Identifying youth players for the National Team

[cpwilson80]

After all the back and forth about identifying younger players for the World Cup, I went back and examined the rosters for the past few U-20 World Cups (this is all from fifa.com, and is listed below. Please excuse the formatting) I've bolded those who, roughly, have a legit shot at making the World Cup roster.

Some initial thoughts from looking at these lists:


We should thank the soccer gods every day for MLS. Look at the difference between the '97 class and the '99 class. It helps immensely that there is a development home for talented young players.

I think that '01 class will go down as a special one in US soccer folklore. A mere 5 years later, three members -- Donovan, Beasley, Onyewu -- are sure starters, with a fourth -- Convey -- a potential starter.

We shouldn't get hung-up on any one player. From the '01 class on, most if not all players will be solid pros at worst. Much can change from the youth ranks to the senior national team: the paths of Martino and Dempsey come to mind.



Malaysia 1997
1 KIRK Andy
03/10/1977
2 MC CARTY Chad
05/10/1977
3 DUNSETH Brian
02/03/1977
4 CHULIS Matthew
29/08/1977
5 POLTL Tommy
21/09/1977
6 PARRA Carlos
03/02/1977
7 STODDARD Myles
07/01/1977
8 O BRIEN John
29/08/1977
9 VICTORINE Sasha
03/02/1978
10 FLORES Jorge
13/02/1977
11 OLSEN Ben
03/05/1977
12 CORRALES Ramiro
12/03/1977
13 RODRIGUEZ Esmundo
25/05/1977
14 DIGIAMARINO Joey
06/04/1977
15 WEST Brain
10/06/1978
16 WOLFF Josh
25/02/1977
17 PETROSKI Shawn
24/08/1977
18 NAPOLEAN Matt
18/08/1977

Nigeria 1999

1 RIMANDO Nick
17/06/1979
2 THORRINGTON John
17/10/1979
3 GARCIA Nick
09/04/1979
4 CALIFF Danny
17/03/1980
5 PIERCE Rusty
24/07/1979
6 CHERUNDOLO Steve
19/02/1979
7 DOWNING Nick
25/01/1980
8 MORRISON Lee
10/08/1979
9 FUTAGAKI Ryan
17/01/1980
10 ALBRIGHT Chris
14/01/1979
11 GOMEZ Francisco
25/01/1979
12 TSAKIRIS Shaun
16/02/1979
13 BOCANEGRA Carlos
25/05/1979
14 GOLDSMITH Matt
27/04/1979
15 TWELLMAN Taylor
29/02/1980
16 GIBBS Cory
14/01/1980
17 BEASLEY Jamar
11/10/1979
18 HOWARD Tim
06/03/1979

Argentina 2001
1 COUNTESS DJ
09/01/1982
2 SALYER Philip
30/10/1981
3 ONYEWU Oguchi
13/05/1982
4 AKWARI Nelson
04/02/1982
5 YI Alex
27/02/1982
6 GRAY Kelly
07/04/1981
7 BEASLEY DaMarcus
24/05/1982
8 ESKANDARIAN Alecko
09/07/1982
9 DAVIS Brad
08/11/1981
10 DONOVAN Landon
04/03/1982
11 CONVEY Bobby
27/05/1983
12 LEWIS Ricky
29/05/1982
13 MARTINO Kyle
19/02/1981
14 ARENA Kenny
06/02/1981
15 CARROLL Brian
20/07/1981
16 CASEY Conor
25/07/1981
17 BUDDLE Edson
21/05/1981
18 WARREN Doug
18/03/1981

UAE 2003
CRONIN Steve 28.05.1983
WHITBREAD Zak 04.03.1984
MAPP Justin 18.10.1984
MARSHALL Chad 22.08.1984
COCHRANE Ryan 08.08.1983
STONE Jordan 16.03.1984
JOHNSON Ed 31.03.1984
KLAAS C J 23.08.1983
QUARANTA Santino 14.10.1984
CONVEY Bobby 27.05.1983
CLARK Ricardo 10.02.1983
ADU Freddy 02.06.1989
MAGEE Mike 02.09.1984
DEMPSEY Clint 09.03.1983
JOHNSON David 16.01.1984
MOOR Drew 15.01.1984
CAMERON Knox 17.09.1983
WILLIAMS Ford 20.02.1984
GRABAVOY Ned 01.07.1983
HARVEY Jordan 28.01.1984

