When Vancouver Whitecaps selected Mexican defender Gienir Garcia as their first pick in this morning’s MLS Supplemental Draft, no-one knew what lay in store, in what has been a very busy day for the Caps.
A few hours later and Garcia was a Montreal Impact player, traded for the MLS ‘discovery rights’ to ex Carolina Railhawk Etienne Barbara.
Garcia’s selection raised a few eyebrows at the time. The left back position wasn’t exactly a key bare area and his acquisition increased Vancouver’s already over-subscribed international numbers, but it was felt he was one of the best available players in the entire draft. As it turned out, he had much more added worth.
If Barbara is added to the Caps squad, this still doesn’t solve the latter problem but we said a couple of weeks ago that <a href="http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/content.php?2637-Will-Whitecaps-Land-A-Carolina-Trifecta" target="_blank">if Rennie wants him, it was hard not to see the Caps do all they can to make a deal to sign the dangerous hitman</a>.
Today they moved a step closer to landing their <a href="http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/content.php?2637-Will-Whitecaps-Land-A-Carolina-Trifecta" target="_blank"><b>Carolina trifecta</b></a>, with <a href="http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/content.php?2689-Brad-Knighton-Becomes-Latest-Vancouver-Railhawk" target="_blank"><b>Brad Knighton finally officially signing this morning</b></a>.
The signing of Barbara is by no means a done deal. Both sides have to agree the monetary value of the player and as the Malteser told <a href="http://www.insidemnsoccer.com/2012/01/10/etienne-barbara-frustrated-with-montreal-impact-and-mls-rules-gets-called-back-to-maltese-national-team/" target="_blank">Inside Minnesota Soccer News</a> earlier this month, that had already proved to be a stumbling block with Montreal.
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I somehow don’t think that this will be a problem in Vancouver, having made such a spectacular trade.
Barbara had a breakout season in NASL last year, his second with Carolina. His league leading 20 goals and 9 assists saw him land the NASL Golden Boot, a spot on the NASL 'Best XI' and overall League MVP.
Holding eight Railhawks records in his short time there, his loss to any club will be deeply felt by Carolina, already reeling from losing their management team and key personnel. You have to feel some sympathy for Hawks fans, as they watch their team basically rebuilding from scratch. I’ve been there regularly with East Fife. It’s not fun and it never gets easier.
Barbara currently has 30 international Caps to his name, and whilst Malta search for a new national team coach, interim boss Robert Gatt has indicated that he may welcome Barbara back to the Maltese international fold for the friendly against Liechtenstein on February 29th.
Critics will point the finger at Barbara being untested at this level and the same boring old argument of D2 players not being up to the MLS grade will be trotted out.
This just simply doesn’t hold any sway with me. The Caps didn’t succeed last season, but you know what, that was down to the big name guys not performing, not the D2 guys being out of their depth.
The 29 year old striker is a thirteen year professional. In his years in Malta, he was a consistent goalscorer. He has developed every year and what he achieved in the NASL last season was simply spectacular.
No-one should devalue what a break-out season he had and he is certainly worth a shot in MLS. Martin Rennie knows him very well and clearly thinks the same:
<i>”Etienne is a fast, powerful player that can create goals. He understands soccer in North America and has had a good career in Europe. If we are able to sign him, he will bring versatility to our line-up as a wide midfielder or a striker”</i>
I’m genuinely excited by this (potential) signing. Once the deal is officially done, he knows he will be under intense pressure to perform and will be under the spotlight. He strikes me as a player that thrives in such a situation and let’s face it, he can’t be any worse than the last international striker we brought in.
Once Etienne Barbara puts the final pen to paper and becomes a Whitecap, then the international spot number crunching game will continue.
Don’t be surprised if this isn’t the last trade deal announced in Vancouver this week.
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