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Veteran defender Chris Gbandi today was transfered to Norwegian club FK Haugesund. Some final details are being worked on as we write, though we don't anticipate any setbacks. Chris is expecting to fly to Norway on Monday to join his new team.
Although there have been other players that have been transfered from Dallas to other foreign clubs, Chris becomes the first to have started his professional soccer career with the team and remained with the team until his transfer.
This is actually the third time a Norwegian team has made an offer for Chris..JPG)
Between his junior and senior year at UConn, he had a chance to go play for Vatadanga, but chose to return to UConn. Then, during the 2007 off-season, he trained with IK Start and was also offered a contract. However, the Norwegian team and FCD/MLS could not come to terms, keeping Chris at PHP for one final season.
Chris came to Dallas as the top overall pick in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft, but a knee injury kept him out of action the entire first season. However, he came back and became one of only 14 players to play over 100 regular season games for Dallas in team history. His 111 appearances places him 10th all-time.
He got a little nostalgic with us yesterday talking about his time here - all the stadiums he's played in, the different uniforms, all the teammates, the different coaches and general managers, the preseason trips, and on and on....however, one topic he took more time to talk about was the fans. We won't recap some of the positive stories he shared, but we can tell you that he leaves with some very good memories from the many of you that have interacted with him through his six years here. He asked us to make sure to mention how much he appreciated all the support, not just for him, but for the team.
NOTE: The FCD TV crew sat down with Chris on Thursday as he came to gather some final belongings here at Pizza Hut Park. Look for this segment on Monday.
Although there have been other players that have been transfered from Dallas to other foreign clubs, Chris becomes the first to have started his professional soccer career with the team and remained with the team until his transfer.
This is actually the third time a Norwegian team has made an offer for Chris.
.JPG)
Between his junior and senior year at UConn, he had a chance to go play for Vatadanga, but chose to return to UConn. Then, during the 2007 off-season, he trained with IK Start and was also offered a contract. However, the Norwegian team and FCD/MLS could not come to terms, keeping Chris at PHP for one final season.Chris came to Dallas as the top overall pick in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft, but a knee injury kept him out of action the entire first season. However, he came back and became one of only 14 players to play over 100 regular season games for Dallas in team history. His 111 appearances places him 10th all-time.
He got a little nostalgic with us yesterday talking about his time here - all the stadiums he's played in, the different uniforms, all the teammates, the different coaches and general managers, the preseason trips, and on and on....however, one topic he took more time to talk about was the fans. We won't recap some of the positive stories he shared, but we can tell you that he leaves with some very good memories from the many of you that have interacted with him through his six years here. He asked us to make sure to mention how much he appreciated all the support, not just for him, but for the team.
NOTE: The FCD TV crew sat down with Chris on Thursday as he came to gather some final belongings here at Pizza Hut Park. Look for this segment on Monday.
13 comments:
Good Luck Chris
Say Hi to Goodson for us
Is the Norwegian 2nd division better than MLS, or does it just pay better?
Good luck Chris!
Chris -
From the first time I met you (when Richard Farrer was leaving) through all the years since, you have been a team member who fought for the shirt (studs down Chris, down), played with the team, and ridden the emotional roller coaster with us all. Best of luck to you and your family in this new endeavor.
Thousand touches bro -
Chaz aka Miss Charlie
Chris always played well in my opinion -- with heart and determination. We'll surely miss him! Thanks for all the hard work. Best of luck to you, Gbandi!
Gbye Gbye Gbandi! Good gluck
Good Luck over there, Chris. We're really gonna miss you.
Good riddance!
slowest defender in MLS. We need speed if we're going to play 3-5-2. Great Move FO.
We don't know yet how much we will miss Chris but we will find out quickly since Morrow hasn't found an MLS quality replacement. Nice move for Chris since he will double his pay, up the level of competition and get seen by bigger clubs with even more cash. He gets to see the world while we a stuck in Dallas.
"Is the Norwegian 2nd division better than MLS, or does it just pay better?"
The top teams in norwegain second divison coulde probebly do well in the MLS, but generealy i woude say the MLS is better then the norwegian second division.
Well, Chris' first season in Norway has now come to an end. To be honest his season has been below expectations, the local newspaper rolled the dice and landed on 2. It's obvious that he's quality, but he's not shown it very much. He's also been a bit injury prone. To be honest our local 17 year old left back has been better.
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