Fire picks midfielder Emane in MLS SuperDraft
The Chicago Fire used its only pick in Thursday’s MLS SuperDraft to select 20-year-old midfielder Yazid Atouba Emane from Cameroon.
After trading its first-round pick Wednesday to Colorado for midfielder Jeff Larentowicz, the Fire used its second-round pick in the two-round draft to take the speedy left-footed winger at No. 30 overall.
“Yazid is a dynamic, young forward,“ Fire president of soccer operations Javier Leon said in a team statement. “We were able to watch him at the combine and we’re excited to have him join us in preseason camp.”
At 5-feet-6 Atouba will be the smallest player on the Fire roster if he makes the squad. He will take up one of the Fire’s six remaining international roster slots, five of which are already filled. The Fire had traded away two international roster slots for the 2013 season to acquire Larentowicz and Joel Lindpere.
Veteran midfielder Pavel Pardo, who fills one of those international spots, is said to be reconsidering whether he will return for the 2013 season after saying in November that had no plans to retire.
Fire players report to Toyota Park on Friday for medical exams before going to Florida on Sunday for preseason training. The team opens the season March 3 at Los Angeles, with the home opener March 9 against New England.
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