Desperate for attacking help, the Red Bulls on Friday rolled the dice and acquired veteran Clint Mathis from the Colorado Rapids for a fourth round pick in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft and a conditional pick in 2009.
The Red Bulls are hoping that Mathis, 30, can regain the form he had when he wore a MetroStars uniform from 2000-03.
"We are very excited to have Clint come back to a place where he enjoyed tremendous success on the field," Red Bulls technical director Jeff Agoos said in a statement. "I think he will provide a much-needed spark to our attack."
Mathis had some of his best MLS moments in New York, including his league-record five-goal explosion against the Dallas Burn on Aug. 26, 2000 and his goal against Dallas after a brilliant 70-yard run that won him the 2001 MLS Goal of the Year.
"I haven't been this excited to play soccer probably in the last three years," Mathis said in a statement. "I enjoyed some of the best years of my playing career in New York and that is what pretty much put me on the map. My success was due in large part to the fans there that supported and encouraged me and gave me the confidence to go out on the field and play my best."
Mathis left the MetroStars to play for Hannover 96 of the German Bundesliga, but after scoring four goals in his first five games, he got into a rift with coach Ewald Lienen when he tapped on his wrist after scoring as a late substitute in his second season. That gesture didn't go over well with Lienen and Mathis returned to the U.S. to play for expansion side Real Salt Lake after MLS worked out a transfer deal.
But a return to American soil hasn't meant a return to form. Mathis has scored five goals in two seasons with Real Salt Lake and the Rapids.
Mathis, who is second all-time in New York with 33 goals in 67 games, reunites with Bruce Arena, who coached him at the 2002 World Cup. Arena criticized Mathis' work habits in the buildup to the Cup and although Mathis scored in a 1-1 draw with South Korea, Arena didn't include him in the historic second-round win against Mexico and Mathis came on as a substitute against Germany in the quarterfinals.
"I know a lot of people think that Bruce and I aren't the best of friends, but the thing is, me and Bruce have always gotten along," Mathis said. "That is why I requested this trade. I wanted to get back and play for Bruce."
As part of his trade from Real Salt Lake to the Rapids for Jeff Cunningham, RSL reportedly paid a bulk of his salary last year. That agreement, according to the Denver Post, remains in place and the Red Bulls won't take much of a hit under their salary cap.
It hasn't been a secret that the Red Bulls have been shopping for attacking help for much of the offseason. They were close to signing Ecuador international Agustin Delgado, but he was slapped with a year-long ban by FIFA for his part in a nasty brawl between LDU Quito and Barcelona in an Ecuador first division match Dec. 17.
There were also rumors of a trade for Toronto FC's Alecko Eskandarian and most recently talk of negotiations with Colombian Juan Pablo Angel of Aston Villa of the English Premiership.
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
