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Chivas USA continue to make moves to their roster, departing with a pair of newcomers in this young 2014 season. The club announced Thursday that they have waived midfielder Daniel Fragoso and defender Andrew Ribeiro.
The departure of Fragoso is in some ways very surprising and in others, perhaps not. The Spaniard, officially signed at the beginning of March following a trial with the club, played regularly during the preseason and came off the bench for the Goats' first two competitive games of the season. However, after coming on in what is now his last appearance, against the Vancouver Whitecaps, he coughed up the ball that led to Vancouver's equalizer, and marked his final appearance for the club.
In the immediate aftermath of the game, Chivas coach Wilmer Cabrera downplayed the mistake, but since there was no sign of him following that game, there was speculation that Fragoso, 32, was in the coach's doghouse.
Of course, it may be just as likely that the player decided California or MLS wasn't right for him. Chivas USA was the first team he played for outside of his native Spain, and so it may not have been a one-sided decision by the club to part with him. There's no definitive answer on that, so if we hear more about it, we'll pass it along.
The other player waived was the defender Ribeiro, who made no competitive appearances for the club after officially signing in January. The 23-year-old had trialled with the team last fall, including the friendly against FC Tucson. He is therefore a holdover from before Cabrera took over, and there appears to be a pattern of the front office slowly dropping players who were signed by the previous regime. His last action for the Goats came on Monday in their MLS Reserve League game against Sacramento Republic FC, where he played the entire game in a 3-1 loss.
It is likely that these moves will pave the way for subsequent roster moves. We'll keep you posted on any developments. And best of luck to Dani and Andrew in the future.
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