Perez

[Aalborg]

Just for discussion, what about grooming Orlando Perez for the left back position for the Nats?

[Norsk Troll]

Bzzzzzz. Sorry, but thank you for playing.

[anderson]

Always liked him. Good speed and nice dribbling. The odd goal or assist would be nice, though.

You should always keep an eye on any competent lefty defender.

Here's his bio on the Fire site:

http://www.chicago-fire.com/roster/player.asp?pcode=OPER

MLSnet bio:

http://www.mlsnet.com/bios/orlando_perez.html

[Norsk Troll]

I may have just been cheeky above, but truly, I thought his play for the Metros was eminently forgettable. Apparently, so did Octavio Zambrano, the guy who drafted him (twice!!!), yet still traded him away. I certainly don't think he's national calibre, and hardly even starting calibre in MLS. But, given all that, he never made as many blatant mistakes as Jeff Agoos ...

[Edit - I'd much rather see Carlos Bocanegra fill that role at the moment, presuming we have other candidates for central defense]

[anderson]

Norsk, I agree that he's not quite first- or even second-team nats quality at this point. But he's 25 with only 3 years as a pro so far. It's way too early to write off a defender who's a natural lefty, fast, and dribbles well.

He also seems to me to be a natural outside back, whereas I think we're likely to see Boca in a central role, where Bruce seems to like him as an organizer.

There will, of course, be other options for outside left back over the next couple of years (Convey, Barrett, maybe Gbandi, maybe a right back playing out of positon, maybe a central left defender forced to play wide, etc.). But when you've got a natural left back with speed and good ball skills (good enough for a contract offer from Tecos in 99), I think you give him another couple of seasons to see how he develops. Much of the defensive aspect of the position comes through experience.

I'm sure Bruce will get all the reports on him he needs from Sarachan, and Bradley for that matter. Octavio was always good at spotting raw talent, but it's doubtful that he did much to develop it.

[Norsk Troll]

I'm not even sure OZ was good at spotting talent (unless you're also going to suggest Steve Shak for the national team) - but I guess we'll see how Flaco Perez pans out this year. Goodness knows, we could always use another left back candidate.

[GersMan]

We already have a left back, and his name is Bobby Convey.

[anderson]

Originally posted by GersMan
We already have a left back, and his name is Bobby Convey.Depth is a good thing.

[Red Card]

How soon they forget Frankie Hejduk.

[anderson]

Originally posted by Red Card
How soon they forget Frankie Hejduk.Frankie performed admirably as a right footed player playing outside left back. IIRC, Sanneh did so, too, at some point. They're in that "playing out of position at left back" category. Sometimes that works out just fine. And in three years' time, Bruce may decide that's an acceptable option again. But I doubt Bruce - or any nat'l team coach anywhere - starts out three years before the big show planning to play right backs at left back.

We've got three years to see if viable options emerge who are actually natural lefties who also play left back as their best position. And any sensible approach involves trying to find more than one or two such viable options.

Conacaf qualifying last time consisted of 16 games. There are proposals floating around that would increase the number of games. In any event, it's a long process and we need to develop several viable options at every position.

[highlander]

Originally posted by anderson
Norsk, I agree that he's not quite first- or even second-team nats quality at this point. But he's 25 with only 3 years as a pro so far. It's way too early to write off a defender who's a natural lefty, fast, and dribbles well.

He also seems to me to be a natural outside back, whereas I think we're likely to see Boca in a central role, where Bruce seems to like him as an organizer.

There will, of course, be other options for outside left back over the next couple of years (Convey, Barrett, maybe Gbandi, maybe a right back playing out of positon, maybe a central left defender forced to play wide, etc.). But when you've got a natural left back with speed and good ball skills (good enough for a contract offer from Tecos in 99), I think you give him another couple of seasons to see how he develops. Much of the defensive aspect of the position comes through experience.

I'm sure Bruce will get all the reports on him he needs from Sarachan, and Bradley for that matter. Octavio was always good at spotting raw talent, but it's doubtful that he did much to develop it.

Just FYI,

During his short stay with DC United, he practically handed the Revolution a game in the last minute or two by slowing down to a jog while he was supposed to be marking Taylor Twellman. Steve Ralston had the ball on the wing when Perez, at the most important point of the match, decided that it was a good time to take a break. Completely unmarked Taylor ran into the penalty area and, by all accounts, finished beautifully.