Netherlands 2005
1 WESTBERG Quentin
25.04.1986
2 WYNNE Marvell
08.05.1986
3 SPECTOR Jonathan
01.03.1986
4 STURGIS Nathan
06.07.1987
5 IANNI Patrick
15.06.1985
6 DALBY Greg
03.11.1985
7 KLJESTAN Sacha
09.09.1985
8 FEILHABER Benny
19.01.1985
9 BARRETT Chad
30.04.1985
10 GAVEN Eddie
25.10.1986
11 ADU Freddy
02.06.1989
12 JOHN Will
13.06.1985
13 PETERSON Jacob
27.01.1986
14 NGUYEN Lee
07.10.1986
15 FREEMAN Hunter
08.01.1985
16 HARRINGTON Michael
24.01.1986
17 KARTUNEN Andrew
07.02.1985
18 OCHOA Sammy
04.09.1986
19 SZETELA Danny
17.06.1987
20 EVANS Brad
20.04.1985
21 HUGHES Justin
23.04.1985

[Clint Eastwood]

I can't believe that nobody has responded to your thread.

Quite good research, and I also agree that the 2001 team will go down as one of the best ever for the US. Not only do you have the trinity (DMB, LD, Bobbinho), but a lot of solid professionals in that group. I mean, there are very few players on that list that you'd call busts at this point.

This leads me to an interesting question. You could easily roll the dice and send the 2001 team to the World Cup. You'd beat Ghana I'd reckon. Other than Gooch you'd have some defensive shortcomings, and I'm sold on Countess, but man you could score some goals.

[USA4Life]

good work with the lists.
I recall a U20 team with Reyna on it that beat Brazil. I believe it was the only time it happened other than the game that Preki scored at the senior level. Anyway, I believe that Reyna's team also had quite a few good players as well. MLS has given these guys a place to go. However, I think the talent level of each group varies quite a bit. Clearly Donovan's class was a special bunch. Anyway, this is a more interesting thread than about who is the 23rd player selected by Arena.

[Davids26]

I think the 2003 class has quite a few good solid pro's and future nats contributors:

You pointed out Johnson, Clark, Convey, and Dempsey, but looking beyond you have Whitbread, Mapp, Marshall, Adu, and Quaranta.

Not to mention solid pro's in Cameron, Grabavoy, Moor, and Magee.

Good to see nonetheless...

[ty webb]

MLS has given these guys a place to go. However, I think the talent level of each group varies quite a bit. Clearly Donovan's class was a special bunch. Anyway, this is a more interesting thread than about who is the 23rd player selected by Arena.

MLS has clearly helped our development.

I also agree with your comment in bold, since most think BA will bring a cheerleader rather than a dangerous young player.

It also seems like each overall group is stronger than the team before them.

[wingzero13]

the netherlands 2005 group could produce more talent than donovan's 2001 group.

adu, wynne, spector, szetela, sturgis, klejstan, nguyen, ward, and ochoa. i don't think we'll see a second coming of donovan or beasley, but across the board this is a more solid group.

wynne and klejstan are not only starting but winning rave revues in mls.

spector, nguyen, and feilhaber are playing their pro soccer in europe.

ochoa is about to crack the first in mexico's top division.

szetela and ward are solid professionals now at a very young age in mls.

sturgis is unlucky to be behind dunivat, albright, ugo, marshall. on most other mls teams he'd be a starter.

if chad barret and eddie gaven develop in the next couple of years the future looks very bright.

i'm excited to see what the next U20 cycle produces: arvizu, altidore, besagno???

[Hed7181]

It's interesting to me that on average, about 4-6 players from the U-20 team continue to produce at the international level in each class. I'm not sure what the return is in other countries, but this seems pretty good to me. That's about 1/2 of the starting line-up. There could be even more that are able to earn occasional NT caps in those teams, but the ones that continually play at the highest level are pretty cool.

I think it's pretty exciting to look at these rosters and see how far the US has come in developing talent and how much better we are getting every year.

Great job on the stats!

