Bradley & Nguyen rolemodelling for youngsters to an alternative track

[feyenoordsoccerfan]

With quite young guys like Lee and Mike going the Dutch way and apparently with promise when it comes to their future will this make them into a rolemodel for an alternative route to succes than the usual one.

Are there any signs yet that they caught the imagination of young soccer players that it can go faster than previously thought, or of young fans like your kids?

[sidefootsitter]

This is entirely up to the Euro clubs. Most Yanks would take a decent Euro offer in a heartbeat over the peanuts (no offense, Ultra Peanut) that MLS offers as "compensation".

[Adam Zebrowski]

o'brien is the model......

[sidefootsitter]

o'brien is the manikin ..... FYP...

[feyenoordsoccerfan]

This is entirely up to the Euro clubs. Most Yanks would take a decent Euro offer in a heartbeat over the peanuts (no offense, Ultra Peanut) that MLS offers as "compensation".
What interests me is the answer to the question if youngsters themselves are having a look at this route and maybe taking the initiative themselves instead of the "normal" route highschool-college-draft-MLS and then maybe Europe.

[sidefootsitter]

What interests me is the answer to the question if youngsters themselves are having a look at this route and maybe taking the initiative themselves instead of the "normal" route highschool-college-draft-MLS and then maybe Europe. To seek a Euro squad, one usually needs an agent and acquiring an agent disqualifies one for the college scholarship/play.

Like I said many times before, the Euros have to scout the US, high school All-Americans (top 40 players?) and the Bradenton U-17 kids.

I mean, what is Omar Gonzalez doing going to Maryland?

[Scoobs]

Seems like there are already plenty youths/former youths abroad--Whibred, Johnson, Karbassiyoon, Simek, Zimmerman, Spector, Cooper, Kirovski,
Feilhaber, O'brien, Donovan, etc...

[DCUSA]

Ooh, Omar Gonzalez, you picked a good one, there. He has no business going to Maryland, he would be much better served going pro. Of course, education is great, but it IS Maryland we're talking about.

[Adam Zebrowski]

I think we're seeing the past 5 years, the better american players going pro very early....

the days of reyna putting in 4 years at virginia are gone...

the elite american 17 year old is better served going pro, whether it's europe or mls....

the late bloomer can go to college, emerge after 4 years...

rolfe might easily fit into that model...

but imagine if rolfe had gone to europe at 17, what would be his status now....

and that's where the future of the american game will go...

the young uns getting professional training very early, and this only bodes well for the future...

[aueagle1]

To seek a Euro squad, one usually needs an agent and acquiring an agent disqualifies one for the college scholarship/play.

Like I said many times before, the Euros have to scout the US, high school All-Americans (top 40 players?) and the Bradenton U-17 kids.

I mean, what is Omar Gonzalez doing going to Maryland?

It seems that Robbie Rogers and Chris Seitz made a good choice in going to Maryland. Both were youth internationals who had name power and were noticed in Europe. There is more than one way to get there.

[Longshoe]

It's not as simple as a right and wrong way. Each player is different, they will improve through different means. Rolfe might be farther along in his development if he had went to Europe at 17, then again he could have washed out and not be in the running for a World Cup spot.

Some guys are better off going to college, some aren't. Some guys are better off going to Europe, some aren't. For all the stick Donovan gets about coming back to MLS, you can't really knock his play that much, can you? On the other hand, there's guys who have gone over there and definitely stepped up their game. Every situation is different because every player is different.

[Martin Fischer]

... For all the stick Donovan gets about coming back to MLS, you can't really knock his play that much, can you? ....

Unfortunately, such a creature does exist and is lurking near by.

[Woodrow]

It seems that Robbie Rogers and Chris Seitz made a good choice in going to Maryland. Both were youth internationals who had name power and were noticed in Europe. There is more than one way to get there.

And they are both going to miss out on development opportunities and exposure to high level matches by playing college soccer. You don't go to college if your goal is to become a pro soccer player. Period.

[metroflip73]

Of course, education is great, but it IS Maryland we're talking about.

HAHAHA!!!

Maryland isn't THAT bad. After visiting College Park, MD last November, I just came to realize that some kids from New Jersey and Long Island end up there, horrid accents and all.

Back on topic:
I think soccer development will just get better because it will allow players to step up when other players leave early/graduate/bypass college entirely.

[Martin Fischer]

And they are both going to miss out on development opportunities and exposure to high level matches by playing college soccer. You don't go to college if your goal is to become a pro soccer player. Period.

I think this is a bit over the top. For all but the very best, a year or two playing at a level higher than you have played before, and playing every match in a key role, can be a positive development step. Example #1 = Lee Nguyen.

[evanpemsocr]

I think we're seeing the past 5 years, the better american players going pro very early....

the days of reyna putting in 4 years at virginia are gone...

the elite american 17 year old is better served going pro, whether it's europe or mls....

the late bloomer can go to college, emerge after 4 years...

rolfe might easily fit into that model...

but imagine if rolfe had gone to europe at 17, what would be his status now....

and that's where the future of the american game will go...

the young uns getting professional training very early, and this only bodes well for the future...

I agree with you, but Reyna only went to college for 3 years. he left early to join the usmnt.

[ty webb]

It's not as simple as a right and wrong way. Each player is different, they will improve through different means. Rolfe might be farther along in his development if he had went to Europe at 17, then again he could have washed out and not be in the running for a World Cup spot.

Some guys are better off going to college, some aren't. Some guys are better off going to Europe, some aren't. For all the stick Donovan gets about coming back to MLS, you can't really knock his play that much, can you? On the other hand, there's guys who have gone over there and definitely stepped up their game. Every situation is different because every player is different.

I think you are spot on Longshoe. I would much rather see our best go straight to Europe or MLS, though. College is a waste of time for them.

[wingzero13]

i don't think there is a best way to getting into the pros. players need time to develop in the right enviornment. one year at indiana did nguyen a lot of good. now he has moved on. players like bradley, beasley, donovan, spector, etc have skipped college and they are doing great. maybe memo gonzalez would have done better if he had gone to college instead of the galaxy. sigi thinks a year or two at indiana will do sarkodie(don't remember the spelling) some good. some kids might get tossed into a level of competition that they are not ready for. people develop differently.

[Sandon Mibut]

I mean, what is Omar Gonzalez doing going to Maryland?Yes, because spending a couple of seasons at Maryland really hurt Taylor Twellman's career.:rolleyes:

Plenty of good players have spent a couple of seasons playing college ball and still had great careers in Europe. Hell, this time next year OG might be somewhere in Europe. (With his height, I expect him to get some interest.)

As to the bigger question, I think seeing more kids succeed in Europe only will intrigue others to try it. It's a lot easier to convince kids to give it a go when there are more examples of American success to point to.

However, I expect our players, as they do now, to take different routes to get there. Sign as a teenager, a la O'Brien; after a year or two of college, a la Nguyen, Cherundolo, Onyewu, etc..., after spending a couple of seasons in MLS, a la Bradley; after four years of college like Gibbs and after several seasons in MLS like McBride and Bocanegra.

Will more teenagers want to emulate Nguyen and Bradley? Absolutely. But as others have noted, whether they get to do it will have more to do with the clubs giving US players a chance than US players have the ambition to do it.

[Sandon Mibut]

the days of reyna putting in 4 years at virginia are gone...Reyna played three seasons at Virginia, same number of college seasons as Bocanegra, Friedel, Keller, Berhalter, Pearce, Wolff, Dempsey, Hejduk, Olsen, Martino, John Harkes, JM Moore, Celo Balboa and Eric Wynalda.