The New York Red Bulls filled a major hole today, trading for the rights to central defender Willman Conde from the Chicago Fire and immediately signing the Colombian.
Conde left MLS after the 2010 season to play for Atlas in Mexico. Conde only made 13 appearances from the Zorros before being sidelined with a foot injury that required surgery.
Conde and Atlas agreed to terminate his contract, opening the door for his return to MLS. Since he left the Chicago Fire on a free transfer, they retained the player’s rights under league rules. The Red Bulls sent allocation money to the Fire for Conde’s rights.
With the signing, the Red Bulls complete the rebuilding on their central defense as Conde will likely team with new signing Markus Holgersson on the back line.
“One of our offseason priorities was to solidify our defense and adding Wilman certainly does that,” Red Bulls General Manager and Sporting Director Erik Soler said in a team press release. “During his stint in Major League Soccer, Wilman quickly established himself as one of the League’s top defenders and he will play an immediate role in our back line. He is strong, physical and experienced and he will be a tremendous addition to our club.”
During his time with the Fire, Conde was named to the All-Star team twice and earned a spot on the 2009 MLS Best XI.
