Mon Mar 10 13:24:48 2008

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Wizards sign forward Lopez to DP contract

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Kansas City, MO (Sports Network) - The Kansas City Wizards signed Argentine forward Claudio Lopez as a Designated Player on Monday. The 33-year-old began his professional career with Estudiantes and Racing in Argentina's first division before playing at world powers such as Valencia (Spain), Lazio (Italy) and Club America (Mexico). He also has 58 career appearances and 10 goals for Argentina's national team and appeared in both the 1998 and 2002 World Cups.

"We had identified a few players globally that we believe would fit into our organization as a Designated Player, and Claudio Lopez is definitely one player at the top of that list," Wizards Technical Director Peter Vermes said. "He fits into our attack-minded team on the field and will be very marketable as well. His experience will be invaluable to the rest of the players on our team."

Lopez most recently played for Racing Club in Argentina after 11 years away from his country and first professional club.

"Claudio Lopez has won championships on every club he's ever played for," Wizards coach Curt Onalfo said. "He's a proven goal-scorer and his quickness, experience and savvy will enable him to have tremendous success for the Kansas City Wizards and Major League Soccer."

Lopez, who becomes the third Argentinean player on the Wizards roster, joining Carlos Marinelli and Eloy Colombano, will join the Wizards pending his player registration with the U.S. Soccer Federation and the approval of his work permit.

"This is a move we're comfortable making because our technical staff believes in the player, we have a support system in place for him to be successful, and it provides our fans with the opportunity to see a world renowned goal scorer in Kansas City blue," Wizards President Robb Heineman said. "OnGoal provides high-performance entertainment for our fans; which to us includes being committed to winning championships. This takes another step in that direction."

Lopez joins David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Chicago Fire), Juan Pablo Angel (Red Bull New York), Claudio Reyna (Red Bull New York) and Marcelo Gallardo (D.C. United) as Major League Soccer's only Designated Players for the upcoming season to date.