[cpwilson80]

It's interesting to me that on average, about 4-6 players from the U-20 team continue to produce at the international level in each class. I'm not sure what the return is in other countries, but this seems pretty good to me.

It seems pretty good to me as well, but it makes me wonder if guys get tracked and other guys miss out. If we were to take it a step back, I'd like to see how many of those are Bradenton grads. My guess is a fair amount as well, and if so, it would validate my hunch that we need more of those academy-type setups to cast a wider net in the youth ranks.

It's clear that the US skill is improving...I think now is the time to put more players through similar training. Again, I think MLS will play an enormous role in this development with reserve/youth teams when it is not just running, but also a more attractive prospect than playing in college.

[Hed7181]

It seems pretty good to me as well, but it makes me wonder if guys get tracked and other guys miss out. If we were to take it a step back, I'd like to see how many of those are Bradenton grads. My guess is a fair amount as well, and if so, it would validate my hunch that we need more of those academy-type setups to cast a wider net in the youth ranks.

It's clear that the US skill is improving...I think now is the time to put more players through similar training. Again, I think MLS will play an enormous role in this development with reserve/youth teams when it is not just running, but also a more attractive prospect than playing in college.

I'm sure it wouldn't be a stretch to think that someday (soon) there would/should be a Bradenton type academy on the west coast. This would easily double our potential.

[DaMa]

UAE 2003
CRONIN Steve 28.05.1983
WHITBREAD Zak 04.03.1984
MAPP Justin 18.10.1984
MARSHALL Chad 22.08.1984
COCHRANE Ryan 08.08.1983
STONE Jordan 16.03.1984
JOHNSON Ed 31.03.1984
KLAAS C J 23.08.1983
QUARANTA Santino 14.10.1984
CONVEY Bobby 27.05.1983
CLARK Ricardo 10.02.1983
ADU Freddy 02.06.1989
MAGEE Mike 02.09.1984
DEMPSEY Clint 09.03.1983
JOHNSON David 16.01.1984
MOOR Drew 15.01.1984
CAMERON Knox 17.09.1983
WILLIAMS Ford 20.02.1984
GRABAVOY Ned 01.07.1983
HARVEY Jordan 28.01.1984


It's hard to take too much from these lists. I too love the 2001 class. As you point out, 5 years after there are 3, possibly 4 starters from this class. That being said, it isn't too hard to imagine that by 2008 Dempsey, Convey, Whitbread, Adu, Johnson, Mapp, Marshall and Clark will all be in the constant pool with at least 3 or 4 of them relatively regular starters. Dempsey, Convey and Johnson are pretty likely and its not hard to imagine 1 of the others joining them. Will the trend hold up for 2005? Its possible. So one has to ask, was 2001 *really* that special, or are we just becoming increasingly effective at identifying young talent?

[cpwilson80]

So one has to ask, was 2001 *really* that special, or are we just becoming increasingly effective at identifying young talent?

I think it's both. We should be better at identifying talent, especially as younger players see soccer as a viable career path.

However, with Donovan and Beasley not just making the roster but playing very well in a World Cup a year after playing in the U-20 World Cup...I think that will be considered special for some time. Look at this past U-20 Cup; only Spector and maybe Adu had a chance to even make this roster (Gaven was out by January, and I don't think Feilhaber had a shot this cycle.) And they would have been the 20th-something player on the roster.

Granted, it is harder to break into the US team in 2006 than it was in 2002, but regardless of country, it is a special player (Messi comes to mind) that makes that leap.

[cpwilson80]

Updated for 2007:

Canada 2007

11 Freddy Adu 06/02/89
20 Andre Akpan 12/09/87
12 Josmer Altidore 11/06/89
3 Bryan Arguez 01/13/89
19 Tony Beltran 10/11/87
6 Michael Bradley 07/31/87
17 Gabriel Ferrari 09/01/88
4 Amaechi Igwe 05/20/88
10 Dax McCarty 04/30/87
18 Brian Perk 07/21/89
8 Robbie Rogers 05/12/87
21 Steve Sandbo 02/23/87
13 Ofori Sarkodie 06/18/88
1 Chris Seitz 03/12/87
9 Johann Smith 04/25/87
5 Nathan Sturgis 07/06/87
7 Danny Szetela 06/07/87
16 Julian Valentin 02/23/87
14 Anthony Wallace 01/26/89
2 Tim Ward 02/28/87
15 Sal Zizzo 04/03/87



Four thoughts from looking back at these lists:

1) The 2005 class is coming along nicely: six guys now have caps.

