It may sound hyperbolic, but there might not have been a more exciting day of player acquisitions in Chivas USA's history than Thursday when they picked up defender Danny Califf and forward Juan Agudelo. The two players are on opposite ends of their careers and are hardly guaranteed to succeed, but The Goat Parade clearly thinks they are risks worth taking on the part of GM Jose Domene.
Chivas USA Making Reasonable Gamble - The Goat Parade
It’s a bold, but reasonable gamble by Domene. It is true that defender Danny Califf does have many, many miles on his legs and is on the wrong side of 30. It also cannot be denied that Juan Agudelo has not yet shown the consistency and goal tallies that his talent suggests.
The risk may not even be that big. To get both players, Chivas USA gave up a bunch of allocation (reportedly as much as $200,000 for Agudelo), Michael Lahoud and Heath Pearce. Considering Chivas USA's seeming reluctance to spend on players, that allocation was unlikely to be used; Lahoud was a useful player but not one who they were going to build around; and Pearce never seemed to really click.
This might not be the move to send Chivas USA to the MLS Cup, but it’s not hard to see how they are better today than they were before the trade.
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