Razov in, but out

Ante Razov's new deal become official on Friday but he immediately gave us a taste of what we can expect this year. Razov will be out 8-12 weeks after undergoing surgery to remove bone spurs from his right ankle.

Razov can still be an asset for Chivas USA but this is probably a clear sign that the team ought to peg their hopes on the starting forwards as being Alecko Eskandarian and Maykel Galindo... at least until Jared Borgetti gets here, right?

Chivas USA update

Ante Razov had been rumored at heading to Mexican club Leon but he won't be going there or anywhere. A club source told me that Razov will stay at Chivas USA for the upcoming 2009 season.

Razov is the league's second all-time leading goal scorer and just one of four players who have played every one of MLS' first 13 seasons. He had only five goals a year ago and missed time to injury but he is still an important piece of the team's puzzle and one of the team's most valuable players.

Another player who is set to return is Raphael Wicky. The highly-touted former Swiss international spent most of his time off the field as injuries limited him to five games. But he's back and could threaten for a starting spot if healthy.

As far as Francisco Mendoza, the likelihood of him sticking around is slim and he may very well be officially out of MLS in the coming days.

Local guys look for success

For me weekly PE column, I wanted to take a look at four of our local guys - and by "our" I mean guys who were either born in or have a connection with Riverside/San Bernardino counties. There are a handful of players from the area that I follow but I only had room for four.

Landon Donovan is a local guy, which is great because he is such a high-profile player. Chad Marshall, Maurice Edu and Ante Razov are three others from the area that I try and keep tabs on.

Anyway, the first three could play key roles for the US national team this year. Marshall probably has the biggest upside of the trio while Edu has the experience necessary to take the next step. Landon's only question will be: how many of the US games will he play in this year?

Ante talks defeat

I caught up with Ante Razov after Saturday's playoff ouster. While he talked, of course, about the game, some of the more interesting things he said were about his future with Chivas USA.

I asked him whether he's decided to retire or if he's planning on playing another year and he pretty much said he's coming back, not retiring but undecided about he'll call home next year.

Listen for yourself.