Lalas Will Play in Top Italian League

Alexi Lalas, a defender on the U.S. World Cup team, has been loaned to Calcio Padova of the Italian first division for one year by the U.S. Soccer Federation, it was announced Wednesday.

England’s Coventry City and Germany’s Bochum had expressed interest in the 24-year-old. Terms were not announced.

Padova, outside of Venice, qualified for the first division, considered the world’s most competitive soccer league, for the first time and will move into a new 28,000-seat stadium.

U.S. Soccer officials said the agreement includes a clause allowing Lalas to play in Major League Soccer, the American professional league scheduled to begin next year.

Lalas indicated he will play in the MLS.

Lalas’ stock rose dramatically during the World Cup as he and Marcelo Balboa manned the middle of a stingy U.S. unit. Lalas was the only American named to the FIFA World Cup all-star team, garnering honorable mention honors.