KC sign Argentine Claudio Lopez as their Designated Player

After months of rumors and speculation, the Kansas City Wizards finally signed Argentine striker Claudio Lopez for the 2008 season. Lopez said of the move, "I had different offers but Kansas talked to me first and I respect that."

The Wizards will call on the 33 year old Lopez a lot since their striker options are thin. This could be a test for Lopez as he has minutes have been limited during his past season with Racing. The good news is he is not coming off any major injury and he has a habit, even now, of finding the net.

Lopez will probably be combined with Scott Sealy up top. This match-up should give KC a dangerous attack that never seemed to come together with Eddie Johnson. Of course this will only happen if the Wizards can provide the support out of the middle, which is where fellow Argentine Carlos Marinelli will probably come in.

Overall, this move is an improvement for Kansas City, however, as with all Designated Players, the proof will come on the pitch. Will Lopez end up being more of an Angel or a Denilson? My guess, a bit in the middle. Lopez will get some good goals as he is a born scorer, but I think he will fade towards the end of the season.

Denilson gone, what did MLS learn from the first DP failure?

On Friday, Denilson made it official, he is done with FC Dallas as he signed with Brazilian side Palmeiras. It is no shock that he is gone as FCD basically told him take a big pay cut, thus no longer being a designated player or don't come back. Since Denilson likes to make money, he decided to move along.

So what lessons can be learned from the first departure of a designated player? Basically don't bring a high profile player into a system that does work well with that player. Also, just because a player was on a World Cup winning team doesn't mean it will make a difference on the pitch or in the stands.

FC Dallas had a pretty tight midfield during much of the first part of the 2007 season, but then it all started to fall apart in September. This was not due to Denilson alone, as they also had some injury issues, but his odd fit with their style didn't help. He tried some fancy footwork, but his passing was off and his fitness never really seemed right. The fact that the team went from battling for the Supporters' Shield to middle of the playoff pack during Denilson's time with the club shows that things were not right.

In the end, someone was bound to make a poor choice with their designated player spot (I'm sure some New York fans will argue that Reyna is another example of this), so let's just hope the league as a whole learns from this.

When Beckham and Blanco were signed, some called it NASL part 2, but both these players accomplished what the league wants from DPs (ticket sales and pitch play (okay Becks hasn't done much on the second one yet)), while other DPs, Angel and to a lesser degree Reyna, at least made something happen on the field. Denilson did neither and seemed to just be around for the paycheck. The good news is FCD was able to cut their losses quickly thanks to a smart second year option in the contract.

With Denilson gone, that means the league again has five DPs.

DC United gets their own Beckham

He's a great reader of the game, smart with his passes and can kill you on dead balls and he's now part of DC United. Marcelo Gallardo has joined the club as the league's newest Designated Player.

He might not have the hair, fashion or following of Beckham, but Gallardo will be called upon to perform the same basic role of central playmaker. The question now is does he have it in him?

During his recent time with Paris-based club Paris-Saint Germain, he saw limited playing time, but his earlier stint with River Plate (2003-06) showed him to still be a force. Overall, Gallardo should be able to bring some solid technical skills to the team and match up well with Jaime Moreno and Franco Niell.

DC signed Gallardo to a two-year deal for an undisclosed sum (probably around $1.5m a season). This move strongly suggests that Christian Gomez is soon to be playing elsewhere (Gallardo will wear Gomez's old #10), which will surely upset some fans and increase the pressure on Gallardo to perform quickly.

On a different subject all together, is DC looking to be the shortest team in the league. First they go with 5'4" Niell, now they sign 5'6" Gallardo. Must make 6'2" Marc Burch and Zach Wells feel like giants. Also, if this turns out to be a good thing, DC will need to thank none other then the New York Red Bull's Juan Pablo Angel as he encouraged Gallardo to come to MLS. Then again, if it all goes wrong, it is yet another reason to hate the Bulls of New York.

LA Galaxy qualify for US Open Cup

New York Red Bulls 1-3 LA Galaxy

From the way it reads, last night's match was one of constant action that resulted in a result that went against the flow of play. It sounds like an exciting evening, but sadly only 11,000 people got to appreciate it, as there was no TV or radio coverage. Four goals during a 30-minute overtime, including the first from Juan Pablo Angel, and no one was there to capture it, what a shame.

But enough of my whining, New York came out for the game and, from what I read, should have won it except backup keeper Steve Cronin was having a dream-like night. In total the Red Bulls had 25 shots with 15 of them on frame (including 6 from Angel). If it weren’t for Cronin, this game would not have gone to overtime.

On a different side of things, Cobi Jones was given a direct red due to stomping on Dave van den Bergh. Not the kind of thing a legend is supposed to due.

LA now advances as one of the 8 MLS teams in the Open Cup with games. The top-league sides enter in the third round on July 10, meaning there is an outside shot that Beckham's first match could be this game.

Goals: LA: Landon Donovan (pk) 93', Kyle Martino 103', Santino Quaranta 120'
NY: Juan Pablo Angel 109'

"Who makes the most in MLS?" Brought to you by Becks millions.

Major League Soccer's Players Union has released this year's salaries. It should come a no surprise that the team with the largest payroll is LA thanks to David Beckham, who is the top earner in the league.

