When does a player become obscure? Have you forgotten that Eric Quill and Ryan Suarez, who had solid MLS careers elsewhere, had a cup of coffee with Metro in 2005? Is Pablo Brenes' uneventful 2004 still fresh in your mind? Do you still remember Jacob LeBlanc, who started the 2003 opener?

So let's stay in 2003 for this trip back memory lane, and discuss two players who are definitely not high up on anyone's memory list as far as Metro history is concerned. These two players will be linked forever and always thought of as a single package: Juan Forchetti and Jose Galvan. The two came amidst huge expectation from Argentina giants Boca Juniors, and left after the season of making little, if any, positive impact.

When the MetroStars went on preseason training to Argentina that offseason, their purpose was twofold, and included unearthing some talent. Three players caught their eye: Forchetti, Galvan, and left back Ezequiel Molina. The latter never came, but the first two arrived in May, both on one-year-loan deals. Nick Sakiewicz, never one to mince words, had the following to say: "This loan marks the first step in what is going to be a broad relationship with the Boca Juniors club and the MetroStars for many years to come. We are very honored that we are part of a relationship with Boca Juniors that is going to produce many opportunities like this."

Much was expected from Forchetti and Galvan by the fans as well. We saw the Boca pedigree and instantly assumed that these two will follow in the footsteps of if not Maradona, then Riquelme. However, MetroFanatic was warned not to expect much from the two; these were not exactly starlets, but players in their early 20s. "If they were good, they would start for Boca," said a source close to the situation. Galvan never saw any first-team action with the parent club; Forchetti's appearances were just a handful.

And that's all they were for Metro as well; reserve players who did little to distinguish themselves on the field. Bob Bradley used Galvan immediately, starting him a day after he arrived against Dallas. Forchetti would have to wait a few weeks before making his debut, coming on as a late sub for Kenny Arena against Chicago. He started a week later against LA and played well; sadly, that was his only good match in a Metro uniform. Undersized and overwhelmed, he didn't match up well with physical MLS forwards. Forchetti's last appearance came in the regular season finale, the meaningless 5:2 loss to the Revs amidst other backups.

At least Forchetti played in that finale; Galvan couldn't even make the bench. That start against Dallas was one of just two during his Metro career, but he did distinguish himself by scoring a goal in a 4:0 drubbing of Mid-Michigan in the Open Cup. But there was not else other than that; Galvan's 5'6" frame couldn't take much pounding on the right wing, and he didn't have enough speed to correct his physical shortcomings.

So after the season and without much fuss, the two were let go. Forchetti went back to his home country, where he was last spotted with Deportivo Santamarina, in the third tier of Argentine soccer. Galvan embarked on a world journeyman career which saw him play in Hungary and now in Ecuador's second division for Manta. And nothing else came out of the promised Metro-Boca partnership.

But even with their Metro failures, time after time the idea of picking up youth players from the world's better leagues on loan keeps coming up. We're Metro fans, we'll never learn. But then again... who knows, perhaps there is now a player who can't break into Boca's (Chelsea's, Milan's, Barcelona's) first team and who would love a crack at first-division soccer, even if it is in the US? A player who could grow into Riquelme, if not Maradona? That seems possible... Right?