United Boosts Depth, Acquires Guerrero From Earthquakes
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D.C. United addressed one of several midseason concerns yesterday, acquiring Honduran midfielder- defender Ivan Guerrero from the San Jose Earthquakes for financial considerations.
Guerrero is a left-sided player with speed and crossing ability, two attributes often missing from United's lineup. He was scheduled to join the team for practice this morning and be available for tomorrow night's match against the Kansas City Wizards at RFK Stadium.
"Ivan is a guy we have had our eyes on and felt for a long time would make us better and give us depth," United Coach Tom Soehn said.
Guerrero is a permanent U.S. resident and will not count against the foreign player limit. He is due to make $147,000 this year, but according to a source familiar with the trade, a portion of that figure will remain on San Jose's books for the remainder of the season.
Guerrero is likely to miss some United matches to play in five World Cup qualifiers over the next three months. He is also ineligible to play for United in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal Aug. 12 against New England because he already appeared in the tournament with the Earthquakes.
Guerrero, 30, was with Motagua (Honduras), Coventry City (England) and Peñarol (Uruguay) before joining Chicago in 2005. He was the Fire's MVP and defensive player of the year in his first season and had a team-high nine assists in 2006. After last season was cut short by an ankle injury, he was claimed by San Jose in the expansion draft and made 14 appearances (13 starts) with one goal.
Meantime, United forward Francis Doe will be sidelined two to four weeks with an infected foot, an ailment that has bothered him since last season.
Also, a day after being penalized by the U.S. Soccer Federation, Chicago's Cuauhtémoc Blanco was fined $7,500 by MLS for "behavior detrimental to the public image and reputation of the league" in a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal against United on July 8. On Wednesday, Blanco was suspended from the Open Cup for at least two years by the USSF, which oversees the tournament, for allegedly head-butting an operations official after receiving a red card.
-- Steven Goff
