The Columbus Crew made the signing of Olman Vargas official yesterday on their club website, marking the second high profile signing by the Crew this week. The Crew will try for the trifecta this weekend, as they also offered Tar Heel maestro, Ben Speas, a homegrown player contract.
Crew head coach Robert Warzycha and Crew General Manager Mark McCullers had a lot of positives to feed to the press yesterday on why the duo are high on Vargas.
My favorite quote about Vargas (and Mirosevic) is when McCullers was asked if he thinks there will be an adjustment period for the new internationals:
“That’s always a possibility with any international signing. I think we’ve learned over time a lot better hw to do our research and mitigate those types of situations, although recent history would tell us that were still not perfect at it. But I feel confident in these two guys and their character and their attitude. That goes a long way in terms of how they’re going to acclimate.”
Character and the right attitude isn't something that some recent Crew internationals have had, namely Sergio Herrera and Andres Mendoza. It appears the Crew have learned their lesson, and that lesson is 1.) sometimes a player may have a nice resume 2.) but before you get all excited and dump a truckload of cash on him 3.) check how he is in a locker room, how much he cares about your club, and why no team wants him.
The Crew are like a guy who has been in a bad relationship, and has decided to settle down with the right girl (or rather girls lol) in Vargas and Mirosevic. You can just tell there guys who will just do the business on the field and won't be like "me, me, me" all the time.
That's important.
I also wonder if this duo of new signings will demonstrate to a Robbie Rogers or Emmanuel Ekpo that the right pieces are in place to win a championship, and may make negotiations easier for at least one of the two to come back (I'll have a thorough breakdown of the options for the Crew on the wings tomorrow).
But, if the Crew can add an Emmanuel Ekpo and Robbie Rogers on the wings, Mirosevic/Duka/Speas in the middle, Renteria and Vargas up top, Marshall/O'Rourke/Mendes/Balchan in defense then the Crew are going to be pretty hard to beat in 2012. Further, other players like Tchani, Meram, James, Francis, etc. are capable replacements. Throw in a designated player striker in the mix, or rather another central midfielder as designated player to combine with Mirosevic, and the possibilities make me want to go in my basement and make a banner right now.
So, back to Vargas, who I'm re-labeling the Central American Brian McBride. Other positive attributes of Vargas include:
*Age is 26, in his prime
*Strong
*Nice Frame -> Both usually bode well in MLS
*Has No Problem Being Physical
*Hustles on defense
*Good Header Of The Ball (Nearly every goal I've seen of his has been a header)
*But Even Though A Bigger Guy, Quicker Than One Would Expect
Welcome to Columbus, Olman Vargas! Score lots of goals and the Nordecke will be singing your name soon enough. :-)
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