COMING HOME Ex-U.S. captain agrees to join Red Bulls
Claudio Reyna will be reunited with his former coach, Bruce Arena, on the Red Bulls. Photo by Linda Cuttone/Sports Vue Images
By Michael Lewis
BigAppleSoccer.com Editor
Indianapolis -- Claudio Reyna is coming home.
The former U.S. National Team captain and midfielder has agreed to join the Red Bulls for the MLS season, BigAppleSoccer.com has learned.
The Springfield, N.J. native,has finalized his contract deals with MLS and the Red Bulls, according to reliable sources.
The 33-year-old Reyna will reunite with Red Bulls sporting director and coach Bruce Arena, for whom he played at the University of Virginia and the U.S. National Team.
Reyna will give the Bulls an experienced and calming force at central midfield and someone who can produce accurate passes. It is not known whether his legs can take the pounding of FieldTurf at Giants Stadium and other MLS stadia that have artificial turf.
Reyna has been plagued by leg, ankle and shoulder injuries during his tenure at Manchester City in the English Premiership. He hasn't played a game since December and already has flown home to the states to be with his pregnant wife, according to sources.
Reyna’s agent, Lyle Yorks, who has been negotiating the buyout of Reyna’s contract with Manchester City, would not comment.
The acquisition of the 5-10, 160-lb. Reyna could be announced as early as this week.
It was not known whether Reyna will occupy one of the two designated player spots the Bulls own. The new DP rule allows teams to sign players well above the league's salary cap of $280,000.
The designated player rule, an initiative announced by the MLS’ board of governors Nov. 11, allows each team to sign one player whose salary will fall outside of the team salary budget and whose cost above the salary budget charge will be the financial responsibility of the club. A designated player’s salary will count $400,000 toward the team’s salary budget – an amount to be paid by the league. The club will pay for any amount over $400,000. Each team started out with one tradable designated player slot.
In November, the Red Bulls dealt star midfielder Amado Guevara to Chivas USA for the club’s designated player slot, giving them two for the 2007 season.
Since leaving UVA in 1994 after a successful college career, Reyna has played for Bayer Leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg in Germany, Glasgow Rangers in Scotland and Sunderland and City in England. His $4.89 million transfer fee from Sunderland to City in August, 2003 is one of the highest for an American player.
Reyna has said on several occasions that he if he was going to end his career in the United States, it would be with the Red Bulls.
"If I would plan everything and looking to the future, it would be nice to play back in New York.,” he told BigAppleSoccer.com last March. "That would be a great way to go back and end my career.
"I would like to do it when I'm still at a young age. I'm getting older and I want to play in MLS at a good level and bring back what I've learned over here to the players to the young players coming through."
Reyna made 112 international appearances, scoring eight goals. He retired internationally after the U.S. was eliminated by Ghana, 2-1, in the World Cup last June.
Arena would not comment. "I have no comment on any player outside the draft of (anyone) associated with other clubs at this time," he said.
Reyna, a St. Benedict's Prep graduate, is married the former Danielle Egan of Long Island, a one-time soccer standout herself with the University of North Carolina and the Massapequa Falcons (Long Island Junior Soccer League). Last year they purchased a one-bedroom condo in Manhattan and vacation in Westhampton.
In other Red Bull developments:
* The Red Bulls are interested in Ecuadorian international and Liga de Quito forward Agustin "Tin" Delgado, his National Team's all-time leading goal-scorer (31), who played in last year's World Cup, league-wide sources said. The Red Bulls want to fly him to New York for a physical due to his chronic back problems, sources said. If healthy, Delgado could be a headache and a half with which to deal.
* Dutch international goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus has finalized contract details to join the team on a one-year contract, league sources said. Waterreus isn’t expected to take up one of the DP slots. He probably will be designated as a discovery player, according to one source. He likely will earn in the range of $100,000-$110,000 a season, the source said.
Michael Lewis can be reached at BigAppleEdit@aol.com.
