ISSUE 1
JANUARY 2014
YURA MOVISISYAN FC SPARTAK MOSCOW
globalpremiermanagement.com
D.C. UNITED RE-SIGN CHRIS KORB D.C. United have announced that the club has re-signed defender Chris Korb.
In the 2013 season, Korb appeared and started in 30 games and became one of United’s most reliable players. Per club and League policy, exact terms of the deal have not been disclosed. “We are pleased to have re-signed Chris to a new deal,” said D.C. United General Manager Dave Kasper. “He has grown in each of his three seasons at the club, and his versatility to play at either outside back position provides us with great flexibility. We look forward to having Chris on board as we build for the future.” Korb joined the Black-and-Red after being selected 31st overall from the University of Akron during the 2011 MLS SuperDraft. In his rookie season, the outside back started 12 games for United and registered two assists before becoming a permanent starter in his second season, appearing in 26 games (22 starts) and recording a career high three assists. Last year, he appeared and started in 30 games, second-best on the team, and registered 12 shots for the Black-and-Red. In three seasons with the club, he has appeared in 68 games (64 starts) and registered five assists while logging 5,771 minutes.
Philadelphia, PA. Global Premier Management (GPM) enjoyed a hugely successful showing at the recent Major League Soccer (MLS) SuperDraft, as three new clients were selected in the top 10 picks and eleven taken overall. The draft was held on January 16th at the Philadelphia Convention Center and was immediately preceded by the MLS Player Combine in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in which more than 65 draft hopefuls were put to the test in front of the watching eyes of coaches and scouts from every team in the league. “The draft is always a stressful time for everyone involved,” says GPM President Patrick McCabe, “but I am happy and excited for all of our players. Their selections are a testament to the hard work they have put in to reach this point and I look forward to the beginning of their careers.” The first GPM client off the board was Andre Lewis, a Jamaican U20 National Team player who was selected by the Vancouver Whitecaps with the 7th overall pick. His selection was immediately followed by that of Damion Lowe, another Jamaican who played at the University of Hartford, who went 8th to the Seattle Sounders. Nick Hagglund, a center back from Xavier University, was selected 10th by Toronto FC and Grant Van de Casteele, another center back from the University of Notre Dame, was picked 19th by the Colorado Rapids to close out a banner first round for GPM clients. The second round featured one GPM player, goalkeeper John Berner from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, who was selected 35th overall by Colorado. The third and fourth rounds of the SuperDraft were held via conference call on Tuesday, January 21st and GPM clients again played a big part. With the 8th pick of the third round, the Philadelphia Union selected Alex Sweetin, a midfielder out of St. Louis University. Shortly after, Vancouver used the 13th pick to get Michael Kafari, a Ghanaian midfielder by way of the University of New Mexico. Vancouver grabbed a third GPM player when they nabbed Costa Rican Michael Calderon, another New Mexico alum, with the 7th pick of the fourth round. Immediately after, the Chicago Fire took Kadeem Dacres, a midfielder out of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County with the 8th pick. Albert Edward, an Australian defender via Lindsey Wilson College, was selected with the 11th pick of the round by Colorado before Seattle used its last pick on Brazilian midfielder Fabio Pereira from the University of Michigan.
5 QUESTIONS WITH
DEVON SANDOVAL Real Salt Lake rookie striker Devon Sandoval has been a pleasant surprise throughout the year and in the second half of the season he’s proven himself to be a very capable back-up to striker Alvaro Saborio. As his rookie season comes to a close, Sandoval talked with Deseret News sports writer James Edward about MLS Cup, learning from veteran striker Saborio and the emotion of starting in the Western Conference final. Q: Does your soccer career feel surreal at this point, you were in college a year ago and now you’re preparing to play in MLS Cup? A: It’s definitely pretty cool to look back on this year so far and I’m real grateful for everything that’s happened. But in saying that, we have one more game and I want to do everything I can to help the team win. It’s not over yet. Q: Talk about your emotions the last two games, walking out of the tunnel in the Western Conference final for both legs in the starting 11? A: The first game I had a little nerves but I told myself you wouldn’t be in this position unless my coaches and teammates believed in me. That calmed me down and as soon as I got in, I was good to go. Walking out for the Portland game was also pretty cool because they’re stadium is awesome. Q: Real Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis has been very complimentary about your work ethic since you arrived as a rookie back in January. Where does that work ethic come from? A: From an early age, everybody in my family pretty much ingrained into me that if this is what you want to do you’re going to have to work hard. I always want to outwork everybody. I want to be the hardest working player on the field because I feel that’s where I make my improvements and that’s how I get better. I’m always trying to find a way to get better.
5 QUESTIONS WITH
DEVON SANDOVAL Q: What areas have you made the biggest improvements in this season, and then going forward what areas must you continue to get better at to make your MLS career a long one? A: I think every aspect of my play has gotten better — holding up the ball, my finishing. My first touch has really improved. Learning how to play in our system was hard at first because I had to do a lot more running and cover a lot more ground than I’ve ever had the chance to do before. But playing in that system also gives me a lot more freedom on the ball. Going forward, I think I can still improve in every aspect of my game. Finishing is obviously No. 1. I want to be a better finisher. Whenever I step on the field I never want to lose the ball, I always want to connect on all my passes and hold up anything that’s given to me. If I can do that and keep improving, I think I can be pretty decent. Q: There’s definitely a unique culture between Real Salt Lake and the fans in this community, what has most impressed you about that fan-club relationship? A: It’s awesome. The amount of support this club has from the city is unbelievable. I’ll go around town and everywhere I go somebody will say ‘good luck this weekend’ or ‘keep it up.’ It definitely makes me feel good and makes me happy to be here. I love playing for this club and the fans make it that much better.