Steve Rammel

There are bad trades and then there are bad trades. Take last year's acquisition of Bobby Convey. Sure, Metro gave up some draft picks, but at least they got something back. Yes, a player on his last legs, long past his prime, a player who couldn't last half a season... but they at least they got something.

On a few occasions, Metro gave up assets to acquire a player -- a proven MLS veteran at that -- only to walk away with nothing. Today, we will discuss two such trades. Once again, we venture to the edge of obscurity, talking about Steve Rammel and Francis Okaroh: two players who were once Metros, but were never Metros for real.

Steve Rammel will forever be in the MLS record books for scoring the first hat trick in league history, doing so on May 15, 1996, for DC Scum against Columbus. (A day later, Metro's Giovanni Savarese matched the feat in a win over Colorado.) Rammel played well in the league's inaugural season, scoring 16 goals for DC, but slumped terribly in 1997. Midway through the year, with only one goal to his name, the Scum dumped him to Colorado for the washed-up Roy Wegerle. In his half a season with the Rapids, Rammel couldn't find the back of the net.

Metro was entering the 1998 season with a big question mark at forward (sounds familiar?). Yes, there was Savarese, but Antony De Avila was to be shifted back to South America. There were no other forwards on the roster. (Seriously, sounds familiar?) So it made total sense to acquire Rammel and hope he revives his once-potent scoring touch. Even further, the striker was a New Jersey native to made his name at Rutgers...

Rammel reported to camp, went with Metro to Italy, and even scored in a 2:1 preseason loss to Perugia. But a month after his acquisition, he abruptly decided to retire, taking an assistant coaching role at UCLA. "I just thought it was time to move on," Rammel said. "I felt I achieved everything in the league. I had won a championship and been named an all-star. This was just the right time and the right opportunity."

Metro GM Charlie Stillitano did not agree. "We're disappointed by Steve's decision, because we thought he had the chance to play an important role with the MetroStars," he said. Perhaps Charlie should have checked Rammel's state of mind before the trade.

What did Metro give up for Rammel? A first-round supplemental pick, which turned out to be minor leaguer Kevin Anderson. He went on to have a three-year MLS career, coming off the bench for Colorado and Tampa. He even appeared for Metro as a guest player in their end-of-season European tour in 2000.

	Francis Okaroh

By the time Francis Okaroh arrived to Metro, MLS was about to enter its sixth year. Okaroh was a full-time starter for the first four of those, in New England and Chicago. He spent 2000 with Miami, playing in 13 games. In fact, the Nigerian's MLS career had two remarkable achievements: he started every game he ever appeared in, and he never scored a goal in 121 league and playoff matches.

After the 2000 season, Miami put Okaroh on waivers, and he was picked up by San Jose. The Earthquakes then traded the defender to Metro for an exchange in draft picks. In reality, Metro did not give up much. They moved from the first round into the second, but only gave up three positions: from 10th down to the 13th.

San Jose traded the 10th pick away; it eventually ended up in Columbus, with the Crew drafting Duncan Oughton. With the 13th pick, Metro picked virtual unknown Rodrigo Faria. He, of course, became Rookie of the Year, so maybe this didn't go so poorly for Metro after all.

"We are pleased that we were able to acquire a seasoned veteran like Francis," Metro GM Nick Sakiewicz said at the time of the trade. "He will solidify our central defense." He didn't solidify anything, as Okaroh did not even make it to preseason. Acquired in November, he was cut in early February.

Okaroh went on to coaching, and is now an assistant at his alma mater, Boston University. Rammel's desire to move up in the coaching ranks stopped after he assisted Steve Sampson with the LA Galaxy. Metro? As bad as these trades were, somehow they weren't among the worst in team history. Go figure.