopefully we'll be able to produce the type of performance we're looking for at this stage."
Q: There's been a lot of talk about Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard coming over here. Obviously David Beckham started it off in 2007. What do you make of these moves and the idea that MLS is a retirement league, that aging veterans are coming here to pick up a final paycheck?
Eddie Howe - "I think it's changing. I think at perhaps at one stage that was how everybody saw it. But it's certainly changing. I think players are coming over here earlier now. I think that will continue, that pattern will continue as the league gets stronger. Certainly the profile in England is a lot bigger than it was. We're seeing a lot more MLS on the television and that's raising the profile of the clubs and the league. I would envision that it will continue to change and you'll see more of the best players in the world going to MLS. That it makes it an exciting league now and for the future."