We don't know if Metro trialist Lider Marmol will be a good MLS player. We might never find out.

The tug-of-war over the midfielder has been going on for over a month. To summarize the situation, the Chicago Fire, with whom Marmol trained last year, has put a discovery claim for 2008 one day earlier than Metro did. Therefore, if the Paraguayan comes in terms with the league, the Fire will have first dibs on him. However, Marmol has no intention of playing for Chicago; he wants to play for Metro, and specifically Juan Carlos Osorio, the man responsible for bringing him to trial with the Fire in the first place.

What has recently been uncovered is the ongoing negotiations between Marmol and MLS. According to SoccerByIves, the league offered $100,000, which was rejected by the player. The counter-offer of $150,000 was rejected by the league. Is that because MLS is balking at paying that much for a 22-year-old defender, when they sunk more than that for, to use a random example, a 35-year-old defender in Abel Xavier? Or is it because the Fire would not be able to fit the extra 50K under its salary cap? In the latter case, Chicago would have no choice but to pass on Marmol (unless it can somehow clear the salary cap space), and he would slide to Metro, who have about 500K in cap space open. But Chicago is not passing.

And that's, in theory, within their rights. They beat Metro to the punch with the discovery claim, be it to prevent Osorio from getting his player or not. But this is not the first situation in league history where two teams are battling over a player. Two years ago, when Kansas City put the first discovery claim on Kenny Cooper, they relinquished when the striker wanted to play for home-town Dallas. We don't know if the Wizards received something for passing. What we do know, according to BigAppleSoccer, is that Metro is offering Chicago $100,000, just for the right to sign Marmol, and the Fire is turning them down.

Why? Why would Chicago balk at free cash, free cash which can help them better their team, free cash for a player who has no intention to play for them? It seems moronic and paranoid, two words which can be used to describe the Fire's new owner, Andrew Hauptman.

From what we have discovered from sources close to the league, Hauptman thinks he's a big boy. He wants to wield some power. And after losing Osorio to New York, he is pissed. Dealing with Metro, even in a trade that will clearly benefit his team, is out of the question. Osorio got the best of him once... to take the risk and be played for a fool again... Never!

We can understand the logic of not wanting to trade Wilman Conde, who, after all, is under contract with the Fire. But Marmol is not under contract with anyone. And here is Metro, offering $100,000. One hundred thousand dollars! For nothing! Just to let go of a player who doesn't want to play for you! Who in their right mind will pass that up?

Andrew Hauptman, that's who. And it this point, it looks like Osorio is tired of the shenanigans. He's giving himself one final week to sort this out. If Hauptman doesn't budge, it looks like Marmol will be let go and never play in MLS. And that's just sad.

It's sad, because here is Marmol, in limbo for more than a month, his career on hold because of a paranoid millionaire's whim. It's sad, because here is a player who wants to play in MLS, a young player, and one not asking for the moon as far as salary is concerned. If we were the league, we would step in here. Yes, discovery claims are rules, as inane as they often are. But why can't a compromise be reached? Why can't the league arbitrate the situation, and come up with something which will be fair for all parties involved? This is not Ronaldinho we're talking about. This is Lider Marmol, for crying out loud! We don't even know if he'd be a good player in MLS.

And we might never find out.