1999 MVP JORGE DELY VALDES LEADS RAPIDS INTO SUNDAY HOMECOMING GAME IN PANAMA

Also A Starter For Panamanian National Team, Dely Valdes To Play For Rapids Sunday When They Face Panama In Panama City

BOCA RATON (Friday, February 18, 2000) - He's a national soccer hero in Panama, where sports fans cheer him on as a star striker for the National Team, while also following his very successful club career from Argentina to Chile to Uruguay to Japan, and now to Colorado.

But this weekend, those same fans will flock into the Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City and cheer loudly ...against the team he is playing for. That will be the situation this Sunday (2:00 p.m. local time, 1:00 p.m. MT) when Dely Valdes leads his club team, the Colorado Rapids of MLS, into his homeland to face his Panamanian National Team. The Rapids 1999 leading scorer and Most Valuable Player will play the entire game for the Rapids.

"It will be strange playing against my team from Panama," said Dely Valdes. "But I know the fans will cheer for me as well, although they'd rather see me play well and lose, I'm sure."

While the game has no significance as far as standings for either team, it is an important tune-up for both sides. For the Rapids, winners of two straight pre-season games (Dely Valdes has scored in both wins), it represents their fifth exhibition and a good chance for several young players to get a taste of international experience. For Panama, it is a chance to fine-tune its team as it prepares for the initial qualifying stages of the 2002 World Cup.

"While in this game the teams are not playing for points in a table, it is an important game for both teams, so it should be competitive, but a lot of fun," said Dely Valdes. "The crowd will be loud and in good spirit, and hopefully the teams can produce a great game for them."

Sunday's exhibition actually will not be the first time Dely Valdes has played against Panama, as he and his former club, Consadole Sapporo of Japan, defeated Panama, 2-1, in Panama City in 1998 with Dely Valdes scoring the game-winning goal.

"I've done it once before, and the fans cheered for me even though we won, so it's nice to know that even if the Rapids win, the fans will not boo me the next time I play for Panama."

While Dely Valdes will indeed be the opponent for his native fans on Sunday, he knows that it will only last ninety minutes, as it will not be too long before he is back in a Panama jersey, attempting to lead his team through the qualifying stages for the next World Cup.

"Sunday will be fun, as I will do my best to beat my home country and put on a good show," he said. "But our fans know it is just one game, and that we will all be together again soon to try and get to the World Cup."

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