2) Though field players improve, the '99 class was the best goalkeeping class. Howard became the US #1, and Rimando grew into a solid MLS pro.

3) Time waits for no man. Unless there's a surprise, not a single member of the '97 class will earn a cap in this cycle. Project the "10-years-later" timeframe for the '99 class, and there's a chance it's only three (Howard, Cherundolo, Bocanegra.)

4) 14 of the 21 guys on this year's rosters are professionals. My hunch is that this is the highest percentage yet.

[cpwilson80]

i'm excited to see what the next U20 cycle produces: arvizu, altidore, besagno???

Well, one out of three :) But that one might be huge...

[cpwilson80]

That being said, it isn't too hard to imagine that by 2008 Dempsey, Convey, Whitbread, Adu, Johnson, Mapp, Marshall and Clark will all be in the constant pool with at least 3 or 4 of them relatively regular starters. Dempsey, Convey and Johnson are pretty likely and its not hard to imagine 1 of the others joining them.

We'll see what happens in 2010, but as of 2007:

Dempsey is the only automatic starter, and is one of the best players on our team.

Johnson and Convey are certainly skilled enough to start, but through either competition, tactics, or consistency, it's easy to imagine a lineup in which they are not included.

Mapp and Clark look promising, but neither have forced their way into the starting lineup in the same manner as Dempsey.

Adu is off to the U-20s for the third time, and has yet to make an impression at the senior level (understandable given his age.)

Who knows where Whitbread and Marshall are on the depth chart?

I think that 2001 class still holds up, but here's hoping that 2005 class takes the crown. We'll know better in two years ;)

[Shackleton]

3) Time waits for no man. Unless there's a surprise, not a single member of the '97 class will earn a cap in this cycle. Project the "10-years-later" timeframe for the '99 class, and there's a chance it's only three (Howard, Cherundolo, Bocanegra.)

You may be a little premature in this prediction. I saw a report that Olsen has been asked to have his vaccinations up to date for a possible trip to South America.

I'm also not sure time is the only or best explanation for the current state of the class of '97. The cream of the crop--Olsen, O'Brien, and Wolff--have all had their careers devastated by injuries. Of course, injuries are to be expected, but they seem to have hit the best of this class particularly hard.

[imasyko]

After all the back and forth about identifying younger players for the World Cup, I went back and examined the rosters for the past few U-20 World Cups (this is all from fifa.com, and is listed below. Please excuse the formatting) I've bolded those who, roughly, have a legit shot at making the World Cup roster.

Some initial thoughts from looking at these lists:


We should thank the soccer gods every day for MLS. Look at the difference between the '97 class and the '99 class. It helps immensely that there is a development home for talented young players.

I think that '01 class will go down as a special one in US soccer folklore. A mere 5 years later, three members -- Donovan, Beasley, Onyewu -- are sure starters, with a fourth -- Convey -- a potential starter.

We shouldn't get hung-up on any one player. From the '01 class on, most if not all players will be solid pros at worst. Much can change from the youth ranks to the senior national team: the paths of Martino and Dempsey come to mind.



Malaysia 1997
1 KIRK Andy
03/10/1977
2 MC CARTY Chad
05/10/1977
3 DUNSETH Brian
02/03/1977
4 CHULIS Matthew
29/08/1977
5 POLTL Tommy
21/09/1977
6 PARRA Carlos
03/02/1977
7 STODDARD Myles
07/01/1977
8 O BRIEN John
29/08/1977
9 VICTORINE Sasha
03/02/1978
10 FLORES Jorge
13/02/1977
11 OLSEN Ben
03/05/1977
12 CORRALES Ramiro
12/03/1977
13 RODRIGUEZ Esmundo
25/05/1977
14 DIGIAMARINO Joey
06/04/1977
15 WEST Brain
10/06/1978
16 WOLFF Josh
25/02/1977
17 PETROSKI Shawn
24/08/1977
18 NAPOLEAN Matt
18/08/1977

