I think thats an important point. This kid's game is going to play at a high level. He's too talented (passing, defending, athleticism) for it not to. Its a matter of where he fits best. If he plays at RB, it doesn't mean he's no longer a good prospect. He'll still be good there, but he's better at other positions, and might have higher potential centrally. I think its important that young players are put where they have the highest potential. At a later point, you can move them off that position, if they aren't going to be able to play that position in the pros, but at youth level they should be playing the position where they have the most potential.
Here's LAFC's Diego Ceja at the US U14 camp. He might be one of the top early '05s, having been awarded the Golden Ball at the U13 CONCACAF CL tournament. All the players got to meet the USMNT players. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs3sCoFlVn3/
Just some clips from the tournament. If I really tried to extrapolate, I might say he's in the Alvarez mold, but I wouldn't say that for sure.
Martin Vazquez will be taking over Real Monarchs, though he is expected to finish out this season with the academy...
Must be a righty. https://www.instagram.com/p/BtBn4PqFLSj/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1ckpd1nfqe1w9
Here’s predicts for the Top Drawer Top 25 by age group. All rankings are per Topdrawer December ranking, which can be viewed here: https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/club-soccer/club-soccer-team-rankings/men/ There’s lots of matches which should affect the rankings, but the biggest matches of the weekend are the FC Golden State v. LA Galaxy clubs playing each other on Saturday (1/26) across all age groups out at UC Riverside. Games start with the u12s playing at 10am and wrap with the u18/19s as the last match starting at 6:30pm. If you live in SoCal and need a dose of soccer, that should do you for. U13 #1 FC Dallas is playing #22 ranked Solar SC - Predict: FC Dallas 2 v. Solar 0 *match to watch* #2 TFA is playing Legends FC - Predict: TFA 6 v. Legends 1 #3 LAFC is playing cross-town rival LAUFA - Predict: LAFC 4 v. LAUFA 0 #6 Strikers are playing OC Surf - Predict: Strikers 4 v. OC Surf 1 #17 Pateadores are playing LA Premier – Predict: Pateadores 2 v. LA Premier 2 *match to watch* U14 #1 San Diego Surf is playing San Diego SC – Predict: SD Surf 6 v. SDSC 0 #3 Weston is playing Florida Rush – Predict: Weston 5 v. Florida Rush 0 #6 LAFC is playing cross-town rival #23 ranked LAUFA - Predict: LAFC 4 v. LAUFA 1 *match to watch* #7 San Jose Earthquakes are playing Silicon Valley SA – Predict: Quakes 4 v. SVSA 0 #8 Total Futbal Academy is playing Legends FC – Predict: TFA 4 v. Legends 1 #14 FC Dallas is playing Solar SC – Predict: FC Dallas 2 v. Solar 0 #15 LA Galaxy is playing rapidly improving FC Golden State – Predict: LA Galaxy 4 v. FC Golden State 0 *match to watch* FCG recently beat #8 TFA 2-0, and TFA beat LAG 4-1. FCG has improved a lot since start of season, so never mind what the algo says, let’s go with LA Galaxy 2 v. FCG 1. #22 Dallas Texans are playing Texans SC Houston – Predict: Dallas Texans 2 v. Texans SC 1 U15 #1 LAFC are playing #7 Nomads – Predict: LAFC 6 v. Nomads 2 *match to watch* LAFC are dominant but will likely be sitting a defender and a forward who have been just called up to the u15 YNT Jan 29th camp. #1 LAFC are also playing cross-town rivals LAUFA this weekend – Predict LAFC 6 v. LAUFA 2 #8 Chargers are playing Tampa Bay Rowdies – Predict: Chargers 3 v. Tampa Bay 1 #10 FC Golden State is playing curiously unranked LA Galaxy. Predict: FCG 3 v. LAG 3 *match to watch* LAG however will likely be sitting their top goal scorer due to the pending u15 YNT camp. #12 San Antonio is playing Texans SC Houston – Predict: San Antonio 3 v. Texans SC 1. #14 Albion is playing Barca Academy – Predict: Albion 4 v. Barca 2 #25 FC Dallas is playing Solar SC – Predict: FC Dallas 4 v. Solar SC 0. FC Dallas will likely be sitting a key mid due to the u15 YNT camp. U16/17 #1 FC Dallas is playing #8 Solar SC – Predict: FC Dallas 6 v. Solar SC 0 *match to watch* It doesn’t seem reasonable that the #1 team in the country will beat the #8 in the country but that’s what the algo says… #6 Atlanta United plays Kendall SC – Predict: Atlanta 2 v. Kendall 1 #7 Real Salt Lake plays San Diego Surf – Predict: RSL 2 v. SD Surf 2 *match to watch* The algo appears to think that either RSL is over-rated or SD Surf is under-rated, or both. I concur, and calling this one RSL 2 v. SD Surf 3 #9 FC Golden State is playing #11 LA Galaxy – Predict: FCG 1 v. LA Galaxy 1 *match to watch* #16 Orlando City is playing IMG Academy – Predict: Orlando City 3 v. IMG 1 #17 Strikers are playing Real SoCal – Predict Strikers 2 v. Real SoCal 1 #18 Albion is playing Barca Academy – Predict: Albion 1 v. Barca Academy 3 *match to watch* The algo considers Albion to be over-rated. We’ll see. #23 Silicon Valley SA is playing #25 San Jose Earthquakes – Predict: SVSA 2 v. Quakes 1*match to watch* U18/19 #5 FC Dallas is playing Solar SC. Predict: FC Dallas 4 v. Solar SC 1 #7 FC Golden State is playing curiously unranked LA Galaxy. Predict: FCG 2 v. LAG 2. *match to watch* Again, not sure why LAG is not ranked by TopDrawer. They’ve been beaten #24 ranked Nomads twice 6-0 and 3-1. In any case, should be a good game. #15 Orlando City is playing #23 IMG Academy. Predict: Orlando City 1 v. IMG 1 *match to watch* Algo is saying it should be a super even match, so fun to watch. #16 Real Salt Lake is playing two matches this weekend, against Albion and SD Surf. Predict: Real Salt Lake 3 v. Albion 1; Real Salt Lake2 v. SD Surf 2
Wow, that’s a very in-depth preview. If you had players to watch, that’d be even more interesting to me personally
You got the RSL-Surf U19 game right, with RSL giving up a two goal lead in the second half. Hope your projection of the Albion game plays out today. On another note, it is interesting how much these DA rosters (especially at the U18/U19 level) are affected the second half of the season with player movement. Trials, defections, USL, MLS preseason are all significant factors (especially with the MLS academies) these teams are dealing with. Obviously it’s the goal to develop and move players onto the next level (wherever that may be), just pointing out the turnover.
