This is the history on Kirovski:
As a fan of the US team, I've been following him for years, and you could hardly find a more controversial player. At the age of sixteen, he signed with Manchester United reserves and, in the states, was hailed as the second coming. His 21 goals in 20 games certainly helped his reputation and many teams in Europe sought his services. While teammates Beckham and Scholes signed on with the senior team, Jovan had difficulty gaining a work permit (something that continues to plague American players in England). He eventually signed with Borussia Dortmund.
At Dortmund, he was not a success. Granted, he was still very young (19). He never secured a starting role, but usually saw time as a sub and actually scored a goal in an important Champion's League match. The Dortmund manager, however, did not see Kirovski as part of the club's future and loaned him to a 2nd division club (Fortuna Cologne, I believe) two years ago. Things went from bad to worse as an unhappy Jovan feuded with the coach. Meanwhile, the US coach, Steve Sampson, rarely called up Jovan for international duty. After World Cup 1998, the new US coach, Bruce Arena, decided that Jovan was still a good prospect, and he became a regular in Arena's system. In early 1999 (his season on loan to Cologne) Kirovski started for the US against Germany. He scored a scorching goal from about twenty-five meters out that sent the German press into a tizzy. How could this International player be a sometime starter on a 2nd division team? Thus, the controversy began.
During the 1999/2000 season, Kirovski never played a game with Dortmund. He was, in essence, clubless. Yet, he started most matches for the US team since Bruce Arena wanted to "showcase" him for future clubs. He was usually out-of-form but managed flashes of brilliance, scoring a handful of goals.
He had tryouts with a ton of clubs, mostly with 1st division and lower-ranking premiership clubs (Man City and Charlton were rumored to be interested, as well as an unsubstantiated rumor that Alex Ferguson wanted to bring him back to Man U).
When he signed with Sporting, American fans rejoiced as he finally found a club. He's worth the risk I think, since he's got tons of experience for a player his age. With a little improvement, he could even become a starter.
[Edited by Steve_in_LA on 10-07-2000 at 21:19]