Clearly with Ali coming in they have made a priority on homegrown players. It would be interesting to see what would happen with him under that leadership.
He's one of a few prospects who I think would be a lock for our U-23 team if he was getting first team playing time somewhere.
Scores the game winner in U20 action: 85' GOOOL! @Amando_moreno consigue el primero para Xoloitzcuintles #Sub20 @ClubAmerica 0-1 @Xolos. pic.twitter.com/s4o80YhNz4— Xolos 🐕 (@Xolos) April 9, 2016
This in itself tells us a lot about Liga MX clubs' approach to young players. Each of the big clubs has an army of young players. Breaking thru to first team football can be really tough.
Indeed. The percentage of US players who make it through Euro academies is low. The percentage of US players who make it through Mexican academies is surely lower. I think it's because of two factors. One, Liga MX isn't a development-oriented league like, say, the Eredivisie. There is a lot of pressure on coaches and few have the luxury of thinking mid-term or long-term. They need wins, now, to keep their job. Two, Liga MX academies seem to employ far more players than academies in other countries. It's one thing to have their U20, U17, and U15 teams -- that's normal. But they also have Segunda (3rd tier) and Tercera (4th) tier teams, which are dumping grounds for even more players. I'm not sure why they feel the need to sign so many players since surely the large majority of the extras are no-hopers, but it is what it is. The guys who are consigned to Segunda teams rarely see the light of day in Liga MX. Moreno has been treated as a higher-caliber player, but it's still really tough to jump from the "good U20 player who gets into Copa MX games" tier to an actual bona fide first team player.
Starting right now, along with 3 other yanks for Tijuana. Ain't nothin' but a yanksta party: http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads...ozco-start-for-tijuana.2031362/#post-33932930
Called in for the full NT friendly against Puerto Rico, his 1st call-up: U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids), Zach Steffen (SC Freiburg) DEFENDERS (7): John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest), Matt Miazga (Chelsea), Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana), Tim Ream (Fulham), DeAndre Yedlin (Tottenham) MIDFIELDERS (7): Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes), Emerson Hyndman (Fulham), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Monchengladbach), Perry Kitchen (Heart of Midlothian), Alfredo Morales (Ingolstadt), Caleb Stanko (SC Freiburg), Danny Williams (Reading) FORWARDS (5): Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana), Julian Green (Bayern Munich), Fabrice Picault (FC St. Pauli), Amando Moreno (Club Tijuana), Bobby Wood (Hamburg)
With the first team in preseason: 77th Min. More Club Tijuana substitutions: Valenzuela and @PaulArriola (OUT); Angel Uribe and @Amando_moreno (IN). pic.twitter.com/wMrsshPYm2— Xolos (@xolos_en) June 25, 2016
Several Yanks in this preseason 1st team friendly: Line ups: Club Tijuana: 33. Federico Vilar, 3. Yasser Corona, 335. Angel Uribe, 2. John Requejo, 285. Miguel Rodríguez, 26. Juan Carlos Medina, 4. Gregory Garza, 10. Ignacio Malcorra, 28. Amando Moreno, 24. Luis Chavez, 7. Gabriel Hauche. Coach: Miguel Herrera. Cimarrones de Sonora: Sergio Arias (P), Darwin Torres, Juan de Alba, Erick pedroza, Martín Orozco, Jorge Gastelum, Aldo Polo, Miguel Vallejo, Cristian Ibanovsky, Othoniel Arce y Roger Rojas. Coach: Juan Carlos Chavez. FINAL SCORE: XOLOS 1, CIMARRONES 0
That's the starting XI, so he definitely played. He's mentioned briefly in the game report as well: http://xolos.com.mx/en/news/xoloitzcuintles/3829/Club Tijuana 1-0 Cimarrones Fc (Final) That his roster number dropped from 293 to 28 is probably a good sign for the season.