The Wizards Hope Adding Another Argentine will Pay Off.

By: Michael | August 13th, 2007

The last time we went for an Argentine who never failed to live up to his hype, it worked out nicely, with Carlos Marinelli injecting creativity and intelligence to the Wizards attack this season. Keeping in theme – and as predicted by the KCWizards’ Offside – the Wizards have signed another Argentine who was touted as the next young superstar the country had to offer.

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.

Eloy Colombano

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!