Photo by Kyle Gustafson

It’s been a fairly frustrating offseason for United fans, at least from a personnel standpoint. First, there were the rumors that the front office may have turned down the chance to sign Ghanaian national captain Stephen Appiah, now on trial at Tottenham Hotspur. Then there was the loss of playmaker Marcelo Gallardo, who broke from the team in order to return home and play in Argentina. More recently, the team lost out on signing Brazilian defender Roger because the 34-year-old’s family didn’t want to live in the States.

So why break with precedent?

On Monday, United shipped out versatile midfielder Ivan Guerrero, a valuable designated player slot, and a 2010 second-round draft pick to regain the services of Christian Gomez—a striker who scored 39 times in 97 matches and won the league’s MVP in 2006 for the Black-and-Red, but only started 17 games in Colorado last year. United also received the rights to goalie Mike Graczyk and an international roster slot in the deal.