Once a Goat: Nagamura's Sporting, Sequeira's Scoring

The links between Chivas USA and Mexico are pretty secure. There have been many players going back and forth between the countries over the years. Former Chivas USA midfielder Paulo Nagamura joined the Goats in 2007, after playing for the LA Galaxy and Toronto FC, went to Tigres (the same team that Jonathan Bornstein has been with for the past two years) in 2010, and came back in 2011, only to be dealt to Sporting Kansas City in 2012 for a draft pick. Prior to joining MLS, he played in his native Brazil at Sao Paulo with Kaka, and also went to play in England with Arsenal.

Since joining SKC he started 19 of the 27 matches he's played in. Paulo has never while being in the MLS been someone to pick up cards, in his 184 matches, he has only 44 Yellow Cards, and only two Red Cards, both while he was a member of Chivas. There have been some players who can get two red cards in one season. At Sporting, he dealt with injuries (not a surprise for those of us who watched him over the years) and served as a backup to Roger Espinoza and Julio Cesar. Now that the Honduran is headed for England, and Cesar is also out of KC, perhaps Nagamura will get more playing time next season?

And now onto a guy who bounced around after leaving Chivas, from a MLS stop, to Europe, to his home country of Costa Rica.

Defender/midfielder Douglas Sequeira played with Chivas USA in their inaugural season in 2005. While only playing that one season for Chivas, he scored two goals in 23 matches. A member of the Costa Rican national team, he was suspended three international games in 2005 for kicking Steve Cherundolo in the stomach. Most American fans would remember this well, and perhaps not miss him. He left Chivas in 2006 in a trade to Real Salt Lake for a draft pick, and went on to play only 19 matches and scoring one goal before leaving the league. After leaving MLS he went to Norway for a season, then landed on his feet in Costa Rica for Deportivo Saprissa, the Costa Rican powerhouse he had played with twice before. He is reportedly mulling retirement, but the 35 year old had a decent season this past fall. His six goals in twenty four matches this year was good for seventh-best in the league. Not bad for a player never known as much of a scorer.

Although Nagamura made more of an impact in his two stints with Chivas USA than Sequeira's single season, both players represent the history of the Goats, in different ways. Sequeira was with the team in their worst season, while Nagamura saw the good and bad times with the club.

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