TalkSoccer - Soccer / Football Forum - View Single Post

Frank Cunha · 18-11-2003, 03:03 PM

The Fire's Armas Bounces Back
By JACK BELL

Published: November 18, 2003

hris Armas's anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee crumbled in Washington on May 12, 2002. After playing as the hub in Coach Bruce Arena's midfield, Armas would not join his United States teammates at the World Cup in South Korea.

"I was crushed," Armas said in a telephone interview. "All athletes think they're invincible until something devastating happens."

Advertisement

Armas has bounced back impressively. He scored the winning goal in overtime Friday night, sending the Chicago Fire to Sunday's Major League Soccer championship game against the San Jose Earthquakes at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Armas, a tenacious and talented defensive midfielder, is a shoo-in to be the league's comeback player of the year.

Armas, a native of Brentwood, N.Y., who played at Adelphi University, returned to a Fire team that had a new coach, Dave Sarachan, and that had been picked by many people to finish out of the playoffs after losing Coach Bob Bradley, Dema Kovalenko, Josh Wolff, Hristo Stoitchkov and Peter Nowak.

"There were a group of people who picked us last; that was a motivating tool for us," Armas, the Fire's captain, said. "We knew we had a good team."

What many people forgot is that the Fire roster still includes a solid group of veteran and younger players like goalkeeper Zach Thornton, defenders Jim Curtin and Carlos Bocanegra, midfielder DaMarcus Beasley and striker Ante Razov. The newcomer Andy Williams and the rookie Damani Ralph also helped to energize the team.

Even though Chicago's focus is on the title match this weekend, it could lose Armas, Bocanegra and Beasley, all United States national team players, to clubs overseas. The contracts of all three expire after the M.L.S. season.

In a way, Armas's injury opened his eyes, making him realize that at 31 he is probably about to sign his last professional contract. He said he would like to stay in M.L.S., but the financial security that would come from playing overseas could be hard to turn down. He could double or triple his salary, which is the M.L.S. maximum of $275,000 a year, and pocket a substantial signing bonus.

Although the European transfer period does not begin until Jan. 1, Armas's representatives have been contacted by Everton and Leicester City in England and Dundee United in Scotland. He is especially attractive now because M.L.S. would not be due a transfer fee. Before he was injured, Armas had drawn interest from Atletico Madrid in Spain, which was prepared to pay a transfer fee of between $1 million and $1.5 million.

"Right now, I have to say that there's more of a chance of me staying," Armas said. "Could it change in a week? For sure. I have options and they are important to consider; it's a matter of what's good for me and my family."

U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM

Rookie Keeps Going and Going and . . .

If they made a movie about Ricardo Clark, it could be titled "Endless Soccer."

Clark, a rookie midfielder for the MetroStars of Major League Soccer, was with the United States Olympic team for its 6-0 victory last Saturday in Basseterre, the capital of St. Kitts and Nevis. After tomorrow's return Olympic qualifying match in Germantown, Md., Clark will leave Saturday with the under-20 national team for the United Arab Emirates and the world youth championship Nov. 27-Dec. 19. The United States is in a first-round group with Germany, Paraguay and South Korea.

Clark has been going since August 2002, starting with a complete season at Furman University. He got a break in December, was picked by the MetroStars in the M.L.S. draft in January, then left with the under-20 team for a tournament in Portugal. Back home to collect some personal items, it was off to Argentina with the MetroStars. During the M.L.S. season, Clark led the club in minutes played (2,590). Not bad for a rookie.

"It's been physically and mentally tough, especially this being my first year as a pro," Clark said in a telephone interview from St. Kitts before Saturday's match. "It's been hard to keep that mental sharpness."

18-11-2003, 03:03 PM	#12 (permalink)
Frank Cunha TS V.I.P. Member Favourite Team: SL BENFICA -BEIRA-MAR Frank Cunha is Offline Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: UNION, NJ. USA Posts: 90,830 vCash: 3081 Rep: Rep Points: 5666 Country:	Chicago Fire captain to Everton? The Fire's Armas Bounces Back By JACK BELL Published: November 18, 2003 hris Armas's anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee crumbled in Washington on May 12, 2002. After playing as the hub in Coach Bruce Arena's midfield, Armas would not join his United States teammates at the World Cup in South Korea. "I was crushed," Armas said in a telephone interview. "All athletes think they're invincible until something devastating happens." Advertisement Armas has bounced back impressively. He scored the winning goal in overtime Friday night, sending the Chicago Fire to Sunday's Major League Soccer championship game against the San Jose Earthquakes at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Armas, a tenacious and talented defensive midfielder, is a shoo-in to be the league's comeback player of the year. Armas, a native of Brentwood, N.Y., who played at Adelphi University, returned to a Fire team that had a new coach, Dave Sarachan, and that had been picked by many people to finish out of the playoffs after losing Coach Bob Bradley, Dema Kovalenko, Josh Wolff, Hristo Stoitchkov and Peter Nowak. "There were a group of people who picked us last; that was a motivating tool for us," Armas, the Fire's captain, said. "We knew we had a good team." What many people forgot is that the Fire roster still includes a solid group of veteran and younger players like goalkeeper Zach Thornton, defenders Jim Curtin and Carlos Bocanegra, midfielder DaMarcus Beasley and striker Ante Razov. The newcomer Andy Williams and the rookie Damani Ralph also helped to energize the team. Even though Chicago's focus is on the title match this weekend, it could lose Armas, Bocanegra and Beasley, all United States national team players, to clubs overseas. The contracts of all three expire after the M.L.S. season. In a way, Armas's injury opened his eyes, making him realize that at 31 he is probably about to sign his last professional contract. He said he would like to stay in M.L.S., but the financial security that would come from playing overseas could be hard to turn down. He could double or triple his salary, which is the M.L.S. maximum of $275,000 a year, and pocket a substantial signing bonus. Although the European transfer period does not begin until Jan. 1, Armas's representatives have been contacted by Everton and Leicester City in England and Dundee United in Scotland. He is especially attractive now because M.L.S. would not be due a transfer fee. Before he was injured, Armas had drawn interest from Atletico Madrid in Spain, which was prepared to pay a transfer fee of between $1 million and $1.5 million. "Right now, I have to say that there's more of a chance of me staying," Armas said. "Could it change in a week? For sure. I have options and they are important to consider; it's a matter of what's good for me and my family." U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM Rookie Keeps Going and Going and . . . If they made a movie about Ricardo Clark, it could be titled "Endless Soccer." Clark, a rookie midfielder for the MetroStars of Major League Soccer, was with the United States Olympic team for its 6-0 victory last Saturday in Basseterre, the capital of St. Kitts and Nevis. After tomorrow's return Olympic qualifying match in Germantown, Md., Clark will leave Saturday with the under-20 national team for the United Arab Emirates and the world youth championship Nov. 27-Dec. 19. The United States is in a first-round group with Germany, Paraguay and South Korea. Clark has been going since August 2002, starting with a complete season at Furman University. He got a break in December, was picked by the MetroStars in the M.L.S. draft in January, then left with the under-20 team for a tournament in Portugal. Back home to collect some personal items, it was off to Argentina with the MetroStars. During the M.L.S. season, Clark led the club in minutes played (2,590). Not bad for a rookie. "It's been physically and mentally tough, especially this being my first year as a pro," Clark said in a telephone interview from St. Kitts before Saturday's match. "It's been hard to keep that mental sharpness."