While not necessarily related to the Wizards struggles, the team announced that Eloy Colombano was released this week. It was apparently mutual, with Colombano a bit homesick and unhappy with playing time was looking to move back to Argentina. His wife and son both live there, so it’s understandable. He’s appeared in seven games this season, having started one. Is this a sign of things to come? More players could be on their way in or out, especially if things don’t change anytime soon.

This is a huge boost for the Wizards. With the obvious loss of Eddie Johnson over the offseason, they now have a prolific striker to fill his boots. While a bit over the hill (in soccer years) at 33, he gives them a high-profile attack option up top. Or at least someone with the pedigree to be a high-profile option. I’m always skeptical about the MLS building a rep of a “retirement league.” I know that he’s got to have a bit left in the tank, but still. A bit weary.

And of course, in non-Claudio Lopez news, River Plate backed out of the friendly they had agreed to play Friday morning. KC’s victim instead? Deportivo Moron. That’s right, moron. Can’t help but laugh at that, although I know that’s wrong on some kind of level. Anyways, the Wizards dispatched them easily, 5-1, as Moron plays in what is the equivalent of third-Division soccer down in ‘tina. Detailed recaps available at other blogs here and here. I was correct with yesterday’s prediction: Trujillo played a half, netting two goals.

Eloy Colombano has been officially signed by the Wizards and is expected to play both right mid and forward. The Wizards released now-retiring Matt Groenwald prior to making the addition. Groenwald had been out all season with blood clots.

Though reports from Argentina fancied him a winger with a penchant for crosses, it seems as though for the Wizards, his speed and strike will play just as big a role. Most telling as far as his tactical role goes may be Peter Vermes’ statement that Colombano reminds him “…ability-wise and the way he runs and gets off the ball of [Claudio] Caniggia. He can strike the ball with both his right and left foot as well.” An international goalscorer with a knack for creating plays? We’ll take him!

How soon will we see Colombano make an impact? That remains to be seen. Curt Onalfo tempered his remarks about the new signing: “(Colombano) fits very well into our style of play, adds tremendous depth to our team and will push the players already on our roster on a daily basis for a starting spot” (Kansas City Star). In the official press release, he again made it clear that his probable start with the Wizards will be from off the bench: “He’s a guy we can bring in off the bench to spark the team or he can be a guy who starts a game. It’s just a matter of how he adapts and how his teammates react.” It seems as though his position on the squad is his to earn. One thing is for sure either way: he has grown a killer ponytail.

If Carlos Marnelli is right about his fellow countryman, however, we may be seeing him sooner than later: “For me, it’s great because he has a lot of speed [and is] able to make plays.” With the way we looked during the last 45 minutes we played, let’s hope Carlos is right.

Welcome aboard, Eloy!

With the Wizards being the only entity on the face of the planet with a busy week than I, it is only fitting that I take Sunday to catch (1) myself, (2) kcwizards.theoffside.com, and (3) all of you up to speed on the goings on of the week that was in Wizardtown.

With Eddie Johnson away (and slightly injured) for the USA’s lackluster Gold Cup championship (what does it say about CONCACAF that such a performance can win the regional tournament?) and Kansas City struggling against any team not located above them in the standings, the timing seemed right for speculation about a midseason transfer to add depth to our attack. After we lost against FCD and drew in Colorado, we were connected to Idan Shriki from Israel’s FC Ashdod and to a mystery forward from Argentina. Whilst losing back-to-back games against Columbus and Houston, two fresh international rumors are afoot.

This time:

Rumor the First: Daniel Osorno

Age: 28
Position: M
Nationality: Mexico
Club: Atlas (Mexico)

Finally, a rumor of some activity with our friends south of the border! Our quiet partnership with Mexican club Atlas produced its first murmurings of transfer as Daniel Osorno has been connected with a move to the MLS and specifically, to Kansas City. Osorno has had a rocky relationship with Atlas and it has become clear he will be transfered, and has drawn interest from Mexican clubs Monterrey and Santos Laguna (who, if May’s Clausura results are any indication, are mid- to low-end Premier clubs).

The overwhelming indication is, however, that Osorno is headed north of the Rio Bravo, and with Atlas’s partnership with the Wizards and Onalfo looking for some depth in the attacking third, a move to the Kansas City seems like a good fit. While indications are that many fans have mixed feelings about the possibility, a more telling note may be the inclusion of FC Dallas and Chicago to the list of landing points for Osorno.

