Here's an updated catchall thread for YA news and updates you're not quite sure what to do with. Here's last year's thread: http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads/all-about-yanks-abroad-running-thread-2013-14.1994969/ And, to get things started, a story (in German) about years-ago under-the-radar German-American YA Billy Kemper. (Anybody but me remember that name?) He moved to the States, drives a truck, coaches and still plays ball. http://www.rnz.de/buchen/00_2014062...haelt-heute-zu-Mueller-und-Co.html#ad-image-0
Stick this, Dave. LA Galaxy's Omar Gonzalez speaks highly of USMNT-to-MLS trend, but "I still want to go try my trade in Europe" http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...-highly-usmnt-mls-trend-i-still-want-go-try-m
@bungadiri, @Friedel'sAccent and/or @dark knight, would you mind making this a sticky and removing the old one? (If you liked, you could also delete my "please make this a sticky" posts...
Snip: You might remember the story about Niko Touros, who was seen by scout Ricardo Enriquez while playing for Alianza de Futbol Hispano last summer at Flushing Meadows Park. His stellar play led to a successful tryout with the Under-20’s of powerhouse Mexican side Leon last winter. Unfortunately, Niko needs surgery to repair his ACL so he could not return to Mexico this summer. http://www.soccernation.com/kosmos-...e-s-scholarship-cms-6071#sthash.xkYT8761.dpuf
This sounds like a pay-to-play thing so I'm not giving this guy a thread for the moment, but maybe he'll get himself one. It's a story about a guy named James Pipper who is doing some kind of three-month training deal in Italy in hopes of landing a contract: http://www.picayuneitem.com/2014/08/local-soccer-player-participated-in-professional-training/
Since he's 11, and only training, I'll just log this here for now: Austin Welch was hand-picked from an invitation-only camp of 65 kids in July as the lone winner and received an opportunity to train with Feyenoord’s academy in November. Four academy coaches from Feyenoord selected the 11-year-old from Georgetown, Kentucky. http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/club-soccer-articles/pro-prospects:-earning-the-invite_aid33407 Not sure this article needs the header "Pro Prospects," but I certainly hope the lad becomes one.
Matt Miazga, the youngest player on the Red Bulls... has... been a member of the Red Bulls organization since joining their Under-14 Academy team in 2009, and he turned down a scholarship to Michigan and several pro offers overseas to stick with his hometown club.... During his senior year, when most friends were making summer plans and enjoying the final days of high school, Miazga had been elevated to play in reserve games for the Red Bulls first team and was traveling the world competing internationally for both the U-18 U.S. national team and the Polish U-18 national team. http://www.nj.com/redbulls/index.ss...d_matt_miazga_making_mark_with_red_bulls.html In the video interview, he addresses the choice he faced between school and professional soccer in the US or abroad at 1:38 a little bit, then toward the end mentions his unsurprising hopes of playing abroad at the highest level at some point- http://video-embed.nj.com/services/...AAAAPLMILBk~,Vn8u6tPOf8Us2eD8W1ez5Zw-Ss_6Anfe
Al Ain FC and assistant coach Hisham Sorour have progressed to the AFC Champions League semifinals. I think there's a catchall thread for American coaches, but I can't find it. I was curious about his career before Al Ain, so did some Google searching. According to Sorour's LinkedIn profile, he coached at Eden Prairie Soccer Club in Minnesota from 2003 through 2009 before being hired by Al Ain as an academy coach. He was promoted to first team assistant coach in March 2014. There's also a short news article about him being hired to coach boys' soccer at Chaska High School in Chaska, MN in 2008, which notes that he also coached the same school's girls from 2000 through 2004. So... going from coaching youth and high school soccer in Minnesota to coaching Asamoah Gyan at a club in the AFC Champions League semifinals, in just 5 years: pretty impressive. Also makes me wonder what other clubs in less-prominent footballing nations are quietly hiring coaches from the United States.
GK Hunter Gilstrap is "heading to India on a pro contract." http://www.pittsburghpanthers.com/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/082514aaa.html
So far, he's not listed as having signed with any team in the new Indian Super League, though I notice that Wikipedia lists several teams as still having open foreign player slots. The I-League doesn't start until after the ISL season concludes. The Wikipedia page for the 2014-15 I-League season lists foreign players under contract; Gilstrap isn't there, and there are only six non-Asian foreign player slots open league-wide. I notice the ISL has a few US connections. Two former MLS players, Cornell Glen and Sunil Chhetri, are in the league. Seeing as the previous abortive attempt at starting this league brought Santino Quaranta briefly out of retirement, they're probably actively looking for players in the US. One of the lesser-known Indian players in the league, Pratik Shinde of FC Pune City, played the 2011-2013 seasons in the NPSL for the Galveston Pirates and Houston Hurricanes. There are two US connections among the I-League's foreign players under contract for the upcoming season. One is Glen, and the other is US-born Afghanistan international Ahmed Hatifie.