Anyway, here are the team numbers:

Team	Base Salary	Guaranteed Compensation
1. Los Angeles Galaxy	$8,056,188.83	$9,179,948.56
2. New York Red Bulls	$4,334,615.50	$4,896,656.83
3. Chicago Fire	$4,185,825.50	$4,464,612.50
4. Kansas City Wizards	$2,429,925.00	$2,625,050.00
5. Real Salt Lake	$2,168,437.25	$2,602,531.00
6. Toronto FC	$2,174,290.00	$2,497,378.50
7. Colorado Rapids	$2,322,113.75	$2,431,763.75
8. FC Dallas	$1,992,803.75	$2,385,628.75
9. DC United	$2,171,178.00	$2,328,503.00
10. Houston Dynamo	$2,184,349.00	$2,260,349.00
11. New England Revolution	$1,992,948.00	$2,087,948.00
12. Columbus Crew	$1,807,199.19	$2,064,349.19
13. Chivas USA	$1,757,875.08	$1,893,125.08
Totals	$35,584,945	$44,717,850

Chivas USA has a very small payroll, but it is actually less then what is reflected in the chart now that $291,250 Amado Guevara has left the club.

Here are the top ten paid players in MLS:

Player	Team	Guaranteed Compensation
1. David Beckham	LA	$6,500,000
2. Cuauhtemoc Blanco	Chicago	$2,666,778
3. Juan Pablo Blanco	NY	$1,593,750
4. Claudio Reyna	NY	$1,250,008
5. Landon Donovan	LA	$900,000
6. Eddie Johnson	KC	$875,000
7. Freddy Adu	RSL	$550,000
8. Carlos Ruiz	FCD	$435,000
9. Clint Mathis	NY	$410,000
10. Taylor Twellman	NE	$350,008

Again, no shock that Beckham is making the most. Actually, Becks will make more this season then the total salaries for Chivas USA, the Columbus Crew and the New England Revolution combined.

Now lets look at pay by position.

Forward

Player	Team	Guaranteed Compensation
1. Cuauhtemoc Blanco	Chicago	$2,666,778
2. Juan Pablo Blanco	NY	$1,593,750
3. Landon Donovan	LA	$900,000
4. Eddie Johnson	KC	$875,000
5. Carlos Ruiz	FCD	$435,000

Midfielder

Player	Team	Guaranteed Compensation
1. David Beckham	LA	$6,500,000
2. Claudio Reyna	NY	$1,250,008
3. Freddy Adu	RSL	$550,000
4. Clint Mathis	NY	$410,000
5. Ronnie O'Brien	TFC	$258,750

Amado Guevara of Chivas was in fifth till he left the league.

Defender

Player	Team	Guaranteed Compensation
1. Pablo Mastroeni	CR	$298,000
2. Eddie Pope	RSL	$265,000
3. Greg Vanney	CR	$236,667
4. Jimmy Conrad	KC	$206,000
5. Ivan Guerrero	CF	$187,500

Goaltender

Player	Team	Guaranteed Compensation
1. Shaka Hislop	FCD	$220,800
2. Ronald Waterreus	NY	$200,000
3. Joe Cannon	LA	$192,000
4. Pat Onstad	HD	$168,000
5. Matt Reis	NE	$150,000

I guess if you want to get rich in MLS, being a goalie is not the way to do it. Interesting that Hislop is FCD's backup keeper. Their started Dario Sala earns almost half of what Hislop does at $119,875.

If you want the numbers for all the players, take a look here.

When will the Crew announce the signing of Guillermo Barros Schelotto?

The rumors of Boca Juniors forward Guillermo Barros Schelotto signing with the Columbus Crew have been going strong for over a week now, but when will we finally get confirmation?

Initial reports said today would be the day for a press conference, however Schelotto himself called it off. There are a number of possible reasons such as visa requirements or not wanting to step on the Juan Pablo Angel news, but if he were to play on Thursday night, one would think the Crew would announce soon.

Could it be that Schelotto is having second thoughts? He told reporters that he had come to a financial deal equal to what he was getting with Boca, but had not decided either way.

For their part, the Crew is staying silent. With the MLS transfer deadline already past, one would think that if there is no news soon then this will be a fish that got away.

If Schelotto does come to the club, he stands a good chance of getting lots of minutes and being the main force in their attack. Like all the designated players, Schelotto is a little past his prime but he is far from totally spent. It would be a great thing for the league to see such a player in it.

New York about to sign Juan Pablo Angel

If rumors are to be believed, and when it comes to the Red Bulls and any foreign signings they usually are not, New York is about to sign striker Juan Pablo Angel from Aston Villa.

The deal is said to be very advanced. If signed, the Bulls will take the final year of his Villa contract, valued at about $75,000 a week, as well as extend the deal for 12 additional months.

If Angel can return to decent form, this will prove to be a huge signing, however the past three years or so have not been kind to the Columbian.

If this deal were true then one would expect Angel would join the team during the August transfer window, as the MLS transfer deadline was this past Sunday.

Update: Looks like this rumor is true as Arena just annouced that Angel has been signed as a designated player. I did not hear when he will join the club, but it looks like it might be sooner then August.