Jeff Cunningham, MLS’ all-time leading scorer, is close to signing a one-year deal to join Guatemalan club Comunicaciones, sources at the team tell 10Kit.
“The situation is that there is an advanced negotiation, but there is nothing signed yet,” club sources said Thursday.
The club, runners up in the Liga Nacional’s recently concluded 2011 Apertura and winners of the 2011 Clausura, is keen to bring in Cunningham to inject a veteran presence into a young team. Additionally, Comunicaciones are eager to add a proven goal scorer to their side, a perennial title contender and frequent qualifier for the CONCACAF Champions League.
The forward played with five MLS clubs, including separate stints with the Columbus Crew, during his 14-year career in the American league, scoring 134 career regular season goals. He also has made several appearances with the U.S. national team.
If the parties could finish off the remaining details of the pact, Cunningham was set to fly to Guatemala on Friday morning from Columbus to sign the year-long deal according to the team source.While the move would represent the first time Cunningham would play professional football outside MLS, this off-season isn’t the first time the striker flirted with a move abroad. He trained with Norwegian club IK Start in January of 2011, but despite the Norwegian press indicating the training had the potential to become a long-term deal, a move never materialized.
Based in Guatemala City, Comunicaciones is generally considered the second-most-successful club in Guatemalan football history after crosstown rival Municipal. Los Rojos shut out Cunningham’s new team in both legs of the 2011 Apertura final – showing scoring woes the club hopes the American can help remedy upon his arrival.
Should a deal be signed, Cunningham could make an impact as soon as Sunday when los Cremas travel to play Marquense. If a debut doesn’t come Sunday, it could come in a match that has the potential to make Cunningham an instant Comunicaciones hero – a home game against Municipal.
The club faces Zacapa in Estadio Cementos Progreso, their home ground, Thursday night after opening the Clausura with a 1-0 victory against Petapa last week.