Alejandro Moreno is an original Union
Exciting times for the Union.
Their first squad has Alejandro Moreno, the Venezuelan veteran forward who has had many MLS seasons and a big contributor to the Crew’s success in the last couple of years. Defender Shavar Thomas of Chivas who has spent about 6 years in the league including three years with the Wizards. Stefani Miglioranzi of the Galaxy who cut his teeth playing for Portsmouth and Swindon Town before leaving for the MLS. Miglioranzi was mentioned as a possible substitute for David Beckham in the MLS Cup final but never came on. The Union also have Seattle Sounders highly rated prospect Sebastian Le Toux, who was the Sounders first pick up in their expansion.
The 10 selected include:
Goalkeeper: Brad Knighton (New England Revolution)
Defenders: Jordan Harvey (Colorado Rapids), Dave Myrie (Chicago Fire), Shavar Thomas (Chivas USA)
Midfielders: Andrew Jacobson (D.C. United), Stefani Miglioranzi (LA Galaxy), Shea Salinas (San Jose Earthquakes), Nick Zimmerman (New York Red Bulls)
Forwards: Sebastien Le Toux (Seattle Sounders FC), Alejandro Moreno (Columbus Crew)
Peter Nowak is a strict disciplinarian. He does not tolerate star vibes and his benching Freddy Adu while at DC United was part of his “tough love” routine, so having a low key squad maybe his personal preference. Having said that, it will be surprising if a few eyebrows are not raised at his selections.
Having an experienced goalkeeper is an important part of building an expansion team so it is a bit surprising that the Union did not go for Pat Onstad or Kevin Hartman. Even Josh Saunders proved himself very capable. Onstad might be old (42 years) but he has been instrumental to the Dynamo’s success and the spring in his step belies his age. Luciano Emilio is a consistent goalscorer and would have been preferable to Moreno (41 goals in 83 matches as compared to 44 goals in 218 matches should be a no brainer). The midfield looks questionable, a Clint Mathis or an Amado Guevara would have been a good addition.
This is by no means “the written in stone” squad. Trading and DP selection could change all that, so by the end the 23 man squad might have just a few of the original 10 chosen. That was the case with the Sounders too as they were left with Le Toux, Nate Jacqua, and Brad Evans from the initial selection while adding Freddie Ljungberg, Fredy Montero, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, and Steve Zakuani amongst others. So Nowak might have a few tricks left up his sleeve.