Santiago "Santi" Prim, 20
Santiago was last on contract with San Lorenzo of the Argentine Primera division. At San Lorenzo, Santiago made two appearances in 2009. Since 2009, "Santi" has languished in the reserves at the club. At 5'8, the Argentine attacking midfielder/withdrawn forward sounds like a younger version (at least in build and citizenship) of Schelotto, who the Crew apparently didn't need anymore.
With the Crew looking to play two true forwards in 2011, instead of a withdrawn forward/attacking mid- Schelotto's position- along with a true forward like they did from 2008 to 2010, I find it surprising that there seems to be a focus on the attacking midfield/withdrawn forward position so far in the players the Crew are bringing in for a look in 2011.
Crewture's Thoughts: Santi could pan out, as decent Argentinians have turned out to be All-Stars in MLS. For example, Javier Morales is an All-Star with RSL, and played in the Fourth Division of Spain before making the move to Utah. Nevertheless, Morales in his younger days also had over 100 caps with Argentinean Primera side Arsenal over two spells.
However, other Argentines, such as Morales teammate Fabian Espindola were virtual unknowns before coming to MLS and since Espindola's move stateside in 2007, he has carved out over 70 respectable appearances for RSL as a role player. So, you never know, what could be excess goods for San Lorenzo could be treasure for the Crew.
Dejan Rusmir, 31
Dejan had an inconspicous start and recent career, with a nice middle. At 21, Rusmir's youth appearances in Serbia got him a deal with big Serbian club Partizan Belgrade. But, from 21 to 24 Rusmir made only 10 appearances. He backed that up with only another 12 appearances with less impressive Serbian side Rad Beograd for the next two seasons.
Finally at 26, he found a spot for himself by moving to the Romanian first division with newly promoted Ceahlăul Piatra Neamţ. With Piatra Neamt, Dejan made 53 appearances (netting 10 goals) from 2006 to 2008 and then moved to fellow relegation battlers Farul Constanta where he once again started for the most part with 27 appearances in the 2008-2009 season with 5 goals.
From 2006 to 2009, at the age of 26 to 29, Dejan had his peak with 90 appearances and 16 goals, mainly in the Romanian first division. His Farul side didn't do well in his year as a starter and were relegated to the second division in 2009-2010. Dejan kept his spot at the start of the 2009-2010 season but lost it by November 2009, after 10 appearances. Since then Dejan has languished on the bench in 2010 and has been without a team since June of 2010.
Despite his debatable recent form (on a bench and then on a sofa for the last year), there is some nice vision and creativity in these videos to warrant a look.
Crewture's Thoughts: There are some things to suggest in the above video that Dejan could be a leader in that more attacking central midfield position above Danny O'Rourke. Then again, at 31 I'm not sure how excited I am of him and certainly don't see him as an upgrade to Schelotto (which he plays a lot like it seems- a poor man's Eastern European version of Schelotto).
Not that this is a bad thing, especially if Dejan has more pace and is more willing to get back and defend. But, I would be way more excited about his experience if Dejan was 25 or even 27 or 28. At 31, and without any Serbian or Romanian clubs scrambling to pick him up in the last six or seven months.. How much of a commodity can he be?
I guess we will see.
Alex Fraga, 24
Fraga may be the one jewel that the Crew have brought in. The 24 year old, who just recently was let go from Brazilian top side Athletico Paranaese, had 26 appearances for the Brazilian club from 2006 to 2009. He also started the whole 2010 season (31 games) on loan for Georgian Premier side Olimpi Rustavi, leading them to a title this past 2010 season.
Fraga is off to a good start, scoring in a 2-2 tie against Kansas City in the Crew's first preseason game from a Gaven corner.
Crewture's Thoughts: The Crew could use a diamond in the rough at center back. I'm not yet convinced of Andy Iro completely, and if Warzycha intends to use O'Rourke as a DM instead of a CB. I would like someone solid to pair in central defense with Chad Marshall. Hopefully Fraga can be that.
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