The Sounders Friday acquired the rights to forward Kenny Cooper and allocation money from FC Dallas in exchange for midfielder Adam Moffat. Cooper, 29, has made 188 career appearances since joining MLS in 2006, scoring 72 goals with 16 assists. The seven-year MLS veteran ranks seventh among active players in goals, and sixth in MLS with 32 goals over the past three seasons.
“Kenny is a proven goal scorer who is extremely active in the box,” said coach Sigi Schmid. “At 6-foot-3, he is a big forward who creates matchup problems for defenders.”
In his return to FC Dallas in 2013, Cooper, a native of Baltimore, finished second on the team with six goals, starting 19 of his 31 appearances. He previously spent his first four MLS seasons (2006-09) with FC Dallas, scoring 40 goals in 90 appearances. Seattle will be his ninth professional team, including Dallas twice.
Cooper earned team MVP honors in his first season with Dallas in 2006, ranking second on the club with 11 goals while starting 29 of 31 appearances. Following an injury-shortened second season, Cooper scored a career-high 18 goals in 2008, earning MLS All-Star and Best XI honors. He was also named the MLS Comeback Player of the Year and team MVP in 2008. In 2009, Cooper scored seven goals in 15 games.
On July 31, 2009, Cooper transferred from FC Dallas to TSV 1860 Munich, where he was limited to 14 appearances and two goals in Germany’s second division. He returned to MLS in 2011, playing in all 34 matches for the Portland Timbers with six goals. Cooper joined the New York Red Bulls in 2012 and matched his career high with 18 goals, including five multi-goal games.
Cooper began his professional career with Manchester United where he was loaned to Oldham Athletic of England’s League One, scoring three goals in five league games. Cooper has four goals in 10 caps with the U.S. National Team, making his last appearance in 2009.
The Sounders gave up Moffat, 27, who joined in a trade Sept. 13. He made six appearances with four starts, including all three postseason matches. A seven-year MLS veteran, Moffat has made 116 appearances with 12 goals and six assists for Columbus, Portland, Houston and Seattle.
The Sounders Thursday lost popular Steve Zakuani, 25, to the Portland Timbers. He was an original Sounder, drafted No. 1 in 2009, but a broken leg 2½ years ago has limited his career. He was not offered a contract extension after the season, which made him eligible for the re-entry draft, where Portland took him.
Zakuani played under Timbers coach Caleb Porter when both were at Akron, a collegiate powerhouse program.
Also lost was Marc Burch, who was in the re-entry draft and taken by Colorado.
3 Comments
Is it me or is this deal way in favor of the Sounders?
The only thing that worries me is that Cooper’s bounced around quite a bit. FCD in ’10, Portland in ’11, New York in ’12, and back to FCD last year. What’s the reason for that?
He still scored during the shuffling, though, even when the Timbers had no clue how to use him. Barring injuries, expect double-digit goals next year.
That’s my line of thinking. Is there something with him that makes teams not want him despite his talent? I suppose wel’ll see.