OBETZ, Ohio – Dilly Duka is back in Columbus.
Crew SC announced Monday that they had traded for the rights of their first pick in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft, signing Duka to a new deal that he called “a pretty good contract, long-term wise.”
Columbus’s former regime of Robert Warzycha and Brian Bliss traded Duka to the Chicago Fire in 2013 in a deal that brought Dominic Oduro to Columbus. Duka was traded again in 2014 when he was sent to the Montreal Impact.
In his time away from Columbus, Duka has watched the club change drastically, and says he’s excited to be back to what feels like a new team.
“Over the last couple years, [I’ve watched] the Crew transform into the team they are today, to their style of play and all the good things you hear,” he said after his first training session with Columbus. “You keep in touch with your former teammates, and the positive stuff they’ve been saying about the Crew over the last few years made it really appealing.”
The months since Duka’s last game with the Impact have been quiet. Few have been certain how he was spending his time, and rumors of a European move and other theories held little water.
The New Jersey native says he had “different opportunities … and people reaching out to me,” but ultimately offered a simple explanation for his soccer absence.
“I was spending all those months with family,” he said. “It was a good time to just get back home and see the family and the extended family. As a player, you only have a certain amount of time to do that in the offseason. But the last few months have been refreshing, for sure.”
Crew SC head coach Gregg Berhalter said “of course” those missing months bothered him, but ultimately he saw enough from Duka to make it worth bringing him in.
“If we bring in a new player from abroad, we’re still dealing with that adaptation period, so there’s going to be a period regardless,” he said. “With Dilly, it’s just a question of getting him fit. We think he’s not too far from playing a role.”
Berhalter seemed high on his new signing.
He praised Duka’s versatility, suggesting he could play in three different positions, and says he can make an “immediate contribution.” And at just 26, Berhalter doesn’t think Duka is finished developing.
“I think he can grow, especially because I think he’ll be a good fit for how we play,” he said. “Once we get him up to speed with that and he gets fit, I think you’ll be surprised what you see.”
But Duka says he isn’t thinking about playing time or development. He’s thinking of hardware.
“I want to win something,” he said. “When I was in Columbus, my first year we went to the Open Cup final, but I want to win. … I’d like to bring a championship, no matter what competition it is, to the team I’m playing for right now. So that’s important for me.”
