Gilberto, Cyrus & Transfer Day Wrap

When I heard the Chicago Fire was bringing Cyrus in on a loan, I first thought the club was getting this man.

Then I read the fine print and realized Cyrus was his last name and the Fire were really bringing in Trinidad & Tobago defender Daneil Cyrus, which should prove to be a much better signing. All I know of Cyrus is what I’ve seen from him in Gold Cup action, where he looked the part of a serviceable defender without really ever standing out.

He comes from the well regarded W. Connection where he played with Joevin Jones, an experience that should help Cyrus integrate into the team more quickly. This is clearly a depth addition, but with Adailton struggling a bit and Lovel Palmer seemingly in and out of the good graces of Frank Yallop at random, he should find some playing time.

Thursday’s announcement of Cyrus’ move to Chicago coincided with Gilberto’s official introduction to the Chicago media. The biggest revelation in listening to the Fire’s newest Designated Player was learning of his apparent love of basketball, specifically basketball played in the 1990s by the Chicago Bulls.

This is important information Frank Yallop should not hesitate to use as early as tonight when the Fire take on Portland. If I’m Yallop and I am trying to quickly motivate and integrate Gilberto into the team plans, I am playing the Alan Parsons Project in the locker room pregame. Gilberto should be sufficiently hyped.

Transfer Day Wrap

• Toronto FC shocked the MLS Friday by announcing the signing of former USMNT striker Hercules Gomez. It was a cool, unexpected moment that of course got a little blown up by the Fire faithful. I know it’s fashionable to beat up the front office, and often it’s deserved, but I really have no time for the idea Gomez would be better than Gilberto. We might not know what Gilberto is, but we do know he is not a 33-year-old striker with a history of knee problems that has only scored two goals since 2013.
• The Seattle Sounders are aggressively attempting to add quality depth on a team that has frankly been awful for the past month and a half. The club has already added Austrian striker/midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz and is going to lock up Panamanian midfielder and Bundesliga veteran Nelson Valdez as a Designated Player. Because there is a soccer god up there somewhere, the Sounders were unable to keep stockpiling after a deal for very good Panamanian center back Roman Torres apparently fell through. Thank you soccer god.
• I would be remiss not to add how much I dislike Columbus because honestly I am just a little jealous. The Crew added Jack McInerney from Montreal, a very solid MLS forward, while shipping Adam Bedell to Orlando City. McInerney for Bedell is more or less what happened. Jerks.
• Also, Sporting Kansas City added another Barcelona trained player in Jordi Quintilla because Sporting Kansas City.

Here is the rest of the breakdown, courtesy of mlssoccer.com: (feel free to add in the comments as the day goes on)

July 8 - Steven Gerrard, LA Galaxy (signed Jan. 7) (DP)
July 8 - Frank Lampard, New York City FC (signed Jan. 10) (DP)
July 8 - Angelino, New York City FC (signed June 16)
July 8 - Andoni Iraola, New York City FC (signed June 16)
July 8 - Erik Friberg, Seattle Sounders (signed June 29)
July 8 - Cedrick Mabwati, Columbus Crew SC (signed Jan. 30)
July 8 - Andrea Pirlo, New York City FC (signed July 6) (DP)
July 9 - Anthony Manning, Portland Timbers
July 9 - Rasheed Olabiyi, Houston Dynamo
July 14 - Jefferson Mena, New York City FC
July 15 - Giovani dos Santos, LA Galaxy (DP)
July 15 - Matheus Silva, San Jose Earthquakes
July 17 - Erick 'Cubo' Torres, Houston Dynamo (DP)
July 17 - Lucas Melano, Portland Timbers (DP)
July 17 - Marc Pelosi, San Jose Earthquakes
July 22 - Ezequiel Cirigliano, FC Dallas
July 24 - Ahmed Kantari, Toronto FC
July 27 - Didier Drogba, Montreal Impact (DP)
July 27 - Gilberto, Chicago Fire (DP)
July 27 - Shaun Wright-Phillips, New York Red Bulls
July 29 - Tranquillo Barnetta, Philadelphia Union
July 29 - David Mateos, Orlando City
July 29 - Adrian Winter, Orlando City
July 30 - Harrison Afful, Columbus Crew SC
Aug. 3 - Johan Venegas, Montreal Impact
Aug. 4 - Andreas Ivanschitz, Seattle Sounders
Aug. 5 - Dave Romney, LA Galaxy
Aug. 5 - Gonzalo Verón, New York Red Bulls (DP)
Aug. 6 - Daneil Cyrus, Chicago Fire
Aug. 6 - Gaston Sauro, Columbus Crew SC
Aug. 6 - Jordi Quintilla, Sporting Kansas City
Aug. 6 - Anibal Godoy, San Jose Earthquakes
Aug. 7 - Herculez Gomez, Toronto FC