Players hail Wright’s talent but agree his move was necessary to put San Jose on track

In the first half of its first game since its trade of Mauricio Wright, San Jose received a stark reminder of its haunting history on the player market.

Paul Bravo scored twice for Colorado, giving him nine goals in 12 games against the team that traded him off ù for a player who didn’t pan out ù after he led San Jose in scoring in 1996.

The Earthquakes had parted with Wright, the flashy defender and perhaps the most talented player to wear San Jose’s colors, a week before the Colorado game.

That the Earthquakes stormed back for a 4-2 win may, for the time being, make it easier for fans to fathom the swap. Wright’s former teammates, however, have already endorsed Coach Lothar Osiander’s maneuver.

For Wright, San Jose received from New England Dan Calichman, Mike Burns and a 2001 SuperDraft pick.

“You get a little mixed feelings because I liked Mauricio as a player and a person,” says captain John Doyle. “But I was excited to have Dan come in. He’s a terrific veteran player. He’s going to continually stay in the back. We’ll be more solid defensively. We may not be as creative but I’m not so worried about being creative.”

Wright’s “creativity,” or inclination to move forward, is what had irked Osiander from Day 1. And it got worse as the days passed.

“He’s uncoachable,” Osiander said. “He’s difficult. He could not adjust to team play or to team rules.”

Sources within the team said the Costa Rican made a habit of arriving late to practice.

BAD BLOOD. Almost to a man, San Jose players called Wright an exceptional talent, but said he had to leave because acrimony between him and Osiander was harming club atmosphere.

“Mauricio is a good guy,” says midfielder Dario Brose. “But it was getting hard for him. He feels great playing a 3-5-2, where he’s the sweeper and has the freedom to attack. But a 4-4-2 with no sweeper ù I don’t think that was his thing. It turned into a tough situation. We wish him well in New England.”

Osiander had been encouraged by his bosses ù both New England and San Jose are run by the Kraft family ù to cope with Wright. But by late May the rift had become irreparable.

A post-trade Boston Herald article quoted Wright as saying, “This has been a difficult year for Latin players in San Jose.” But the Quakes’ Latinos, Costa Rican Mauricio Solis, Salvadoran Ronald Cerritos and Mexican-American Esmundo Rodriguez, dismissed the notion that Osiander had the anti-Hispanic bias that the Herald implied.

“I don’t think that had anything to do with it,” says Solis. “Mauricio is a good player, but it wasn’t a happy situation and a change was needed.”

Osiander, who is fluent in Spanish, scoffed at the accusations, pointing out that his children are half Latino and that he has 50 relatives in Central America.

A REUNION. In Calichman and Burns, Osiander gets players who respect his coaching methods. Burns played under Osiander in the 1992 Olympics. Calichman anchored the defense of the Osiander-coached Galaxy that reached MLS Cup ’96.

“I love the guy,” Calichman said. “I just feel comfortable with him. Hopefully my play will show that I love playing for the guy.”

Obviously, in Calichman, Osiander has a central defender who’ll remain on the coach’s wave length.

“There’s just an understanding,” Calichman says. “He knows what I can do and he brought me here to do those things.”

Burns could fill several roles.

“I’m most comfortable at either outside back or in defensive midfield,” Burns says, “and I can play in the central defense if needed.”

Burns has 75 caps and made his last appearance for United States at France ’98.

“Mike’s going to help this team out a lot,” Calichman said. “He’s a great player. When you see him on the field you’ll see that it was a pretty good trade.”

by Soccer America assistant editor Bryan Alvarez