GolTV's and Miami Soccer Examiner Juan Arango of Colombia weighed in on the New England Revolution's new 30 year-old Colombian striker Jose "Pepe" Moreno, on loan from Once Caldes. Moreno, announced on February 2, is the third Colombian that New England has signed in the offseason, the other two being John Lozano and Fernando Cardenas.
"Pepe Moreno is a big boy [6' and 183 lbs] and has the potential to be a threat as he has size and presence in the area," said Arango. "That being said, he does tend to be very injury prone at times.
A change of air for him would be important as he was shuffled in and out of the lineup when Pompilio Páez took over for Juan Carlos Osorio. His confidence was a bit shot especially after the way Paez used him in the Colombian final against Junior last semester.
But [I'd] like to see what kind of shape he will be in coming into camp. He was recovering from an injury that prevented him from playing against Internacional of Porto Alegre in the first-stage of Copa Lib."
Pepe Moreno
Moreno began his professional career at 18 in 1999 with Colombia’s Deportivo Pasto, scoring one goal in 10 appearances. One year later, he joined America de Cali and helped lead the club the 2001 Colombian championship and the 2002 Apertura title. Following the 2004 season with Millonarios, where he registered 12 goals in 29 appearances, he returned to America de Cali in 2005, where he scored 18 goals in 42 games. Moreno earned three caps with the Colombia National Team in 2006.
Following loan stints at Ukraine’s Dynamo Kyiv (2006), Argentina’s Independiente (2007) and Romania’s Steaua Bucarest (2008), Moreno once again retuned to America de Cali in 2008 for the Finalizacion schedule. Moreno played for Peru’s Juan Aurich on loan from 2009 to 2010 and spent the remainder of 2010 on loan at Steaua Bucarest. He started the 2011 season at Atletico Huila and moved to Once Caldas mid-year, scoring in his debut with the team in August and finishing the half-year with seven goals and four assists in 20 total appearances.
“Jose is a player we targeted during a recent scouting trip,” said General Manager Michael Burns. “He’s a strong, target forward who has a lot of experience playing at the highest levels in both South America and Europe.”
Moreno will be available on receipt of his U.S. P-1 Visa and his International Transfer Certificate.
Financial difficulties in Colombia have lead to a recent flood of Colombian signings in MLS, which will be a story to follow.
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