The Columbus Crew and Toronto FC completed a trade of attacking players on Friday, with veteran Dominic Oduro headed to Canada and Spaniard Álvaro Rey heading to Ohio.
Oduro, 28, is joining his sixth different Major League Soccer team, becoming the 11th player in league history (and fifth active player) to do so. When he makes his first MLS appearance for Toronto, he will be the eighth player to play in a league game for six different teams.
Now in his ninth season, the Ghanaian speedster out of VCU has 46 career regular-season goals, including 12 goals for the Chicago Fire in 2011 and 13 for the Crew last year. But the speedster has not been a major factor in head coach Gregg Berhalter's plans, making just six starts (Columbus went 1-2-3 in those games) and failing to contribute a goal or an assist this year.
Known for his speed and his distinctive goal celebrations and haircuts, both of which have included a certain pizza sponsor in the last two years, Oduro took to Twitter on Friday to thank the Crew and look forward to Toronto.
“Dominic is a player that we have had our eye on for quite some time, and we are pleased to finalize this deal and bring him to Toronto FC,” Toronto FC general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said in a club statement. “He is a player that has a tremendous amount of speed and adds a lot to a team’s attack. His experience in MLS is another important factor, as he has proven that he can consistently score goals in this league from a variety of positions.”
Rey, who will turn 25 in July, has been in MLS less than a year, having joined Toronto last summer. He produced one goal and one assist as a wide midfielder in 20 regular-season games. Having come to MLS from the Spanish second division, Rey started six of Toronto's 10 league games this year, with the Reds going 4-1-1 in those contests and 1-3 when he did not start.
That win, however, came in Toronto's last league outing, on May 31, when TFC beat Columbus 3-2 at BMO Field and neither Oduro nor Rey saw the field.
“Alvaro is a technically gifted player that we are excited to welcome to Columbus,” Columbus head coach Gregg Berhalter said in a team statement. “This agreement provides us with a player that we believe can be successful in our system of play through dynamic one-versus-one play and the ability to maintain possession in tight spaces. This move also provides us with financial flexibility for the future as we continue building our roster.”
