Monday, January 11, 2010

River Plate after Jamison Olave?

olave Well, not exactly.  However, this was an interesting read, from a River Plate online forum.

The post suggests that Daniel Passarella, River Plate’s current president and Leonardo Astrade, the team’s manager are in possession of a DVD of Real Salt Lake’s Jamison Olave and are considering him to bolster the lineup.

River Plate had been trying to work out a deal to get venerable Argentine defender Roberto Ayala to return to the club from Real Zaragoza in Spain.  This post seems to indicate that will not likely happen, and mentions Olave as not Plan A, Plan B or even Plan C, but Plan D. 

The 28 year-old Colombian defender was, in my eyes, Real Salt Lake’s most valuable player in 2009.  It’s not surprising that his play has garnered some interest from abroad.  It’s also interesting to note that before arriving here on loan, Olave told the Colombian media that he hopes this (coming to RSL) could be a springboard for a move to Europe.

This is also partially a side-effect of Real Salt Lake winning the MLS Cup.  This has raised the profile of the club (and its players) to those on the outside looking in.

Olave’s rights were purchased by the club following a loan stint and is locked up through the 2012 season.  Any movement would require a transfer fee, and likely a fairly significant one.

So should RSL fans worry?  Olave says “NO”.  The source for this info is hardly reliable, and only mentions this as a remote possibility.  A long shot at best. 

At this point consider it flattery that the interest is there.