Colombian Leonel Alvarez has signed to play in Major League Soccer, joining longtime midfield partner Carlos Valderrama in the first-year U.S. league.
The hard-working midfielder was one of 15 players signed by MLS on the eve of its first Player Combine, scheduled to begin Jan. 5 in Irvine, Calif.
Alvarez, who currently plays for Colombian club America Cali, was recently finished tied for 11th in voting for the 1995 South American Player of the Year.
“Leonel Alvarez is one of the top defensive midfielders in the world,” said MLS deputy commissioner Sunil Gulati.
The speculation is that Alvarez and Valderrama will team up in Tampa Bay.
Other notable American signings included John Kerr, Jr., Mark Chung, Yari Allnutt and Sean Bowers. Also signed were Costa Rican national team goalie Erick Lonnis, Englishman Ian Butterworth and Uruguayan Diego Viera.
Other players signed were former SMU star Giampaulo Perdoso, Mark Dougherty, Michael DuHaney, Kurt Kelley, Tim Martin, Jim St. Andre and Mark Thomas.
Alvarez, Allnutt, DuHaney and Kerr were among 14 players not allocated to MLS teams who will not be at the Player Combine. Others not attending include Chad Ashton, Marco Etcheverry, Dominic Kinnear, Mike Lapper, Roy Lassiter, Lawrence Lozzano, Uche Okafor, Curt Onalfo, Clint Peay and Juan Berthy Suarez.