Loved watching this tournament over the past week. Not sure if it was in this thread or a different one, but those that are upset about Ocampo-Chavez not having a first team deal and Leyva having one, needed to watch these matches. I love Ocampo-Chavez and I think he has a great future, but Leyva is special. He dictates entire matches and is more often than not the most influential player on the pitch. Goal scorers are not a dime a dozen and those naturally gifted at scoring will always have a place in a team. That said, players like Leyva that have the ability to influence entire matches do not come around very often. I came into this tournament without any preconceived notions and walked away thoroughly impressed with Leyva. I say all of this, not to take anything away from Ocampo-Chavez, but to communicate how fantastic Leyva was.
The highest level DA matches at the U-19 level probably don't have much less talent on the field at any given time than the average USL match. I think the difference is what you would usually see in youth football compared to pro football. The players are bigger, stronger, faster, more athletic, better conditioned. They also make better decisions. The game is more condensed and tactical in USL and not as up and down with the team that possess more offensive difference makers almost always winning a DA game. We have often seen that the MLS teams with USL teams that mix in veterans with the academy players do much better than the MLS teams with USL teams that treat their USL team as a U-23 team. The academy players also develop better in that type of environment, but its a dilemma. If you have 5-10 players that you think are beyond academy level and not yet regulars in your MLS 18, how do you get them all the minutes you think they should be playing and not turn it into a U-23 team?
It is really just a comment that their is still a huge gap between the highest level of U-17 and USL and that even super high level youth teams are not close to being able to jump to USL Championship, which everybody considered a really low level, and compete for all the reasons that you mentioned. The question that you ask in the second paragraph has yet to be answered sufficiently, but it is a question that needs to be give thought. USL League One might be a better answer as the quality is just a quarter to a half step down.
Day 3 Games: Seattle vs. River Plate: Not much to add here that I didn't say about the first game of the tournament I saw. Ray Serrano ('02) was a little better. Mostly Daniel Leyva ('03) and Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez ('02) showing the best play in the Seattle team. They got some good performances from some of their non-prospects. They won on a late AOC goal after River Plate had to play with 10 in extra time due to an injury after being out of subs. RSL vs. Valencia: Completely outplayed. Chris Garcia ('03) is the only good prospect in this team, and he had a bad game. He wasn't able to get much space to run at defenders, and when he did, he often lost the ball. Its hard to make too much of it. He's the only skilled player in the team, and needs to do everything offensively. He had too much to do all alone against a much better team, and looked tired with playing 4 games in 3 days. West Ham vs. LA Galaxy: Cameron Dunbar ('02) scored a very nice curled effort after a give and go with Kobe Hernandez-Foster ('02), but added little else. I thought KHF had a good game. Better than the last game defensively. Mauricio Cuevas ('03) had a really bad start to the game and was partially at fault for the first goal (I'd mostly blame the goalie for it), but was very good after that playing the whole game on a yellow. Marcus Ferkranus ('03) had a good game. I've liked what I've seen of him. Mobile CB with good defensive reads and isn't a liability in passing or in the air. Adam Saldana ('02) wasn't bad, but you'd expect more for a player who has been at every U-17 NT camp. Jonathan Perez ('03) is a non-prospect if he's going to be played permanently on RW. He's a CAM. It was an even game that LA Galaxy got a little unlucky to lose. FC Dallas vs. Dinamo Zagreb: I've watched this team many times this season, so there's not much to add. The one positive thing I would add is that Ricardo Pepi's ('03) skill is very notable. Along with Soto, he's as technically good of a CF as we have in the system. He's able to create space for himself and teammates due to his ability to hold up the ball and move it in creative ways. On the negative side of things, I think I initially overrated Nico Carrera ('02). I don't see him as a high level CB. Not bad for the academy level, but I don't think he's going to be able to play in the FC Dallas first team. I haven't liked what I've seen recently of his play. His positioning isn't very good, and he doesn't have the mobility to match his approach of bringing the ball out of the back. All of the FC Dallas defenders and CM's were bad in this game, so it wasn't only Carrera. DC United vs. Ulsan Hyundai: Jeremy Garay ('03) isn't a bad academy level holding mid, but I don't see high level pro potential. He's average athletically, average on the ball. Good defensively, but not great defensively. Bryang Kayo ('02) and Theodore Ku-Dipietro aren't high level players either, IMO. I know they've gotten some recent hype, but I think Kayo's going to struggle once he plays against players who can match him physically, and I think Ku-Dipetrio is a jack of all trades, master of none type. The player in this team who I thought played very well again, and I am a big fan of is Kevin Paredes ('03). His ball control is incredibly good, and he's a great goal-scorer off the LW. His one-footedness and average athleticism could end up being a problem, but he definitely has a carrying tool that can get him to the pro game. Tijuana vs. Houston: I thought