From Deseret News archives:
RSL sends Cunningham to Toronto
Move frees up salary space and adds striker Eskandarian
In a not-so-surprising move for a team winless after seven games, the club sent leading scorer Jeff Cunningham to Toronto FC in exchange for fellow striker Alecko Eskandarian and a 2008 first-round draft pick.
Equally as important, the trade frees up even more salary cap space as Kreis and RSL technical director John Ellinger scan the globe for an impact player to fill the team's three vacant roster spots.
Cunningham was making $220,000 whereas Eskandarian, who was traded to Toronto from D.C. United in the offseason, only makes $155,000.
That extra $65,000 combined with the nearly $300,000 that was freed up when Kreis retired and Luis Tejada was released gives Real Salt Lake a lot of leverage in the global free agent market.
It's doubtful that Eskandarian will be available for Wednesday night's U.S. Open Cup qualifying match at the Colorado Rapids, but he should be available for Sunday's league match at Chicago. Depending on how quickly Kreis and Ellinger work, the Cunningham trade might not be the only transaction RSL makes this week.
Cunningham was acquired by Salt Lake in December 2005 as the club successfully rid itself of the Clint Mathis baggage. Even though the team still had to pay a portion of Mathis' salary, Cunningham made it a worthwhile investment by finishing as the league's leading scorer with 16 goals while adding 10 assists.
Through it all, and despite the objection of both players, it was clear that Cunningham and Kreis didn't always see eye-to-eye on the pitch. So when Kreis replaced Ellinger as head coach after the fourth game of the 2007, many wondered what that meant to the long-term future of Cunningham in a Real Salt Lake uniform.
Even though Cunningham said all the right things after the coaching change, and by most accounts was having a decent season considering the overall turmoil on the team, his eventual departure seemed inevitable when Kreis took over.
As an MLS player for 12 years, Kreis enjoyed tremendous success thanks to a great work rate for 90 minutes every match. As a coach, it's obvious he's trying to surround himself with similar personalities, and Eskandarian fits that mold perfectly.
Though sometimes injury prone, Eskandarian is one of the peskiest players in MLS, a player who isn't afraid of mixing it up with defenders, no matter how big they are.
Eskandarian was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 SuperDraft by D.C. United, and he spent four years with D.C. playing in 81 games and scoring 20 goals. He was traded to expansion team Toronto this past offseason, and he scored his first goal of the season just three days ago.
The trade came as a shock to Eskandarian, who told the Washington Post's Steven Goff, "It's a huge shock. Totally out of the blue. They called me into the coaches' office this morning and told me. I am definitely disappointed. I felt good here and was really settling in. It hurts. I feel like I was deceived. I am sure they will put a spin on it and say that I wanted to leave, but that's not the case."
Eskandarian should be an instant starter for RSL up top with Atiba Harris.
E-mail: jedward@desnews.com
