If personality can be defined by the car you drive, figuring out Diego Serna may take some time.
“When he signed his contract for Miami, he went out and bought a minivan, put 20-inch rims on it and had an alien stuck in the back window,” said Rapids captain Pablo Mastroeni, who was Serna’s teammate on the now-defunct Fusion. “He dances to the beat of his own drum.”
Now that drum beats in Colorado.
The Rapids signed the veteran free agent Tuesday to bolster their attacking depth as they prepare for the season’s stretch run. Serna, 31, set Major League Soccer on fire with the Fusion before a trade to the MetroStars in 2002 sparked a quick descent that included him being labeled as selfish and insubordinate.
Serna says the events of his mercurial career simply have been lost in translation.
Yes, Serna was unhappy with MLS because the league wouldn’t allow him to play in Germany’s Bundesliga after the Fusion folded. Yes, Serna skipped practice with the MetroStars because he was heartsick for his girlfriend in his native Colombia.
In Serna’s mind, all that matters now is he is healthy and eager to make good on the olive branch extended by Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo, who tried to sign Serna before being fired as coach at New England.
“I want to start with a clean sheet,” Serna said Monday through a translator. “I don’t want to even talk about the past. I want to just start from the confidence (Clavijo) put in me to bring me over here to help his team.
“Nobody knows the personal issues that are behind what the fans see.”
Serna scored more than 50 goals for Fusion between 1998 and 2002, and when the club folded he was acquired by the MetroStars. Serna started in eight games and had a goal and three assists before being shipped to New England as the centerpiece of a six-player deal.
Although the MetroStars traded former Rapid Mark Chung to get Serna in the dispersal draft, Serna said his relationship soured quickly with coach Octavio Zambrano.
Rapids defender Mike Petke, who logged the most minutes of any player for the MetroStars that season, did not want to comment on Serna’s behavior, saying personnel decisions are not for players to discuss.
“One thing we need to do is just forget about his past,” Petke said.
Serna’s five-game stint with the Revolution in 2002 began with a game-winning goal in his debut, but he admits his mind was far from soccer. An injury and a car accident hastened his departure.
“He wasn’t a problem for us at all,” Revolution coach Steve Nicol said. “Every time you’re training, he’s there 100 percent. His attitude was spot on. He never got under our skin.”
Serna played in the United Arab Emirates, came back to the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2003 for 10 games and returned to Colombia before being contacted by Clavijo.
Clavijo said he has made it clear Serna will not be allowed to become a distraction.
“He’s already on probation with me,” Clavijo said. “I have an opportunity and I will give him a chance to redeem himself, but I have no time to babysit. If he’s not here to play professional soccer and help this team do well, I have no time for him.”
Clavijo said Serna’s experience and immense talent give the team a dangerous player already familiar with MLS. The Rapids are ranked ninth in the 12-team league with 31 goals, a year after setting a record for scoring futility.
Serna has been training with the Rapids for more than a month, and Clavijo said it is no coincidence Serna’s presence has coincided with the improved form of striker Jean Philippe Peguero.
Although just a fourth-place team in the Western Conference, the Rapids have been hot of late and are perhaps a step away from becoming a team no one wants to face in the playoffs – like the Fusion of old, when Serna was unstoppable.
“Winning solves a lot of problems,” Mastroeni said. “As far as changing who you are this late in your life, it is hard to do. He’s still a character, and that’s some of the reasons why he’s so creative and dynamic.”
