Cuban trio puts best foot forward in tryout
Updated 5h 41m ago
By Beau Dure, USA TODAY
Less than a month after defecting from Cuba during Olympic soccer
qualifying, three players found themselves on a long bus ride.
Jose Manuel Miranda, Yenier Bermudez and Yordany Alvarez traveled from
Florida to Los Angeles for a trial with the Galaxy.
Miranda made several impressive saves in a 1-1 tie with the U.S. team,
Alvarez had the assist on Cuba's goal and Bermudez was the team captain.
All three left the team hotel shortly after the game along with two
other teammates. Two more players left later. The departures, combined
with a suspension, forced Cuba, which would fail to qualify, to start
its second game with only 10 players.
Galaxy president/GM Alexi Lalas cautions that the players face plenty of
competition for a roster spot in addition to all the logistical hurdles
such as the lack of paperwork that forced them to take a bus rather than
a plane in the first place.
"The good news is that (coach Ruud Gullit) wants to see them for another
week," Lalas says. "But there's a tremendous amount of competition. …We
have as many players on trial as we can possibly get."
But Lalas knows that these players aren't typical. "We recognize that
there's going to be an adjustment period on and off the field," Lalas
says. "Maybe more so than other players we've had on trial. … I can't
imagine what they've been through and what they're going through."
Olympic draw:
Italy in Shanghai? Argentina in Tianjin? The U.S. men and women will
learn their Olympic assignments Sunday as Beijing hosts the tournament
draw. The men will play in four four-team groups; the women in three.
Each group will play two games in one of the host cities — Shanghai,
Tianjin, Shenyang or Qinhuangduo — before ****fting venues for the third
game.
The day before the draw, Brazil faces Ghana in Beijing in a one-game
playoff for the final berth in the Games. Brazil, which defeated the USA
in the Women's World Cup semifinals, must play its way into the field
because it lost the 2006 South American title — its first-ever loss in
that competition — to Argentina. Brazilian star Marta was unavailable
for that final.
Window closing:
MLS' primary transfer window, a period in which the league can sign
players who are under contract elsewhere in the world, closed Tuesday
with little movement other than Columbus' signing of Nigerian midfielder
Emmanuel Ekpo.
The league's secondary window opens July 15 and closes Aug. 15, one
month before rosters are frozen.
The Crew also made the most noise at last year's April deadline, signing
Guillermo Barros Schelotto in a deal that wasn't confirmed until some
time after the deadline had passed.
Schelotto was named MLS player of the week on Monday after inspiring the
Columbus offense to a 4-3 win vs. Chivas USA.
Thursday's matchup:
Schelotto and fellow Argentine playmaker Marcelo Gallardo face off for
the first time in MLS on Thursday when Columbus visits D.C. United (8
p.m. ET, ESPN2). Gallardo joined D.C. United as a designated player, the
partial salary-cap exemption that brought David Beckham and Cuauhtemoc
Blanco to the league, before the season.
Schelotto spent almost 10 years with Argentine power Boca Juniors,
winning six league titles and three Copa Libertadores trophies. Gallardo
played for Boca's Buenos Aires rival, River Plate, in two stints
totaling 10 years, winning five league titles and one Copa Libertadores.
He also has played in France with Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain.
http://www.usatoday.com/s****ts/soccer/2008-04-15-cuban-tryouts_N.htm
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