AMADO GONE Player traded to Toronto after four games
By Luis Bueno and Andrea Canales LASoccerNews.com
In happier times, Amado Guevara posed with his Chivas USA jersey. He's been traded to Toronto FC. Photo courtesy of Juan Miranda/Chivas USA
The Amado Guevara experiment is over.
Chivas USA severed ties with Guevara four games into the 2007 season as the club traded him to Toronto FC for Paulo Nagamura and a draft pick.
The trade is pending final league approval.
Known as a temperamental but talented player, Guevara has done little in his short-lived stint with Chivas USA. He was taken out in the 56th minute of Chivas USA's 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday. Chivas USA coach Preki questioned Guevara's heart and ability after the match.
In four games, Guevara had 326 minutes with no goals and no assists. He nine shots with four on goal, including one against the Galaxy on Saturday.
Chivas USA paid a high price for Guevara. In November, then-coach Bob Bradley traded a designated player slot to New York for Guevara. New York used their own slot as well as Chivas USA's to acquire Claudio Reyna and Juan Pablo Angel from English Premiership clubs.
A former MLS Most Valuable Player, Guevara had performed well for Bradley while the two were in New York. However, Guevara had shown little under Preki.
After Tuesday's training session, Preki had an impromptu meeting with club owner Antonio Cue, Chivas de Guadalajara Vice President Nestor De la Torre and Director of Football Dennis te Kloese. The discussion centered on Guevara and by Wednesday morning Guevara was gone.
In Nagamura, Chivas USA gets a defensive midfielder with three years of experience under his belt. "Nags" was a key component of the L.A. Galaxy's midfield in 2005 when the club won the double and last year. He was left unprotected in the expansion draft, though, and quickly snatched up by Toronto FC.
Nagamura could make his Chivas USA debut on Sunday at D.C. United.
