Tampa Bay bolstered its depth at forward with the addition of Manuel “Tico Tico” Bucuane (Bahk-wahn-yay) as a discovery player. The trade of Raul Diaz Arce to D.C. United had left the Mutiny with only two true forwards, starter Mamadou Diallo and reserve Amos Magee. The presence of Tico Tico may ease Tim Hankinson’s fears. The Mutiny coach criticized his club for trading Diaz Arce and leaving itself thin up front. The 5-7, 160-pound Bucuane currently plays for South African club Jomo Cosmos. He was in the Mutiny’s preseason camp earlier this year, and tallied four goals with Tampa Bay in exhibition and Copa Puerto Rico action. A native of Mozambique, Bucuane, 26, must acquire a work visa before joining the Mutiny. That process “should take no longer than 20 days,” according to Tampa Bay general manager Bill Manning. “The addition of Tico Tico basically gives us five players for one,” said Manning, noting also the acquisition of two first-round SuperDraft picks in 2001 and one second-round selection in 2002 plus midfielder John Maessner from D.C. United in the May 26 Diaz Arce deal. “Tico is a proven goalscorer and was our top candidate at the forward position this spring before Mamadou burst onto the scene,” Manning added. The top goalscorer for Cosmos for the past three seasons, Bucuane scored 21 goals last year as the number three overall scorer in the South African First Division. He has also played in Portugal and China, and has collected over 50 caps with the Mozambique national team since 1992. Last year, he served as captain of his national squad. Mutiny to host Colombian club Millionarios The Mutiny will take on strong Colombian club Millionarios in its international game on Saturday, July 8, at 7:00 p.m. at the University of Tampa’s Pepin-Rood Stadium. Millionarios, a former club of Carlos Valderrama, started playing in 1946 and has won the Colombian First Division championship 13 times, the last in 1996. Millionarios has qualified for Copa Libertadores (the South American version of the UEFA Cup) 14 times. San Jose trades Rodriguez to Dallas San Jose traded little-used forward Esmundo Rodriguez to Dallas for a third-round pick in the 2001 SuperDraft. The Burn lost four straight games before its June 7 match with Columbus. Rodriguez, a Project-40 player in his fourth year with the league, will be headed back to his hometown of Dallas. “This is a good opportunity for Esmundo, as he will be able to return home and be closer to his family,” Earthquakes Coach Lothar Osiander said. “He wasn’t a starter here and he’ll have a better situation there. We wish him well.” Rodriguez played in five matches (starting one) for the Earthquakes in 2000. He made his only career start at Kansas City on April 15. In his first three MLS seasons for San Jose, Rodriguez played in only five games (no starts) for a total of 72 minutes. Zambrano leads Rapids past D3 Blitzz Colorado defeated the Utah Blitzz of the United Soccer Leagues Third Division, 4-0, on June 6 at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Forward Henry Zambrano scored a goal and created two others to lead the Rapids to the win over their minor-league affiliate. Zambrano was tackled in the penalty box 13 minutes in to give the Rapids a penalty kick, which Paul Dougherty converted. Joey Dietrich, a regular for the PDL Colorado Comets but playing as a guest player for the Rapids, then scored goals in the 53rd and 64th minutes. Zambrano completed the scoring with his goal in the 68th minute. The Rapids were still without the services of several players including Jorge Dely Valdes (back), Seth Trembly (U.S. under-20 national team), Jason Bent (Canadian national team), Wes Hart (knee), Lance Key (back) and Joey DiGiamarino (knee).