not the worst showing in the league, but players seem to feel it's a problem. Oddly enough, one solution seemed to involve trading away last year's MLS Golden Boot winner and RSL's all-time scoring leader, Jeff Cunningham, for Alecko Eskandarian. Adu certainly is glad to have his former D.C. United teammate in an RSL uniform.
"It's great, man. I've known the guy for a while, and I know him pretty well," Adu said. "Back in D.C. he was one of my best friends on the team, so I've very happy to have him here."
Adu also is happy with what Eskandarian will bring to the team.
"What you get out of him is unbelievable hard work," Adu said. "[He is] always giving options, putting himself in the right spots, tracking back and defending, and also, he's got a cannon of a shot, and he can unleash that shot from anywhere and then they go in most of the time, so he'll help us score some goals."
In four years in the league, Eskandarian has won an MLS Cup, earned MLS Cup MVP honors in 2004, and has scored 21 goals in 87 league appearances (53 starts).
With a road game coming up on Sunday, Real hope the first victory will come in Chicago. The team will have to play without Carey Talley, perhaps the hardest worker on the team. Talley was injured last Sunday on the road against FC Dallas, and will miss the next three to four weeks with a hairline fracture to his right fibula, a bone in his lower leg.
Like every other team in the league, Chicago has a better record than RSL. But, the Fire have been struggling of late. Chicago has lost its last four games, including a home loss to Dallas and a road loss to New York in which the Red Bulls gained a two-goal lead by the second minute. The four-game losing skid is Chicago's worst since the 2002 season.
Peter Richins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
