In July, the Revolution signed Argentinian forward Milton Caraglio as a designated player. MLS team rosters can include three players with contracts valued at more than the maximum salary.
Scouting mission
Burns and Heaps have been scouting in Central and South America.
“The last four or five days we’ve seen a bunch of games and we are going to be in discussions to try and get some of these guys signed,’’ Burns said. “It’s so early in the process that to talk about names and countries is premature. We are looking to sign players immediately. We’ve trimmed our roster and now we are in the process of trying to add to it.’’
The Revolution did not pick up options on Caraglio, Rajko Lekic, and Monsef Zerka, but could retain them with revised contracts. “We are in discussions with their representatives to bring them back but nothing has been finalized,’’ Burns said.
Winning mentality
Adam Cristman thought he would be playing regularly for championships after joining the Revolution in 2007. Cristman performed as a substitute as the Revolution won the ’07 US Open Cup and ’08 SuperLiga, and was on the bench for the ’07 MLS Cup loss to Houston. But Cristman was traded to Kansas City for a draft choice and allocation money after the 2008 season and did not return to a title game until last month, when he was in the starting lineup as the Los Angeles Galaxy took a 1-0 win over Houston in the MLS Cup.
“This was a similar situation, because LA had been to the final and lost on PKs [in 2009],’’ Cristman said. “There were similarities in the team makeup — all the pieces were there for both [the Galaxy and Revolution]. The differences were only execution in the final game and having bounces go your way.
“The New England teams were amazing. It was more surprising they didn’t win with the teams they had.’’
The Galaxy’s designated players made the difference in the title game, Landon Donovan converting off a sequence involving David Beckham and Robbie Keane.
