CARSON, Calif. (Wednesday, November 24, 2010) - Chivas USA acquired a pair of veteran attacking players on Wednesday, trading for Alan Gordon and Alejandro Moreno from the expansion club Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Wednesday. Both players had been selected by Vancouver earlier in the day in the 2010 MLS Expansion Draft. In exchange for the players, Chivas USA sent allocation money and an international player spot for 2011 to the Whitecaps.
"We're very happy we get to keep Alan Gordon at Chivas USA, and we're also excited to add Alejandro Moreno to our squad," said Chivas USA Vice President of Soccer Operations Stephen Hamilton. "We had the opportunity to add a pair of experienced and proven forwards, who will provide us with strength and depth up front."
Alan Gordon was acquired by Chivas USA on August 5, 2010, after playing with the LA Galaxy for more than six seasons. In nine games with the Red-and-White (eight starts), Gordon scored one goal and added three assists, and was named MLS Player of the Week for Week 24 of the Regular Season. In his MLS career, Gordon has played 108 matches, scoring 17 goals to go with 15 assists. He was selected with Vancouver's fifth pick in the 2010 Expansion Draft before the trade brought him back to the Red-and-White.
Venezuelan forward Alejandro Moreno has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in Major League Soccer, having played 222 regular season games (177 starts) since joining the league in 2002. Playing with the LA Galaxy (2002-2004), San Jose Earthquakes (2005), Houston Dynamo (2006), Columbus Crew (2007-2009) and Philadelphia Union (2010), Moreno has 45 goals and 35 assists in the regular season in his career. With the Venezuelan National Team, Moreno has made 23 appearances, scoring twice.
In addition to Gordon, Chivas USA defender Jonathan Bornstein was selected in the Expansion Draft, by the Portland Timbers with the team's 8th pick (15th overall). As Bornstein has already signed a contract with Tigres UANL of the Mexican First Division to start play in 2011, the Timbers have only acquired the domestic rights to Bornstein should he rejoin MLS in the future.
"As far as Jonny goes, his multi-year contract with Tigres factored in our decision to unprotect him in the draft, especially as we focus on building for next season," said Hamilton. "I'm sure we'll revisit this issue if and when he chooses to rejoin MLS."
Per MLS rules, Chivas USA and the other 15 current MLS clubs were allowed to protect only 11 players, with several other players exempt from selection by the Vancouver Whitecaps and Portland Timbers. A total of 15 Chivas USA players were available to be picked before Vancouver selected Gordon, at which point the Red-and-White added defender Mariano Trujillo to its protected list. After Bornstein was selected, no further Chivas players could have been selected in the draft.
For Alejandro Moreno's quotes on returning to Southern California, visit cdchivasusa.com.
For more information on the 2010 MLS Expansion Draft, including a list of the picks and analysis of Portland and Vancouver's selections, please visit cdchivasusa.com or www.mlssoccer.com.
Chivas USA broke camp last week and will return to training in late January ahead of the 2011 MLS campaign. Season Seats for 2011 are now on sale, with prices remaining at the same low rates as 2010. For more information, or to purchase tickets, please call 1-877-CHIVAS-1 or visit cdchivasusa.com
cdchivasusa.com
