Bocanegra Signs with MLS’ Chivas USA

It didn’t take long for Carlos Bocanegra to land his next contract…

Following the news of his departure from the Scottish Premier League’s Rangers, the 34-year-old half-Mexican American soccer star has officially signed with Major League Soccer’s Chivas USA team.

Carlos Bocanegra

Bocanegra – who spent last season with Spain’s Racing Santander, where he was on loan from the Rangers – will join the team in Philadelphia to prepare for its upcoming July 12 match against the Union.

The U.S. national team captain becomes eligible to play for Chivas USA on July 9, when the international transfer window opens.

”It feels really good to be coming back home,” said Bocanegra. ”I’ve been following MLS a lot more closely this year, and I got my start here in the league, so I’m excited to [be] seeing personally how much the league has grown.”

Chivas USA traded a first-round draft pick in 2014 and an international roster spot to Toronto FC, which owned the first shot at acquiring Bocanegra.

He’s played 116 games for the United States, including World Cups in 2006 and 2010. He began his professional career with the Chicago Fire and was 2000 MLS Rookie of the Year.

In January 2004, Bocanegra moved to Europe, joining English Premier League team Fulham, where he spent four years. He then went to France, playing for Rennes and Saint Etienne before joining Rangers.

Despite being sidelined for a month with a left hamstring injury suffered while on national team duty last November, Bocanegra became a solid defender for Racing, starting in all 23 games played for the Spanish team. The Rangers did not renew his contract when the loan ended, freeing Bocanegra to return to MLS.

Chivas USA currently has the league’s worst defense, allowing 31 goals while going 3-10-3, last in the Western Conference.

”I’m very excited to join the club,” said Bocanegra. ”I know it’s going to be a big challenge because the club hasn’t been getting the greatest results on the field, but it’s something I’m looking forward to.”

Bocanegra Leaving the Rangers, Eyeing Return to MLS

Carlos Bocanegra is setting his sights on a return to the Major League Soccer

The 34-year-old half-Mexican American soccer star, who was featured au naturel in ESPN’s The Body Issue last year, is a free agent after leaving the Scottish Premier League side Rangers.

Carlos Bocanegra

Bocanegra, the former captain of the U.S. national team, spent the past season on loan to Racing Santander in Spain’s Segunda División after the Rangers were demoted to the fourth tier of the Scottish soccer league because of financial problems.

The Rangers announced on the team’s website Saturday that Bocanegra’s contract was mutually terminated a day earlier and said he is expected to return to the Major League Soccer. Toronto has the top slot in the allocation ranking and would have the first chance to add him to its roster if he agrees to an MLS contract, league spokesman Will Kuhns said.

Bocangra played for the Chicago Fire from 2000-04, then went on to Fulham (2004-08), Rennes (2008-10), Saint-Etienne (2010-11) and Rangers (2011-12).

Bocanegra has made 110 appearances for the U.S. and was the American captain at the 2010 World Cup. He has not played for the national team since November.

Bocanegra Featured in ESPN’s Body Issue

He’s one of the top defenders in Major League Soccer with his jaw-dropping play…  But Carlos Bocanegra isn’t leaving people with la boca abierta for a whole other reason.

The 33-year-old half-Mexican American futbolista, a star player for Glasgow’s Rangers Football Club in the Scottish Premier League, is one of 27 world-class athletes featured au naturel in ESPN‘s fourth annual “The Body Issue,” which aims to admire the vast potential of the human form and appreciate “the bodies we want.”

ESPN Body Issue 2012: Carlos Bocanegra

The athletes are all stars in a wide-ranging number of sports, from tennis to track, from gymnastics to sailing, from horse racing to fencing, from surfing to decathlons, from football to hockey.

Bocanegra, a member of the United States Men’s National Soccer Team, says of his fine physique:

ESPN Body Issue 2012: Carlos Bocanegra

“Soccer players run a lot, so we don’t keep a lot of body fat,” says the California native. “We hear from members of the opposite sex that they enjoy our legs.”

But Bocanegra isn’t the only Hispanic athlete featured in the issue…

ESPN Body Issue 2012: Maria Gabeira

Maria Gabeira is another all-star athlete who embraced the nudity concept. The 25-year-old Brazilian big wave surfer, an ESPY Award winner for Best Female Action Sports Athlete in 2009, isn’t afraid of her own strength.

“Most women are afraid of being too strong,” says the five-time Billabong XXl Award winner. “When you surf, your muscles get bigger, especially your shoulders. But this sport is so great because it’s so aerobic that it doesn’t make you bulky.”

ESPN Body Issue 2012: Danell Leyva

Danell Leyva, the 20-year-old Cuban-American gymnast, who will be competing at the Summer Olympics in London as part of the U.S. Men’s Gymnastics Team, proves he’s not only an all-around gymnast, but a flexible one too.

ESPN Body Issue 2012: Danell Leyva

“As a male gymnast, you lose a lot of flexibility as you build muscle,” but I’m OK,” says Leyva. “I can still do the splits.”

ESPN Body Issue 2012: Jose A Bautista

José A. Bautista may not be able to do splits, but the 31-year-old Dominican baseball star and right fielder for the Toronto Blue Jays can hit homers.

“It’s pretty funny that people think I’m supposed to have big arms just because I hit home runs,” says Bautista.

ESPN Body Issue 2012: Cynthia Barboza

The issue also includes members of the USA Women’s Volleyball Team, including 25-year-old Latina standout Cynthia Barboza.

ESPN’s oh-so-revealing “Body” issue is due out on July 13.

Click here for a look at the gallery of photos from the issue.

http://espn.go.com/espn/photos/gallery/_/id/8136693/image/30/anna-tunnicliffe-2012-body-issue-bodies-want-espn-magazine