The MetroStars today officially acquired the rights to veteran defender Joe Addo, who has been training with the club for the past several weeks, through an MLS waiver draft.

Addo, 30, had anchored the back line of the Tampa Bay Mutiny for the past three seasons. He was not selected by a team in the MLS allocation draft, held after Tampa Bay and the Miami Fusion were folded, and was thus subject to today's waiver draft. The MetroStars selected him with the third pick after New England and Kansas City both passed.

In addition to his time with Tampa Bay, Addo has played in top leagues in Greece, Portugal, Holland, Italy and Germany. A U.S. green card-holder who played two seasons (1991-92) at George Mason University, Addo has also captained the Ghana national team at the Olympic and senior national team levels, leading Ghana to the bronze medal at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.