On Tuesday, we relayed some pretty major news out of the North American Soccer League (NASL), that former MLS and US national team star and current FOX Sports soccer analyst Eric Wynalda took over the head coaching duties for the Atlanta Silverbacks ... sort of.
That should have gone down as the strangest news of the day in the NASL. Extra emphasis on "should have."
Wynalda was upstaged in a big way, though, when a report the American soccer blog 90 Minutes Strong revealed the details of perhaps the most bizarre trade in soccer history late Tuesday night.
The Fort Lauderdale Strikers executed a trade that sent Walter Restrepo — a player who scored six league goals and assisted on eight others in 2012 — to the San Antonio Scorpions in exchange for hotel and transportation arrangements during the club's trip to the Lone Star State for a game this coming June.
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We did not make that up.
The Crockett Hotel, a business partner of the Scorpions, would otherwise charge $169 per night during the days in question to put two men to a room. Take that times a dozen, to account for at least 24 members of the organization — players, coaches, medical staff, etc. — and it comes out to $2,028 per night, which brings the total value of the lodging portion of the trade to $4,056.
As for the transportation, Shark Limo lists no service prices anywhere on their website.
If you're questioning the validity of this story — totally understandable — have a look at the press release on the Scorpions' official webiste with quotes at the bottom from club president Howard Cornfield:
"The Scorpions would also like to thank Bill Brendel of the Crockett Hotel and Mark Thronson of Shark Limo, two long-term, great partners, for their incredible assistance. It was only through their assistance that we were able to get this deal done."
If you're the Strikers and you desperately need a place to crash, do you make this deal? How about if you're the Scorpions? No-brainer, right? But, most of all, how do you feel if you're Restrepo?
