Seattle snags Hotspur star
Caps’ captain DeMerit says Dempsey will attract huge fan base
The Vancouver Whitecaps finally solved the Seattle Sounders this season, beating their Cascadia rival 2- 0 at BC Place last month for a first win over that franchise in Major League Soccer play.
But staying ahead of the Sounders in the super- tight Western Conference race, or beating the Emerald City crew in a potential playoff match, just became that much tougher with Seattle’s stunning acquisition on the weekend of U. S. international forward Clint Dempsey.
The deep- pocketed Sounders, with some considerable help from MLS, purchased Dempsey from English Premier League club Tottenham for $ 9 million and then signed the U. S. national team captain to a fouryear, $ 32- million deal.
“Kudos to Seattle and the league for getting him back,” Caps’ captain Jay DeMerit said of the 30- year- old who started his pro career with New England. “To have those type of quality players want to come back and come into the league says a lot about where this league is going.”
The signing of an international player in the prime of his career out of Europe was seen as a huge step forward for MLS, which, in the past, has signed big stars — David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Robbie Keane — who were more into their mid- 30s and seen to be on the downside of their careers.
Dempsey gives the Sounders the maximum three designated players. Those are players who have only a portion of their salary, $ 329,000, count toward the salary cap.
DeMerit said Seattle’s signing of Dempsey will make the Sounders — 9- 7- 4 and just two points back of the fifth- place Caps ( 9- 7- 6) in the West after a decisive 3- 0 win Saturday over FC Dallas — even stronger as clubs head into the stretch run.
“In a way, it kind of inspires you to go on and beat the big boys. Seattle, with the addition of Clint, has now probably just become, on paper, the best team in the league. It’s our job to go out and challenge that.”
The top eight teams in the nine- team West are separated by just eight points, with the Caps set to face the eighthplace San Jose Earthquakes ( 8- 9- 6) this Saturday afternoon at BC Place.
And the Sounders weren’t the only team in the West to make a major move in the last few days.
The two- time reigning MLS champion Los Angeles Galaxy, who are tied on points with Vancouver, signed Jaime Penedo, Panama’s No. 1 goalkeeper most of the last decade. He turned down offers from Mexico and Europe to join MLS.
And the second- place Colorado Rapids announced the signing Monday of Uruguayan international Vicente Sanchez, a 33- year- old veteran who played seven seasons in Mexico and four in the German Bundesliga.
Caps president Bobby Lenarduzzi, whose club is up against the salary cap with just one designated player in forward Kenny Miller ($ 1.17 million), is unlikely to add any new pieces by the end of the mid- August transfer period.
“Last year, we made major moves ( adding midfielder Barry Robson) and they blew up in our face,” he said.
Lenarduzzi insisted signing a major international star the likes of Dempsey or Henry has not been discussed “in great depth” by Caps ownership, but “our franchise has always said we’ll view things with an open mind and you never say no.
“But I’m a big believer in getting the team dynamic right and getting players in every position in the park who are as good as who you’re playing against. And that will bring success as opposed to bringing in one player.”
In bringing in Dempsey and Nigerian Obafemi Martins, who was bought earlier in the season from Spain’s Levante UD, “obviously, they’re going for it,” Lenarduzzi said of Seattle.
“Good for you and good luck, but does that guarantee success? Guarantee an MLS championship? It might, it might not.”
Lenarduzzi said the Dempsey signing was great for the league. A talented player in his prime has landed in a terrific market with a huge fan base.
“That’s what ( Seattle’s) opportunity is and they’ve taken advantage of it.”
But he acknowledged that some clubs have expressed concerns about how the transaction was handled in terms of MLS’s secretive and controversial allocation process, which supposedly determines which teams get high- profile players coming into the league.
The Portland Timbers actually hold the No. 1 position in the allocation order, but weren’t in on the Dempsey sweepstakes.
Hand- picked allocations have served MLS well in the past in helping the league build its profile, witness Beckham in Los Angeles and Henry in New York.
But it does raise questions about competitiveness and legitimacy.
“I guess looking at it from a competitive side, I should probably be asking those questions,” said Lenarduzzi. “But I like to think I’m bigger- picture thinking than that.
“Now, there are some issues here, but let’s figure them out for next time. There is a commitment to review that whole process.”