He may have gone there to coach. He left a coaching position to go there and hadn't played in a couple years, right?
Icon FC of New Jersey and the new lower-division pro ASL seems to be collecting former YAs: http://www.iconsoccer.net/#!players/cbie
Yank Anton del Rosario has switched teams in the Philippines. Kaya Futbol Club Statement on Eddie Mallari and Anton del Rosario Kaya Futbol Club would like to announce the departure of long-serving players Eddie Mallari and Anton del Rosario. Eddie joined Kaya in 2006 while Anton joined in 1999. They have played important roles for Kaya’s success through the years, especially in our winning the United Football League (UFL) in 2009. Anton was Kaya’s respected captain who led the team through the challenges and rigors of the league. After years of service, Eddie and Anton will forever be part of the club’s history. Everyone at Kaya respects their decision and wishes Eddie and Anton the very best. They are leaving the club with our sincerest gratitude for their massive contributions, commitment, and dedication to Kaya during their time with us. Eddie Mallari and Anton del Rosario have signed for Loyola http://filipinofootball.blogspot.com/2014/09/kaya-futbol-club-statement-on-eddie.html
Always kind of hard to know what to make of announcements like this, but anyway: T.J. Cairney of Aurora and Matthew Dovalosky of Naperville might be typical middle school students today, but they could be famous soccer players on the world stage someday. The two boys who play for the Kickers Soccer Club of Aurora will get a first-hand look at elite English soccer this spring when they travel to the United Kingdom to pick up a few pointers from coaches at one of the top soccer schools in the world: the West Ham United International Academy. ... Weaver said T.J. from the Kickers’ U12/U13 teams and Matthew from the Kickers’ U13/U14 teams were selected after impressing the West Ham United coaches at both the talent camp in Aurora and the national camp in Georgia. Only 16 players per age group were selected from the national pool to attend the academy. http://beaconnews.suntimes.com/2014/09/15/local-kids-invited-play-soccer-england/
Not sure where this should go but it could affect American players going forward who want to play in England http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/...k-permit-rules-to-cut-down-on-non-eu-players/ Dyke would plan to, among other things, restrict visa applicants to those in the top 70 FIFA-ranked countries, and institute a minimum transfer fee (thought to be between $16-24 million) that would enable a player from any country to bypass the system and come through to a team. He believes that the number of “mediocre” players from abroad is restricting young English talent from being developed properly, a potential cause of the downturn the country’s national team has taken. Dyke revealed in May that of the 122 non-EU players who had come to England since 2009, 79% were denied upon first entry but were allowed in on the appeals process. These new rules would seriously hinder the ability of a player from the United States to make his way over to the Premier League without dual citizenship of an EU country.
It turns out Gilstrap was headed to India to play (rather than coach), but the move fell through. http://thesoccerobserver.com/2014/09/09/gilstrap-in-limbo-as-indian-move-falls-through/
I'd never heard the Davy Arnaud almost-YA story... At 10, when his mother married a Brit, he moved to Saffron Walden in Essex, one hour north of London. “Even before I went, soccer was what I wanted to do more than anything,” Arnaud said. “Moving there enhanced it.” He followed his stepfather’s lead and embraced Chelsea. He entered the Peterborough youth system but, at age 16, was not offered a Youth Training Scheme contract, the pathway to becoming a pro. So he moved back to Texas and lived with his father in order to pursue soccer. http://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...592046-4a40-11e4-a4bf-794ab74e90f0_story.html Something tells me Davy turned out to be good enough for Chesterfield...
Where did I get that from? I meant Peterborough. Also, I dated Saffron Walden sophomore year. Nice young lady.
Here's a sad story about an American-raised player who died in a car crash while heading to practice with a team in Colombia. Ricardo Marin, who starred on the Cardozo HS boys soccer team before graduating from the Queens school in 2013, died in a car accident Saturday in his native Colombia. He was 20 years old. Marin was a member of the Golden Eagles sub-20 semi-professional soccer team there, and was trying to achieve his dream of playing professional soccer in the country where he was born, according to his high school coach, Richard Parascos. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/h...illed-car-accident-colombia-article-1.1961723