Mon May 17, 2010 10:16 am EDT
'Exemplary' Onyewu asks to play one year for free at AC Milan
By Brooks Peck
When I talked to Landon Donovan in April and he described U.S. national team and AC Milan defender Oguchi Onyewu as a big teddy bear with a "soft heart" and someone who is intense on the pitch "but off the field he's pretty relaxed," some may have taken the focused scowl that's usually on his face to mean otherwise. But today Landon is proven right in a way as Gooch, who hasn't played a match since rupturing his patellar tendon in a World Cup qualifier last October, has asked to extend his contract with AC Milan by a year for no pay.
Says an official statement from the club:
MILAN - USA international Oguchi Onyewu, who is coming off a season of rehabilitation following a long injury which has forced him to stay off the pitch for the whole season, but is now ready to face the World Cup with his national team, made a very significant gesture from a human and professional point of view today. Assisted by his lawyer, Jean Louis Dupont, Onyewu asked for, and received, a one-year contract extension from Milan, from 30 June 2012 to 30 June 2013. During this extra year, Oguchi Onyewu, by his choice, much appreciated by the Rossoneri club, has asked not to receive any kind of salary. This is an exemplary gesture which deserves sincere congratulations.
Before getting injured, Gooch had yet to make his Serie A debut for Milan (although he did appear in a Champions League match). So this decision was probably as much of a way to prove his commitment to the club without being able to show it on the pitch and convince them to keep him around as it was an "exemplary gesture."
Even still, it's obviously rare to see a professional at a top club -- one used to handing players unspeakable sums of money -- offer to work for free, but it shows his foresight. He knows he's got a good opportunity by the neck and he's doing anything he can to keep a firm hold of it.
'Exemplary' Onyewu asks to play one year for free at AC Milan
By Brooks Peck
When I talked to Landon Donovan in April and he described U.S. national team and AC Milan defender Oguchi Onyewu as a big teddy bear with a "soft heart" and someone who is intense on the pitch "but off the field he's pretty relaxed," some may have taken the focused scowl that's usually on his face to mean otherwise. But today Landon is proven right in a way as Gooch, who hasn't played a match since rupturing his patellar tendon in a World Cup qualifier last October, has asked to extend his contract with AC Milan by a year for no pay.
Says an official statement from the club:
MILAN - USA international Oguchi Onyewu, who is coming off a season of rehabilitation following a long injury which has forced him to stay off the pitch for the whole season, but is now ready to face the World Cup with his national team, made a very significant gesture from a human and professional point of view today. Assisted by his lawyer, Jean Louis Dupont, Onyewu asked for, and received, a one-year contract extension from Milan, from 30 June 2012 to 30 June 2013. During this extra year, Oguchi Onyewu, by his choice, much appreciated by the Rossoneri club, has asked not to receive any kind of salary. This is an exemplary gesture which deserves sincere congratulations.
Before getting injured, Gooch had yet to make his Serie A debut for Milan (although he did appear in a Champions League match). So this decision was probably as much of a way to prove his commitment to the club without being able to show it on the pitch and convince them to keep him around as it was an "exemplary gesture."
Even still, it's obviously rare to see a professional at a top club -- one used to handing players unspeakable sums of money -- offer to work for free, but it shows his foresight. He knows he's got a good opportunity by the neck and he's doing anything he can to keep a firm hold of it.
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