My (Obvious) Take On “El Piojo” Claudio Lopez

If you are a reader of this blog, or a listener at Seeing Red!, you know that there are a few things I think the team needs to stress in order to be successful.

#1 – The team desperately needs a creative attacking midfielder.
#2 – The budgetary investments the team makes should be responsible and effective.
#3 – And they should always welcome Argie players with open arms (well, Argies not named Pietravallo at least).

Taking all that into consideration, I think El Piojo Lopez fits the bill perfectly.

Recently released Claudio Lopez is 35, going on 36 this July. In his earlier years, he was known for his amazing dribbling ability, and breakout speed that would routinely destroy even the most uniform defenses for goals. He earned 58 caps with the Argentine National Team, though he was never able to translate his successes in club football to his successes on the National stage. Not saying that he failed in that aspect, but the way the Argentine team was constructed at the time made him less of a commodity on the team and more of a duplicate.

In Argentina, he is known as a Racing legend. After his time there, he went off into Europe and had a marvelous run with Spanish side Valencia, culminating in a UEFA Champions League runner up position in 2000. He was transferred to Lazio to pair up top with Hernan Crespo, his fellow countryman, but injuries began taking hold of the diminutive fireball. After a four year stint, he found a new home in Club America, where he was a major cog in the teams 2006 championship run. He proceeded to play a short time with Racing once more, and ultimately, with the Kansas City Wizards.

Nice resume. Especially considering his stats last season, where a healthy Claudio Lopez was able to achieve 7 goals and 8 assists in 29 appearances (28 of which were starts).

And this is where we pick up our analysis. The cons on Lopez are easy to figure out. He is on the wrong side of 35. He is a career forward, withdrawn as he may have been, and the Bulls may be asking him to pull off a miracle at his age in playing a midfield playmaker position (with the glut of forwards currently on roster of course). He is small in stature. He has lost a step in his breakouts. He takes up a sizable chunk of salary space. He is a quick fix on a team that should be thinking long term.

I get all the negatives, but I still think he would not only be a good fit on this team, but the perfect fit.

At age 35, he has already begun to change his game into a further withdrawn position akin to a central attacking midfielder. He has two years of American soccer experience under his belt, and much like Dave Van Den Bergh before him, he has used those years to his advantage and has learned to play under the MLS system. He had stellar stats last season, with his assists tally beating his goal tally by 1. As a matter of fact, he would have instantly been the Bulls leading overall scorer based strictly on his production last season (his combined goals and assists, 15, would be more than Angels combined 14). He is experienced in big games, playing in the world’s largest stages. He will immediately command the respect of his peers in the midfield, drawing attention from the defense that will allow talents like a Lindpere or a Dane Richards to find the necessary space and time they need to be deadly. He will get the ball to Angels feet (finally). His salary last season was 180k, down from the heights of his DP money the first year with the team. Considering the absurd salaries RBNY handed out last season, Lopez would be a much smarter investment (Jorge Rojas at 120k, Leo Krupnik at 144k, Albert Celades at 100k). And best of all? He will place a threat in the teams midfield that has been void since Amado Guevara was sent packing in 2006.

Basically, the good out weighs the bad in this Argies (biased) opinion. And I find it difficult to argue to the contrary.

Let me know what you think. Are we in agreement here? Or am I over selling the old striker? Hit us up in the comments below (and enjoy his miracle 60 yard goal from last season against the LA Galaxy).

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