Diego Jimenez not signing…for the moment
By BRIAN LEWIS
Striker Juan Pablo Angel had hoped to return for tomorrow’s game, but his hamstring will keep him out at least until the next match.
“Iâm planning all my games going without him at the moment. Today has not been any difdent,” said coach Juan Carlos Osorio. “I’ll be very, very pleased the day he comes and they tell me he’s ready to go. At the moment he’s not, and I will follow our doctors advice to rest him.”
Angel, who’d suffered a disc injury, pulled his hamstring while compensating. The Colombian has missed the Red Bulls’ last two matches, and will miss the Dallas tilt as well.
âItâs better, but not where I wanted it. I was improving and yesterday and today Iâm sore again. I stepped it up a little bit and yesterday and today it was getting tight again so I guess Iâve got to slow it down a little bit and weâll see next week,ââ Angel said. âThis game is out of the question. I was aiming for it but after yesterday and today I donât have a chance this week.ââ
Team captain Claudio Reyna _ also out with a herniated disc _ declined to speak with the press.
Diego Jimenez doesn’t appear to be coming. The club made him an offer and the Mexican defender made a counteroffer that was just a little too rich for Osorio’s blood. He might’ve been inclined to match it before, but they have more needs now that Jozy Altidore is gone.
Jimenez is also a fullback in a four-man back line, and Osorio has been looking for a bigger player who could start in a three, which just isn’t Hunter Freeman’s strength.
Even more important, Osorio feels confident of getting two players signed by next week _ Venezuelan National team captain Jorge Rojas, and a left-footed central defender who is supposedly good enough to make Jimenez expendable.
(And FWIW, I don’t think it’s Rojas’ Venezuelan National Team mate Gabriel Cichero, who was being bid on by a Brazilian club and two Colombian outfits.)
âI think sooner rather than later weâll bring two guys I feel comfortable with and they will strengthen the team. I will be pleased if we can bring Jorge and somebody else at least,” Osorio said.
“Our needs now and priorities weâre trying to reshuffle. We decided we need to invest that money in other positions. (Jimenez and his agent) want a little bit more and we said no, we canât do any more.”
