is that the guy who took that horrendous dive at the 2002 World Cup? Or am I thinking of some other Brasilian?

If we're thinking of the same thing, that was Rivaldo. He got kicked with the ball in the gut and started grabbing his face.

He played for Brazil in the world cup in 2002 . He's only 29. He's currently playing in Saudi Arabia, and transferring to FC Dallas. What happened to this guy? I'm asking in all seriousness---I haven't followed his career. Did he have a horrific injury or something? Why isn't he still playing in a major league?

The FC Dallas attack looks very dangerous with Toja and Denilson feeding Carlos Ruiz.

As I recall Denilson was considered one of the best dribblers around circa World Cup '98. Whether he ever looked up from all his stepovers to pass the ball to a teammate is another question.

Anyway that was the reputation he got saddled with - fancy but ineffective.

Here's the bio folks at Wikipedia have put together:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Den%C3%ADlson_de_Oliveira_Ara%C3%BAjo

Wikipedia says he's born August 24, 1977.

Happy 30th birthday.

So what happens to Ruiz next year when his $435K turns him into a DP? Is he in the last year of his contract?

ahhh, yes, Rivaldo is who I was thinking of. Thanks for setting me straight. My apologies to Mr. Denilson.

Dave Lifton,

The rumor is that the Owner/Operators will discuss giving all 14 teams another DP next year.

It sounds like he went to Saudi Arabia b/c his ego wanted a bigger paycheck than his skills were worth. So why come to MLS which can only pay a fraction of what a Saudi or European club can pay?

OT - Is anyone else watching the LA game? How does the reciever of a headbutt get sent off?

Horrible call. Did Marshe or whoever did the foul not even get a card!?
The headbutt was a good red, but WHAT THE HECK?

ah, we have our answer - if they give a slight punch of the headbutter

Marsch got a yellow, which could have been red... I didn't see the punch at first but good job catching both red card offenses.

Beckham has a habit of jumping up and getting really aggressive at players. I've always wondered how that is or should be interpreted in the rules. It seems quite provocative and I think the game could use a clarification that its a yellow card.

sorry? i don't understand what you just said.

Marsch deserved a red too

good ol' Terry Vaughn loses control. If he had simply called any of the three fouls that occurred before that there would have been no trouble. Jesse had a right to be mad after Becks hacked him before that with no call. Marsch's foul was a bit of a kick, but I think Beckham over-reacted with his charge, and you know Marsch isn't going to back down. I think the yellow was appropriate. The send offs were a little curious. Martino gets away with putting his hands on a guy's face but Harmse gets sent off for getting head butted in the face. But after his punk kick at Olsen when they were here he's certainly no saint. I think Zotinca will receive a several game suspension.

2nd goal for Chivas = time for LA to give up and let Beckham rest his ankle ?

why can't DCU sign one of these big names Brazillian instead of the second-tier bunch that we have right now?

Becks looked hurt.
Chivas dominated
3-0
Kleijstan will be good for the NT in the future.

Could Beckham be rethinking his decision to sign with the Galaxy over NY ?

and yes he looked more then just fatigued at the end of the game - for his sake hope his ankle just needs ice and 24 hours of no soccer to recover.

Hardcore performance by Beckham... gets a ton of respect for that.

Because those "big name" Brazilians don't fit this team, and the owners don't stand to benefit by bringing in a DP at this time in our current situation at RFK. I was very surprised to see them go for Veron so strongly, but he would actually fill a need that a player such as Denilson would not, especially at what he'll cost.

Fred and Emilio are definitely a much smarter use of our roster than DPs.

"why can't DCU sign one of these big names Brazillian instead of the second-tier bunch that we have right now?"

Yeah, cuz the MLS leading goal scorer isn't more valuable than a has-been?

Did you see when Martino had ANOTHER vicious tackle from behind? Someone needs to set him straight.

"why can't DCU sign one of these big names Brazillian instead of the second-tier bunch that we have right now?"

Yeah, cuz the MLS leading goal scorer isn't more valuable than a has-been?

Emilio is not a second-tier player, he's a third.
never made it in Brazil, Germany, Mexico second league. Only good for Honduras and here.

It sounds like he went to Saudi Arabia b/c his ego wanted a bigger paycheck than his skills were worth. So why come to MLS which can only pay a fraction of what a Saudi or European club can pay?

The impression I got was that he is less concerned about playing with a big club and more with playing "for the love of the game", but perhaps that is not so...

"why can't DCU sign one of these big names Brazillian instead of the second-tier bunch that we have right now?"

Because having the number 1 goal scorer is more important -DUH! and fred will be taking over the gomez next year.

"why can't DCU sign one of these big names Brazillian instead of the second-tier bunch that we have right now?"

Posted by: justsayin' | August 24, 2007 12:03 AM

This might be the stupidest thing I've read in ages. Your ignorance is profound and pronounced.

I'm excited about this DP signing.

I second Paul's question... what happened? He's too young to be signing for MLS.

As a French League follower, I was able to watch Denilson play for Bordeaux in 2005/06.

While his skills are clearly still there, he has lost the ability to make a major impact in a game. The problem is that while he can juke a defender all day, he rarely followed his moves with a good pass. Often he just kept dribbling until he had three guys on him and he eventually lost the ball.

He also never achieved full fitness during the season and would quickly run out of gas during matches (Bordeaux played him out on the left wing) and very rarely made runs into space. He was used primarily as a sub during the latter part of the season.

Having said that, there is still some hope that he could find some success here. The French League is arguably the most defensively rigorous (just look at Ronaldinho's stats at PSG) -- he will not face the same skilled, physical defenders in MLS. He would also benefit from a move to a central playmaker position where his fitness would no longer be such an issue.

In the end, this guy is a little bit of a "Gazza Light", someone who has great problems focusing on the game amid the hype and expectations that follow him. At 30, this is probably his last chance to shine in a competitive league.

I'd say that MLS is a step up from Saudi Arabia. Although that is not an opinion informed by knowledge of the Saudi League.

Goff,

Can you please do a story for the paper on the impact of the DP's on the league. While attendance and excitement may be up the teams with DP's are not doing so well. There was a comment last night on the telecast about how great the DP's have been, but for thier teams I'm not sure things are working out as planned. Some of these teams may make a late push (Chicago), but probably at the expense of another team with a DP (Columbus/KC) rather than one without DP's. Does this signal that quality throughtout the squad trumps superstars that can be marked out of games (See Angel vs DCU)?

Playoff Team:
DC (# of DP's = 0)
FCD (0, until yesterday)
HOU (0)
NE (0)
Chivas (0)
Columbus (1 - Schelotto is DP?)
KC (1 - Johnson)

Out of playoffs:
Colorado (0)
Toronto (0)
LA (2)
RSL (1 - Freddy although his 500K may not have counted against cap)
CHI (1)

I think you could argue this both ways and is therefore an intersting anysis to undertake for your readers. I'm sure each GM has an intersting position as well.

Finally, what happens next year with the guys who were grandfathered in (LD, EJ)?

looking,

Does NY still have a team? 2 dp's there