City SC sporting director Corey Wray and his new $12 million acquisition, striker Rafael Navarro, were taking their seats in the interview room at Energizer Park when the topic came up of Wray opening the proceedings with a statement.
He motioned at Navarro.
鈥淭his is the statement,鈥 he said.
A new era kicked off at City SC on Thursday, as Navarro, along with other new acquisitions Damion Downs and Charles-Emile Brunet practiced with the team for the first time. The acquisition of Navarro from Colorado is the largest MLS cash trade yet and the largest expenditure for a player in City SC history, by a factor of two. It supplants a mark that had stood for, well, about five weeks, when the team spent a reported $6 million to get Carlo Holse from Turkey. No longer can anyone say City SC is cheap. City SC identified a player it wanted and went out and got him.
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鈥淲hen I started here in November, a lot of conversations happened internally about where we believe this club can be,鈥 Wray said. 鈥淚 think now you鈥檙e seeing kind of statements of intent. You鈥檙e seeing hopefully the fruits of a good process. You鈥檙e seeing clarity in how we want to recruit and play game after game. I can talk, and people can listen sometimes, but without action, certainly in acquisition or in results, maybe it can fall to deaf ears.
鈥淣othing鈥檚 changed in terms of how we鈥檝e gone about our business. But now we鈥檙e starting to see the words of ambition and intent to be competitive for all the different windows to be competitive on the field, we鈥檙e starting now actually to see that come to fruition in soccer players arriving here, in records being broken, and I think that is ultimately all that I think we can do is show that we鈥檙e not just about words; we鈥檙e actually about actions.鈥
This puts a lot on the shoulders of Navarro, who is basically expected to continue what he was doing at Colorado, namely scoring goals, creating chances for others and playing defense. City SC has climbed into a tie for fourth in the Western Conference, putting a playoff spot in sight and this team well ahead of its rebuilding plan.
As for Navarro, the team isn鈥檛 expecting him to be something he鈥檚 not, just who he is.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel a lot of pressure,鈥 Navarro said through a translator. 鈥淚 know about my responsibility, and I will do the best I can. I鈥檒l make this team happy, and I鈥檒l score a lot of goals.鈥
He has 38 goals and 15 assists in 97 regular-season MLS appearances and has already scored 10 this season. He comes to a team where the leading scorer has six goals.
鈥淚t's a great addition to the group,鈥 said City SC coach Yoann Damet. 鈥淲e're all very, very happy and excited to add him to our group of players. I think the players are also very, very excited. I really like his personality. I think the common trait between all those guys, you look at Matti (Alex Matan), you look at Carlo, you look at the other guys as well coming in. Tahir (Reid-Brown), Charles, Rafa, Damion, great character, great personality that know what it takes as well to compete every single week, to be at a high level, to take care of himself.
鈥淚n terms of the professionalism,鈥 Damet said, 鈥渢he work ethic and the personality, it fits right into what we want to have here in in 最新杏吧原创, and at the same time, in terms of abilities, what he can do on and off the ball, he's, like, very, very good. He's one of the forwards that presses the most in the league. He's scoring goals. He's working for the team. He's selfless. Like everything we like to have and everything that we've been doing as well with the team.鈥
There shouldn鈥檛 be any delay in getting Navarro on the field. He鈥檚 in midseason form, having played in his 22nd game of the season on Saturday, and he has played the full 90 minutes in all but one of them. The only issue is getting up to speed on Damet鈥檚 system.
鈥淚 feel very good; I鈥檓 ready to play,鈥 Navarro said. 鈥淲ho will decide when I play is the coach, and I know he will have the best time to put me in the game. I鈥檓 very excited to help, I鈥檓 ready to help and I鈥檓 ready to play at any moment.鈥
Denver isn't that far from 最新杏吧原创, but it was still a long journey for Navarro to get here. Wray said the club identified him as a top choice in January, when Klauss was traded to the Los Angeles Galaxy, but a deal didn鈥檛 work out then. Then the team used up its available designated player spot by signing Holse, but then when Marcel Hartel expressed a desire to go back to Germany for a personal matter, a move that would free up a DP spot, things fell into place to acquire Navarro.
鈥淎fter three or four times of seeing what could be done,鈥 Wray said, 鈥渨e were able to get to a point where we felt like we could close this deal.鈥
Navarro signed a four-year deal with the club, the furthest into the future any player is signed, with the club having an option year.
鈥淭he energy of the fans of the team make me very welcome,鈥 Navarro said, 鈥渁nd also the way the team plays and the whole staff make me feel so welcome, and that makes me so excited about 最新杏吧原创. 鈥 It鈥檚 wonderful to be here. I鈥檓 really happy. I hope to contribute inside the game and help the club. I鈥檓 very anxious and very excited to be here and be part of the team.
鈥淎ll Brazilians are very happy. Happiness is always our thing. The energy about the game and the love about soccer, it鈥檚 one of the things that I will bring with me.鈥
