Carlos Valdes Departs On Year Long Loan

Carlos Valdes,  the Philadelphia Union’s captain will be loaned to Independiente Santa Fe for the next year. The Colombian club made the announcement via their official website. Valdes, the all-star full-back, spent his last two years with Philadelphia Union. Valdes previously played for Santa Fe until 2011, as well as for America de Cali and Real Cartagena. He came to the Union on loan and his rights were purchased by the Union in August of 2011.

Valdes become a fan favorite and his hard-nose play made him a house hold name among soccer fans in Philadelphia. The Union will hope that the off-season acquisition of Jeff Parke can fill this void.  The Union will also hope that defender Bakary Soumare makes a full recovery. The team will surely miss Valdes in the back, but the team learned last season that mid-fielder Amobi Okugo can be pulled into the back-line with little notice. The club also saw the emergence of Ray Gaddis, a scrappy rookie out of West Virginia that appeared in 18 league games for Philly. The Union also saw Sheanon Williams have a break-out year in 2012 and he will be one the top backs in MLS this season.

Jose Pekerman, Colombian National Team manager has expressed recently that he wanted Valdes to play in South America. Perkerman sees Valdes being a key member of the national team as it pushes toward the World Cup 2014.

Categories: MLS, Soccer, Union
Tags: Carlos Valdes, Independiente Santa Fe, mls, Philadelphia Union, psl

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