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Baggio, Rincon,
McManaman, Weah
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Ten Best: Failed rumors
November 30, 2005
Aldair. Alex Aguinaga. Dino Baggio. David Beckham. Bebeto. Giuseppe Bergomi. Nicola Berti. Laurent Blanc. Benito Carbone. Claudio Caniggia. Sol Campbell. Ruben Capria. Jose-Luis Chilavert. Marcel Desailly. Steffan Effenberg. Alberigo Evani. Luis Figo. Alberto Garcia Aspe. Paul Gascoigne. Giuseppe Giannini. Gheorghe Hagi. Roberto Mancini. Daniele Massaro. Viorel Moldovan. Alexander Mostovoi. Gheorghe Popescu. Dejan Savicevic. Davor Suker. Teddy Sheringham. Tony Yeboah. Dwight Yorke. And this is just the tip of the iceberg for "name" players rumored to be on their way to the Metros at one point over the last ten years. Of course, in some cases, like with Adolfo Valencia, Lothar Matthaus, and Youri Djorkaeff, the rumors came true. But that is the exception; so many of these fizzled with not a bang, but a whimper. Nevertheless, here are the top ten failed rumors in Metro history.
10) Florin Raducioiu
Metro was desperate for scoring help during the disastrous 1999 season, and the Romanian striker was on top of their wish list. They settled for a pu-pu platter of Mohammad Khakpour, Sasa Curcic, and Henry Zambrano.
9) Giovane Elber
How is this for a scenario; after the MetroStars signed Matthaus, it was reported that Bayern Munich wanted to keep him, and offered Giovane Elber instead (the Metros rejected). At that point, Elber was one of the best strikers of the Bundesliga, if not Europe. His name also crept up during this last off-season.
8) Tony Adams
The veteran English defender was a long-time stalwart for Arsenal, and supposedly was offered a contract by Metro in 2002. He rejected it in order to "spend time with his children". Priorities.
7) Paulo Futre
The once-brilliant Portuguese attacker had not have a healthy season in three years when rumors of him coming to Metro for the inaugural campaign started. He never did, signing with West Ham instead, and dropping out of soccer soon after.
6) Dunga
When Carlos Alberto Parreira became Metro coach in 1997, two names popped right to the top of the rumor mill: Branco and Dunga. And while Branco became a Metro for the forgettable conclusion to that season (but not before we were subjected to Joao Luiz and Guido), Dunga, the World Cup winning captain, never came, choosing to stay in Japan instead.
5) Alessandro Costacurta
We all laughed with Nick Sakiewicz called Costacurta "relatively young for a central defender", for in 2002, when he visited and was talking deal, the Italian defender was 36. But Sakiewicz gets his props here; since failing to come to an agreement with Metro, Costacurta went back to AC Milan, where he is still contributing for one of the best teams in Europe, be it in a reduced role.
4) Freddy Rincon
From the inception of the MetroStars, two Colombian names have always been on top of the rumor list; one was Valencia, who did become a Metro in 2000; the other was Rincon, who never did so. In fact, in 1996 the Metros went the Colombian route twice, signing Ruben Dario Hernandez and then Antony De Avila, when Rincon was the rumored target both times. His name kept surfacing for a couple of years before his retirement.
3) Steve McManaman
When we first heard this rumor in 2004, we couldn't believe our ears. Why would an ex-Real Madrid and Liverpool player, still in the prime of his career, want to come here? Then the rumor hit the papers and Metro's pursuit turned out to be true... Until, as often with these, died down once McManaman realized the financial realities of MLS. Interestingly, a year and a half later, he is now out of soccer.
2) Roberto Baggio
Stillitano's wet dream almost came true in 1998. As Baggio was falling out of favor in Italy and switched to unfashionable Bologna, the MetroStars (supposedly) were all ready to snap him up. But two things happened: Baggio went on a tear, scored 22 goals, and made the Italian squad for the World Cup. MLS decided to invest their money into Carlos Hermosillo instead.
1) George Weah
Since the inception of MLS and for six years, we heard George Weah's promise that he will finish out his career with the MetroStars (his wife is from Brooklyn and he spent off-seasons here). But the one-time World Player of the Year became a vagabond in his late 30s, turning up everywhere but here. With a failed bid for Liberian presidency now behind him, it's hard to imagine Weah wearing a Metro jersey. Some promise.
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