Alianza Sueno

I notice that most names are latino, but there are a few that are not. I also think I am aware that this began as more or less a Latino showcase. I am wondering if that is changing to a degree and how the nomination/selection process works. I know that a kid named Rogers or a kid named Chang could easily be half Mexican and a kid with a Spanish last name isn't necessarily Latino...

 

It did start as a Latino event but has evolved to be all inclusive. Women have been able to participate for a few years according to Rafael Calderon (National Scouting Director); Rafael (aka Rafa) Calderon has extremely close ties to the FC Dallas organization; he provides radio Spanish commentary to the FC Dallas first team games and his son having been part of the FC Dallas academy, as a goalkeeper, for several years.

The application process is simple; it only takes a few minutes to fill out a few questions, sign the waiver and all the player has to do is show up at the designated time and location with said printed paperwork. All that said, through the filtering process, FC Dallas normally gets first dibs at all the applicants prior to the event thanks to the relationship between Rafa and the FC Dallas staff.

 

I did a very quick skim of the guys on this roster to get a sense of where they're finding players. About half seem to have spent at least some time in the DA, with Mendoza a standout -- he's the only one I could find in an MLS academy and with easily identifiable YNT experience.

Some may be HS-only players, though it may be that most or even all of those guys just aren't playing the kind of club soccer that would make them easily identifiable online. Consequently, they frequently have Hudl/MaxPreps pages but nothing that points clearly to club play.

Happy to incorporate any additions/edits/fixes/etc. to this list:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZbEPXBPGp5r4Lwf5iXDvtNdz4buGfNairzi8GylCq5E/edit?usp=sharing

Salazar seems like a notable one as the latest YOB ('04) I could find, but no obvious current club affiliation.

 

This SA story has a bit more about Zavala, calling him an '03 who plays for non-DA Midwest United and his high school. It also goes into some wider challenges/issues with the current scouting/DA/etc. system.

https://www.socceramerica.com/publi...couting-for-us-soccer-the-dev.html?verified=1

I've said this before, but I think it's important to frame this conversation in a productive way, which is not by asking whether or not we might be missing "Messi behind a tree in Arkansas," which by the way would probably be a pretty good BigSoccer screen name.

Rather, it seems to me, the issue is whether the funnel is working, so that what we think is the top X% of the pool, actually is, before dispensing finite resources to those players.

Someone might say "Hey, these guys aren't any better than the guys we already have" and I'd say "If you're saying they're as good as the guys you've identified, and we're systematically missing them, that's a problem."

 

This is one of the big issues. Eventually, most players will find their way into a good development environment, but when an obvious talent has to go to Mexico to play high level football, don't be surprised if there's a better chance that player will play for Mexico.

The 2017 @alianzadefutbol MVP, Texas-born Santiago Munoz, scored yesterday for Mexico in its 2-0 U-17 World Cup round of 16 win over Japan. https://t.co/1WHgFvX2pm

— Mike Woitalla (@MikeWoitalla) November 8, 2019

I think the issue is less about USSF, and more about scouting from the DA clubs. This is a failure by DA clubs to not get this guy playing against high level competition. The federation does not take responsibility for an individual player not having a proper development environment. The individual clubs should be responsible. There's also less of an excuse now. This guy is now a mainstream name. They can't say they didn't know about him. If the local clubs in and around Michigan can't get this guy signed, they should take any blame that people want to throw around about this kid's situation.

another banger from @MikeWoitalla -- remember David Zavala, the kid who got 21 pro offers after his showing at Alianza? A USSF scout went to see him play, liked what he saw.

Response from USSF? Get him to play for a DA club 2.5 hours from his home. https://t.co/LzG71sHTKK

— scuffed (@scuffedpod) November 7, 2019

 

Its funny this mentions Santiago Munoz. After he scored that goal for Mexico I got a text from an FCD Academy parent saying it was funny how Luchi Gonzalez at FCD turned Munoz away from the FCD Academy. Apparently he came to visit and try out when Pepi did and Munoz was sent back home.

Talent evaluation is pretty tough and a hit or miss game. FCD missed on this guy apparently and the first time Chris Richards came for a look. Maybe Munoz will come back and give FCD another shot at him.

 

There are few things going on here, seems to me, off the top of my head.

First off, sure, maybe the scouts who like these kids are just wrong, or will prove to be over time. Scouts everywhere are wrong. That's life.

But ... let's say a guy like Zavala -- who lives somewhere with no DA option -- is seen as a DA standout-level player or better (say, a YNT pool player). In that case, scouting recommendations should surely help him get into any number of DA clubs, particularly those set up to serve out-of-area players. The selling point should be easy, since the report is essentially "This guy is better than half the guys you have now."

If an out-of-area move is not practicable, surely for a player of that type U.S. Soccer should have some other kind of evaluation/intake system. There shouldn't be any barriers to opportunity for such players, and if the DA system is insufficient, U.S. Soccer should probably take interest.

Of course I don't know how actually good the kid is. If he's that good, talks like I described above are probably already happening.

It seems generally more likely that he's seen as roughly as good as his DA counterparts. Maybe a move is less urgent, but there should be surely be some kind of tracking at the least. (Although, in Zavala's case, he's apparently an '03, and -- I think -- a high school junior. The clock is always ticking, and the setup changes completely once you're out of school-age competition.)