Need some help from the masses on this - something is not quite adding up for me. Dantouma Toure is an 04 birth year, yet USSDA and TopDrawer Soccer have him listed as graduating class of 2020? If my math is correct, this means he will graduate high school at either 15 or 16 years old, depending when his birthday is. Is the kid exceptionally bright or is he just on a different academic path that gets him done early?
wtf... I've heard talk of academy closure around 4-5 MLS clubs. AFAIK only 1 has explicitly requested to shut down their academy. HGP territories situation seems to be more in flux, my guesstimate would be a change in the next 1-4 years https://t.co/3FuBZANCjc— Charles Boehm (@cboehm) January 29, 2019
The 4-5 number I'm not as worried about. Those are teams that are just thinking about options. . If there's 1 closure, then...………….whatever. As years go by, that club will be at an increasing competitive disadvantage. Its probably a mid market club that's "half-assed" it for years. Now they have some pencil pusher in the front office looking at a spreadsheet and saying to everybody "hey, we've spent millions on our academy over the past 5 years and have gotten little out of it. Can't we just buy a mediocre Paraguayan or Colombian with that money?" A Portland Timbers type of club. What impact would Portland shuttering their academy really have on the US youth landscape. Virtually none. They've barely put any effort in as it is. I'm not going to worry about this until it comes to fruition.
Didn't we already find out a few months ago on Twitter that Nelson Rodriguez wanted to shut down the Chicago Fire development academy but MLS wouldn't let him?
Honestly, there are probably 4-5 MLS Academies that need to shut it down. Hear me out. Depending on which clubs these are - we all know which ones just don't care about their Academy. If a MLS club isn't going to properly invest, not just money, but time and a well laid out strategy, they need to shut it down. In most cases there will be at least one non-MLS Academy that can give these kids an environment they need. Granted, some MLS Academies are putting out a great product, but if we are honest with ourselves, non-MLS Academies can do a much better job in some of these markets. Interested to see how this all plays out.
And yet they've just signed three homegrown players (Reynolds, Lillard, and Gutjahr), and made an offer to Gutman (who had his work permit application denied in Scotland). I think there's more to the story. Maybe the Fire want to leave the DA and take a different approach to player development. I mean, that's fine with me. The notion that a club in a market like Chicago would give up on youth development altogether makes no sense to me. If they want to try a different way, that's up to them as far as I'm concerned. If I was MLS, I wouldn't REQUIRE clubs to be part of the DA. Want to do something else? Go for it. I think its stupid.............but whatever. Maybe some good ideas will come out of it. For those with good memories, Chicago won a DA title as recently as 2015. That U18 team featured Mihailovic, Gutman, and others.
Any team that wants to get rid of their academy should be told by MLS that they will be removed from MLS, if they remove their academy from the DA.
I agree with most of what you've written here and I'll give you another reason why: Most of these TDs and GMs who leak grievances to Charles Boehm are doing so in hopes it'll build public pressure on MLS to change a rule or governance framework. In this case, I'd bet some of these dissenting clubs are in geographic areas that aren't talent-rich and they want MLS to drop the recruitment/homegrown restrictions that are currently in place (i.e., the “homegrown territories” or geographical catchment areas). That would allow a club like Portland to bring kids into their academy from other parts of the country. It's also possible that another subset of clubs merely wants MLS to throw its weight behind recognition of Training Compensation or Solidarity payments -- the argument being that they're tired of not seeing a return on their investment when kids like Soto, Ledezma, or Mendez leave for free. These are at least two reasons why a club might leak the grievance to Boehm in the name of "We'll just shut it down if we don't get some changes!". I just don't see any world in which MLS would absorb the optics hit of shuttering that many academies in the build up to the World Cup in 2026 (and in the aftermath of missing the Cup in 2018). Nevertheless, I think we could take the one requested closure threat somewhat seriously. Everyone knows that's Chicago. They have a talent-rich area that, for reasons likely related to ownership commitment, are unwilling to do what it takes to compete with the non-MLS DA clubs that dominate the region.
Sure they can - even the best kids won't be signed to a contract until 16/17, with very few exceptions. If HG rights stay the same as they are now, a non-MLS Academy handles the kids development from 5-16 and then if good enough the MLS team signs them.