RED BULLS GIVE
DOE A CHANCE
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By BRIAN LEWIS
August 10, 2007 -- Bruce Arena continued tinkering with the Red
Bulls roster, signing trialist Francis Doe to a contract.
The 21-year-old Liberian national team player is awaiting work
papers, and will count as a youth international.
"He's a forward, and will probably play some version of an attacking
player," Arena said. "The little we've seen of him, he's shown well.
He's good around the goal, got good pace, he can hold the ball.
He'll be a good complement to have."
Doe - built like a cornerback - had a goal and two assists in last
Thursday's 6-1 scrimmage win against the Long Island Rough Riders.
He has three caps for Liberia and had six goals in 2005/06 for Greek
club Atromitos, with whom he faced Sevilla in the UEFA Cup last
year.
"They were trying to get me over in January, but I was playing in
the UEFA Cup, so I never had time to come. I was having problems
leaving my team," said Doe. "I play forward, and on the right wing.
[Arena] was pleased with me, but I'll try to do better. He wants to
see some goal-scoring, that's what he said."
Argentine power Boca Juniors and English Premier League team Watford
had also shown interest, and he'd been on trial with Dallas.
Before newly-acquired Francis Doe can play, the Liberian forward
must get his work visa and the team must make a roster move. One
move they likely won't make is adding Francesco Coco, who played in
the 2002 World Cup for Italy. They were offered the 30-year-old
Inter Milan defender, but declined
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