Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008 | 10:02 p.m.
The Kansas City Wizards obtained Las Vegas High graduate Herculez Gomez from the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday.
The Wizards gave the Rapids allocation money and two draft selections for the 26-year-old striker who has scored 22 goals in Major League Soccer.
"I'm nervous, anxious and excited for tomorrow," Gomez said minutes after settling into his Kansas City hotel room late Wednesday night, about 12 hours after the trade.
He'll practice with his new teammates late Thursday morning. The Wizards play the two-time defending MLS Cup champion Dynamo in Houston on Sunday afternoon.
"It will be 100 degrees and humid in Houston, but I'm excited for the new challenge," Gomez said. "I like to think I do well with challenges."
Kansas City, at 6-8-8 (24 points), is at the bottom of the seven-team Eastern Conference. Colorado (7-3-12, 24 points) is at the bottom of the seven-team Western Conference.
Gomez won an MLS title with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2005. The Galaxy dealt Gomez to Colorado, for goalkeeper Joe Cannon, before the 2007 season. He scored the first goal at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Denver in April 2007, in a 2-1 victory over D.C. United.
In Kansas City, he is reunited with goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, a former Galaxy teammate. They will be roommates on the road for the Wizards.
Hartman told Gomez on Wednesday that Kansas City obviously believed in Gomez, because of what the Wizards gave up to get him.
"Hopefully, we start to pick up points and make a playoff run," Gomez said.
He played his first game for the U.S. national team two summers ago at the Copa America tournament in Venezuela, appearing once as a starter and coming on once as a reserve.
Gomez tore a knee ligament in practice at the end of last season and spent the past offseason rehabilitating. He said it took him five months to return to form, and conditioning tests showed that he was the most fit of all the Rapids players.
However, he only scored twice this season. Recently, Colorado's new regime relegated Gomez to Sunday reserve games. He had been expecting a trade. Still, he was shocked when it finally went down.
"I was surprised with the timing," Gomez said. "The trading deadline is mid-September. But, again, I'm excited that another team was so interested in me. Hopefully, I'll help them get results."
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