another Canadian international -- and Amado Guevera getting closer to receiving a green card, the Red Bulls will have another SI slot to use in their constant search for a striker.
"It's a very long season and you want to have enough ammunition and as many options as possible at your disposal," Lalas said. "This [trade] does that."
Lalas is very familiar with O'Rourke, having selected the 2004 Hermann Award winner as the fourth overall pick in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft when he was the president/GM of the San Jose Earthquakes.
With Ricardo Clark as the Earthquakes main defensive midfielder last year, O'Rourke appeared in only 13 games last year after leading Indiana to back-to-back national championships in 2003 and 2004.
"The first thing you see right off the bat is his personality. He believes in himself, he's got a great sense of humor and he's an intelligent kid," Lalas said. "He's got a lot of bite. I like the fact he has a year under his belt, I think that's very important."
Serioux was signed by the Red Bulls March 1 after spending the last two years with Millwall of England's Second Division. He made his international debut in a World Cup qualifier against Guatemala Aug. 4, 2004, and has eight caps for Canada.
"This deal has nothing to do with us thinking that Adrian is not a quality player, it's quite the contrary," Lalas said. "I think we said in the past that if we're able to do a deal that enables us to become stronger, we're going to do it. And I think that not only for the short term but I think more for the longer term, this deal helps us become a stronger team."
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
