Youngsters in MLS (1993 or later)

Discussion in 'Youth National Teams' started by Real Corona, Aug 12, 2012.

  1. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    I hope you are right. It's just strange to hear about a 15 year old on the verge of signing a pro contract.
     
  2. soccersubjectively

    soccersubjectively BigSoccer Supporter

    Jan 17, 2012
    Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Lopez should be ready to start in about ten years.
     
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  3. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Shrug. We know that in the rest of the world clubs are able to sign kids to these "youth contracts" at whatever age they want. Roma just signed a 9 year old. It's OK that MLS clubs are also now signing youngsters (at a more reasonable age) to develop for the future.

    http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/pos...gned-9-year-old-soccer-star-contract-here-why

    We could easily see the problem of signing young players of that age in the previous era of MLS. But this player can get games with a good coaching staff & facilities with the Galaxy USSFDA teams and then when he's ready with LAGII. The path is laid out for him. I wouldn't advise my son to do it at such a young age, but every family has different circumstances. 35k/year sounds like absolute peanuts to me, but to others that may be needed money.

    It is true that this player will take up a slot on the Galaxy's 30 man first-team roster that could be more wisely used on a guy that could actually help them on the field in the next several years. I have a hunch that MLS rosters are going to expand with the next CBA to include more roster slots specifically designed for these young reserve players, though. This is a direction MLS wants to move in..............................

    By the way, I believe Richard Sanchez had just turned when he signed with FCD. As a goalkeeper at that age he was even farther away from the first team as a soon-to-be-16 year old field player. What I said at the time was "if this kid is as good as they say he is, he's going to leave before we ever see him in an FCD uniform." As it turned out, I was right. Richard Sanchez' contract went until 2015. FCD first sold his "economic rights" to Tigres for the express purpose of cashing in, and then let him leave before he ever played an official first team game with the club. What was the point of the whole thing? I'm not quite sure. They made a little money I guess, but not as much as you'd think after the investment they made in him.

    Its also worth pointing out again that we're going to go thru a significant era of expansion in MLS, thereby diluting the base of "middle class" talent at each club. These homegrown youngsters can't be lost in the expansion draft. If FCD is indeed signing Zendejas, then they have 8 homegrowns on the current roster (Ulloa, Hernandez, Acosta, Top, Garcia, Gonzalez, Craft, Zendejas). [Sanchez is technically on loan at the club from Tigres.] Unless Zimmerman graduates from GenAd (probably won't happen until next season), he's also ineligible for the expansion draft. So there you have a 3rd of the roster. You can then protect your group of 11....................and FCD isn't going to lose anybody they really want to keep. They'll probably let George John and one of the two keepers go (Fernandez or Seitz). But that's a choice............

    In this era of multiple expansion drafts have a big batch of players ineliglble for those drafts does have benefits.
     
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  4. Hararea

    Hararea Member+

    Jan 21, 2005
    Fixing your blank here, Sanchez was a few days shy of 17 when he signed with FCD. If they'd signed him at 15 1/2 instead, would Tigres still have been willing to pay a fee, or would they have just waited for his contract to expire?
     
  5. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Thanks. I meant to say 16. Don't know what happened there.

    I believe that FCD signed Sanchez to the homegrown deal on peanuts in 2011. After a year and a half they signed him to an extension until 2015 on more money. He made ~70k guaranteed this season.

    I don't think this is an isolated situation. The Revs did the same with Fagundez. Signed him on a peanuts deal to get him in and then re-upped with him quickly in 2013 when it became clear he was going to be a first team player. You're right. When you sign a 16 year old on a peanuts short-term deal, they can be poached quickly. See Amando Moreno........................
     
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  6. Werdman89

    Werdman89 Member+

    May 27, 2008
    Boston, MA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    BOOM Zendejas announcement from FCD
     
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  7. Pl@ymaker

    Pl@ymaker Member+

    Feb 8, 2010
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Progress? o_O
     
  8. USAMEX10

    USAMEX10 Member+

    Sep 24, 2010
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Hmm seems to be more u18 signings than usual this year: Fernandez, Saucedo, Craft, Zendejas...soon to be E. Lopez and Swanson if rumors are true. By time the 2017 u20s come around it should be immensely pro group. Hopefully it will already have some stars on the team before hand
     
  9. Pl@ymaker

    Pl@ymaker Member+

    Feb 8, 2010
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The earlier the better. Look at how much better our U20s are from this cycle, than the last.
     
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  10. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    YUP!

    http://soccerblog.dallasnews.com/20...wn-player-midfielder-alejandro-zendejas.html/

    FC Dallas has signed it’s league leading 13th player to a home grown contract. Midfielder/Forward Alejandro Zendejas has been signed from FC Dallas El Paso and will join the roster for the 2015 season.

    “Zendejas is a very complete player,” said FC Dallas assistant coach Josema Bazan. “He is a left-footed midfielder that can pass very well and be creative. He is very composed in front of the goal. If the game changes and you need to be tough defensively, he can do that as well. But for me, his best quality is that when you pass him the ball, he can go in any direction. He is very aware of where the pressure is coming from and he can escape.”

    I wonder if this means he's going to leave Bradenton. And if so, when? After qualifying?
     
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  11. Pl@ymaker

    Pl@ymaker Member+

    Feb 8, 2010
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Too bad FCD are gonna keep on signing mediocre foreigners, who play the same position as him.
     
