A debut four years in the making
March 25, 2025
AJ Marcucci finally made his Metro debut, exactly four years and 60 days after being drafted. Is that the longest wait in team history? Oh, it's up there, but... read on. These are all the players that had to wait at least a year to make their debut. (Not listed, the debut-less: Kyle Reynish, who sat on the bench for 70+ times without seeing any action; Bento Esterla, signed at 14 and "sold" at 18 without a minute; Curtis Ofori, who will make this list if he ever plays.)
Michael Bradley: 1 year, 76 days
The younger Bradley was drafted in the 4th round in 2004, but he sat out the entire year with an injury before making his debut in the 2005 season opener. He had hair back then!
Tom Barlow: 1 year, 109 days
Before he became much-maligned, "Big, Strong, Fast" Barlow excelled for RBNY II with 10 goals in his rookie year and 11 in his second one. The second-round pick was brought up to the big leagues in May of 2019... and then became much-maligned.
John Tolkin: 1 year, 114 days
Tolkin signed out of the academy in January of 2020, but did not appear at all during the COVID-shortened season. Instead, he had to wait until May of 2021 to make his debut, but that worked out pretty well, didn't it?
O'Vonte Mullings: 1 year, 126 days
Metro drafted the Canadian forward and tried to make him into a right back. He toiled with RBNY II for a year and a half before making three first-team cameos in 2023.
Matt Nocita: 1 year, 132 days
Another one of Denis Hamlett's ill-conceived draft-day trade-ups, the behemothian Nocita was taken seventh overall. It took him a while to get out of his Naval duties, and even longer to make his Metro debut, which he did in the Open Cup. He only played in two total games... but he was very tall.
Ethan Kutler: 1 year, 144 days
Another college forward who they tried to convert to a right back! Kutler actually played five games for the Shield-winning team in 2018 and tallied two assists. He was then cut and retired a year later at the age of 24.
Florian Valot: 1 year, 160 days
Valot was a huge part of the 2016 USL champions, and we count his Metro "arrival" as roster-filler call-up for the Champions League game versus Guatemala's Antigua. He didn't play then, but signed a first-team deal after the 2017 season, and debuted in a Champions League game against Tijuana in 2018.
Ian Christianson: 1 year, 243 days
There were high hopes for Christianson, who was Metro's lone pick in the 2013 SuperDraft. Injuries derailed him as he didn't play a minute in what was going to be his rookie season. A short-term loan to then-USL's Orlando in 2014 followed, as he was then return to appear for Metro six times for minimal action. Christianson was another one who retired at the age of 24.
Danny Cepero: 1 year, 274 days
Drafted in what amounts to the 8th round, Cepero did not see any action behind Metro's plethora of keepers... and he wouldn't have, if Jon Conway wasn't suspended for performance-enhancing pills with two games left in the 2008 regular season. What followed is perhaps the most famous debut in Metro history, as Cepero became the first keeper in league history to score a goal. An almost-as-famous playoff run followed. Let's not talk about 2009.
Jared Stroud: 2 years, 172 days
Two years Stroud toiled with RBNY II, collecting 22 goals and many assists after being drafted in 2018 in the fourth round... 44 spots behind Barlow. The first team finally came calling in 2020, and he became a useful member before being taken by Austin in the expansion draft.
Stefano Bonomo: 3 years, 68 days
Drafted in the 2nd round in 2015, Bonomo decided to try his luck in Europe, before returning to America midway through the year. He scored one of the five goals in the 2016 USL Cup, but spent another full year in the minors, before finally getting a call-up and playing one minute against Minnesota. That was the only time Bonomo appeared for the first team; he was cut midway through the Shield-winning season.
A.J. Marcucci: 4 years, 60 days
And here we have Marcucci, drafted in the third round four years ago. Reserve spells in two leagues, a loan to Finland, Ryan Meara's steadiness in relief... Marcucci finally got a shot, and one wonders where he goes from here.
Leo Krupnik: 7 years, 165 days
We told this story before: Krupnik was drafted by Metro in the 6th round in 2002, failed to make the team, played for Des Moines in the USL, was signed as roster fodder late in the year, did not appear in a game, left the US for Israel, and then returned seven years later in the middle of the 2009 season for three of the most terrible games in team history.
Greg Sutton: 10 years, 13 days
On April 14, 2000, Metro need a backup goalkeeper because Tim Howard was away with Olympic qualifying. Sutton was picked up on waivers from Chicago; in his second year in MLS, the tall Canadian played in two matches, allowed eight(!!!) goals, and was cut. Metro did not end up needing him, so to the A-League he went, playing for the Cincinnati Riverhawks followed by a long stint with the pre-MLS Montreal Impact. Toronto brought him back to the big leagues in 2007, and Metro re-acquired him in 2010 to compete with Bouna Coundoul. Sutton made his debut on April 27, 2010, a decade after his original acquisition. This one will be hard to top. Are you listening, Ofori?
|
