Juan Carlos Osorio, talent evaluator
April 28, 2009
Whether or not Juan Carlos Osorio is a master tactician is not up for debate. Whether or not he's a good talent evaluator is. So let's go through each one of Osorio's player acquisitions to date, and try to evaluate them. We will skip over the transactions that did not involve a player of substance (Ricky Schramm, Gordon Kljestan, etc). Now, we do realize that for some of this year's signings, the final verdict is not out yet, as it still might fluctuate for most of the group. That said, let's do our best to analyze what we have at this point.
Zach Thornton
The former MetroStars goalkeeper was signed off the scrap heap and only played in the Open Cup debacle at Baltimore. Was dealt to Chivas USA, opening the door for Danny Cepero. C.
Eric Brunner
The team's top pick in the 2008 SuperDraft refused to sign a developmental deal, and left without playing a match. Was traded to Columbus earlier this year. F.
Luke Sassano
The third-round pick proved to be a versatile contributor and acquitted himself well in the playoff run. B+.
Danleigh Borman
Whenever you can get a contributor in the now-defunct Supplemental Draft, you take it. B.
Oscar Echeverry
The best thing we can save about him is that he didn't take up much salary cap space. F.
Andrew Boyens
He is not terrible... And did play well in the first two playoff games... C-.
Jorge Rojas
The problem is that he is a man without a position. Osorio doesn't think he is a left wing, but he's definitely not a central midfielder. When he is on, he is pretty damn good (second half vs DC). When he is off, he is beyond terrible, holding the ball too long and killing Metro attacks singlehandedly. His guaranteed contract pulls the grade down even further. C-.
Juan Pietravallo
Speaking of guaranteed contracts... "Hard Man" gets paid 200K a year. He did start out well, but has turned into absolute disaster. If only there was a way to get rid of him... Oh, right, guaranteed contract. D-.
Diego Jimenez
The young Mexican did have a couple of costly gaffes, but acquitted himself well in his brief time on loan. B-.
Gabriel Cichero
The less said, the better. F.
Macoumba Kandji
Metro did pay a king's ransom to get him from Atlanta... And he hasn't exactly scored in bunches. That said, there's enough potential there to give a high grade. B.
Matthew Mbuta
Can't seem to get on the field, but has shown that he can play when given the chance. C+.
Mike Petke
Now in Osorio's doghouse after making one mistake in the opener. C.
Dominic Oduro
He might score a couple of goals down the road... but right now, it sure doesn't seem like he will. And considering Metro gave up Dave van den Bergh to get this guy, a bench player at best... C-.
Jeremy Hall
Drafted as a left midfielder, Osorio sees him as a right back. But he has down well in an unfamiliar position. B.
Babajide Ogunbiyi
The second-round pick did not sign. F.
Jack Traynor
The second-round pick did not sign. F.
Khano Smith
Supposedly, he can follow 85 minutes of irrelevance with five minutes of brilliance. We're waiting for those five minutes. D.
Albert Celades
Can't seem to get on the field... but let's hold off here. Incomplete.
Carlos Johnson
Two red cards in three matches. He can only improve, right? D-.
Alfredo Pacheco
Was fine in his first two matches, not so much in the last one, although Osorio did play him out of position there. B-.
Not exactly a honor roll report card, is it?
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