Remember Felix De Bona?

Discussion in 'New England Revolution' started by abecedarian, Nov 9, 2012.

  1. abecedarian

    abecedarian Member+

    Mar 25, 2009
    SSSomerville
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Anyone remember this kid? He was a striker with the academy teams a while ago, a teammate of Fagundez's and he really lit it up when he was here. He and Fagundez had a pretty comparable scoring rate. Some of you may remember that he departed for Spain; rumor had him going to Malaga, but apparently instead he signed up with the youth team of Polideportivo Ejido in the second division.

    I don't know what happened there, but in the end he came back. He's 19 now and got a waiver to play his senior season -- this time with Somerville High, rather than Everett, where he was earlier. And again, he's tearing up the league. If anybody wants to see him in action, Somerville is playing in the Northern Division Final this Sunday at noon at the Manning Bowl in Lynn. He's number 9.


    So what do you think? Should the Revs be looking at him again? He really seemed like a hot prospect in his earlier incarnation. Maybe it's a strike against him that he couldn't make a go of it in Spain. And now he's too old for the academy teams, unfortunately, which says maybe it's better for him to go to college. Plus, he's not big, either -- maybe 5' 8".

    But anyway, in this slow season, what else do we have to talk about, except this sort of thing?
     
  2. CottageRev

    CottageRev Member+

    Jun 13, 2010
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Definitely couldn't hurt to get him under contract. As a Homegrown Player he wouldn't count against the cap, and if he's still too raw he could still get time with the reserve team throughout the year. Plus, with multiple unused roster spots it's not like he's squeezing someone else out.
     
  3. JG

    JG Member+

    Jun 27, 1999
    Poli Ejido folded midseason last year, presumably that was the end of their youth teams as well.
     
  4. RevsLiverpool

    RevsLiverpool Member+

    Nov 12, 2005
    Boston
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Agreed. If he's scoring goals, he's possibly even better than Fagundez.
     
  5. Crooked

    Crooked Member+

    May 1, 2005
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    He played for the Revs reserves as a trialist at the end of this past season. They definitely know that he's back and are keeping contact with him.
     
  6. abecedarian

    abecedarian Member+

    Mar 25, 2009
    SSSomerville
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Didn't know that. Glad he's on the radar. Any sense of how he did in his trial?
     
  7. Crooked

    Crooked Member+

    May 1, 2005
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    I'm not sure if he actually trialed with the first team, or if they just invited him to play in the reserve match. You could probably ask Kyle McCarthy on twitter, he may know.
     
  8. NFLPatriot

    NFLPatriot Member+

    Jun 25, 2002
    Foxboro, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Felix played in one reserve game (as a guest) this year, coming on for Blake Brettscheider in the 70th minute of a 2-1 loss to Toronto on September 7th. This was the 9th of 10 reserve games, he did not dress for the 10th.
     
  9. Crooked

    Crooked Member+

    May 1, 2005
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    I think at that point he was back playing HS soccer, so not playing in the 10th game may not be indicative of whether or not he's in their plans.
     
  10. abecedarian

    abecedarian Member+

    Mar 25, 2009
    SSSomerville
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    FWIW, he scored the winning (and only) goal on Sunday. You'll have a chance to see him again tomorrow at 7:30 at the Manning Bowl in Lynn. I'm not sure if he's ready for prime time, but he continues to do well against schoolboy competition.
     
  11. Weber King

    Weber King Member

    Sep 28, 2001
    North Andover, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That bastard's goal beat my high school. Screw him!
     
  12. abecedarian

    abecedarian Member+

    Mar 25, 2009
    SSSomerville
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Actually, it looks like the game has been postponed till Wednesday.
     
  13. LongDuckDong

    LongDuckDong Member+

    Jan 26, 2011
    Club:
    FC Schalke 04
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Wait. Somerville is playing Needham in Lynn? How does that make any sense?
     
  14. Crooked

    Crooked Member+

    May 1, 2005
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    MIAA State Tournament?
     
  15. Kraft Out

    Kraft Out Member+

    Aug 2, 2010
    Boston
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    yup
     
  16. LongDuckDong

    LongDuckDong Member+

    Jan 26, 2011
    Club:
    FC Schalke 04
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  17. abecedarian

    abecedarian Member+

    Mar 25, 2009
    SSSomerville
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Here's the short version: no De Bona goal, no victory for Somerville. Needham took the lead on what was to me a highly questionable PK, and bunkered successfully the rest of the game.
     
  18. Achowat

    Achowat Member+

    Mar 21, 2011
    Revere, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Homegrown Players don't count against the cap, but are their salaries paid like DPs, or are they paid through the Capital Call like "standard" players?
     
