<-- Last week vs. Levante (Assist) <-- This week vs. Hercules (Goal) #VillarrealTV | @mukwelle_akale scored a great goal yesterday for #VillarrealB against @cfhercules. It reminds us a lot of @GiuseppeRossi22's golazo against @RCDEspanyol in 2011. 😱 There's something special about our players with a US connection! 🇺🇸⚽💥🥅👉 @golsmediasports pic.twitter.com/8aWaiuGPjg— Villarreal CF English (@VillarrealCFen) September 2, 2019 <-- From Villarreal Twitter El mejor jugador ayer en el Hercules-Villarreal B @mukwelle_akale. Muy buena pinta tiene este chaval— Eric Cadiz (@EricCadiz) September 2, 2019 <-- admiring fans
<-- Full match vs. Levante . Focus on his movement and ability on the ball he is dangerous everytime he touches it and is in complete control of his game.
He's soon-to-be 23 and playing in the Spanish 3rd division. Sorry, not a USMNT option at the moment. Call me when he's at least in the Spanish 2nd division.
Ugh, people continue to not take the time or understand how the spanish development system works and the limitations he is under until he has his spanish/cameroonian passport.
I'm fully aware. There are foreign player restrictions on matchday squads in Spain. This was just as true when he went there as it is now. Its also irrelevant. Its going to be extremely difficult for him to be on the USMNT radar while stuck in the Spanish 3rd division. He's been at Villarreal for almost 5 years now while the next generation of young Americans pass him by. Mukwelle Akale is older than Christian Pulisic. He's older than Tim Weah and Josh Sargent and Tyler Adams and Paxton Pomykal and Sergino Dest and a host of these USMNTers. Alex Mendez is on Ajax's Champions League roster. Gio Reyna is on Dortmund's Champions League roster. I can keep going. We're no longer talking about a "prospect" here. This is an adult professional in the Spanish 3rd division. Regardless of the reason, there's NO chance he gets a USMNT callup from there. Based on the quality of the pool, I'm not sure he can get a US U23 callup from there anymore.
Do you know how his recent U23 camp went with Jason Kreis? Do you know his report to Berhalter? Do you know the communication he has had with the Federation? or are you just guessing? What continues to kill me is the obsession with "first team minutes" ..............watch the matches and tell me who outside of Pulisic in our entire system is better than him with the ball at his feet and who is better than him in his moevement off of the ball? Name one attacking player in our history that has reached the heights he has in Spain..................... look at actually results and individual ability. That is the narrative that has to change in this country when evaluating who should be with the national team.
I'm sorry that Akale took somebody's horrible advice and is still at a club 5 years later that he can't actually play for. But until he fixes his club situation, he's not a factor for the USMNT. Everything you just said is completely irrelevant. Name an attacking player in our history that's reached his heights in Spain? How about Tab Ramos? There ya go.
Carlos Bocanegra played in the 2nd division. More recently, Shaq Moore. I mean, yikes. He's 23 and still Villareal B. At this point he'll be fortunate to still be playing in a few years. Maybe he's a late bloomer. Maybe he's another Junior Flores/Mario Rodriguez. But still at Villareal B, he doesn't deserve a dedicated thread here, imo.
In a vaccum a third division player that is 23 is most likely not good enough for our national team. However, when comparing this kid to others in our pool, he seems to be a reasonably good option. I think it would be a good idea to bring him up for a camp and stick him in a game for a few minutes to see what happens.
Or.... you have a poster who took the time to actually watch the specifics of his game and compared them to our player pool.... His status as a third division player for the best B team in Spain will not last much longer.
Giggsys love for this player will always bring me joy. I wish we all had someone that advocates for us like this poster. akale will be 28 and we’ll still be getting these posts.
Of all the yanks abroad who need to come to MLS and actually play some damn first team games, top of the list are Mukwelle Akale and Luca de la Torre. Doing so got Sebastian Lletget into the national team, same with Zac Steffen, and he even returned to Europe afterwards.