It’s been a long time since Clint Mathis last played in New York, where he enjoyed the best form of his career. Now that he’s back, New York fans will be wondering whether Mathis can reproduce the kind of form he showed in 2000 and 2001-because the last three years of his career have been forgettable, says Ives Galarcep of the North Jersey Herald.
It’s a gamble, to be sure, but in the long run Galarcep says it’s a gamble that could very well pay off. For one thing, the club desperately needed another striker; Mathis, still only 30, could have a few good years still left in him, if he can regain his confidence, that is. Rejoining the club where he enjoyed the best years of his career might be just the thing he needs.
However, this is Clint’s fourth team in three years, a record no striker would be proud of. After leaving New York, Mathis joined Hannover 96 in Germany in 2004. Despite a bright start, he soon faded and was relegated to the bench. Mathis returned to MLS in 2005, enduring a fitful two years first with Real Salt Lake and then Colorado last season. The Rapids, meanwhile, were so eager to get rid of the player that the club offered to pay the vast majority-$300K of a $410K contract, according to Galarcep-of his salary over the next two seasons. When Arena heard that the price for Mathis was just a fourth-round pick, he jumped on it. Says Galarcep: “In [Arena’s] mind it is no gamble, just a calculated shot being taken on a player he knows well.”