Rubio might never be as good as those players but I think there is a good chance that he could still be a decent forward for the USMNT when he grows up. I can see Rubio doing really well in Portugal or Mexico in the future.
That's the part where I was saying it's too early to tell. I don't think he's going to be the greatest American player ever produced, but whether he will be a contributor to the senior team? Certainly possible.
I'm a huge fan of Rubins and I would love to see him do well, but it just seems extremely unlikely that we will be able to understand what kind of career he is going to have as a u-20 player. That's almost impossible to do for any player unless it's Messi, Neymar,etc.
I'm really not sure what point your trying to make. In the u-17 thread you're talking about how "real USYNT" fans don't proclaim kids stars of the future after seeing a limited sample size, and in this thread you're doing just that. So what if Messi and Neymar are from famous footballing countries? They were recognized as great early on because they were/are difference makers for their club and country. They earned their plaudits. I look forward to Rubin finding a club in the near future but I'm not going to be disappointed if he's not starting for Barcalona in 2 years.
I don't get the point either. IF Rubin was getting his debut for Barcelona right now and people were saying he sucks, I guess we could call bias.
My point is that you can pretty much tell how good a player is by his skill and not how popular he is in the media. If someone is doing well consistently as a young player, then 9 times out of 10 they will be a decent player. Jack Mac, former star of the U17s, was the top goal scorer of his team last year.
That's just flat out wrong. Messi was a first team regular for Barca, and Neymar (who is still only 20) has become one of the most sought after players in the world because of his play with Santos/Brazil. Maybe they weren't difference makers with the u-20's because they were already with the full national team.
Ok if you're arguing that he could be a good MLS level player like Jack Mac in a few years then I'd agree with you. Sorry for the thread jack everyone
He is gonna be a pretty good MLS level player but the Brazilians, Argies, Portuguese, etc.. are gonna be much better? I hate that kind of mentality.
If Ben Lederman is making his first team debut at 17 with Barcelona, hell if he's making any debut at Barcelona and it isn't because of a financial collapse, then I will shout joy from the tallest building.
What kind of statement is that? Are you really saying that Rubin can't be better than whoever the best Brazilian U-17 player is right now? Just because we aren't on the same level as Brazil doesn't mean we can't produce one of the best players in the world. Sweden produced Ibrahimovic. They aren't a world power.
Yeah but I don't know anything about the Brazilian players, who they are, where they play; and even if I did I wouldn't judge them off of one game.