COMMERCE CITY — The Rapids have learned a new certainty in life: When you win the lottery, your phone immediately starts to ring.
Since claiming the rights to Southern Methodist standout Bruno Guarda in a weighted lottery Tuesday, Rapids general manager Charlie Wright said Thursday that several teams have expressed great interest in the Brazilian-born attacking midfielder.
Although the Rapids are under no pressure to deal the two-time Hermann Trophy semifinalist, who likely would have been the No. 1 pick in the 2009 SuperDraft had he waited to go pro, all signs point to a deal in the works.
Guarda’s agent, Dan Segal, said Thursday his client was holding off making any public statements about joining the Rapids.
“His agent has made it very clear that his client would be happy if we would listen to other offers,” Wright said on the phone from Toronto.
Wright stressed that all conversations with Guarda’s representatives have been positive and that the Rapids will be thrilled to keep him if the right deal does not materialize. The Rapids had a roster spot available after putting goalkeeper Justin Hughes (shoulder) on the season-ending injury list.
An obvious destination for Guarda would be FC Dallas, which hired longtime SMU coach Schellas Hyndman last month. Although Piracicaba, Brazil, is Guarda’s hometown, he went to high school in the Dallas area.
Guarda, 22, is an attacking midfielder known for being very technical, and he can play central or wide.
The Rapids had just an 8 percent chance of winning Guarda’s rights. Toronto FC and FC Dallas had the best odds.
“We are out into brave new territory,” Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo joked. “We have never won anything like this. We don’t know how to act right now.”
The Rapids last won a player lottery in 2001 and acquired the rights to Gus Kartes. The Rapids traded Kartes’ rights to the now-defunct Tampa Bay Mutiny — in Kartes’ hometown — for draft picks.
Cummings going.
Striker Omar Cummings is expected to join the Jamaican national team today in Frisco, Texas, as the Reggae Boyz prepare for an exhibition match against El Salvador on Saturday at Pizza Hut Park.
Cummings was all smiles Wednesday at Rapids training when asked about his chance to make his first senior appearance for his native country.
Cummings will return here Sunday morning before the Rapids’ game that night against the Columbus Crew (8-5-4) at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, which makes him an unlikely starter.
With Tom McManus (knee) saying Wednesday he is about two weeks from returning, the striker duo of Conor Casey and Herculez Gomez seem likely to start again. Casey is riding a four-game point streak (two goals, two assists).
Footnotes.
Clavijo said he has received “zero” inquiries into the availability of all-star captain Pablo Mastroeni, whose contract expires at the end of the season. He has expressed a willingness to be moved this summer to a European club. . . . The MLS board of governors approved expanding by two teams by 2011, the league announced from Toronto. Cities in the running include Atlanta, Las Vegas, Montreal, a second team in the New York area, Ottawa, Portland, Ore., St. Louis and Vancouver, British Columbia.
