In the News: Transfer Rumors, Reserves, Parkhurst

As expected for mid-December, it’s been a relatively quiet week for New England soccer, but here are some of the stories New England Soccer Today has been following this week.

Gonçalves linked to Revs

Portuguese defender José Gonçalves, who currently plies his trade for FC Sion in Switzerland, was linked with a move to the New England Revolution earlier this week. The 27-year-old, who has previously played for Hearts in Scotland, fell out of favor at Sion, having played only six minutes this season, and is looking for a move to get more regular playing time, according to Swiss French-language tabloid-style newspaper Le Matin. The newspaper claims a move to North America is expected, with Boston the most likely destination, but that a deal has yet to be completed for the 6-foot-2 center back and nothing is 100 percent certain.

MLS Reserve League may integrate with USL-Pro

The United Soccer Leagues has been in communication with Major League Soccer about integrating the MLS Reserve League with the USL-Pro (currently the third division of professional soccer in the U.S.), according to a report on the North American Soccer Network. The agreement would call for MLS teams to send players to the local USL-Pro team, if there was one nearby, or if there was no USL-Pro team, to have the club’s current reserve team join the league.

Rhode Islander Michael Parkhurst heads to Germany

Former New England Revolution center back and Providence native Michael Parkhurst has joined German Bundesliga club FC Augsburg. The 28-year-old right back/center back impressed with Danish Superliga side F.C. Nordsjælland over the past four seasons, including appearances against Chelsea and Juventus in the European Champions League this fall. Augsburg (1-10-6, 9 points) currently sits in 17th place in the 18 team Bundesliga, sitting three points out of the relegation playoff spot and 10 points from guaranteed safety. Parkhurst and Augsburg have their work cut out for them if they hope to remain in Germany’s top division past this season.

Spurs Draw Lyon

Former New England Revolution midfielder Clint Dempsey and his English club Tottenham Hotspur F.C. will face a tough battle to make it past the Round of 32 in the Europa League. Dempsey’s club was today drawn against French giants Olympique Lyonnais, better known as Lyon. If Spurs can advance past Lyon, their round of 16 opponents could be Italian titans Inter Milan, who are heavily favored to beat Romanian club CFR Cluj. Spurs open against Lyon on Feb. 14 at White Hart Lane and play the second leg in France on Feb. 21.

PDL Updates

-Connecticut FC Azul will be holding open tryouts on Friday, Dec. 21.

-Western Mass Pioneers will holding tryouts on Saturday, Jan. 5.

2 Comments

1. 

   Jim

   December 20, 2012 at 10:16 pm

   I suppose Parkie feels he has maxed out his Denmark experience? Experienced all he could experience & that its time to move on to bigger things (possibly bigger)? It’s not like he’ll make great sums or champions league progress from Denmark.

   Also, this Goncalves rumor is promising because of the Scottish experience. I believe the SPL and MLS to be very similar. Does this guy speak French? & also, isn’t this a problem is Reis is the majority-of-the-time keeper? He’s been piss poor with back line communication when his backs are foreign.

   Reply
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     Sean Donahue

     December 20, 2012 at 10:46 pm

     I’d be curious to know exactly what other options were on the table for Parkhurst. The Bundesliga is certainly a step up from Denmark (and playing in Germany will almost certainly help him in Klinsmann’s eyes), but he is joining a team that in all likelihood won’t be in the Bundesliga in six months.

     As for Goncalves, I’ve long thought communication between the center backs and goalkeeper on the Revs has been so important that having a center back that didn’t speak at least some English is extremely problematic. I think the recent history of this team with center backs has proven that to be the case. That said, with the amount of time he spent in Scotland, it’s entirely possible it wouldn’t be an issue for Goncalves.

     Reply