Ten Worst: Hated opponents who played for Metro (Part 2)
June 24, 2008
5) Edson Buddle, 2006
We remember Metro drafting Kerwyn Jemmott one spot above local boy Buddle in 2001. We remember his four-goal game against Metro in 2004. We remember his Metro hat-trick in 18 minutes against Salt Lake in 2006. But most of all, we remember his ineptitude in front of the net in his one year in New York. That hat-trick was half of his six-goal total; by the end of the year, he couldn't even make the bench. When the year was over, Buddle was traded to Toronto for Tim Regan, the player Metro released earlier that year. Now with LA, where he has had two hat-tricks this season, and we're still not convinced. In fact, we're still annoyed that Metro gave up Eddie Gaven for this bum.
4) Alexi Lalas, 1998
And the man who gave up Gaven for Buddle? None other than Alexi Lalas, whose stint as a GM was despicable. His stint as a player wasn't as bad, as he did tally two game-winners in his lone year with Metro. Still, after spending his first two MLS seasons with the Revs and not coming close to justifying his lofty status as a top defender, few wanted to see him in a Metro uniform. Lalas was sent to Kansas City in early 1999 as part of the Mike Ammann / Mark Chung deal.
3) Diego Serna, 2002
Now, the real hate begins. Serna, MLS's most accomplished diver, scored 11 goals against Metro while with Miami, including four in one game. Then, in late 2001, he played for Metro in a charity match... but even the sight of him in a Metro uniform made us want to puke. Sadly, during the following offseason, Octavio Zambrano and Nick Sakiewicz were obsessed about getting a top striker. So they dealt Mark Chung to Colorado for a dispersal draft pick, passed on Steve Ralston (not a striker!) and grabbed Serna. He would play eight games for Metro, score a goal, go AWOL, and get traded to New England. Later Serna would resurface in LA, and, what else, dive, but score a goal against Metro.
2) Jaime Moreno, 2003
Ugh. It all made sense. The fat bastard has destroyed Metro for seven years with the Scum, scoring 18 goals. He hated his DC coach, Ray Hudson. Bob Bradley, familiar with Moreno from his days as a DC assistant, was the Metro head coach. And then Moreno stepped on the field. Two goals, one on a PK. 12 games. Season-ending injury. And in the offseason, a refusal to report to Metro, forcing a trade back to DC. With Hudson now gone, Moreno would regain his old form, become an MVP candidate, help the Scum to the Cup, score six more against Metro... Feces.
1) Mamadou Diallo, 2002
It doesn't get worse than this. When Serna did not work out, Zambrano and Sakiewicz shipped him to New England in a massive six-player deal. Diallo came the other way. The same player who, two years earlier, purposely stepped on Ammann, breaking his ribs. The same player who got the "Revenge is Coming" response from Mike Petke. The same player who got into fights with Metros every time the two teams played. Oh, but did Diallo try to stop the hate. "NY Believe in ME", his t-shirt read. He scored four goals in just his second game, and 11 overall. But for us, he always stayed Mamadouchebag. So, when the season wound down, he stopped scoring, Metro missed the playoffs, Zambrano was fired, and Diallo was sold to Saudi Arabia, we couldn't be happier to get rid of the most hated player ever to wear a Metro uniform.
Just missing out:
John Harkes, 2007
The only reason the former DC captain is missing from the main list is that his time with Metro was as an assistant coach, not a player.
Dema Kovalenko, 2006-07
The former Chicago and DC hatchetman gave it all in a New York uniform, and was unceremoniously shipped out earlier this year.
Eddie Pope, 2003-04
If he only had some kind of a personality, maybe we'd hate him more. Did have the best year ever for a Metro defender in 2003.
Raul Diaz Arce and Eric Wynalda, 1999
Dealt before ever playing for Metro... thankfully.
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