Trecker: Valderrama, Nowak, Djorkaeff
Before deciding that the addition of French international Youri Djorkaeff is a mistake, remember Carlos Valderrama and Peter Nowak. Valderrama was 34 when he joined Tampa Bay in the first MLS season, Nowak was 33 when he became the key for Chicago's expansion Fire in their first year of existence.
Sometimes the lottery of deciding whom to add to a young team is more about the kind of player than the age of the player, and certainly this has to be the rationale employed by the Metros in their decision to take on Djorkaeff, a player surely closer to the end of his career than his prime.
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Djorkaeff moving to MLS
• MetroStars sign Youri Djorkaeff • Trecker: Djorkaeff could set example • Djorkaeff fulfills 'dream' with Metros • Youri Djorkaeff quote sheet AUDIO  Listen to Feb. 21 press conferenceMETROSTARS GEAR • Buy it NOW TICKETS • Buy MetroStars tickets ABOUT YOURI DJORKAEFF Position: Midfield/forward DOB: March 9, 1968 Ht.: 5-10 Wt: 159 CLUB EXPERIENCE 1984-89: FC Grenoble (France) 1989-91: RC Strasbourg (France) 1991-95: AS Monaco (France) 1995-96: Paris St. Germain (France) 1996-99: Inter Milan (Italy) 1999-2002: FC Kaiserslautern (Ger.) 2002-04: Bolton Wanderers (England) 2004-05: Blackburn Rovers (England) INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE 1993-2002: French national team 82 international caps 28 goals (T-5th in French history) HONORS 2001 Confederations Cup Champion 2000 European Champion 1998 World Cup Champion 1998 UEFA Cup Champion 1997 UEFA Cup finalist 1996 Euro. Cup Winners Cup Champion 1994 French Ligue 1 top scorer 1992 Euro. Cup Winners Cup finalist 1991 Coupe de France Champion |
It probably is not an overstatement to say that Djorkaeff has spent a pretty good soccer career in partial shadow. He is the son of a famous French international, Jean Djorkaeff, a right back who was the linchpin of the national team back in the late 1960s and early 70s. Then he came through as a national teamer himself at exactly the same time that the great crop of French talent would emerge in time to win a World Cup and a European championship.
Djorkaeff, you might recall, was the player many wondered about heading into France 1998. Not that people questioned his talent and vision for the game, but there were those who wondered how he would fit with Zinedine Zidane and whether the two could form a partnership. In the end, Djorkaeff sublimated some of his natural game to allow Zidane more of the ball and you know the rest. For three years, almost no national team could come close to the French in flair or success.
That great French era was even better than the 1980s when Jean Tigana -- not unlike Djorkaeff -- had to play with Michel Platini at a time when some believed Tigana´s game might have been even more expansive had he been the solo star. But learning to play within a system and to complement those with whom you play was a quality that Tigana, and later Djorkaeff, possessed.
Similarly, Djorkaeff fooled some people again when he moved to the tough, fast-paced English Premier League, signing with Bolton Wanderers. Could a small, sometimes fragile-looking midfielder survive in the hectic English game? Not only did Djorkaeff survive, he excelled again. By then he had proven himself pretty firmly with club success in such varied environments as France, the German Bundesliga and the EPL.
The next challenge will be quite different. Released by Blackburn Rovers after a short stay this season, Djorkaeff comes to a new country, a new league and a new team at a time when you suspect he will be attempting to prove that while the legs may be aging, the head is still very much firmly on soccer shoulders.
Think back to the early Valderrama days in Tampa Bay. Roy Lassiter was always a very good forward; with Valderrama feeding him passes that almost nobody else would have ever thought about, Lassiter turned into a scoring machine.
Think about the Chicago teams that Nowak ran from central midfield. Like Valderrama, Nowak had the ability to anticipate, to make plays for his forwards. Yet when Nowak was signed by Chicago, there were surely some who worried about adding "a middle-aged European" instead of signing a potentially outstanding youngster from Central or South America.
Even Hristo Stoitchkov fooled some people when he came to MLS after being given the "washed up" label by the Europeans.
The fact is that MLS isn't Europe. The rosters here are younger with far more players learning to be professionals in the top division. The game here is a bit slower because of the hot, humid conditions and other factors.
Some -- especially those in haughty European circles -- see those as negatives, but what they might fail to understand is that there is a benefit for an older player to extend his career in MLS. Because there is no relegation, clubs can rebuild without the fear of being dumped off the gravy train. There is a bit more room for patience in contrast to today's European game, where clubs need to win now and keep on winning.
Hopefully, Djorkaeff is not going to be viewed as a MetroStars' savior, or as a player who will score every other match and terrorize defenses. That's quite unrealistic and hardly the role that veteran players ought to be asked to play in MLS.
If he can come to the MetroStars and stabilize the team in midfield and set an example for others, he will be worth the gamble on his age.
Jerry Trecker covered soccer around the world for 47 years before retiring from The Hartford (Ct.) Courant in June, 2004. He is a regular contributor to MLSnet.com.