  19. LongDuckDong

    LongDuckDong Member+

    Jan 26, 2011
    Club:
    FC Schalke 04
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It's complicated. Keep in mind, standard players aren't necessarily paid through a "capital call." The league makes enough money through TV revenue and sponsorship to pay most of those salaries themselves. In total, the league has about $60 million in salary on the books. They make over $30 million from TV, they pull in almost $60 million in ticket revenue (30% of every ticket sold), they make several million from league sponsors such as Adidas.

    Basically, I don't really think it matters in the end. Some HGs are on GenAd contracts, others get paid by the clubs.
     
  20. Kraft Out

    Kraft Out Member+

    Aug 2, 2010
    Boston
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    My opinion on De Bona after seeing him a few years ago, and 5 times this season....

    He is physically more mature than 99% of everyone he faces. His technique is (although hard to truly gauge because of the physical advantage) above average (for a marginal professional his "age"). His touch is suspect, but his arial presence and shot are very good. He is not very creative on the ball, but that isn't really the type of player he is. Basically, he is big, strong, and dominates players weaker than him. I honestly don't think he has a future as an MLS professional. The kid who was Diego's teammate at Leominster who graduated a few years ago (Can't remember his name) was a more complete striker than De Bona, and he can't get a sniff.
     
  21. Balerion

    Balerion Member+

    Aug 5, 2006
    Roslindale, MA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I believe you are thinking of Fabio Machado, who spent 2011 at Burlington County JC and then transferred to Drexel this year. He had four goals and five assists as a sophomore this year and was named to the third team all-CAA.

    After the Revs sign Caldwell, I think it might be a while before the next HG player comes along.
     
  22. Kraft Out

    Kraft Out Member+

    Aug 2, 2010
    Boston
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Yeah, Fabio.

    I'm not so sure about that. I think the 15-16 year old group is the best they've had yet, and have some real talents. I really like Guy Kabala, Herivaux and Kunateh. They've finally got players with real technical ability and great understanding of the game.

    EDIT: Oh yeah, and McCabe, too.
     
  23. Crooked

    Crooked Member+

    May 1, 2005
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Whtat about Christian Sady? Just wondering, as it appears you've seen the majority of these kids play.
     
  24. Balerion

    Balerion Member+

    Aug 5, 2006
    Roslindale, MA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I haven't seen these youngsters play (though I have noted their occasional appearance at YNT camps), but I think this discussion all comes down to how you define my vaguely-used term of "might be a while".

    I think that the way MLS teams manage their homegrown prospects is changing and we're going to see the first real effects of that this offseason. The first generation of HG players has mostly fallen by the wayside. MLS clubs have learned that they don't have the developmental infrastructure to deal with most raw 18 year olds. (I do think that the raw numbers were dragged down by a bunch of ill-conceived signings that happened simply out of overexuberance and/or a desire to show that a club's academy was doing something. These players never really had a chance.)

    This realization has also coincided with the maturation of the "HG pipeline". The DA program is now in its sixth season, so clubs have prospects in their U16 and U18 teams as per usual, but they now have their ex-academy players filtering through college. Columbus, for example, could choose to sign two college senior CBs (Matt Wiet and Chad Barson) and a college senior GK (Justin Luthy) if they want -- and that's before considering their crown jewel NCAA prospect, Wil Trapp, who is a sophomore at Akron and may or may not sign this year. Or Andrew Souders, an ex-U-17 freshman defender at Akron. Unless they have a true blue-chipper on their DA team, there's no need to rush any U-18s. There's riper fruit to pick.

    It's becoming increasingly clear that at the moment, it makes more sense to have players spend at least a few years in college before signing them. It makes more sense developmentally, it makes more sense financially, and it makes more sense in terms of roster management. Now, there are always going to be top talents who will go pro out of high school and that's the right move for them. For most players, even those who will eventually be HG-worthy, it's not.


    In the end, this is a long-winded way of saying that even if Kabala, Herivaux, et al turn out to be good players, it might still be 4-5 years until they even show up on the Revs' pro roster. Between Caldwell and the age cohort that you are describing, the cupboard looks pretty bare.
     
  25. rkupp

    rkupp Member+

    Jan 3, 2001
    I don't know whether he'll be a pro prospect or not, but Cole DeNormandie has been doing quite well as about the best player on a mediocre Cincinnati team (All-BigEast freshman team last year, BigEast offensive player of the week, College Soccer News national team of the week this season).

    He should be available in 2 years - right in that gap you mention.
     

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