OGUCHI ONYEWU A MILAN PLAYER
News broke this morning that American center back Oguchi Onyewu has signed a 3 year deal with AC Milan. Gooch will be the first American to play in Serie A since Alexi Lalas in the mid 90′s. Here is a statement directly from AC Milan’s website:
AC Milan announces to have signed defender OGUCHI ONYEWU, from Standard Liege, at the end of his contract. The player, who played the American national team, is also in possession of the Belgian passport and signed a contract which expires on June 30 2012. This operation proves once again the excellent friendship between our club and Standard Liege, and in particular, with vice president Luciano D’Onofrio.
A hand full of teams had been linked to Gooch including the likes of Real Madrid and Ajax. This is the first I heard of an AC Milan interest but I couldn’t imagine a better place for Gooch to play. AC Milan struggled defensively last season so there is an opportunity for Gooch to step in right away. Additionally, playing with guys like Ronaldinho, Nesta, Pirlo, Gattuso, Pato, etc should only help Gooch grow as a player and defender. Finally, he joins a club that will be playing and challenging in Champions League, the highest level of club soccer.
Now that Maldini has retired and Nesta is constantly injured Gooch has a golden opportunity to assume the starting role. The good thing about big clubs like AC Milan is that they play a ton of games and are involved in multiple tournamets meaing that Gooch has plenty opportunities to impress.
AC Milan will be playing in the US this summer, so you might have an opportunity to watch Gooch play as a rosonerri in person.
Milan v. LA Galaxy at the Home Depot Center, July 19
Milan v. Club America in Atlanta on July 22,
Milan v. Chelsea in Baltimore on July 24,
Milan v. Inter Milan at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. on July 26.