The New York Red Bulls became the first Major League Soccer team to own two "designated player" slots on Monday following the trade of Honduras international midfielder Amado Guevara to Chivas USA. New York now can sign two premier players to their roster with only a portion of their overall salaries counting against the salary cap.
The first designated player will cost $400,000 under the salary cap, with the newly-acquired second designated player slot set to take up $325,000 of the team's salary budget. The Red Bulls also received Chivas USA's third-round pick in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft as part of the deal.
While the possibilities seem endless for the club now, one thing that is certain is that the Red Bulls have dispensed with one of their top talents. Guevara was named the MLS Honda MVP in 2004 and registered 32 goals and 36 assists in 103 appearances with the MetroStars and Red Bulls.
"Amado has been an outstanding player for the New York Red Bulls and the MetroStars," said Red Bull New York sporting director and head coach Bruce Arena on a conference call with the media following the trade. "However, as we look at the first 11 years of the team and its history in the league, we haven't gone anywhere. One of the ways we think we can improve the team is through the designated player slot."
Arena declined to comment on any specific players that the club will target, but he said he expects to be able to fill both designated player slots before the start of the 2007 season in April. The FIFA international transfer window opens in January, and the club will look to make some moves during that month.
Monday's trade comes right on the heels of the Red Bulls' waiving of four players and the trade of forward Edson Buddle to Toronto FC late last week. It is possible that the club could re-sign some of the released players with lower salaries, but Arena hinted that he is keen to look to rebuild with new and younger players first.
"Obviously, one of the reasons (for the waivers) was related to salary, but also the ages of our players was such that we needed to make some of those moves," Arena said. "Among the highest-paid players on our roster last year, their ages were 38, I believe, 36 and 35. In all honesty, it makes no sense. We have to make adjustments, we have to get our team a little bit younger and we have to have a little bit more flexibility in the salary cap."
New York gained much flexibility by unloading Guevara to Chivas USA, where he will be reunited with Bob Bradley, who coached the playmaker in New York before being replaced late in the 2005 season by Mo Johnston. Arena said he had Guevara's interests in mind when it came time to strike a deal.
"As much as we need to make the moves that make sense for our team, there's a personal side to it as well. I felt that this would be a great opportunity for him," Arena said. "If you said to Amado, 'you can't be in New York, where would you like to be?' I would have to think that L.A. would be among the top markets for him. It's a move that's good for Chivas, it's good for Amado and we hope that it's a good move for the New York Red Bulls as well."
New York has struggled since its inception in the league's inaugural season in 1996. The club has never reached an MLS Cup Final despite having an impressive list of accomplished players and coaches involved with the team. They'll look to change that in 2007.
"We obviously have players in mind, but it wasn't where we needed a second slot because we have a second one that's all set. We don't have the first player signed yet at this point," said Arena. "The desire to have the second slot is to bring in two players that will make our team better. We think one player will help, but we think that two is better. That puts a lot of pressure on our organization. We need to bring in players that will be better than Amado, and that's not going to be easy to do. We know that."
Jonathan Nierman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
