Richard Mulrooney remembers the feeling when he was told he was traded for the second time this season, this time from Toronto FC to Houston Dynamo.
"I felt like I got an early Christmas present," he said. "I felt like I was coming to the best team in the league."
And it's a team that he's very familiar with, having won two MLS Cup titles with many of the same players in San Jose. In fact, he scored what proved to be the game-winner in MLS Cup 2003 as the Earthquakes won their second MLS title in three years.
Before the club moved its operations to Houston, Mulrooney, 31, was off to FC Dallas, where he scored two minutes into his first game. But he'd miss nearly the entire 2005 season after suffering a torn ACL on his return visit to San Jose.
Mulrooney came back and had a strong 2006, starting 23 games for Dallas and earning the MLS Comeback Player of the Year award. He left the Lone Star State after being dealt to Toronto, but after playing just two games north of the border, Mulrooney returned to Texas in April, coming back to play with many of his former San Jose teammates in Houston.
"I feel comfortable," Mulrooney said. "A lot of these faces that I played with in '03 and '01 or both, they've brought me in, they have. It's a different city, I represent Houston now and I'm proud to wear the orange."
A big reason why Houston coach Dominic Kinnear pulled the trigger to bring in the veteran was that both Dwayne De Rosario and Ricardo Clark were likely going to miss significant time in the middle of the season because of international duty.
And that Mulrooney already had experience with many on his team made it a no-brainer for Kinnear.
"He's been there before with a lot of these guys so they understand the value that Richard has, exactly what kind of player Richard is," he said.
While it was unclear where Mulrooney would fit in when he first came in, since Clark is one of the best defensive midfielders in the league, that question was answered at least for the MLS Cup Final when Clark received a nine-game suspension for kicking Carlos Ruiz in a game last month.
"We know that Richie can play anywhere and he's a great player and done a phenomenal job sliding into the middle," Stuart Holden said. "He plays the ball quickly, one- and two-touch, and we can rely on Richie to always be in there."
"It was an easy transition for him. When he played that position in San Jose for us, he was at that time for me the best defensive midfielder in the league," added Eddie Robinson. "His skills have not left him. What really makes him good in there is his engine. He doesn't get tired and he's really good at anticipating and reading balls and cutting off lanes into forwards."
That, Robinson said, is a big reason why Dynamo are successful.
"The best way to describe our team defensive mentality is relentless," he said. "We chase balls and we win balls because we know winning balls in the midfield starts counterattacks and that's what we're really good at."
Mulrooney's ability to seamlessly slide in and fill that void also speaks to Dynamo's depth.
"It's tough losing Rico, but Rich is a great player," Nate Jaqua said. "He's been able to fill that role tremendously. That's one of the biggest strengths of our team. It's deep and players have gone out and we've been able to fill holes and put out a strong XI."
So while the other two teams he played for this year will watch at home, Mulrooney will be on the field at RFK Stadium. Back with his teammates, back in the MLS Cup.
"For me as an individual, my career was going to get boosted up again, not that it was in the dumps or anything," Mulrooney said of the trade to Houston. "But playing on a team like this, when you have that many good players around you, you can do nothing but look good on the soccer field."
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