Nigeria 1999

1 RIMANDO Nick
17/06/1979
2 THORRINGTON John
17/10/1979
3 GARCIA Nick
09/04/1979
4 CALIFF Danny
17/03/1980
5 PIERCE Rusty
24/07/1979
6 CHERUNDOLO Steve
19/02/1979
7 DOWNING Nick
25/01/1980
8 MORRISON Lee
10/08/1979
9 FUTAGAKI Ryan
17/01/1980
10 ALBRIGHT Chris
14/01/1979
11 GOMEZ Francisco
25/01/1979
12 TSAKIRIS Shaun
16/02/1979
13 BOCANEGRA Carlos
25/05/1979
14 GOLDSMITH Matt
27/04/1979
15 TWELLMAN Taylor
29/02/1980
16 GIBBS Cory
14/01/1980
17 BEASLEY Jamar
11/10/1979
18 HOWARD Tim
06/03/1979

Argentina 2001
1 COUNTESS DJ
09/01/1982
2 SALYER Philip
30/10/1981
3 ONYEWU Oguchi
13/05/1982
4 AKWARI Nelson
04/02/1982
5 YI Alex
27/02/1982
6 GRAY Kelly
07/04/1981
7 BEASLEY DaMarcus
24/05/1982
8 ESKANDARIAN Alecko
09/07/1982
9 DAVIS Brad
08/11/1981
10 DONOVAN Landon
04/03/1982
11 CONVEY Bobby
27/05/1983
12 LEWIS Ricky
29/05/1982
13 MARTINO Kyle
19/02/1981
14 ARENA Kenny
06/02/1981
15 CARROLL Brian
20/07/1981
16 CASEY Conor
25/07/1981
17 BUDDLE Edson
21/05/1981
18 WARREN Doug
18/03/1981

UAE 2003
CRONIN Steve 28.05.1983
WHITBREAD Zak 04.03.1984
MAPP Justin 18.10.1984
MARSHALL Chad 22.08.1984
COCHRANE Ryan 08.08.1983
STONE Jordan 16.03.1984
JOHNSON Ed 31.03.1984
KLAAS C J 23.08.1983
QUARANTA Santino 14.10.1984
CONVEY Bobby 27.05.1983
CLARK Ricardo 10.02.1983
ADU Freddy 02.06.1989
MAGEE Mike 02.09.1984
DEMPSEY Clint 09.03.1983
JOHNSON David 16.01.1984
MOOR Drew 15.01.1984
CAMERON Knox 17.09.1983
WILLIAMS Ford 20.02.1984
GRABAVOY Ned 01.07.1983
HARVEY Jordan 28.01.1984

Netherlands 2005
1 WESTBERG Quentin
25.04.1986
2 WYNNE Marvell
08.05.1986
3 SPECTOR Jonathan
01.03.1986
4 STURGIS Nathan
06.07.1987
5 IANNI Patrick
15.06.1985
6 DALBY Greg
03.11.1985
7 KLJESTAN Sacha
09.09.1985
8 FEILHABER Benny
19.01.1985
9 BARRETT Chad
30.04.1985
10 GAVEN Eddie
25.10.1986
11 ADU Freddy
02.06.1989
12 JOHN Will
13.06.1985
13 PETERSON Jacob
27.01.1986
14 NGUYEN Lee
07.10.1986
15 FREEMAN Hunter
08.01.1985
16 HARRINGTON Michael
24.01.1986
17 KARTUNEN Andrew
07.02.1985
18 OCHOA Sammy
04.09.1986
19 SZETELA Danny
17.06.1987
20 EVANS Brad
20.04.1985
21 HUGHES Justin
23.04.1985


And not a single striker has made a lasting impression with the team or can be said to be 'international class'.

Therein lies our problem.

[Martin Fischer]

And not a single striker has made a lasting impression with the team or can be said to be 'international class'.

Therein lies our problem.

Interesting analysis. Since the rosters include Josh Wolff, Taylor Twellman, Landon Donovan and Eddie Johnson, I don't see why you single out the forward position. A high percentage of our top forwards have played in the under 20s. Sure they aren't international class, but it is pretty clear that most of the USMNT's top forwards have been identified during the Under 20 team building process.

