By Ridge Mahoney, Senior Editor
NETHERLANDS-BOUND: New England midfielder/forward Clint Dempsey will be joined at Dutch club Feyenoord by Fire attacker Damani Ralph next month for a training stint.
Ralph, 24, who completed his second MLS season by matching the 11 goals he scored in 2003 as a rookie, has applied for a visa so he may train in Holland. He signed a long-term, multi-year deal with MLS earlier this year.
CLARIFICATION: Ramiro Corrales of the Quakes is indeed in Mexico, but contrary to what was reported in The Confidential last week, he did not go there on trial with Mexican club Dorados.
Corrales is visiting relatives while he ponders his next move. He is also
applying for Mexican citizenship, to which he is entitled by heritage. His
MLS contract expires at the end of this month.
GARCIA ON TRIAL: Another player whose MLS contract is about to expire,
Kansas City defender Nick Garcia, is on trial with Norwegian club SK Brann.
Garcia, 24, has arrived in Bergen for a trial that is expected to last about
two weeks. Norwegian teams are restricted to just two non-EU citizens, so
the opportunities for American players are limited, but those who have gone
to Norway — Brian West, Robbie Russell, Wade Barrett — have done well
enough to spark some interest.
Brann finished third in the Norwegian league season that concluded in
October.
SMOKE, BUT NO FIRE: Chicago general manager Peter Wilt says there's little substance to rumors and reports that a multi-player trade involving Ante Razov was discussed at length with teams, including the MetroStars, prior to the expansion draft.
"They're in our conference," says Wilt of the Metros, which are coached by
Bob Bradley, who led the Fire an MLS championship in 1998 and to the final
in 2000. Bradley has coached the MetroStars for the past two seasons.
"None of what you might have read in the newspapers has been discussed,"
said Wilt, whose team lost three players — Orlando Perez, Andy Williams and
D.J. Countess — in the expansion draft.
NEXT YEAR: January is shaping up as a very busy month for MLS and U.S.
Soccer at Home Depot Center.
The CONCACAF qualifying tournament for the under-20 world championships will be held at Home Depot Center Jan. 12-16, which would come right on the heels of tentative dates of Jan. 8-11 for the annual MLS player combine, also
scheduled for HDC.
Yet to be confirmed is a national-team training camp that Coach Bruce Arena
will use to prepare his players for the Hexagonal round of 2006 World Cup
qualifying that starts in February. U.S. Soccer is also trying to arrange a
friendly to coincide with the training camp, which could be moved to Florida
if more convenient. The Hexagonal draw will be held Nov. 30.
MLS and SUM have yet to confirm all of the venues and dates for the
Interliga tournament to be played Jan. 2-12, but according to a preliminary
schedule HDC will host doubleheaders on two dates. The other venues are
Phoenix, San Jose, San Antonio and Houston.