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  12. deejay

    deejay Member+

    Feb 14, 2000
    Tarpon Springs, FL
    Club:
    Jorge Wilstermann
    Nat'l Team:
    Bolivia
    It a decision all clubs have to make. At some point a talented kid will get interest from other parties and the club has to decide whether they bind him to a contract and those decision can be very, very costly. For instance, Fabregas and Piqué left Barcelona in 2003ish. Barcelona then moved really fast to secure Messi to a pro contract. They then did the same for Bojan a few years later with different results. Nothing is easy in this business.
     
  13. USAMEX10

    USAMEX10 Member+

    Sep 24, 2010
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    I just hope he can break through before he's 20 and doesn't turn out like Garcia (who I still have some hope for but didn't make the best of his chances)
     
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  14. Pl@ymaker

    Pl@ymaker Member+

    Feb 8, 2010
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Its up to Pareja.
     
  15. Balerion

    Balerion Member+

    Aug 5, 2006
    Roslindale, MA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Danny Garcia seems like an ideal candidate for a USL Pro loan early in 2015. It's a shame that Dallas didn't have an affiliate this season, although that shouldn't have stopped them from shopping around for loans as needed anyway. Personally, I don't think there's a better candidate for a full USL Pro franchise than Dallas in the entire league. So much talent, and so much of that talent has no college plans or is happy to forgo college.
     
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  16. Pl@ymaker

    Pl@ymaker Member+

    Feb 8, 2010
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    They should've loaned him out to Arizona.
     
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  17. USAMEX10

    USAMEX10 Member+

    Sep 24, 2010
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    It's a shame clubs like Dallas/Houston/NY aren't trying to be more like LA or at least SKC with affiliates. Not sure if any are on track to have a team affiliate next season but I do know new st. Louis usl team will be Fires affiliate. It looks like the Fire are starting to do some things right in terms of how to deal with young players
     
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  18. Hararea

    Hararea Member+

    Jan 21, 2005
    In discussions like this, it's vitally important to take into account a player's skill set.
    • Ball wizards like Fabregas, Bojan, and Messi can make big contributions at a young age, so there isn't much question about the payoff for signing them early.
    • Signing a youth defender like Pique isn't nearly such a big deal. In fact, Barca was able to bring him back at age 21, well before he hit his prime. And if he hadn't been panning out, then not signing him would've been a savings.
    • Because goalkeepers generally hit their prime last, the rationale for signing them early is far weaker. I suppose if you think you've got an Iker Casillas, you should keep him, but anything short of that, you can let him go for a while and then try to bring him back at an age where he's closer to being ready.
     
  19. genom

    genom Member

    May 27, 2006
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think they're just sick of putting time and money into kids like Mario Rodriguez and Paul Arriola for no reason. If the Galaxy see him starting in 5 years, and have a clear developmental path for him, why not sign him?

    Your alternative is that you let the player go for a while and then hope to bring him back when he's ready and thriving at another club, and possibly in another country? I'm not a betting man, but that sounds like an atrocious gamble to me.
     
  20. Hararea

    Hararea Member+

    Jan 21, 2005
    Betting that a goalkeeper won't be thriving at his club when he's 19 is a really good gamble.

    Our most recent starting U20 gk (Cropper) was released by Ipswich at age 19. The one before him (MacMath) didn't make his pro debut until 20 and has been struggling to establish himself as a starter ever since. The one before that (Perk) has never been close to an MLS starting job. The one before that (Seitz) was a bust as a 20-year-old rookie. The one before that (Westberg) didn't make his pro debut until 20. The one before that (Cronin) went pro at 20 and was traded without playing a game. The one before that (Countess) went pro at 19 and was also traded away without playing a game. The one before that (Howard) is the greatest US GK to emerge during the MLS era, and even he didn't start to have success until age 21.

    And Lopez is still a long way from becoming our U20 starter.
     
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  21. Gorky

    Gorky Member+

    Jul 28, 2006
    NYC
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    ImageUploadedByTapatalk1412186416.450510.jpg
    They took our jobs!
     
  22. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Jun 9, 1999
    It's a competitive marketplace. If FC Dallas didn't have anybody else trying to sign its academy players, it could wait until they were all 18 and/or high school graduates who were done with DA play before offering them pro deals. That would give them better odds at selecting players most likely to succeed. Unfortunately for them, they're competing in the global marketplace for talent, which means taking chances with guys at 16.

    Of course, no matter how you slice it there's a hole in the system for talented post-HS players who aren't physically ready for adult professional soccer. It doesn't necessarily help to put a still-growing 18-year-old into a USL match if they can't keep up; the USL, to me, seems more like a step for pro-ready young players who need minutes than the ideal next step for youth prospects.
     
  23. genom

    genom Member

    May 27, 2006
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    To me that speaks volumes regarding our old system in this country and the scouting of the U20 MNT.

    There is no reason Ethan Horvath should not be with the Colorado Rapids right now by the way. That's just negligent.
     
  24. Hararea

    Hararea Member+

    Jan 21, 2005
    Things are tough for teenage GKs pretty much anywhere. In the top five leagues of Europe combined, there is only one teenage starter. That's Hassen of Nice, and if Arsenal hadn't bought Nice's previous starter, Hassen would still be on the bench.
     
  25. ielag

    ielag Member+

    Jul 20, 2010
    This is my biggest thinking of why LAG might be signing Lopez soon. There's no way they could really afford from an on-field standpoint of having 4 GK's on a 30-man roster, or even using him as their #3 GK when Penedo will be gone during the Gold Cup and potentially other int'l dates.
     

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