RSL’S MOVSISYAN SIGNS WITH DANISH CLUB
Greg Lalas
SI.com
Monday July 6, 2009 4:19PM
Real Salt Lake has one of the most potent attacks in Major League
Soccer. But soon it will have one less weapon in its arsenal.
Striker Yura Movsisyan, who is second-leading scorer on the team with
four goals, has signed for Danish side Randers FC. The deal is for
three years, set to begin on Jan. 1, when the 21-year-old’s contract
with RSL is up at the end of 2009.
Movsisyan went to Denmark over the weekend, Goal.com has learned,
and finalized the deal.
"It is a good next step in his career in a league which should
highlight his strengths and allow him to gain more experience,"
Movsisyan’s agent Patrick McCabe told Goal.com. "The coaching staff
have tracked him closely for months and are very excited that he has
chosen Randers from the numerous clubs across Europe that expressed
interest in his services."
"This is a lad with the right qualities to become a truly exciting
player for Randers and Danish football," Randers manager John Faxe
said on the team’s Web site.
Since bursting onto the MLS scene as a teenager in 2006, Movsisyan,
who is of Armenian descent, has been seen as a future prospect for the
U.S. national team. He has appeared in 71 matches and scored 15 goals.
He began his career with the Kansas City Wizards after being drafted
in the first round of the 2006 MLS Superdraft. RSL acquired his rights
midway through the 2007 season, though he failed to score for the
club that year.
The following year, after struggling with injuries during the early
part of the season, Movsisyan broke out, scoring seven goals in his
final 11 appearances. He was the side’s leading scorer. This season
has seen him build on his success as he is on pace to break his career
high in goals scored.
Big, strong, fast, and possessing an assassin’s mentality — he is
fifth in shots taken in MLS this season — Movsisyan has all the
tools to be a top marksman. Consistency has been a problem, but
clearly Faxe likes what he is getting.
"He is an all-round player, good with both feet, fast, and has
shown in recent performances in the MLS that he can score goals,"
Faxe said. "He’s just what we’ve been looking for, young, fast,
flexible and got a nose for goals."
In recent years, Denmark has become a landing spot for more and more
Americans looking to move to Europe. Movsisyan will join countrymen
Marcus Tracy, Michael Parkhurst, Jeremiah White, Benny Feilhaber and
Danny Califf in the Superliga.