How does a guy who captained the American U-17 and U-20 teams, who played five seasons in Major League Soccer and helped the Columbus Crew to a regular-season title, end up with the Charlotte Eagles of USL-2, North America's third soccer tier?
"It's a long story," Akwari said Tuesday, after the Vancouver Whitecaps signed the six-foot central defender to a one-year deal with a club option.
Here's the short version: Akwari, 27, is MLS's collective bargaining stalemate personified.
When the Texan wanted out of Real Salt Lake after a dismal 2006 campaign, the club didn't like the offers for his rights, which MLS teams hold for four seasons. So he left. For Charlotte.
The Eagles are owned and operated by Missionary Athletes International and use soccer as a means of engaging the community.
"It was a tough decision," said Akwari, a devout Christian.
No matter the reason, I'm still a little amazed Akwari isn't playing in MLS, even as a back up. Hard to believe he's only 27, too.
-FS
2 comments:
Akwari should not be the poster boy you make him out to be... he just wasn't (isn't) that good. He did not develop as a player - thats more common than not.
That's a good point. I should have pointed that out as a possibility in the original piece. I sort of half-assed it with "no matter the reason".
But as this article shows, I think the union could have made some hay along these lines. Find the players that have experienced genuine issues from the current set up. Tell their stories. Do it effectively. Not babble on abstractly about players rights that don't mean anything.
-FS
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