That's right, Sporting Kansas City (formerly the Kansas City Wizards) has decided they would like to give some deserving talent a shot at a contract, and who is more deserving than Cincinnati Bengals' wide receiver, Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson?

Tt]he newly rebranded side will be giving Ochocinco a four-day trial starting next Tuesday.  If he somehow impresses, they'll extend the period and move on from there.

There are no timeouts in soccer

Look, I thought it was cute when he joked about playing soccer last year, but this is ridiculous.  He may be an incredible athlete, however, he has been training his body to withstand the rigors of the National Football League for the last 10 years.

Soccer at any professional level is all about maintaining the balance between skill and stamina.  I'm pretty sure Mr. Ochocinco doesn't have much of either right now.  He has been on the decline for the last few NFL seasons and will be shopped around by the Bengals right up until the NFL trading deadline, lockout or no lockout.

If the Kansas City Wizards, whoops, I mean Sporting Kansas City bring him in for anything besides a publicity stunt, they really are destroying what little integrity the MLS has built up over the last 15 years.  Chad may have been a good soccer player when he was a kid, but that was at least 14 or 15 years ago. 

Does he know how to mark?

Does he know how to run at defenders?

Will he know how to position himself? 

Will he be able to strike the ball at goal under any kind of pressure?

It's safe to assume he'd be nothing more than a striker, maybe a winger, but these are all questions that should've crossed KC management's mind if they are being serious.  He'd be a liability on the field, the same way an inexperienced youth would be a liability at the top level in any professional league.

There is no way they can ingrain a lifetime of training and experience into the period of a few weeks if they ever handed the guy a real contract. 

David Beckham, Thierry Henry and Chad Ochocinco

One of these is not like the other.  Now you could argue that the Beckham experiment is a bust, while Henry is past his prime, but at least those two are credible internationals with more trophies than any NFL player right now.

Chad Ochocinco will go down in history as an overrated wide receiver who spent more time grinding the NFL commissioner's gears than producing consistent performances on the field.  I'm sorry, but a few Pro Bowl appearances are nothing in comparison to the resumés of Beckham or Henry.

He is not Beckham.

He is not Henry.

He is not even Marcelo Gallardo.

Ochocinco would be even more embarrassing to watch on a soccer field than watching Michael Jordan swing a baseball bat. (Not saying he is anywhere near Jordan's level, though).

Well it's just the MLS

Someone could argue that it's just the MLS, but at the end of the day, Major League Soccer is a credible, professional club soccer league recognized by soccer's governing body, FIFA.

The league prides itself in being a stage for young American talent to display their skills alongside experienced internationals in a professional and competitive setting.

However, bringing in an obnoxious talent like Ochocinco contradicts the league's current mission statement.

I'm not saying the guy doesn't deserve a chance, but the MLS has 18 clubs with only so many spots to fill on their roster at the moment. The fact that they're giving a shot to a wide receiver who is essentially just bored and looking for something to do is a disgrace.

The league is already frowned upon by the international soccer viewing community as well as fans stateside.  The simple act of handing Ochocinco a trial is not going to tear die-hard soccer fans away from European league play any time soon.

Hopefully, it'll be nothing more than an innocent publicity stunt when it is all said and done. If Ochocinco is serious about soccer, he should look into giving Sjarnan FC a call.

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