The Colorado Rapids roster has taken on a noticeable South American flavor under head coach Oscar Pareja and if media reports out of South America and Miami are correct, that process will continue with the acquisition of veteran Uruguayan striker Vicente Sánchez.
Raza Deportiva, a South Florida-based, Spanish-language ESPN radio program, made that claim on its twitter feed on Tuesday morning, citing Uruguayan journalist Alejandro Etcheverry (though Etcheverry suggested that the move might not take place until next year).
Other media in Uruguay have also made the claim this week, including Ovación, El Diario and LaRed21, which explained in some detail the falling-out between Sánchez and his current club Nacional over negotiations on a new contract, with Sánchez claiming that he's been waiting nearly a month to hear a solid offer from “El Tricolor” executives.
"I'm going abroad, there's no turning back. I waited over 25 days for them to call me to talk, I don't expect any more, and I gave my word and I'm going," Sánchez reportedly told a Uruguayan radio show on Monday. "It seems I'm still export meat."
Sánchez, 33, would be a bit of a departure from Pareja's ongoing youth movement at Dick's Sporting Goods Park but does bear an impressive résumé, with experience in the Mexican, German and Uruguayan top flights.
He spent the longest stint of his peripatetic career at Toluca, where he racked up goals from 2001 to 2007 before earning a move to Bundesliga side Schalke 04.
He later returned to what is now known as Liga MX to join Mexico City giants Club América, getting a brief taste of life in the United States as a member of the Águilas squad that played summer exhibition matches against Manchester City, Juventus and FC Barcelona in the World Football Challenge two years ago.
Rapids officials declined to comment on the Sánchez reports when contacted by MLSsoccer.com.
