He is basically naming the full USMNT to the Olympics. I like that! If Pulisic and McKinnie can get loan out to the Olympic team I'll be surprised! Even Novakovich can make the team as an U23, right? Or would he count as one of the three over age players?
Novakovich is too old. He's one of a couple of fall '96s that miss out by months. Shaq Moore is another. IF, If, if, if we qualify thru the CONCACAF Championships................then we can worry about who the overage players should be. There are indeed certain positions that are weak in this group.
I could well be wrong but I thought the agreement FIFA and the IOC made (organizations of the highest integrity) is that U23 players had to be released by clubs for the Olympic games. Whereas, the overage players need club approval.
I haven’t seen anything like that reported. All I’ve seen is that clubs are never obligated to release for youth tournaments, of which the Olympics is one. @bshredder, have you seen anything regarding an agreement between FIFA and the IOC?
Yes........................I believe that it was an agreement with the European Club Association as well. They're the ones that are really up in arms about it. I think you're correct, but I'm not 100% sure. The Olympics is during the same off-season as the European Championships. And its unlikely that the elite players are going to play in both. The clubs certainly don't want them to. I remember the ECA asked that federations not call up players to both. Its one reason that the European U23s haven't won an Olympics since 1992. (which................shudder..................is 26 years ago) You look at the team that Germany could have sent four years ago versus the team they did end up sending, and its a scary comparison. Particularly with their overage players. In fact, if you take away the Euro teams that won on home soil (like Spain in Barcelona)...................the Soviet Union was the last European team to win the Olympics. Its also undoubtedly true that we Americans take the Olympics much more seriously in general than Europeans do. That's South and North Americans. Argentina and Brazil take Olympic soccer very seriously indeed.
Here's a just-for-discussion 20-man qualifying roster made up entirely of professional 97/98s with MLS clubs: GK: Marcinkowski, Vom Steeg D: Cannon, Acosta, Farfan, Glad, Trusty, Robinson M: Lindley, Kuzain, Jones, Williamson, Hernandez, Lennon F: Toye, Lewis, Ebobisse, Vazquez Presumably some of these guys will not actually be available. Since qualifying is, I believe, in October 2019, you'll have a lot of the year to look at USL/MLS players (including rookies -- , the current U20s, Mexico-based players, and whatever other bonuses show up -- I would guess, lower-division European players or those not seen as massively important to their clubs. Not a baby MNT, and plenty of questions, of course.
Even if they are all available I hope many of them don't make the team. Those attackers aren't impressive at all.
Fair enough -- the point was just to try to get a sense of what the starting point might be if you assume no MNT-level players or major European stars for qualifying. If nothing else, piling on another crop of MLS and USL rookies, Mexico-based players and the current U20 pool could actually mean there is real competition across several positions in this group. Of course, that still might not be enough -- history has shown that this process is a crapshoot. Plus, we have no idea who is going to be in charge or how they will run things...
Just wondering, does one of your spreadsheets keep track of professional players from the US, either directly or indirectly? I know it'd be incredibly difficult, but lately I've gotten the sense that the number of jobs for Americans in soccer has drastically increased with the new age groups, and I'm looking for some numerical data on that. I know someone has a rough equivalent somewhere (@Balerion maybe?), and like a lot of things on this website, I think that a comprehensive analysis of the numbers would lead to a discussion in mainstream circles across US Soccer. Also, just in general, I want to thank everyone in this forum for what they do here. BigSoccer gets a lot of bad rap in the media, which I think is completely unfair. There are dozens of guys here who do fantastic work for the whole community, and I think it'd be great if we do awards at the end of the year for everyone who contributes. From what I've found, there's no conversation more intelligent about US soccer and its future than what happens here. That, and I'd love to start a Discord chat to talk about relevant topics easier. If you want in, then DM me and I'll add you by username.
Hey! I'm working on a project that is somewhat related to this. Check back in a month or two. BigSoccer's reputation is totally deserved. This forum is the only corner of the site that doesn't suck. (YA is somewhere in the middle - very comprehensive, but tedious at times)
Are you asking whether I do a basic tracker of professional player names? I do not, though looking at some posts in this forum I would guess some people do, or close to it. (I do note who turns pro during their U20 cycle, and who ultimately turns pro, in my U20 tracker, however. But that only tracks guys with U20 callups, obviously.) At the risk of spraining my shoulder patting myself and everyone else here on the back, I'll certainly agree with your sentiment about the quality of discussion in YNT. I think one of the distinguishing features of this forum is that people put effort into demonstrating why they think what they think somewhat more than in some other places where "I believe THIS, and I'm going to say it over and over" tends to dominate. Of course, we have that too, but hey, it's sports. So, with that said, if there is something you wonder, let us know what it is and perhaps people here will help you figure out how to answer your question. Or, more likely, just applaud your work when they leave you to do it yourself. As for your suggestion that we take the conversation to a Discord server, seems a bit odd to do that if the conversation here is already so great, don't it?
