Kenny Cooper - Don't go to Rosenborg!

The New York Times has an article about Kenny Cooper and Juan Toja leaving F.C. Dallas for Rosenborg and Steaua Bucharest respectively. I really think both players would be making mistakes, but especially Kenny Cooper. Kenny is on the verge of establishing himself as a top forward in MLS and is still young enough that there will be plenty of opportunities ahead for him if he stays in MLS. With the World Cup qualifiers coming up he should stay in MLS and not only establish himself further there, but also with the U.S. National Team so that he can get a regular place in the lineup for both teams. If he is able to do that plenty of big offers will come and from much bigger clubs in bigger European leagues.

Personally, I feel that Kenny has a lot of talent and will show that he is a top young forward. Rosenborg are a top club in Norway, and years ago had some good runs in the European Champions League. At this point though they aren't as good of a team as they were a few years ago when Norway was amongst the better teams in Europe and a lot of their top players played for Rosenborg. Cooper will have plenty of chances coming ahead of them, and he should hold off to take advantage of them.

I also think that MLS would be crazy to sell him to Rosenborg at this point in his career. He can be one of the stars that they should be building the league around. To accept a few million from Rosenborg is a bad business move as they can make more off him as an attraction for the league and when a bigger offer comes along in a few years. I also think they are setting a bad precedent by continuing to sell off their top young players, especially with new expansion teams starting play over the next few years. They need to have as many quality players as they can afford.