Louis Crayton was a star-struck 21-year-old playing for Grasshoppers in Switzerland when he was invited to take part in a FIFA World All-Star tribute match for Nelson Mandela in South Africa in the summer of 1999.
Among the players the young Liberian goalkeeper got to meet: Brazilian midfielder Dunga, now the coach of his national team; French star Jean-Pierre Papin, also a coach today with RC Lens; and Jeff Agoos, who represented D.C. United and then-fledgling Major League Soccer.
Since Crayton officially joined United last week — earning a shutout in his debut — he’s come across reminders at RFK Stadium of that introduction to Agoos and MLS nine years ago.
“I see his pictures all around,” said Crayton, who has a long-standing friendship with Agoos, currently the New York Red Bulls technical director.
But Crayton’s connections with the U.S. and D.C. United run much deeper, as the 30-year-old’s arrival in Washington reunited him with countryman Francis Doe, who he has known since the latter was a young boy. The two are as much family friends as Liberian teammates.
“He used to talk to me about the game, tell me how to score goals,” said Doe, 22. “He taught me a lot of things.”
Doe vouched for Crayton after learning of United’s interest in signing him.
“When I heard that [Doe] was part of the negotiation, I laughed about it because this is someone that I knew growing up,” said Crayton.
In fact, United general manager Dave Kasper was more convinced by Crayton’s most recent experience at Switzerland’s top club, FC Basel, where his presence and personality in goal showed despite limited appearances.
“He’s a very bubbly guy, has a very outgoing personality,” said Kasper. “We did a lot of checking with the people we know in Europe about him. Everyone had very positive things to say about him, and that when he did play for Basel, even though he was number two, he always stepped up to the plate and did very well.”
After more than a decade in Switzerland, Crayton finally has a professional home near his wife, Christine, and family home in Tampa, Florida.
All the more reason to remain retired from the Liberian national team, which recently called Crayton up for World Cup qualifying matches despite his retirement from international soccer in May.
“Surprisingly, I saw that my name is on the list for the next two games,” said Crayton. “But that’s not something that I’m looking forward to right now.”
