Fire, de los Cobos still seeking left back solution
Krol, trialist Umanzor among candidates to fill vacancy
Despite acquiring left back Krzysztof Krol via loan in January, head coach Carlos de los Cobos has his eye on another potential replacement for former stalwart Gonzalo Segares.
Deris Umanzor, a 30-year-old Salvadoran defender who currently plays for C.D. Aguila in El Salvador, trained with the Fire last week and played the full 90 in last Thursday's friendly against Houston.
"He played very good against Houston but he went back to El Salvador and we're now trying to bring him back to us," de los Cobos said after training on Tuesday.
Umanzor was the starting left back for El Salvador throughout de los Cobos's tenure as coach there. De los Cobos is looking for a new left back because he feels that Krol, who is in the beginning stages of a one-year loan from Polish side Jagiellonia Bialystok, doesn't have the necessary pace to play on the wing.
"[Krol] has good qualities," de los Cobos said. "He's very strong but he's not fast. We need more speed for the wings. Normally teams have a lot of speed on the wings. And for that reason I think [Umanzor] can help us."
De los Cobos also may be interested in bringing in another center back and a midfielder who better fit his preferred 4-1-4-1 formation. Should the Fire sign any new player, they will eventually have to cut a current one loose, as they are at the league roster size limit of 24.