Houston had a few mid-tier prospects. No one great, but a few players who could get to the pro game. I thought eh best prospect in the team was Kayo Ignacio ('02). There are shades of Sebastian Soto in how he plays. Strong CF with good technique and goal scoring instincts. Ignacio scored a goal, but had almost no service, so it was hard to assess too much of his play. Alex Borsos ('04) gave good effort as a hard-working #8, but I thought he struggled to make much of an impact other than hustling and running a lot. Erick Monge ('03) has a well-rounded game defensively. He wasn't bad. Houston was outplayed, and he wasn't one of those most culpable. He did have a mixup with the keeper Isaac Acevedo ('03) that caused a goal, but both players were among the better Houston players, despite not playing that well, and could find their way into the back half of a '03 USYNT roster. Columbus Crew vs. Mount Pleasant: Columbus completely outplayed Mount Pleasant. This was the most lopsided game I've watched so far in this tournament. I've watched these players play a number of games this season. Only things I'd add are that Noah Hall's ('03) offensive ability is very sneaky. Its a lot better than you'd think, considering he's a defense first RB. He reminds me of Reggie Cannon. He's not as high-profile as his teammates, but I think he's a very good player. Anton Sorenson ('03) was playing as a guest player for Columbus in this tournament. He was played well. I thought a good barometer for judging his play was seeing if he could outplay the fullback on the other side, Hall. Both played well, but I like Hall better. Sorenson has good athleticism and dribbling, but not dynamic. I'm not sure he's as good as I initially thought. I still think he's somewhere in or around the best 23 of the '03 age group. Colorado vs. Monterrey: I thought the best player for Colorado was Joaquin Torres ('04). Torres was the best '04 I watched at this tournament. Colorado subbed him out at halftime to bring on their captain. I thought they would've done a lot better keeping him in, but the announcer said that it was decided before the game that this substitution would happen at halftime. Torres ('04) played as a #8, and showcased a lot of different skills. He was excellent at winning possession back, and he had good passing and made quick decisions. I thought he looked like a good athlete, as well. I would've liked to see more than one half, and he didn't get too many chances to make plays in the final third, but I think he showed good potential. The keeper Andrew Cordes ('03) was also very good. He didn't have that many great saves to make, but he made a lot of saves that he could've made errors on. The fact that he didn't make any errors in the game, while facing a lot of work, is a good performance. Almost all keepers at this level, even good ones, are error-prone.
He also delivered a cross onto someone's head at the 6 with a platter that was blown. He's a snub from the U17 roster if you ask me as I think he can be a game changer off the bench for that squad.
Totally agree about Letayf. Also, FCD coaches were a bit naive with the game plan. Pushed both outside backs forward and attacked from the start. Croatians punished us with a great tactical game plan and clinical finishing.....then just parked the bus and tried to counter the rest of the match.
I thought one of their forwards was pretty good too. Fast, physical and clinical. Like you said FCD made it easy on them by not defending with numbers but he was a real handful. Since a lot of these guys become household names in the future I wonder if he does.
My father and I saw all 7 Dallas U-17 matches and I am not sure that you could call the defense solid at all. They were okay vs. the three weaker opponents but the center-backs were a catastrophe vs. the three top level opponents-7 goals in these three matches from 7 open shots in front of goal. IMO, they are great in possession but just can't defend well as a pair without Diego Letayf in front of them because they don't read the game well and are regularly out of position. Defense in general struggles with effective counterattacking teams. Also, Dallas has no offensive plan B when a quality opponent gets a lead and bunkers in on defense.
Having watched FCD U17 a bit this year I would agree with you. I've come to the conclusion the CB for FCD have benefited greatly from the strong midfield and holding mids on that team so they haven't really been challenged much this year until the GA Cup.
That's probably pretty hard to know unltil they play those teams if they don't have any or many challenges in their division. It doesn't appear to be a regular thing for FCD as they have turned out some decent to very good center backs. Wonder if the whole NTSC thing with a lot of players moving up sooner than they did before was a part of this? After a year or two it should settle better as kids play longer in an age group even it's an older group.
I don't disagree with anything being said about the U17 team. The sheer level of talent in that team covers a lot of holes that aren't visible until they play against really good competition. Keep in mind that Che is a converted striker and is still learning the position and will get better as time moves on. I think Carrera is a good player, but vastly overrated by some. More so than any other positions on the field, the partnership between the two CB's is so important. Che and Carrera seem to get pulled apart easier than they should. For me, Carrera takes to many unnecessary risks going forward and leaves them exposed - especially on a team that likes to get their outside backs forward. Carrera typically plays on the same side as Gomez, who likes to get forward from his outside LB position. This is definitely something they need to work on as they approach the DA playoffs if they are to make a deep run.
