Philadelphia Union trade Lionard Pajoy to D.C. United
The Philadelphia Union have traded much-maligned forward Lionard Pajoy to D.C. United for midfielder Danny Cruz.
Philadelphia Union trade Lionard Pajoy to D.C. United
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
The Philadelphia Union have traded much-maligned forward Lionard Pajoy to D.C. United for midfielder Danny Cruz.
Cruz is a four-year MLS veteran. He spent the first three seasons of his career with the Houston Dynamo, where he became a regular presence on the right wing. The Petersburg, Va., native was traded to United this past offseason.
Union manager John Hackworth told the team's website that Cruz "is a young and very healthy player with a lot of youth national team experience."
"I think [Cruz will] be a real asset to us – both now and for years to come," Hackworth added.
You can learn more about Cruz in this profile by the Washington Post's Steve Goff.
Union manager John Hackworth has coached Cruz before, with the United States team at the 2007 FIFA Under-17 World Cup. That squad also included Sheanon Williams, Zac MacMath, Brek Shea and the late Kirk Urso.
Hackworth's 2005 U.S. Under-17 squad included Gabriel and Michael Farfan, Omar Gonzalez, Jozy Altidore, and former Union players Kyle Nakazawa and Brian Perk.
As for Pajoy, it is no stretch to say that the Union have not gotten a sufficient return on their investment in him.
Touted upon his arrival as the replacement for Sébastien Le Toux, the Colombian simply has not delivered the goals that were expected of him. Whether paired up top in a 4-4-2 or on the left side of a 4-3-3, Pajoy has scored just five goals in 20 games.
Most noticeable has been his tendency to lay the ball off for other players to run on to and shoot. That has some value, but not when you're supposed to be the player who's doing the shooting.
It's very interesting that the team to which Pajoy has been traded is the team that the Union will face this weekend: D.C. United. We'll see if Pajoy and/or Cruz line up against their former clubs Sunday evening at RFK Stadium.
As part of the deal, the Union also sent an international roster slot to D.C. so that they could take on Pajoy.
The trade will save the Union some money. Cruz's annual guaranteed compensation is $106,500, compared to Pajoy's $195,000.
Addition by subtraction.— le sigh- Hey, we finally got the upside of a trade.— BigBrain61
- ABOUT TIME. PAJOY WAS JUST TERRIBLE. THE FACT THAT CRUZ IS ANOTHER SMURF MAKES ME THINK THAT ADU WILL BE GONE SOON. — bedpan
- Damn, what was the DCU front office thinking? You guys are going to love Danny Cruz, he is a real hard worker who provides nice width. Can't understand why we got rid of him for an aging forward who has been a bust with you guys, especially since we already have loads of forwards anyway! Bad move for DCU, but you guys should be happy.— DCUnitedfan
- Fine, you want Danny Cruz back and want to get rid of a forward instead? Ok, we'll take DeRosario. We'll even throw in Freddy Adu as part of the deal. — bigjoeco
- Nah, we'll keep DeRo and return Pajoy. As for Adu, been there, done that. But of course that was before you guys even existed... — DCUnitedfan
- DC, THANKS FOR THE INSIGHT. I DON'T KNOW A THING ABOUT DANNY CRUZ. BUT, I WOULD HAVE TRADED PAJOY FOR AN AUTOGRAPHED PHOTO OF PENELOPE CRUZ. OH HECK, I WOULD HAVE TRADED PAJOY FOR JUST A PICTURE OF P. CRUZ. FORGET THAT, I'D HAVE TRADED PAJOY FOR THE PROMISE OF ANY PICTURE OF ANYBODY. BUT SERIOUSLY... PAJOY CAN NOT PLAY. LAST GAME HE WAS UNMARKED 8 YARDS FROM GOAL. HE HEADED IT 25 YARDS WIDE. — bedpan
- All will be well, looking forward to our next match!— Jay_Grace69
- The Union's midfield is getting even more crowded (Cruz, Carroll, Farfanx2, Adu, Torres, Gomez, Lahoud, Keon and Okugo if the ultimate goal is for Soumare to be our center back with Valdes)... My hope is that this was just a move in order to acquire a more established striker!— jdhart10
- ABSOLUTELY AGREE THAT THERE IS A CROWD. AND, IT IS CROWDED WITH SMURFS. HOW ABOUT ADU, PARLAZO, GOMEZ AND MARTINEZ FOR THAT OUT OF FAVOR BREK SHEA OR THAT KENNY COOPER. IF THOSE DEALS DONT WORK, I'D STILL TRADE THESE FOUR BUMS FOR BRIAN MCBRIDE AND HE'S BEEN RETIRED FOR 5 YEARS. — bedpan
- Waiting for the Other Boot to Drop.
Hast La Vista! Say good bye to Gomez next and possible Adu. Kenny Cooper would look great in Blue and Gold. Le Toux may be back very soon. Crossing my fingers.
— letsbereal - I agree that Pajoy needed to go. Now what? Are we still chasing the playoffs? Hackworth's last presser was the same old boring blah, blah, blah we've heard for the past 3 years. This is team getting younger but needs to bring in a few DP's and proven MLS talent. I don't think the Union will make the playoffs this year however anything is possible. Hopefully the Union is begining to loose the dead weight.— LCBline
- cant wait to NOT RENEW!— bvl390
- I already know I'll get slammed for this so feel free to fire away without even reading the rest.
This article and these comments are categorizing Pajoy a bit unfairly. He WAS leading a team without an offensive identity in goals. He WAS close to the top in shots and at the top in Shots on goals. And no shots don't tell the whole story. Can anyone deny his physicality? Is there another striker on the team who can play with the ball at his feet as well as Pajoy? I think not.
I don't want to turn this into a Pajoy fanboy comment because god knows his game needed work. But there are a lot of guys who struggle their first year in MLS and flourish the next. I can see that happening for Pajoy.
Still that isn't what irks me about the move. What irks me is that for all Pajoy's faults, he was the #1 striker on the team, and they didn't get a scorer back in Cruz(albeit you can never have too many decent midfielders).
— JoeinSouthPhilly - THE IMAGE I CAN'T GET OUT OF MY BRAIN IS THE ONE OF HIM, FROM LAST WEEKEND'S GAME, STANDING 8 YDS. IN FRONT OF THE GOAL MOUTH TOTALLY UNMARKED. THEN HEADING THE BALL 25 YDS. WIDE.
DO THEY NOW HAVE AN OVERABUNDANCE OF SMURFS? SURE. BUT, I HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A PRECURSOR TO AN ADU TRADE. AND HOPEFULLY THEY BUNDLE GOMEZ, MARTINEZ AND PERLAZA WITH ADU TO SECURE SOMEONE LIKE AN OUT OF FAVOR BREK SHEA. A FRONT 3 OF SHEA, JACK MAC AND CRUZ OR MARFAN COULD BE INTERESTING.— bedpan
Reach Jonathan at jtannenwald@phillynews.com or 215-854-2330.
