D.C. Gets Allocation for Foreign Player
By Steven Goff
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
D.C. United finalized its trade of veteran defender Mike Petke to the Colorado Rapids yesterday, clearing the way for the club to acquire a foreign player to bolster its defense this summer.
In a three-team deal put together over the weekend, Petke was shipped to the Rapids for longtime midfielder Chris Henderson. United then traded Henderson to the Columbus Crew for a partial allocation, which D.C. plans to use toward signing an unspecified young Argentine defender. United also agreed to take on part of Henderson's salary.
D.C. and Columbus were not able to announce their part of the trade yesterday because the Crew had not yet completed the process of waiving a player to facilitate Henderson's arrival.
"It was important for us to get that allocation money in order to do the things we want to do," United Technical Director Dave Kasper said.
Several sources close to the team who requested anonymity said Petke, in his eighth year in MLS and third with United, was upset with the coaching staff last week about its decision to bench him for this past Saturday's match against the Kansas City Wizards at RFK Stadium. A week earlier at New England, Petke was beaten on the build-up to Taylor Twellman's goal during a 1-0 defeat.
However, that incident was not the reason the club decided to trade him. United needed to find an allocation slot to sign the Argentine defender, whom it has been tracking for several months. That player probably won't be available until Aug. 15 because of contractual obligations in South America.
"We are working to fill a very specific need in our team and our hope is that by acquiring an allocation, we will be able to accomplish that," United President Kevin Payne said in a statement. "It was a very difficult decision to part with Mike Petke. Mike has been an outstanding member of our team and, in addition, a first-class individual."
Petke, who took a pay cut this past offseason in exchange for contract guarantees, started 55 games and scored five goals over the past two-plus seasons for United.
Petke arrived in Denver late Sunday and practiced with the Rapids yesterday in preparation for tomorrow's home game against the San Jose Earthquakes.
"I would not change anything about my time in D.C.," Petke said. "The only thing I wasn't 100 percent satisfied with was the way the trade was handled, but that's the nature of the business."
United apparently is also aggressively shopping midfielder Dema Kovalenko, who recently returned from a broken foot. MLS player salaries are kept largely confidential, but it is believed Kovalenko is scheduled to earn $175,000 this year, well above the league average. If a trade occurs, United would probably have to keep a portion of his salary on its books.
Kovalenko was offered to Chicago, New England and Salt Lake City during the offseason, but his high salary and propensity for earning suspensions scared off potential suitors. He was sidelined for several months after breaking his foot while running in his native Ukraine during the winter and wasn't available until the last few games. He scored in United's 1-0 reserve game victory over Kansas City on Sunday.
Meantime, United appears interested in signing outside back John Wilson, who trained with the team last week and played in Sunday's reserve match. He likely would have to agree to a minimum salary (around $30,000).
Also, the club confirmed it is in the process of renegotiating star forward Jaime Moreno's contract. Moreno signed an incentive-laden deal last year before making his successful comeback from back surgery.