[cpwilson80]

You may be a little premature in this prediction. I saw a report that Olsen has been asked to have his vaccinations up to date for a possible trip to South America.

I'm also not sure time is the only or best explanation for the current state of the class of '97. The cream of the crop--Olsen, O'Brien, and Wolff--have all had their careers devastated by injuries. Of course, injuries are to be expected, but they seem to have hit the best of this class particularly hard.

I've tried to avoid too much speculation in analysis. Yes, Olsen, O'Brien and Wolff had untimely injuries, but of those, I think O'Brien is the only tragedy.

- Olsen changed his game from a winger with workrate and a bad haircut to a central defensive mid with workrate and bad facial hair. He still made the 2006 roster.

- Wolff still had a decent amount of speed, but also adjusted by becoming a supreme teammate who worked hard off the ball. Biggest problem was finishing. He still made the 2006 roster.

- O'Brien is the only one who was "devastated" by injury. They guy performed tremendously well at the highest level, and yet couldn't stay healthy enough. He even showed flashes of brilliance at the 2005 Gold Cup. Despite all this, his skill set was such that he still made the 2006 roster.

The biggest problem with this rationale when comparing classes is where to stop. Twellman's had seasons interrupted by injuries. What if Eskandarian doesn't get a concussion? Hell, we just had a homepage thread dedicated to Buddle's unrealized potential ;)

[flash1316]

After all the back and forth about identifying younger players for the World Cup, I went back and examined the rosters for the past few U-20 World Cups (this is all from fifa.com, and is listed below. Please excuse the formatting) I've bolded those who, roughly, have a legit shot at making the World Cup roster.

Some initial thoughts from looking at these lists:

We should thank the soccer gods every day for MLS. Look at the difference between the '97 class and the '99 class. It helps immensely that there is a development home for talented young players.
I think that '01 class will go down as a special one in US soccer folklore. A mere 5 years later, three members -- Donovan, Beasley, Onyewu -- are sure starters, with a fourth -- Convey -- a potential starter.
We shouldn't get hung-up on any one player. From the '01 class on, most if not all players will be solid pros at worst. Much can change from the youth ranks to the senior national team: the paths of Martino and Dempsey come to mind.

Malaysia 1997
1 KIRK Andy
03/10/1977
2 MC CARTY Chad
05/10/1977
3 DUNSETH Brian
02/03/1977
4 CHULIS Matthew
29/08/1977
5 POLTL Tommy
21/09/1977
6 PARRA Carlos
03/02/1977
7 STODDARD Myles
07/01/1977
8 O BRIEN John
29/08/1977
9 VICTORINE Sasha
03/02/1978
10 FLORES Jorge
13/02/1977
11 OLSEN Ben
03/05/1977
12 CORRALES Ramiro
12/03/1977
13 RODRIGUEZ Esmundo
25/05/1977
14 DIGIAMARINO Joey
06/04/1977
15 WEST Brain
10/06/1978
16 WOLFF Josh
25/02/1977
17 PETROSKI Shawn
24/08/1977
18 NAPOLEAN Matt
18/08/1977

Nigeria 1999

1 RIMANDO Nick
17/06/1979
2 THORRINGTON John
17/10/1979
3 GARCIA Nick
09/04/1979
4 CALIFF Danny
17/03/1980
5 PIERCE Rusty
24/07/1979
6 CHERUNDOLO Steve
19/02/1979
7 DOWNING Nick
25/01/1980
8 MORRISON Lee
10/08/1979
9 FUTAGAKI Ryan
17/01/1980
10 ALBRIGHT Chris
14/01/1979
11 GOMEZ Francisco
25/01/1979
12 TSAKIRIS Shaun
16/02/1979
13 BOCANEGRA Carlos
25/05/1979
14 GOLDSMITH Matt
27/04/1979
15 TWELLMAN Taylor
29/02/1980
16 GIBBS Cory
14/01/1980
17 BEASLEY Jamar
11/10/1979
18 HOWARD Tim
06/03/1979

