Colorado Rapids coach Glenn “Mooch” Myernick has been down this road before.
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Twice Myernick’s goalkeeper has been sold by Major League Soccer to an overseas club. First it was Marcus Hahnemann in 1998 and last year was Ian Feuer.
Now Myernick’s impressive rookie, Adin Brown, is being coveted.
Rosenborg of Norway has made an offer to the league for Brown’s contract, according to sources within the league. The offer is believed to be less than $1 million.
“I’m not going to confirm or deny the report,” said Ivan Gazidis, MLS executive vice president. “I think that all of these young players are attracting international attention and they will attract more attention in Sydney [at the Olympics].”
Signing Brown out of William & Mary was considered a coup for the league. Brown was advised by some not to enter the MLS draft and to sign with a European club, where he likely would make more money.
“I thought about [not entering the draft],” Brown said before Wednesday’s match against the Fire. “[But] I thought it was in my best interest to enter the draft because my No. 1 goal was help the Olympic team qualify and [playing in MLS] was my best chance.”
Brown did help the United States qualify for Sydney. He didn’t allow a goal in two matches during the recent CONCACAF qualifying tournament in Hershey, Pa., and has yet to allow a goal in seven appearances with the under-23 national team.
Brown said he hasn’t given much thought to the offer from Rosenborg. Players receive a small percentage of the transfer fee and a larger contract with their new club. Myernick has given it some thought, however, and hopes to have the 6-foot-5-inch, 200-pound Brown in Denver for a while.
“We have a history of [MLS] selling our goalkeepers,” Myernick said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. It probably will depend on the price tag. I just hope we don’t lose him. He’s a talented kid.”
A real keeper: Another goalkeeper in very high demand is French World Cup keeper Fabian Barthez. Barthez wants out of Monaco after his coach, Claude Puel, accused him of throwing a match and faking an injury.
The accusations have not deterred some of Europe’s richest clubs. Manchester United, which almost signed him last season, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Lazio all have made offers.
“Puel said to me, `I don’t trust you. You did something to us in Marseille. You were paid off by Marseille,'” Barthez said. “These are insinuations that I cannot accept.”
King is dead? Certainly it was just a matter of time before three-time MLS champion D.C. United would return to form, right? Talent such as Marco Etcheverry, Jaime Moreno, Jeff Agoos and Ben Olsen would kick into gear and set United on its path to a fourth title.
It hasn’t happened yet and now the question is whether it will at all.
Wednesday, United lost at RFK Stadium to the Columbus Crew, Columbus’ first victory in 14 games in D.C., and fell to 1-5-1 and a league-low four points. The winning goal in the 2-1 contest came when midfielder Richie Williams headed the ball into his own net in the 88th minute.
“It’s a game we play 20 more times, we win 20 times,” coach Thomas Rongen said.
United can’t blame missing players. Olsen and Chris Albright were back from Olympic duty, and the only regular out of the lineup was injured defender Eddie Pope. Rongen also started 16-year-old Bobby Convey in the midfield.
Western showdown: The biggest match of the young MLS season will be Saturday at the Rose Bowl as the Kansas City Wizards, atop the Western Division and unbeaten at 6-0-1, visit the also-unbeaten Los Angeles Galaxy (5-0-2).
Back in action: Argentina’s players voted unanimously Wednesday to end their strike, which came after players were injured by fans charging the field. The government met the demand for more security.
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