When he was talking trade for a forward this offseason, Mo Johnston had a list of two players he wanted. And on Tuesday, the coach of the New York Red Bulls got one of his men.
In a trade with the Columbus Crew, Edson Buddle comes to the Red Bulls in exchange for attacking midfielder Eddie Gaven and the rights to defender Chris Leitch, it was announced before the team's media day in Times Square.
Buddle, who grew up in nearby New Rochelle, N.Y., is the target forward the Red Bulls desperately needed, something Johnston made no secret about when he addressed the holes his team had.
Buddle, who has scored 42 goals in 106 games with the Crew, was expected to join his new teammates for a Wednesday morning training session at Giants Stadium and will likely start up top with Youri Djorkaeff in the Red Bulls' opener at D.C. United on Sunday.
"We're bringing Edson back home and make no mistake about it, we're bringing him back here to score goals," said Red Bulls president and general manager Alexi Lalas. "That was the message I relayed to him and he understands that."
In Buddle, the Red Bulls get the classic striker they've been missing, although the 24-year-old hasn't quite lived up to his massive potential.
Johnston believes that will change.
"As a center forward and a 24-year-old man, I need to get Edson Buddle on that national team. That will be my goal," Johnston said. "My goal initially will be [for him] to score goals on a regular basis in this league and then get onto the national team."
It was a trade that was originally rumored to be announced on the day of the MLS SuperDraft. But instead the Red Bulls executed a deal with Chivas USA to acquire the No. 1 overall pick, which they used to select fullback Marvell Wynne.
"I spoke to Eddie Gaven as soon as he walked in the door in preseason, I told him who I was looking for, there were two guys," Johnston said. "One was Edson Buddle, one was [Kansas City Wizards striker] Eddie Johnson. Everyone wanted Eddie Gaven, but there was only one way Eddie Gaven would have left, if one of those guys walked through the door."
When Gaven signed with the MetroStars three years ago, he was being tabbed as one of the future stars of U.S. soccer. And the Hamilton, N.J., native was named as part of the MLS Best XI in 2004.
But like Buddle, Gaven has had difficulty living up to the hype, even though he has 16 goals and 12 assists in 69 career games.
"I still consider him [one of the top young U.S. players in the league]. I've got wonderful respect for the man, he's a tremendous ambassador for this game, he works tirelessly off the field and I'm sad to see him go," Johnston said of Gaven. "He was a pawn in getting a sure striker in this organization. He was one a lot of people wanted and I had to do it."
While Johnston is pleased to have a pure striker, he says he is not done wheeling and dealing.
"Make no bones about it, we have a very strong group and if we can get these other three in, we will be up there," Johnston said. "I believe we can win the reserve league and we'll be up challenging for the big one."
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
