Rapids acquire Brazilian defender

By Pat Rooney, Special to the Rocky

Originally published 01:54 p.m., July 23, 2008
Updated 01:54 p.m., July 23, 2008

A few years ago, while Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo and his staff were putting in their due diligence along the collegiate scouting trail, the coaches at Southern Methodist University told them to keep their eye on a kid named Bruno Guarda.

The Rapids did, and a fortuitous turn of events allowed the Brazilian midfielder to fall into the team’s collective lap on Wednesday.

After winning a league-wide lottery for Guarda’s rights on Tuesday, the Rapids added the former SMU standout to their roster Wednesday. To make room for Guarda, third-string goalkeeper Justin Hughes was put on the disabled list after undergoing season-ending surgery on his right shoulder.

“He’s a gifted player for sure,” Clavijo said. “You never know how a young kid like that is going to respond, but if he comes in and works hard and shows he’s mature, I would not be afraid to put him in the first lineup.”

Guarda did not enter Major League Soccer’s draft in January, but he was made available to all MLS teams through a lottery after opting to forgo his senior season at SMU. The Rapids, one of 12 teams in Tuesday’s lottery, had only an 8 percent chance of winning.

Guarda was a semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy, awarded to the top player in college soccer, each of the past two seasons and finished his career at SMU with 15 goals and 17 assists in 63 games. Guarda was chosen Conference USA’s Player of the Year in 2006 and 2007.

Guarda, who has been training in Dallas, is not expected to begin full workouts with the Rapids for a couple of weeks as he goes through the process of switching his student visa to a work visa.

“We’ve never won a lottery as long as I’ve been here,” Clavijo said. “Hopefully this is the beginning of many more to come. He’s a kid we’ve been following for a couple of years.”