Tue Sep 16 15:24:45 2008

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Chivas acquires Victorine from K.C., signs Dejair

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Carson, CA (Sports Network) - Chivas USA acquired nine-year MLS veteran Sasha Victorine in a trade with Kansas City and signed Brazilian attacking midfielder Dejair on Monday night.

Victorine will be available for Saturday's crucial Western Conference clash at Real Salt Lake. Dejair will be eligible to make his debut pending finalization of his U.S. work visa and receipt of his International Transfer Certificate.

With just six games remaining in the MLS regular season, Chivas USA sits in the third and final guaranteed playoff spot in the Western Conference, tied on 30 points with the Colorado Rapids. However, Chivas currently holds the tiebreaker over the Rapids by virtue of a 2-1 win at Colorado on May 24.

"As we enter the last six weeks of the season, we are pleased to be adding some additional depth to our midfield in the face of injury and international call- ups," Chivas USA coach Preki said. "We hope both Sasha and Dejair will make important contributions to Chivas USA as we continue our push toward the playoffs."

Victorine, who spent the early part of his career with Los Angeles, has played in 227 regular-season games with 205 starts. He has 30 goals and 39 assists. On the international level, Victorine has four caps and one goal for the full U.S. national team.

A product of the Botafogo youth system, Dejair joins Chivas USA from Brazilian club ABC FC of Natal, which he led to the 2008 Rio Grande do Norte state title.

During his 12-year career in Brazil, Dejair has won two national championships, both with Criciuma (Serie B, 2002; Serie C, 2006), as well as state titles with club sides Moto Clube (Maranhao, 2000) and ABC FC (Rio Grande do Norte, 2008).

In related transactions, Chivas placed midfielder Raphael Wicky and defenders Lawson Vaughn and Eric Ebert on the season-ending injury list.