Day 4 Games: Chicago vs. Ulsan: I liked what I saw of Javier Casas ('03). He's missed a lot of the season. I suspect thats due to injury, but he brings a good two way combination in CM. I think he's more likely a #6 than a #8 due to not possessing such high level offensive skills and he's not great at any part of the game so he could have a lower ceiling, but I think he's in or around the best XI of the '03 age group. He's a good player who has shown good development from last season to this season. Damian Las ('02) only faced two shots. One was a goal that no goalie was stopping, and the other was a nice save. He has very good shot stopping technique. You see a lot of goalies whose arms are so static when they are facing a 1v1. Las uses this technique that Tim Howard uses where he swings his arms in a way to maximize extension and range for shot-stopping. I'm surprised more goalies don't use this, but the best American goalie I've ever seen used it and the best American goalie prospect I've ever seen also uses it. The game was tied 1-1, so there was a PK shootout. Las saved two of the three shots. The third he should've saved. His incredible reaction time allows him to not need to guess on close shots as much as some other keepers need to do. Ryan Quintos ('04) played RB. He didn't look like he's a RB. I suspect he was just filling in there. Maybe there could be some mid-level of potential as a CB or DM, but I didn't see much from his game at RB. Portland vs. Atlanta: Owen Guske ('02) looks like a high IQ, good positional defender who isn't a mobility or passing liability. He played RB and CB, and he's also played CM before. There might not be high potential in his game, but he looks like a player who could reach the MLS level eventually. Efrain Morales ('04) is very raw. The first game he played that was shown, I wasn't sure about his skill-set, but I think there's high potential here after watching him play a second time. In this game, he played as a CB. The first half, he was a LCB in a back five, the second half they switched to a back four and he stayed at LCB. He has very good mobility for a tall defender, and he has above-average passing. He also had the occasional nice defensive play, so there's high-level ability there as a CB, but he makes a lot of errors bringing the ball out of the back, and I'm not sure he yet processes the U-17 level at a high level, although he's playing up a year, so that could be expected. Monterrey vs. New England: New England was the least talented American team that I watched play at this tournament, IMO. I think the only real prospect in the team is Eliot Jones ('03). There was nothing he could do about either goal, and he made a few nice saves, although all should be expected of a goalie. I think he's among the better goalies in a weak keeper year. He might be the best, but he'd likely be more in the 2-5 range of keepers in a better keeper year. LAFC vs. Cruz Azul (U-15 game): Antonio Leone ('04) had an average match. I've mentioned his play a few times, and am a fan of his potential, but he just didn't have a very active game, which for a CB isn't a bad thing. Erik Duenas ('04) was MOTM. I mentioned previously that I liked what I saw of his game at RB, but I'd need to watch more than a half of play to evaluate his potential. He was even better in this game than the first time I saw him play. His defensive ability is very good for a player his age. He's good 1v1, and he reads the game at a very high level. He made numerous nice plays that showed elite anticipation of where the pass was going from the other team. Going forward, he shows above average skill, passing and dribbling for this level. At higher levels, his ability going forward might only be about average, but its not going to be a problem. If there's a problem with his potential, it'll be his athleticism. His athleticism isn't bad at this level, but he's very small (even for a RB), and his athleticism is more quickness than speed. I think he'd be a good candidate for a YNT call up. Evan Rotundo ('04) had a good game. He wasn't able to be as dominant as he can be, but that was more due to the way the game was played than Rotundo not playing well. When he did get on the ball, he showed elite ideas to advance the ball that other players on the field aren't capable of executing. One thing that I notice almost every time I've watched him play are the weight on his passes. He's as good in this area of the good as I've seen in a young US #10 since Carleton. Rotundo thinks the game well ahead of everyone else on the field.
Day 5 Games: Colorado vs. Xolos: I've now watched Colorado twice, and I think this team has two good prospects in it. Unfortunately, these two players played the biggest part in Xolos winning goal in extra time. Despite that, it wasn't a goal you could fault either that much for. It ended up happening that the two consequential players in the team played an unfortunate part in Xolos winning. The keeper Andrew Cordes ('03) is one of the better keepers I've seen so far in the '03 year. He's very well built for a kid his age, so you would think he wouldn't be athletic, but he is. He gets down well to stop shots, and doesn't make many errors in any part of the game. He's especially good in the aerial game. None of the goals he could've done that much on. Joaquin Torres ('04) came off the bench, and showed a good engine in CM, along with some good composure on the ball. He was playing a little deeper in this game than the prior game, but seemed capable of playing in either role. Columbus vs. Mount Pleasant: Not a good game from Sam Sarver ('03) or Elton Chifamba ('03). I thought both players were very sloppy, and I think that played a large part in why Columbus lost. Anton Sorenson ('03) played a good game. I like his dribbling ability and skill for a LB. There are things he needs to work on, namely the defensive side of the game and turning the ball over too much, but he's one of the better LB prospects in the '03 year. He is playing as a guest player. Will he move after this season to the Columbus Crew academy? Seattle vs. West Ham: I thought Josh Atencio ('02) had his best game of the tournament so far at CB. I didn't think Daniel Leyva ('03) had one of his better games, but I have seen some good improvement in his game this season from last season. I don't rate what he brings as much as some do, but he definitely has improved from what he brought last season, especially in his work rate and his athleticism. Seattle used two younger players Oscar Rincon-Rodriguez ('04) and Reed Baker-Whiting ('05) off the bench. Rincon-Rodriguez didn't make much of a contribution. Baker-Whiting was a little more active. Big #8/10 who passes the ball well and has good composure on the ball. He didn't look like the best athlete, but he was playing against players that were mostly 2-3 years older than he is.
He's fine. He's smaller, but even if he's not fast or quick, his movement is highly economical. He doesn't have winger speed, but he'll be just fine in the middle of the park.