Argentina 2001
1 COUNTESS DJ
09/01/1982
2 SALYER Philip
30/10/1981
3 ONYEWU Oguchi
13/05/1982
4 AKWARI Nelson
04/02/1982
5 YI Alex
27/02/1982
6 GRAY Kelly
07/04/1981
7 BEASLEY DaMarcus
24/05/1982
8 ESKANDARIAN Alecko
09/07/1982
9 DAVIS Brad
08/11/1981
10 DONOVAN Landon
04/03/1982
11 CONVEY Bobby
27/05/1983
12 LEWIS Ricky
29/05/1982
13 MARTINO Kyle
19/02/1981
14 ARENA Kenny
06/02/1981
15 CARROLL Brian
20/07/1981
16 CASEY Conor
25/07/1981
17 BUDDLE Edson
21/05/1981
18 WARREN Doug
18/03/1981

UAE 2003
CRONIN Steve 28.05.1983
WHITBREAD Zak 04.03.1984
MAPP Justin 18.10.1984
MARSHALL Chad 22.08.1984
COCHRANE Ryan 08.08.1983
STONE Jordan 16.03.1984
JOHNSON Ed 31.03.1984
KLAAS C J 23.08.1983
QUARANTA Santino 14.10.1984
CONVEY Bobby 27.05.1983
CLARK Ricardo 10.02.1983
ADU Freddy 02.06.1989
MAGEE Mike 02.09.1984
DEMPSEY Clint 09.03.1983
JOHNSON David 16.01.1984
MOOR Drew 15.01.1984
CAMERON Knox 17.09.1983
WILLIAMS Ford 20.02.1984
GRABAVOY Ned 01.07.1983
HARVEY Jordan 28.01.1984

Netherlands 2005
1 WESTBERG Quentin
25.04.1986
2 WYNNE Marvell
08.05.1986
3 SPECTOR Jonathan
01.03.1986
4 STURGIS Nathan
06.07.1987
5 IANNI Patrick
15.06.1985
6 DALBY Greg
03.11.1985
7 KLJESTAN Sacha
09.09.1985
8 FEILHABER Benny
19.01.1985
9 BARRETT Chad
30.04.1985
10 GAVEN Eddie
25.10.1986
11 ADU Freddy
02.06.1989
12 JOHN Will
13.06.1985
13 PETERSON Jacob
27.01.1986
14 NGUYEN Lee
07.10.1986
15 FREEMAN Hunter
08.01.1985
16 HARRINGTON Michael
24.01.1986
17 KARTUNEN Andrew
07.02.1985
18 OCHOA Sammy
04.09.1986
19 SZETELA Danny
17.06.1987
20 EVANS Brad
20.04.1985
21 HUGHES Justin
23.04.1985



Great job on the list, This is my opinion of an update. I think all the bolds have legit shots. I think the 05 team has a ton of potential. Same thing w/ 07. Maybe better. Which is how it should be. I didn't bold Ochoa off the 05 team cause I haven't heard from him since. And I didn't bold Szetela cause I've been disappointed by him as a midfielder since 2005, but think he'd make an excellent RB, could truly be great at that position. Actually you know what I'm gonna bold him, too young to tell at either position. He does have talent just hasn't put it together. He's one who never should've signed with MLS IMO.

More bolds each team. And from 99 on, 1 more bold on the next team. Anyone notice?

[Shackleton]

I've tried to avoid too much speculation in analysis. Yes, Olsen, O'Brien and Wolff had untimely injuries, but of those, I think O'Brien is the only tragedy.

The biggest problem with this rationale when comparing classes is where to stop. Twellman's had seasons interrupted by injuries. What if Eskandarian doesn't get a concussion? Hell, we just had a homepage thread dedicated to Buddle's unrealized potential ;)

I agree that trying to take injuries into account makes it extremely speculative and subjective. But, it does seem to me that the class of 97 suffered more severe injuries to its top players than any of the others. IMO, Olsen, O'Brien, and Wolff were the best of that class and all three suffered injuries from which they never fully recovered. Yes, Olsen and Wolff came back to have productive careers, but neither recovered full speed and quickness after their injuries. Twellman seems as good as he's ever been. Eskandarian may not make it fully back, but he wasn't the star of the class. Anyway, it just seems the class of 97 has been more unlucky than the others--at least that's my subjective speculation. :)