By Ridge Mahoney

Soccer America Magazine

Senior Editor

Carlos Bocanegra, 24, won an appeal to be granted a work permit to play in the English Premier League, which freed him to sign a 3 1/2-year contract with London club Fulham. His MLS contract expired Dec. 31.

Bocanegra signed a four-year contract with MLS after leaving UCLA a year early to begin his pro career in the 2000 season. He didn't meet a requirement that a player appeared in 75 percent of his national team's competitive internationals during the previous two years to be granted a work permit and so his initial application was denied.

In the appeal process, one criteria is the salary the club will pay its prospective player. Americans Brad Friedel (Blackburn), Kasey Keller (Tottenham), Tim Howard (Manchester United) and Claudio Reyna (Manchester City) all reportedly earn far more than $1 million per year.

Bocanegra's salary was undisclosed but believed to be one reason he won his appeal, since appeals panels in the past have rejected relatively low-salaried players. Also, Bocanegra played nearly every game in the 2002 and 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cups as well as the Confederations Cup last summer; as a comparison, U.S. midfielder Bobby Convey, whose appeal to sign a contract with Tottenham was denied last August, didn't play in the 2002 Gold Cup.

Soccer America talked to Bocanegra on Friday as he was packing his bags in preparation for his trip to England on Saturday:

SOCCER AMERICA: Do you think MLS made serious effort to re-sign you?

CARLOS BOCANEGRA: I sort of told the league I didn't want to stay so I didn't feel like they wanted to keep me. But I didn't feel like they were anxious to get rid of me.

MLS has helped me out so much. It gave me a chance to play and got me onto the national team and helped me get overseas, so it's turned out great for me.''

SA: Besides personal satisfaction, what would earning a starting spot in the Premiership accomplish?

CB: It's important that I get some playing time and pave the way for a few more of our field players to go over there, because our goalkeepers have done so well. That's like the next step.

Claudio [Reyna], Eddie Lewis and Jovan [Kirovski] have done well to get their feet in the door for the field players. Maybe I can start kind of a second wave, a younger generation, that will go over there and I definitely think we have the athletes in MLS to do well.

SA: How much contact have you had with the club or the manager?

CB: I've talked to [Fulham manager] Chris Coleman. He sounds like a good guy. He wants me in the middle, they call it a center-half over there.

SA: What's your time table?

CB: I leave tomorrow. Once I get over there they'll sort out everything about a place to live and a car. I have a medical Monday morning but I don't know if I'll train that day or not.

As long as they let me in the country I'll be fine.