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Clifton native Danny Szetela's dream of playing European soccer is about to come true.
The U.S. Under-20 national team star and Columbus Crew midfielder has reached a contract agreement with Italian powerhouse AS Roma, sources told the Herald News on Monday. The deal makes him the third member of the U.S. Under-20 World Cup team to sign a European contract since the World Cup ended last month.
Terms of the contract were not revealed but Szetela, 20, will join Roma once his contract with the Crew expires on Dec. 31. Szetela, who will leave MLS on a free transfer, is set to complete the deal in the next week or two.
The deal will end an injury-plagued four-year career in Major League Soccer, which began when the Crew won Szetela's rights in a weighted lottery on July 22, 2004. Szetela has made 31 MLS appearances for the Crew, registering three assists without recording a goal.
A skillful and physical defensive midfielder, Szetela impressed European scouts at the Under-20 World Cup by scoring three goals for the U.S. team, which reached the tournament's quarterfinals, where the Americans lost to Austria in overtime.
His play in the tournament, as well as in other competitions for various U.S. youth national teams, made him a transfer target for several top European clubs, including Everton, Rangers, Parma and Galatasaray.
The deal doesn't assure that Szetela will actually play with Roma come January. The Italian power, which finished second to Inter Milan in Serie A last season, could loan Szetela out to a smaller club.
After earning All-Passaic County honors for Clifton High School, Szetela joined the U.S. Under-17 National Team Residency Program in Bradenton, Fla. in 2002 and spent two years playing alongside the likes of Freddy Adu, U.S. national team midfielder Michael Bradley and current Columbus Crew teammates Eddie Gaven and Tim Ward.
Szetela passed up on a chance to go to Europe in 2004, choosing instead to sign a three-and-a-half year contract with MLS. The length of the deal was set at three-and-a-half years by Szetela's former agent with the hope of helping him land a transfer move in 2007, after the Under-20 World Cup. After delivering a stellar performance in Canada last month, Szetela has helped make that plan a reality.
Szetela will playing for the Crew for the rest of the 2007 season. He has played his way into the Columbus starting lineup recently, performing well in a pair of starts for the surging Crew, who are a point behind the Red Bulls in the Eastern Conference standings.
Szetela joins Adu (Benfica) and Sal Zizzo (Hannover 96) as members of the Under-20 World Cup team to make moves to Europe in the weeks following the tournament. Adu joined Benfica on a $2 million deal from Real Salt Lake while Sizzo, a UCLA midfielder, signed with Hannover 96 two weeks ago, joining U.S. national team defender Steve Cherundolo at the German club.
Roma Reach Agreement With American Szetela
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