INDIANAPOLIS - Generation adidas players were the hot commodity of the 2007 MLS SuperDraft in Indianapolis Friday, with all eight available players being snatched up in the day's first 14 selections. University of Maryland and Generation adidas midfielder Maurice Edu was selected by expansion side Toronto FC with the first overall pick. Generation adidas players sign contracts with the league prior to the draft and are not counted against a team's salary cap.
The Chicago Fire followed by selecting Bakary Soumare, a towering Generation adidas defender out of the University of Virginia. The Fire obtained the second overall pick by trading Costa Rican international forward Andy Herron to the Columbus Crew.
The Kansas City Wizards then took defender Michael Harrington (North Carolina) with the third pick, while Real Salt Lake went back to the Generation adidas class with the fourth pick, snatching another Maryland product, goalkeeper Chris Seitz.
Nico Colaluca (Virginia) was the fourth Generation adidas player taken in the top six picks when he was selected by the Colorado Rapids. Fernando Clavijo's club was also involved in one of the day's big trades, acquiring the services of veteran defender Greg Vanney from FC Dallas in exchange for second-round picks in both 2007 and 2008.
Chivas USA used their first pick of the day to acquire Englishman John Cunliffe of Division II Fort Lewis College. He was the first player not from the NCAA Division I ranks to be selected on Friday.
The Chicago Fire raised a few eyebrows by selecting Houston product Jerson Monteiro (Alabama-Birmingham) with their natural first-round selection (eighth overall). It was somewhat of a surprise for the Angolan-born forward to go in the opening round.
Toronto FC and the New England Revolution were the other sides to have multiple first-round selections, and the Canadian club added Andrew Boyens with the day's 10th overall pick, having acquired that selection by trading a partial allocation to the Los Angeles Galaxy.
The Revs, who won the Eastern Conference championship for the second year in a row in 2006, took Wells Thompson (Wake Forest, fifth overall pick) and Generation adidas defender Amaechi Igwe (Santa Clara) before defending MLS Cup champions Houston Dynamo closed the first round by snagging John Michael Hayden from Indiana University.
Texas rivals FC Dallas acquired a pair of Generation adidas players with the ninth and 14th overall selections. Their first pick was U.S. U-20 and University of South Florida midfielder Anthony Wallace. They continued their move toward youth when they opened the second round by selecting 15-year-old forward Abdus Ibrahim, the eighth and final Generation adidas player available for selection.
The U.S. U-17 national team member was the youngest player eligible in the draft and is the second youngest ever to be selected in the MLS SuperDraft. Only Real Salt Lake star Freddy Adu was younger when he was taken by D.C. United at age 14 with the first overall pick in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft.
The Black-and-Red's top pick in 2007 wasn't quite as high profile, though he is also an experienced youth international. Tom Soehn selected U.S. U-20 national team member Bryan Arguez with the 11th pick of the first round. The 2006 Supporters' Shield winners made four more selections before the day was over, including local product Ricky Schramm, a forward from Georgetown University.
Several other clubs went to local talent in the later rounds, including Toronto FC, who took a pair of Canadian players in the third and fourth rounds. Rich Asante (Syracuse) and Jeff Gonsalves (Rhode Island) will have the opportunity to play professional soccer in their native lands after being picked up by the league's first expansion side outside the United States.
There was little movement on the trade front as the proceedings continued, though the New England Revolution did send the rights to Kyle Brown to Real Salt Lake in a three-team deal in the fourth round that also involved FC Dallas. Young striker David Arvizu was also shipped cross-country to Chivas USA from the New York Red Bulls in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2007 Supplemental Draft.
Bruce Arena's side was one of the least busy on Friday, making only two selections in the SuperDraft. They opted for foreign-born players in both the second and third rounds, acquiring Jamaican midfielder/forward Dane Richards and Croatian native Sinisa Ubiparipovic.
Of the 50 collegiate players taken among the 52 total selections, 14 were from Atlantic Coast Conference schools. The University of North Carolina led with four, followed by Wake Forest University and the University of Virginia with three each.
All 13 MLS teams will have the opportunity to select more players on Thursday in the Supplemental Draft.
Jonathan Nierman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
