14^th March 2000

The Fire's six-month pursuit of Bulgarian forward Hristo Stoichkov led to the departure Monday of veteran defender Francis Okaroh. Okaroh, who started 26 games each of the last two seasons, was sent to the Miami Fusion for a second-round draft pick in 2001 and a conditional pick. The Fire also waived midfielder John Ball to clear salary-cap room for Stoichkov, the leading scorer in the 1994 World Cup in the United States. Another player will be waived or traded today as the Fire gets down to Major League Soccer's 20-man roster limit. The season opener is Saturday against the Dallas Burn at the Cotton Bowl. Okaroh, 36, is one of MLS' oldest players. He was the New England Revolution's top defender in the league's first two seasons before the Fire acquired him in the expansion draft. He was a key member of the Fire's 1998 MLS and U.S. Open Cup champions as a marking back. "We'll miss Francis," coach Bob Bradley said. "He gave us great effort . . . and he's a favorite both within our team and with our fans." Okaroh was puzzled by the trade. "They did what they had to do, but I don't know how to explain it," he said. "I'll have to deal with it. I don't know where the Fire's going. They wanted to make changes, and I guess I was one. I still have the urge to play. That was never an issue." The Fire opened training camp Jan. 24, but Okaroh never reported. Bradley permitted him to work out in his native Nigeria, and Okaroh was preparing to head from his home in Boston to the Fire's camp in Bradenton, Fla., when trade talks heated up. "We worked with Francis on choosing a team to his liking," general manager Peter Wilt said. "New England was his first choice. That didn't work out . . . but [Miami coach Ivo] Wortmann wanted Francis." Bradley was noncommittal about Okaroh's replacement for the opener. It could be veteran Tom Soehn, the first defender off the bench the last two seasons, but top draft choice Carlos Bocanegra of UCLA has been impressive in training camp, and Andrew Lewis and Evan Whitfield, little-used last season, also are available. Ball, acquired as a discovery option last season after playing indoors for the Cleveland Crunch of the National Professional Soccer League, appeared in nine games for the Fire, starting four. Despite the moves, the acquisition of Stoichkov isn't a done deal. The Fire needs to acquire an allocation from another MLS team--likely the San Jose Earthquakes, who could lose U.S. national team player Eddie Lewis via sale to a foreign club before his MLS contract expires. Stoichkov spent the last two years in Japan's J-League. He has been living in Spain while MLS and the Fire have negotiated with his representatives. "Hundreds of obstacles have had to be overcome to make it happen," said Wilt, who held out hope Stoichkov could be available by Saturday. "It'd be very exciting to bring a player of his pedigree to the Fire." Stoichkov also would help solve the Fire's offensive uncertainties. Leading scorer Ante Razov is back, but Josh Wolff still is recovering from offseason knee surgery. The other possibilities at forward are young and inexperienced. Returnee Dema Kovalenko is 22, as is his former college teammate at Indiana, rookie Yuri Lavrinenko. The most promising newcomers are Junior Agogo, 20, and Damarcus Beasley, 17. John Wolyniec, another draftee who spent most of last season in the A-League, is 23. The Fire has been looking for veteran help up front in case the Stoichkov acquisition doesn't materialize. Okaroh and Agogo had been offered to the Fusion for Roy Lassiter, MLS' leading scorer for D.C. United last season. Lassiter doesn't want to play for the Fusion, but Miami rejected the trade.