On Thursday, through just a single sentence that appeared at the bottom of an Islanders related article in the Puerto Rican daily El Nuevo Dia, Islanders fans found out that Andres Cabrero had apparently left the team. In the article, it’s mentioned offhandedly that Cabrero unofficially had abandoned the team.
We spoke with Cabrero today and asked him about the recent news. The young Puerto Rican forward confirmed the rumors that he’s no longer with the team. “I was just going nowhere with the team” Andres said, while adding: “I have been working as Clarke asked me to but I wasn’t getting the time or respect I deserved. I felt that my work with the Islanders and the national team was disregarded”.
When asked if he had a potential team to move to, Cabrero said “I don’t have a specific team right now but I’m really eager to move on and find another opportunity. I was wasting my time with the team. Now that I’m no longer with the Islanders, there are a lot of people who are much more open to giving me chances and helping me find new alternatives”.
It’s clear that Cabrero has many opportunities before him, but it is still a bit unsavory to lose him at such a crucial point during the season. While Cabrero saw play in some games after he came back from France, it didn’t look as if though Clarke considered him as much a part of the lineup as the rest of the players. While it’s a tough departure for Islanders and Puerto Rican fans in general, it’s no secret that many people in the futbol world on the Island feel that the Islanders under Clarke is a dead end for Puerto Rican players.
With Cabrero gone, Marco Velez probably moving on to another team at the end of the season, and Alexis Rivera also considering leaving the team – 2010 could be the first time that the Islanders have no native born Puerto Rican players on the roster. Certainly food for thought.
