Marshall set for another transfer

Gordon Williams, Gleaner Writer

Tyrone Marshall is on the move again. The Jamaica international is almost certain to start his 13th Major League Soccer (MLS) season with a new club. Well, sort of.

The 35-year-old defender was recently claimed in the MLS Re-Entry Draft by Colorado Rapids, 2010 champions of North America's premier football league, after the Seattle Sounders, his club the past two seasons, declined to pick up the option on the final year of his contract.

To Marshall, voted the Sounders best defender just two seasons ago, that was a sure sign his value to the club had diminished.

"If (the Sounders) didn't pick up my option, basically they're saying they don't want me or they want me for less money," Marshall explained on Thursday. " … Seattle is not in my plans right now."

Marshall said he was not pleased with the way the Sounders showed him the door out. He joined the club for its rookie MLS season in 2009 and helped the Sounders win the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup - North America's major knockout title - twice.

Lost starting role

But in 2010 Marshall, a former MLS all-star, lost his regular starting role. Although he was still called on to play important games, in the CONCACAF Club Championships and MLS play-offs, the club's interest in the player had clearly waned. Next season, he would not be an important part of the Sounders' plans.

"The way the coach (Sigi Schmid) was talking it seems as if I would have to come back and prove myself again," he explained. "That's one year from being the club's defender of the year. That doesn't seem right at all.

"They (Sounders) weren't coming with the numbers (compensation) that say they want you back. It didn't show commitment. It was very disappointing, especially being two years here and the club being successful."

FRUSTRATED

Marshall, who earned close to US$170,000 in 2010 according to the MLS players union, admitted that Seattle is a "great place" with "great friends".

But he said the Sounders offered him a contract that "didn't guarantee I would even be there for the whole (2011) year. I couldn't do that to my family.

"I thought I was establishing myself here (in Seattle), but the way things panned out I am not even in their plans here."

Disappointed by the offer, but not yet ready to retire, Marshall put his name in the re-entry draft, which ensured that the Sounders would not be the only MLS team which could sign him.

Colorado Rapids, which drafted him out of Florida International University and theclub where he started his MLS career in 1998, selected him again.

He has played in 294 games for MLS clubs, 46 for the Sounders, and has scored 16 goals.

'FULL CIRCLE'

Marshall played one game for the Rapids, his rookie year, before being sent to the Miami Fusion, where he played three seasons. After the Fusion folded, Marshall moved to the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2002 and helped the club win two MLS titles. In 2007, he was traded to Toronto F.C. before moving to Seattle in 2009.

Marshall last played for Jamaica against Canada in early February, after which he announced his retirement from international football. He was capped more than 80 times.

On Thursday, Marshall said he was waiting on a contract offer from the Rapids. If there is no deal, he will be free to sign with any other MLS club. However, the irony of returning to the Rapids after a dozen seasons away was not lost on Marshall.

"It's lucky 13 where I started," he said. "It's like I'm coming full circle."

Marshall said he welcomed the opportunity to prove he is still a starter in MLS. The player who began his MLS career as a forward, before moving to midfield and then defence, believes he has at least two more quality pro seasons left.

"I don't see myself going further than that," he said. "If you don't see yourself as a starter, then you should call time."

'POSITIVE'

Marshall, who has a United States 'B' coaching licence and plans to continue in football as a coach, said he is also looking forward to moving back to Colorado as a player. He still has friends there.

On Thursday, he received a "positive" call from Rapids coach Gary Smith who, Marshall said, assured him he would be given an opportunity to compete for a starting spot in 2011.

Another bonus of moving to Colorado would be linking up with national teammate Omar Cummings, a rising star in MLS. Anthony Wallace, who has Jamaican parents, is also a Rapids player.

"Colorado wouldn't be a bad option," Marshall said. "It would be a good transition process.

"It's a challenge," he added. "ÉI want to make sure I'm knocking on the door, let them know I'm there."

The tough part is uprooting his family again. Marshall is married with five children, ages ranging from eight years to a "brand new" daughter of two months, who was born in Seattle.

"It's hard for the family," he explained. "The kids are getting to that point where they're making friends. So it's hard for them to grasp moving and leaving their friends, who they may never see again."

Yet, he has accepted that is the life of a professional player, especially in MLS.

"That's the way it is," said Marshall. "It's not as pretty as people think it is. But you have to work with the hand you're dealt. At least you're doing what you love."

He even managed to find a bit of humour in shifting his rapidly growing family's location again.

"We're going to need a bigger moving wagon now," Marshall said with a laugh.