Goodbye, Number 9

Colombian striker Jose Moreno waived by the Revolution on Monday. (Photo: Kari Heistad/CapturedImages.biz)

Advertised as the New England Revolution’s new number 9 back in February, Jose Moreno came to the club on loan from Colombian side Once Caldas with high expectations. From the beginning, nothing seemed to go as planned and now Moreno’s time with the club is over after being waived on Aug. 6.

Moreno scored just once in seven appearances – five starts – for the Revs, but missed several matches with an ankle sprain and recently missed training due to personal reasons. Moreno last played in New England’s scoreless draw with the Columbus Crew on June 16 and last appeared on the bench in the Revs 2-1 loss at the Montreal Impact on July 18th, though he did not make an appearance. Despite not being on the injury report recently, Moreno has not been a part of the game day 18 the past few weeks.

After the Revs announced his signing on Feb. 2, questions about his arrival began to arise. Soon after the Revs announced the signing, Moreno was quoted on the official website of the Colombian first division saying that he intended to remain with Once Caldas. On Feb. 12, he appeared in a match for Caldas, playing 51 minutes in a 2-2 draw with Itagüí before coming off with an apparent ankle injury. The Revs still expected the Colombian striker to arrive by March 1st.

Weeks passed with little updates, but Moreno finally arrived on March 22. The striker cited “paperwork and family issues” for the delay in an interview with the Boston Globe.

It took another couple weeks to get Moreno fit and on the field. He finally appeared as a late substitute for 11 minutes in 1-0 loss to FC Dallas on April 5. A week later, Moreno would get his first start, and finished off a Saer Sene cross in the 6th minute in a 2-1 loss to D.C. United.

That was the only time Moreno would score for the Revs. Moreno would start the next two games, before missing the next three to injury. He’d make another three appearances, including two starts, in late May and early June, but hardly had a sniff at goal.

June 16 was the last time he’d see the field and it quickly appeared likely Moreno would not be seen in a Revolution uniform again. After the club signed Honduran striker Jerry Bengtson as a DP on July 5, any chance of Moreno playing seemingly greatly decreased.

According to the MLS Players Union, Moreno was due to make $149,000 in guaranteed compensation this season.

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