...But it does have the best nuggets of history this side of the internet. It goes something like: What, you came to hear about *insert player*? He plays in Holland, so here's 6 pages on Operation Market Garden and why Montgomery sucks as source material on the subject...
I am just guessing randomly here, but I think John Wolyniec should get consideration for the U.S. U-23 job. Why? He was not given the Red Bulls job after Marsch. He has won a USL title with RBII. He has coached a bunch of young players and helped them to be ready to make the quick transition to one of the best teams in MLS. Woly will likely get an MLS gig at some point but right now, he's probably available.
Brian, are you thinking that E. Stewart will hire the U-23 coach, or will that be a position the new USMNT manager fills?
My guess - and just a guess at this point - is that Earnie will have a big say on the U-23 team. That gig could also go to the next USMNT head coach.
I did this mostly off the top of my head, so I might've missed a player or two from each year. How would we rank these four years compared to eachother? '97 best 23: GK: Vom Steeg, Klinsmann, Marcinkowski DF: Herrera, Duncan, Acosta, A. Robinson, Palmer-Brown, Glad, Carter-Vickers, M. Robinson, Redding MF: Lindley, Zelalem, Jones, Parks, Akale, Lennon, Saucedo, Lewis, Bwana FW: Ebobisse, Sabbi Vom Steeg Acosta-Glad-Carter Vickers-Robinson Palmer Brown Parks-Saucedo Lennon-Ebobisse-Lewis '98 best 23: GK: Silva, Pulisic, Hale DF: Fossey, Cannon, Olosunde, Trusty, Terwege, Arellano, Farfan, Nelson MF: McKennie, Mihailovic, Kuzain, Lankford, Pulisic, Perez, de la Torre, Gaines, Da Silva FW: Wright, Toye, Vazquez Silva Cannon-Olosunde-Trusty-Farfan McKennie-Mihailovic Pulisic Perez-Wright-Gaines '99 best 23: GK: Scott, Muse, Lopez DF: Hanson, Adams, McKenzie, Rogers, Maloney, Maher, Real, Morris MF: Torres, Cajuste, Servania, Cappis, Fontana, Carranza, Amon, Taitague, Pomykal FW: Perez, Zarris, del Rosario Scott Adams-McKenzie-Maloney-Real Servania-Cajuste Pomykal Taitague-Perez-Amon '00 best 23: GK: Garces, Fowler, Dos Santos DF: Lindsey, Dest, Gloster, Asensio, Richards, Crain, Keita, Ofeimu MF: Durkin, Zawadzki, Sands Goslin, Mendez, Carleton, Ledezma, Hundley, Mines FW: Sargent, Weah, Soto Garces Lindsey-Richards-Keita-Gloster Durkin Mendez-Ledezma Carleton Weah-Soto
Tough to rank. They are good in different measures, 97 has produced the most but lacks elite players. 98 has most of our current elites, ie Pulisic and McKennie 99 will be really interesting in another year and 2000 it’s too early to get a bead on where it is going to end up. I would go 97, 98, 00 and 99 in that order.
When predicting an Olympic team roster, also need to keep an eye on that huge elephant in the room known as Copa America possibly being back in 2020. 2019 Copa America is supposed to be the last of the current version. Then it will move to the Copa America Centenario format moving forward, but it's not been confirmed yet if that will start in 2020 or 2024.
4. 97 - Good in the back (including EPB with that group), but the front line disappoints, and the midfield lacks any dynamic qualities outside of Parks' passing ability. 3. 98 - Pulisic is the obvious headliner here and for good reason. But, outside of McKennie -- who's ceiling might still be questionable -- this group is still largely untested, a couple of impressive defensive prospects notwithstanding. 2. 99 - Adams could be an all time great, and Pomykal could be a key national team piece at some point. I'm not sure how good Amon is, but at least there is a little something to back up his hype. There appear to be some good defensive prospects here as well. Overall, however, this group does not contain the number of potential stars and high ceilings that the roster behind it does. 1. 00 - This group has game-changing ability when it comes to our standing in the world. The fact that you don't even have Sargent in the starting lineup says a lot. Carleton shows the type of creativity and tidyness that we have never seen before in an American jersey. The backs are far superior ball players than those in other years (especially if Adams is not considered a defender) -- again, the fact that you have Sands on the bench says A LOT. Without getting out of hand here, there is still a ton of talent throughout this roster that I have not even mentioned.
I think the federation will want to go all out on the Olympics because we can win the damn thing. If we do play in the Copa America, I'd be surprised if it's not the second priority.