After that goal, Hudson never played Perez in a position that could hurt DC United again. He was soon thereafter traded to Chicago. Hudson never said anything specifically about that play or Perez's role in it to the media, but I have to admit that it was increadible to watch a player blow off marking the opposition's best scorer while the opposition's best assist man has the ball at the most most critical point of the game, just to take a break. Honestly, it just came across as just of lack of effort. He just stopped running.

I agree that Perez has the physical ability to be considered for the National Team. I too was watching him, until that play, to see if he could be a sleeper of a player. After that play, I could not watch him in the same way again. It takes a particularly unfocused or distracted mind to make that kind of mistake when you are finally being given your big break to start on a new team.

I hope that Perez has a good career, but let's see if he can become a useful MLS player before we start talking about him for the national team.

[anderson]

highlander, that sounded frighteningly Regisesque.

I think we agree that he has valuable physical skills and that he needs to improve as a week in, week out, league player.

I thought he looked improved under Bradley last year. Assuming he makes Sarachan's final Fire roster, it'll be interesting to see if he continues to develop under coaches who see developing players as actually being part of their jobs.

I haven't suggested that he's nats material now - just that it's worth following a fast, natural lefty defender (a position for which most nat'l teams struggle mightily to find depth).

[The Wanderer]

Originally posted by anderson
In any event, it's a long process and we need to develop several viable options at every position.

I agree, and the call-ups for has beens or never weres like Richie Williams etc. should not happen this cycle.

[The Wanderer]

Originally posted by highlander
I hope that Perez has a good career, but let's see if he can become a useful MLS player before we start talking about him for the national team.

Thank you. A guy who can't cut it in MLS being touted as a prospect better be young--25 years ain't young for a soccer player.

[anderson]

Originally posted by The Wanderer
Thank you. A guy who can't cut it in MLS being touted as a prospect better be young--25 years ain't young for a soccer player.It's inaccurate to say that he can't cut it in MLS. He's played fairly regularly for three seasons. If he doesn't make Sarachan's roster or doesn't get regular playing time, then we can say more accurately that he can't cut it in MLS.

If he plays regularly for the Fire this season and next but continues to make the sort of mental errors that highlander describes above, then we can say that he's a "never was." But it's unreasonable to write off a defender after only three seasons (and most of that time under Octavio).

And 25 isn't that young for soccer players in the US - we still develop most of our players, especially defenders, later than much of the world. That's changing, but we're not yet at the point where we can write off 25 year old defenders.

There's no need for a rush to judgment on a guy with the preferred physical skills for a hard-to-fill position that he actually plays. No one's saying that he's the next Roberto Carlos, or even the next Jeff Agoos. For all we know, he may be the next David Regis. The point is that there's no way to know at this point with a guy who's only had three years of serious pro experience and only one with a coach who actually develops players.

[The Wanderer]

Originally posted by anderson
It's inaccurate to say that he can't cut it in MLS. He's played fairly regularly for three seasons.

Would you agree that there's a difference between playing well and actually playing?

[anderson]

Originally posted by The Wanderer
Would you agree that there's a difference between playing well and actually playing?Of course. And when - and only when - a player plays well regularly in the league does that player merit a nats call up. But I'll also add - as I've repeated in every post I've made in this thread - that Perez isn't at that point. Sometimes he plays well, sometimes he doesn't play well at all. That's not even remotely unusual for a defender with three seasons of serious pro experience. He's at a critical point in his career - he's finally had a little over half a season with a decent coach. He's now about to have his first full season with a coach who cares about developing players. Context, context, context. Let's just see how he does.

[Martin Fischer]

I can't believe this thread is still alive. If Perez starts playing better regularly in MLS, he might get a look. If that happens, then who knows.

[Jacen McCullough]

I haven't seen too much of Perez since he left the Metros, but last time I saw him, he was a player in trouble of being way too limited. On defense, he is similar to Petke. A great man-marker in a 3 back formation. Pushed out wide in a 4-4-2, and he's less effective. Played at left mid and he's not offensive enough. Just like Petke, Perez is very good at a very specific role in a very limited scenario. That's not going to cut it with the Nats. I would like to see SJ's Ramiro Corrales get a sniff sometime this cycle though. Corrales is more versatile than Perez, and he had a great run in the Olympics. He really came into his own this season with the Quakes as well.