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SoccerCentric: Frustrated by MLS, Etienne Barbara ready to score in Minnesota

When Minnesota announced it had signed the past two North American Soccer League leading scorers, fans might have rushed to the league website to find out just how many goals the team would be getting. There atop the 2012 scoring leader board was Pablo Campos, who scored 20 goals in San Antonio. Nowhere to be found, though, was Etienne Barbara, the other half of the dynamic duo; the striker didn't play in the NASL in 2012. Barbara scored 20 goals for the NASL's Carolina Railhawks in 2011, and hoped that the season would be a springboard to success in Major League Soccer. But he endured a frustrating offseason issue with the strange "discovery rights" system in MLS, as Montreal neither wanted to pay him nor allow him to sign with another team. And when he finally did secure a move to Vancouver, to reunite with Carolina head coach Martin Rennie, he ended up beset by injuries, and made only two appearances. If you think his frustration with the MLS system has subsided, think again. "One thing that I prefer in NASL is that at least they don't treat you just like a piece of merchandise," he said, "because that's what MLS is."

SoccerCentric: startribune.com/sports