Alejandro Moreno was selected by the Philadelphia Union in the 2009 MLS
Expansion Draft (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
The Columbus Crew lost Alejandro Moreno in the 2009 MLS Expansion Draft on Wednesday, marking the fourth straight year that the team has seen a player depart for an expansion team. Moreno will join nine other players on the inaugural roster of the Philadelphia Union.
Moreno leaves Columbus having scored 20 goals in 74 appearances for the Crew, which places him eighth on the team's all-time scoring list. Although his scoring rate of a goal every 3.7 games is among the lowest of the pantheon of great Crew strikers, many fans will no doubt remember his tenacity around the penalty area. He often suffered numerous fouls in a game, and drew many free kicks in dangerous positions. His opportunistic scoring touch influenced the play of younger players such as Steven Lenhart, who are now left to carry the Crew's scoring mantle.
Moreno arrived in Columbus from the Houston Dynamo in the middle of the 2007 season, in exchange for forward Joseph Ngwenya. Moreno brought championship pedigree to a team with almost no playoff experience, having won MLS Cup with two different clubs (Los Angeles in 2002, Houston in 2006) before leading the Crew in scoring en route to the 2008 championship.
Philadelphia will be Moreno's fifth team in Major League Soccer. He began his professional career in Los Angeles in 2002, playing three years before moving to San Jose (2005), Houston (2006, 2007) and Columbus (2007-2009).
| Player | Games | Goals | Games Per Goal |
| McBride | 161 | 62 | 2.6 |
| Cunningham | 182 | 62 | 2.9 |
| John | 55 | 44 | 1.3 |
| Buddle | 106 | 42 | 2.5 |
| Washington | 76 | 28 | 2.7 |
| * Schelotto | 73 | 24 | 3.0 |
| Maisonneuve | 172 | 23 | 7.5 |
| Moreno | 74 | 20 | 3.7 |
| Warzycha | 160 | 19 | 8.4 |
| Marino | 57 | 19 | 3.0 |
Moreno's departure leaves the Crew with three legitimate forwards on their roster in Jason Garey, Steven Lenhart and Emilio Renteria. While players such as Guillermo Barros Schelotto or Eddie Gaven are listed as forwards depending on the game, their on-field roles differ significantly from that of a goal-scoring forward.
While the team does not release contract details officially, many outlets have reported that Jason Garey is out of contract - as is Moreno himself. Combined with the uncertainty surrounding the status of Guillermo Barros Schelotto, there is a possibility that the Crew will begin play in 2010 with a forward corps that has been significantly rebuilt.
Other Expansion Draft Notes
In the buildup to Wednesday's expansion draft, it was announced that defender Jed Zayner would retain his status as a Generation Adidas player. This move, which was a bit of a surprise, meant that he would be automatically protected in the draft. Columbus then released the following list of 11 players as their protected list:
- Eric Brunner
- Brian Carroll
- Emmanuel Ekpo
- Eddie Gaven
- William Hesmer
- Steven Lenhart
- Chad Marshall
- Adam Moffat
- Danny O'Rourke
- Robbie Rogers
- Guillermo Barros Schelotto
For their part, the Philadelphia Union left five teams intact during Wednesday's draft. The unscathed clubs were FC Dallas, Kansas City Wizards, and Toronto FC - all of whom missed the playoffs - as well as the Houston Dynamo and MLS Cup Champion Real Salt Lake. The full list of players selected was:
GK Brad Knighton (New England Revolution)
D Jordan Harvey (Colorado Rapids)
D Dave Myrie (Chicago Fire)
D Shavar Thomas (Chivas USA)
M Andrew Jacobsen (DC United)
M Stefani Miglioranzi (LA Galaxy)
M Shea Salinas (San Jose Earthquakes)
M Nick Zimmerman (New York Red Bulls)
F Sebastian Le Toux (Seattle Sounders)
F Alejandro Moreno (Columbus Crew)
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