Guillermo Barros Schelotto celebrates the Crew's 2008
MLS Cup victory with Danny O'Rourke
Photo by RODOLFO MACIAS
The Columbus Crew announced today that Argentine playmaker Guillermo Barros Schelotto has signed a new contract with the team for at least the 2010 season. As usual for Major League Soccer, no additional contract terms have been disclosed.
Schelotto, the only player in team history to win the MLS MVP award, joined the team in 2007. He led the Crew to the MLS Cup championship in 2008, winning the final game on the strength of three assists in a 3-1 victory over New York.
In recognition for those efforts, the team rewarded Schelotto by naming him the team's first Designated Player for the 2009 season. That allowed him to earn more than the individual maximum salary permissible under the salary cap, although the team did not announce what his final salary would be.
Schelotto's original contract expired at the end of the 2009 season, however, and the team did not want to re-sign him as a Designated Player. Today's announcement clarifies that Schelotto will in fact not be a Designated Player this season, although there has been some speculation that the new contract is creatively structured to give Schelotto extra compensation.
Crew head coach Robert Warzycha was quoted in the official press release that the team is "very happy to be able to re-sign Guillermo for this season ... He’s obviously been a very good player for this team and I’m glad we got him signed in time for the start of preseason camp.”
When word first surfaced last week that Schelotto would most likely return to Columbus his agent, Peter Smith, told the Columbus Dispatch that the Crew did a good job in the negotiations. "They really figured out a way to come back and make it happen. Guillermo always wanted to come back.
Now that Schelotto has re-signed, the Columbus Crew enter the 2010 preseason having only lost one player from last year's Supporters Shield-winning group. Alejandro Moreno was selected by the expansion Philadelphia Union, while both Jed Zayner and Jason Garey have agreed to new contracts.
The team last week selected five new players via the SuperDraft, led by midfielder Dilly Duke and forward Bright Dike.
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