Major League Soccer's break for the World Cup may allow you the time to follow the action in South Africa closely, but at SBNation Houston we've used this time to take a hard look at a struggling Houston Dynamo side and delve deeper into a few interesting stories.
One of the most interesting and curious stories we've uncovered has been the disappearance of central defensive midfielder, Adrian Serioux. The 31 year-old midfielder last played a competitive match (MLS regulation match or friendly) on May 13, 2010 against Real Salt Lake, a game where Serioux' gaffs were directly responsible for two of RSL's three goals.
Prior to the trip to Salt Lake City, Serioux featured in only four of Houston's games, starting in one and being subbed on three times. The reduced amount of playing time was likely a result of the midfielder getting back in to shape after semi-retiring when Toronto FC released him over the off-season. But Serioux showed he still had the ability to play in MLS after netting a goal and earning an assist against Chivas USA.
Following the game against RSL, the Dynamo were scheduled to play DC United on May 22 in Houston, a game which Adrian was initially listed as available. However, at game time, he was nowhere to be seen and post-game statements from the club indicated that he was absent due to "personal reasons." No other information was given about the nature of his personal reasons for missing the game, and none has been given since.
For a club like the Dynamo, who are struggling on all areas of the pitch, a lot of money (Adrian's 2010 salary is listed by the MLS Players Union at $96,000) for someone who has missed five games over the last four weeks for undisclosed reasons.
Hopefully this isn't another case like Shalrie Joseph of the New England Revolution, who took a leave of absence after testing positive for marijuana in a random drug test. Joseph left the team for a few weeks and entered a treatment program. We cannot assume too much until more information is known about Serioux' situation, but this does not sound like a good thing for Adrian or the Houston Dynamo.