Juan David Duque: Chicago Fire Rumor Mill
by Tweed Thornton on Feb 8, 2012 11:33 PM CST
in Fire Roster News & Analysis
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PrintYou might have caught wind of reports that the Portland Timbers were getting ready to sign 20 year-old left back Juan David Duque out of Colombia. Stumptown Footy had solid looking reports up on January 25 and February 1. Here we are on February 8 though and still no Juan David Duque inking a deal.
If the deal fell through, it wouldn't even be the first time something like that happened in MLS even this year. The New England Revolution thought they had signed Jose 'Pepe' Moreno only to see him back out. I included a blurb in Monday's Real Espana recap that Diario Pro was in on news that 23 year-old Panamanian center back Eduardo Dassent was going to sign with the Chicago Fire. Today there was a story that the Fire had pulled out of the deal with Dassent at the last second.
There might be more to the Dassent story though and it might all circle back to Juan David Duque after the break.
Timbers fans had Juan David Duque tifo ideas plotted out when they saw he retweeted a Portland preseason update yesterday. Even more exciting, Duque sent out his own tweet today in English after previously only using Spanish:
Preparing bags! goals and challenges in my new future!
Done deal? Well here's three things to consider.
- Duque follows the Portland Timbers but of the 43 other accounts he is following, the only other MLS team is the Chicago Fire. He did that just recently.
- One of Duque's very first accounts he followed is @Nat_Duke, Natalia Duque Santos. Sister? Mother? Cousin? Wife? Don't know but they share the Duque name and around 2:00 PM today she randomly tweeted 'Chicago Fire!!!'
- The timing of the Dassent story. The center back looked good to sign on Monday but it all fell apart before the end of Wednesday. At the same time, the news of Duque finally going to the United States broke.
That's all a little too coincidental to me. If Duque can play left back, he would be a great fit for the Fire. If he could play in the left midfield or at center back too, he would be an even better fit. Portland is filled to the gills on International players at the moment. It's not out of the question they got cold feet on bringing Duque in. Duque's paperwork might have been almost there on getting a visa. He could have even signed preliminary agreements with Major League Soccer that would lead him to tell reporters he was signing with the Portland Timbers. Foreign players are not always on top of the fact that when they are signing a contract to play in MLS, they are signing a contract with MLS itself and then playing for a MLS team after the fact. If the Fire were suddenly interested, it would take a couple of keystrokes in the MLS database to change Duque from Portland to Chicago.
Or maybe I just wasted 500 words on absolutely nothing. It does raise the question of where Rafael Robayo's visa is in all of this. Other Colombian players are coming to the country left and right. Also, does Fire head coach Frank Klopas plan on signing another center back if not Dassent? Luckily the weekly preseason conference call with Klopas is tomorrow. What questions do you have for him?
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And another account that Duque follows, Jorge E. Duque Jorge E. Duque L tweeted this earlier today:
@Nat_Duke A qué tiempo estás de Chicago? @JuanDavidDuke
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Nice work digging down on this one Tweed...
It certainly makes the Robayo situation even more interesting. We all know we can use some LB cover, and what team can’t use a versatile player? Definitely need to ask about Robayo tomorrow, as you said it shouldn’t be taking this long. I tweeted Jeff Crandall the other day asking for an update but never heard anything back. I wonder if something is going on with the visa that the front office is not privy to share? I hope not, we really need to get Robayo in camp.
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by Ryan Sealock on Feb 9, 2012 12:20 AM CST up reply actions
Visas
Just because other “Colombians” are getting into camp easily it doesn’t mean that this particular individual can. Making a leap and saying Robayo should already be in discounts any particular intricacies or difficulties his particular Visa application has.
by Gregg Mixdorf on Feb 9, 2012 8:32 AM CST up reply actions
From Fire facebook
“SPOTTED AT BREAKFAST THIS MORNING —
Offseason signing RAFAEL ROBAYO joined camp late last night after completing the visa process in Colombia.
Rafael will train with the Fire for the first time this morning at Oxnard College."
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by Tweed Thornton on Feb 9, 2012 10:38 AM CST up reply actions
true, although a large majority of visa work goes quickly...
apparently something in the process was held up longer with him. I was more concerned that something happened that was jeopardizing the signing overall. Plus, the more time he gets with the team in preseason, the better. It’s great to see it all worked out now.
Hot Time In Old Town SB Nation's blog for Chicago Fire, Soccer, & Chicago History
Tradition. Honor. Passion.
by Ryan Sealock on Feb 9, 2012 12:31 PM CST up reply actions
Questions for Frank in the conference call
I second leading with questions about the Robayo situation – is the Fire privy to the situation? Does the organization know what is holding up the issuance of the visa? If so, are they satisfied that a solution is imminent? etc.
Is the lack of a classic target striker on the roster a clue to the team’s tactial intent? Or is this a piece of the roster the team is still pursuing?
I’d also approve of provoking a small round of pointing and laughing in the general direction of the Revs’ front office.
If we can't get Drogba...
…can we get Wayne Rooney instead?
Or Berbatov?
He doesn’t get any playing time for Man U anymore as it is…
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Tradition. Honor. Passion.
by Ryan Sealock on Feb 9, 2012 12:32 PM CST up reply actions
Frank Klopas said today that the Fire never made an offer to Dassent. He did say he was familiar with the player though. Dassent’s team was interested in the having the Fire take a look at Dassent.
When asked about Juan David Duque, Klopas said he was familiar with the player and that he was a left back out of Colombia. On a follow-up if Duque would be joining the team anytime soon, Klopas said that Duque was not in camp with the team.
Hot Time In Old Town SB Nation's blog for Chicago Fire, Soccer, & Chicago History
Duque has signed with MLS
according to this article. It is yet to be determined if he will play for Portland or Chicago:
by iron81 on Feb 9, 2012 6:27 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
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