A year from now, the guys at any DA-level age group will improve, stagnate or regress, while guys like Zavala will do the same. This is a bigger pool, so it's harder to plan around, but it seems important, especially if there is no local DA option. And it seems worthwhile to try to address at scale.

I'm less certain how you handle the next level down in non-DA markets, but maybe first things first.

And, of course, this isn't to suggest that this process works perfectly in DA markets. But it does seem like a different issue.

I think it would be cool to work on stuff like this.

 

dmn to us soccer

 

I wonder if FCD El Paso ever played local opposition with a starting frontline of Ricardo Pepi and Santiago Munoz. Ouch!

Let's be honest. Munoz isn't from any MLS Club's homegrown territory. ANY MLS club could have recruited Munoz. FCD had an inside track if they wanted him, but any MLS club could have nabbed him.

Munoz is a bit of a mystery to me. Somebody asked me the other day what his performance level and stastical record at Santos Laguna is/was. I couldn't tell them. Its a bit of a mystery to me. There's no information on him at transfermarkt, for instance.

 

I think you make some good points, but I really don’t know what differently you could ask of USSF in a situation like this. They scouted the kid, and told him to move to a DA club.

I’ve never seen the kid play, so I’m only speculating, but if they viewed him as one of the very best players in the age group, I think he’d be called into a YNT camp. Maybe he will, but I suspect this is more a situation of a kid with some potential, but far from a sure thing. In that case, what incentive is there to call in this kid specifically?

In fact, there’s probably less incentive to call him into a YNT camp, if he’s roughly the same level as the other players, because he’s facing worse competition than the other players in consideration for a spot and probably will therefore have less potential to develop into a good player due to him getting worse coaching and facing worse competition.

 

This Zavala/USSF situation should be completely moot. Ideally, the Lansing USL club (less than an hour from Grand Rapids) would sign this kid to a USL contract (while also giving Midwest United a modest training compensation payment). After a year or two of performing for Lansing, he could be sold to a higher division team.

The main problem here is that the Lansing Ignite are folding after just one year. You could say that the ownership group/soccer market in Landing is more to blame (just as they potentially had the opportunity to gain most of the credit) for Zavala's lack of opportunity than USSF.

 

I also don't want to make this about Zavala specifically -- wish him the best, but I, you, and probably everyone else here has never seen him play. No opinion on his game specifically.

I see it this way: As an '03, that puts him in the U16/17 DA. Conservatively, let's say that's 70 teams with 20 guys per squad. So that's 1400 players he's being compared to. A scout says he's better than any DA player his age on the 2 DA clubs in his region. So does that put him in the top 1000 domestic U16/17s? Top 500? Top 300 or higher?

If he's in the top 1000 or so, maybe you just let it go and hope he figures it out. Maybe not.

But at that age, while I agree that you hope he finds his way to a better situation, you may not want to leave it to chance -- if nothing else, you might want to figure out a better way to track him for another half-year or year. Maybe they'll do that. I dunno.

And how many more guys like him, who might immediately be top 300, are out there? Is he unique, or one of, say, 50, 100, etc.? I'd love to know the answer. Maybe they do.

Parents and coaches in Europe send U.S. Soccer videos and updates all the time, presumably at U.S. Soccer's invitation. Surely a system like that could work for kids in Grand Rapids, too.

 

David Zavala, the symbol for everything that is either wrong or right about American soccer, has joined RSL's academy, illustrating everything that is either wrong or right about American soccer.

Izahi Amparo (RSL Arziona), Chris Grote (RSL Arizona), Gabriel Miranda (Nevada), Tristan Wouters (California), David Zavala (Michigan), Terron Williams (San Diego), Zion Vaughn (RSL Arizona), Noah Segura (RSL Arizona), Axel Havelange (San Diego), Angel Robles (Nevada), Angel Montesinos (California), Blake Kelly (Michigan), Gershon Henry (Michigan), Jude Wellings (Michigan) Dominic Periera (Nevada) have all committed to the Academy for its upcoming fall season.​

https://www.rsl.com/post/2020/05/18/rsl-academy-members-commit-colleges-new-arrivals-show-quality

Ignore my dumb jokes, David, and knock 'em dead!

 

It's back in business:

¡Estamos buscando a los mejores equipos infantiles y juveniles! Con #FordCopitaAlianza, iremos ciudad por ciudad para conocer a los campeones que buscarán un lugar en #NationalFinals 🏆👐 @FordLatino

Ya puedes registrartehttps://t.co/TYrOOhuCGn#AlianzaDeFutbol #FordLatino pic.twitter.com/vOJ2BplEXf

— Alianza de Futbol (@alianzadefutbol) June 2, 2021

They have added girls' tryouts as well.

 

Excited about this. Their hit rate is similar to US Club Soccer ID2’s

 

Talentos de #Houston, prepárense porque estarán en la mira de ellos 🔥 @MLS, @MLSNEXT, @ussoccer, @FMF, @HoustonDynamo, @ClubAmerica, @Chivas, @Tuzos

Estamos emocionados por conocer a las próximas estrellas en #AllstateSueñoAlianza. ¿Eres tú? ⚽ @Allstate#AlianzaDeFutbol pic.twitter.com/T3QmuEkXh8

— Alianza de Futbol (@alianzadefutbol) August 20, 2021