Balboa, Boca & Maiz comments on playing abroad

[Bird]

Some interesting comments on the "salary abroad vs. PT in MLS" debate in this interview with the Washington Post. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38458-2002Aug2.html)

Said Boca, "I went to four quarters of [college] so I need MLS. Like they're saying, as far as going overseas and making the money, I don't know how long my career is going to last. I don't have schooling to back it up in case I get hurt or something. If there's an opportunity in Germany or a place like that that's shown interest in American players, I've got to go make my money. I don't make $270,000 like some of the other guys and I don't see them paying a young defender as much as they'll pay a Josh Wolff or a DaMarcus. Those guys are good. They deserve their money."

So, put Boca solidly in the "if given a chance, I'd happily pull a Kirovski (or a Heyduk)" camp.

[mnthunder]

Can't blame the guy for wanting his payday.

[Bruce S]

Boca is a damn good young defender.

[kasai]

Goal scorers get the money in every league, but especially in the MLS.

[rjpflash]

nobody "gets the money" in MLS

[SJSoccerFan]

The thing that impresses me about this article is how intelligent, thoughtful, and articulate these guys are. Can you imagine three baseball players providing those kind of quotes? Football players? Basketball players?

I realize those guys weren't exactly chosen at random, but I have the feeling that a good number of MLS players are equally thoughtful and well-spoken. I don't know what this means for the league, but if anybody in the mainstream starts paying attention, I think they'll be impressed with how likable the players in this league really are. It's fun to root for these guys.

[kwikstah]

Originally posted by SJSoccerFan
The thing that impresses me about this article is how intelligent, thoughtful, and articulate these guys are. Can you imagine three baseball players providing those kind of quotes? Football players? Basketball players?

I realize those guys weren't exactly chosen at random, but I have the feeling that a good number of MLS players are equally thoughtful and well-spoken. I don't know what this means for the league, but if anybody in the mainstream starts paying attention, I think they'll be impressed with how likable the players in this league really are. It's fun to root for these guys.

Totally agree on that one. Definitely can't imagine most baseball/football/basketball/hockey players providing these kind of quotes. Maybe tennis and/or golf. Although I'm sure if soccer became big in this country, we'd have a lot of dumbasses coming to the sport. :)

[jmeissen0]

mls needs to be careful... the players seem to be starting to unite on this front

[mik_smith]

I think it's amazing -- almost unbelievable -- that a guy like Boca can turn into a great MLS player (and MNT prosect) with the extent of his exposure to professional soccer being "I saw one game maybe on TV on a Saturday"!

Even if he was in clinics, travel teams, U16 development teams, etc., etc., I think young players benefit from watching the game played at a higher level (MLS at least, not to mention Serie A, La Liga, World Cup, etc.).

Can you imagine any of the players on NBA draft night -- even the ones from Brazil, Croatia, etc. -- showing saying "i'd only ever seen one NBA game?"