He's been getting on the bench lately for Leverkusen II, but has been limited to 5 minute cameos at the end of games. I don't know how he's doing with the youth teams though.
for a 95 thats pretty impressive.. considering they have one of the best u19s in germany.. most really think highly of this kid
So, the question is answered: Kainoa Bailey joins Bobby Shou Wood as Hawaiian-born players in the Bundesligue. https://twitter.com/KainoaAlegria/status/453295727637458944 Best wishes to another "future Brian Ching" lol
Just fyi, it's likely that Bayer Leverkusen will take their reserve team out of competition next year. They have pushed a rule change through that allows pro clubs to abolish their reserve teams (they had beenn mandatory so far). Bayer Leverkusen haven't done so officially yet (Eintracht Frankfurt already have announced not to field a reserve team anymore, though) - but since they were the driving force behind this it seems likely to happen sooner rather than later.
Cost savings, mostly - some clubs think that the reserve teams aren't really worth the effort anymore since most players don't make it to the pro team anyway.
Well, that's up to the clubs, I guess... we'll probably see more loans. And the most talented players more and more go directly from youth into pro football. The vast majority of youth players will probably be simply sent away after they get too old for the U19 (at those clubs without a reserve team - so far only Frankfurt is sure, while there are only rumors which clubs will follow).
Don't really need to. Most players go directly from the U19s to the first teams. It's also become extremely popular to sell players with buy-back clauses. So maybe a Bundesliga club sells their 20 year old prospect for 50,000 euros to a 3 Liga team, and if the player develops, the Bundesliga club buys the player back for a set amount (500,000 to 1,000,000 euors?). This type of mechanism ensures that players develop in front of a real fan base while the lower clubs get compensated for their development efforts. For a lot of clubs, even big clubs like Schalke, reserve teams are obsolete.
Yes it's about money, supposedly the real reason is they want to lower age group to u21's so they have less players under contract bc then some of unsigned u19-u17 can play up. The Germans it's all about efficiency.
Leverkusen now have officially disbanded their reserve team as well (as the third BL club now). So, Bailey will have to go somewhere else next season (either on loan or permanently, unless he makes Leverkusen's first team).
Does anyone if he HG eligible for RSL or DC? If he chooses to come back to the states I'm guessing one of them would have first dibs if they wanted him.
Bailey was called into a US U-20 camp later this month. http://www.soccerbyives.net/2014/05/academy-products-headline.html#more-76608
From MLS: Bayer Leverkusen forward Kainoa Bailey played for D.C. United in the 2010 SUM U-17 Cup and spent time in residency with Real Salt Lake but is no longer part of either team's protected player list. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...adline-mls-academy-contingent-called-us-u-20s
So, I guess I'm confused. Leverkusen disbanded their reserve team according to what you guys have said, but they have a U-23 team listed on their website. Did they really disband Leverkusen II, or just create a new U-23 side? I ask this because it's mainly a U-23 squad, with a majority of the team being 95s-93s, but there's also two 90s, an 87, an 82, and a 74 listed on the roster. Fun fact: The 74 is older than one of the team staff members.
"II" and "U23" are used interchangeably in German football. Leverkusen II was the official name, but for whatever reason clubs started to use the term U 23 team instead of reserve team (= II team) some years ago. Some kind of marketing speak thing, I guess. Anyway, that's just Bayer Leverkusen's english website being outdated, in the German version the team has already been removed.
Ah, I see. I didn't think to check the German site. What's that mean for Bailey? Is he listed as being on the U19s?
Leverkusen haven't updated their U-19 squad list yet, but according to transfermarkt.de he is a free agent now. He was on trial at TuS Koblenz some time ago, but didn't sign there it seems.
Per Top Drawer Soccer: Kainoa Bailey made his debut with Bayer Leverkusen II in the Regionalliga West on Saturday in a 5-0 win over Monchengladbach II. Bailey played the final six minutes of the game. Fellow American Mario Rodriguez started and played the full 90 in the loss for M’gladbach. Rodriguez has one goal in 18 appearances this season. http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/club...rospects:-update-on-americans-abroad_aid32575