Since I came to the startling conclusion that my own elementary knowledge of Spanish is more useful than free online translation, the rundown of MedioTiempo.com article is as follows:
1) It’s clear Daniel Osorno is headed to the MLS.
2) It’s clear he is headed to the Kansas City Wizards.
3) It’s clear he’s leaving Atlas because he and the front office had some serious differences of opinion.
4) Osorno has come to terms with going to the United States, thinks it will be a good move, and is happy there will be no extra baggage with his new team.
5) Oh yeah, and it’s not so clear he’s headed to Kansas City: “At the moment the first alternative is Kansas City, but also there is also Chicago and Dallas.”

Osorno was also mentioned in brief as headed to the Wizards by “SportsYA” and other Mexican sports press.

My Take on Osorno: Osorno sounds like mini-Blanco: a younger player with less controversy and less chance of making a significant impact on the team.

My Take on the Transfer: With the Quaranta signing all but official and hints dropping like crazy about an Argentine player, it seems less likely today than it did a week ago that Osorno will come to Kansas City. That said: we are looking for depth, he has shown talent in the past, we’d like to see our partnership with Atlas begin to flourish, and if Dallas and Chicago really are taking a look at him, I’m sure we will, too. Who doesn’t love an experienced left-footed option in midfield?

Rumor the Second: Eloy Colombano, the Mystery Argentine

Age: 24
Position: Right Mid, Forward
Nationality: Argentina
Club: Defensa y Justicia (Argentina)

What started as a thinly veiled hint by Robb Heineman – an Argentine player will be coming to the club who is a real “Defender of Justice”, and was confirmed by a single word: “Colombano” (post #13), has resulted in what is probably the next Argentine acquisition for Kansas City. His name is Eloy Colombano. According to the official bio that has circulated around BigSoccer.com, Colombano is a former Estudiantes player who excels at playing down the right side and crossing the ball into the box. Other than the cryptic message about having the talent to work out as a professional player but it all depends on his success, everything looks good. So why a trip to the MLS? Why leave Argentina for the Arrowhead?

I was able to find out more about his past in an old article from El Dia. As of the 23rd of September, 2003, Colombano’s story looked like this:
1) A burst onto the international scene at the age of 20 saw Eloy gain a spot on the first team of Argentine powerhouse Estudiantes.
2) After Korea-Japan, Colombano returned to Argentina and ignored Estudiantes’ trainers’ suggestion to take a break and let his body get back into the rhythm of a professional season.
3) Injury, recovery, and mediocrity resulted in the loss of said first team position.
4) He became solely focused on gaining said first team position back, turning down a chance to play on Defensa y Justicia’s first team.
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Fill in the blanks from what we know from the official bio…
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5) He never hit his stride at Estudiantes and after two and a half more seasons, D&J was looking pretty good to Colombano.
6) He has served as a part-time starter for D&J so far this season, and is looking for a gig where he can get more playing time in (read: Kansas City Wizards?).

My Take on Colombano: The thought of an Argentine right winger (no offense, Mr. Arnaud, I love you to death and the second forward spot would be yours in this situation if I were manager) taking a feed from his countryman Marinelli, gliding down the wing and putting a ball onto Eddie Johnson’s foot in front of the net makes me want to cry. The thought of wasting time/a roster slot/salary/hope on a foreign almost-made-it who figures the MLS is the ticket to an easy career in soccer also makes me want to cry, though for an entirely different reason.

My Take on the Transfer: If Robb Heineman is talking about it, how more direct of a tip can we receive? As far as I’m concerned, we’ll be seeing Colombano practicing with the team in the comings. A word of warning to Eloy: even Heineman admitted that winning a roster spot from our already full corps of midfielders will be difficult. We might see Colombano head back to Argentina instead of signing with the club. Besides: If Quaranta works out, do we really want 10 players for our 6 mid/forward slots? If Onalfo and co. like him, however, and he could add a similar boost to what Marinelli has brought to Kansas, I’m excited by the prospect of this signing.

Oh yeah, and we played two games:

Obviously all are aware of the Wizards struggles against Houston and Columbus, and they are this: we are giving up weak goals and we are not finishing our shots. Either one of these ingredients can spell trouble for a club, but both can be disastrous. Case in point: at 80′ of the game in New York, we were 10 minutes away from being a point clear of RBNY with two games in hand. Today, we stand level in games played and are a point behind RBNY and two behind New England.

Perhaps a dip wouldn’t be all bad for us… since we can beat New England and RBNY but struggle against the likes of Dallas and Houston, shouldn’t we be vying for a low playoff seed for the most favorable matchup? I’m not sure if I’m serious about that…