Ten Worst: Hated opponents who played for Metro
June 24, 2008
Of all the disturbing Metro trends, one that bothers us more than others is the practice of acquiring hated opponents for the hope that they deliver as Metros. With a few exceptions, that has not panned out. The acquired player sulks, be it for a few weeks, a year, or possibly a bit more, does little in a Metro uniform, and then gets shipped out elsewhere. Meanwhile, we ask ourselves, why did this player become a Metro in the first place?
10) Eduardo Hurtado, 1998-99
The first player to score a hat-trick against Metro, in the 4:0 Giants Stadium debacle in 1996, he was somewhat a welcome addition in 1998, and played well that season. 1999 was another matter. El Tanque became "El Stanque", missing empty net after empty net. Was picked off waivers by New England and quickly left the league.
9) Jeff Agoos, 2005
Five years with the DC Scum, four with the Quakes, five MLS Cups, and one memorable own goal in the World Cup. He was a winner. He was a captain. He was Cowhead. He was Metro for a year before retiring. Now back with the team as its Sporting Director, and not exactly justifying his salary. Agoos remains the lone player to score an own goal for Metro (as a DC player in 2000) and against Metro (for DC in 2005).
8) Santino Quaranta, 2007
DC's young punk came to Metro via Los Angeles late last year. He played in just three matches as a sub before calling it quits on the season. In the offseason, Quaranta was cut and went back to the Scum. He recently admitted to being a cocaine addict who would drive to Baltimore after practices for a hook-up.
7) Richie Williams, 2001, 2003
At this point "Little Dick" has spent almost as much time with Metro, the last three seasons as an assistant coach, as he had with DC. But back in 2001, when he first was acquired in the Mike Ammann deal, Williams was arguably the most hated opposing player out there. He was sent back to DC after a year for Brian Kamler, and came back in 2003 for a season in the Jaime Moreno / Eddie Pope deal (more on that below). Actually, played relatively well as a Metro, especially in early 2003.
6) Ante Razov, 2005
The one player on this list we actually wanted to stay with Metro. He killed us for years with Chicago (13 goals, plus one with LA), and was rescued by Bob Bradley after a stint with Columbus. Six goals in half a season followed, many of them vital in Metro's playoff push. But when Bradley was fired, the writing was on the wall. Razov was shipped to Chivas USA for Thiago Martins, and would proceed to kill Metro again (four goals), this time as a Goat.
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