A newbie poster has some questions about el rubio, feel free to post responses in Portuguese (please include English subtitles for the monolingual)
Brek Shea: Footballer, artist, model, and signed to a contract with FC Dallas for four more years. (which means his transfer would be very pricey) He is young and still developing, but we have high expectations for him. He is likely to be included in the USA Olympic team next year and has already played at the National team level. This year he has played left midfield, left back, and center back. Currently, he is playing his best from left midfield and adds to our offense. He is tall, has speed, passes well, and scores goals when he is not helping create opportunities or defending.
The bidding begins at $10 million. If he continues playing like he is and the right people take notice I wouldn't be shocked to see it happen very quickly. His size, speed, skill and attitude are a rare blend. Add in the fact that he likes to push the attack quickly and is able to see the play develop and send in the early ball.........he is tailor made for the English game.
I'll take a stab at it Football Manager style, from a scale of 1-20. Acceleration 15, Agility 14, Balance 14, Jumping 12, Fitness 18, Pace 16, Stamina 18, Strength 16 Crossing 13, Dribbling 13, Finishing 12, First Touch 10, Heading 12, Long Shots 14, Marking 12, Passing 13, Tackling 12, Technique 14, Versatility 18 Keep in mind that the second group of attributes is the average of some often inconsistent play and many of them will surely increase as he gains experience. And I intentionally skipped the mental attributes as they are difficult to figure.
Just so that I can compare Pomegranate to grapes...what will be the stats of a well known star like Andrés Iniesta Luján of FC Barcelona?
From FM 2009: Physical: Acceleration 14, Agility 13, Balance 12, Injury Proneness 11, Jumping 6, Fitness 13, Pace 14, Stamina 15, Strength 10 Mental: Aggression 10, Anticipation 16, Bravery 12, Composure 17, Concentration 16, Consistency 15, Creativity 19, Decisions 19, Dirtiness 5, Flair 17, Important Matches 15, Influence 14, Off the Ball 15, Positioning 13, Teamwork 15, Work Rate 14 Technical: Corners 15, Crossing 16, Dribbling 16, Finishing 13, First Touch 19, Free Kicks 12, Heading 5, Long Shots 13, Long Throws 7, Marking 11, Passing 18, Penalty Taking 12, Tackling 11, Technique 19, Versatility 16
Hes big, fast and pretty skilled but part of me thinks he will be an MLS lifer, on the other hand I also wouldn't be surprised if he ends up the EPL somewhere. Alot of USA fans are praying he gets switched permanently to LB, but hes definitely best at LM for FCD.
If Brek had been born and raised as a Centerback/full back, he could be a big asset at the international level. Unfortunately, he thinks he is Messi trying to dribble out of the back and sometimes giving up the ball in dangerous positions. Not sure he's good enough to play top level European football (yet). He needs to work on his technical skills and I don't trust MLS coaching/play to "polish" his skill level well enough. Hopefully the combination of pace, height and some, not great, technical skill makes him an attractive option for a well-heeled Euro club.
If you wanted a comparison to a popular Euro player...in terms of size, athleticism and style of play...I'd say he's like a Gareth Bale-lite. Tall but fast and quick for his size, can really get up and down the flank and loves taking on a player to get a ball into the box. Brek has definite Euro potential and is already among the top MLS wingers but needs to polish his technique, reading of the game and find a positional home.
I have seen him play alot. The one thing that makes me cringe is his first touch. If he improves on this, he could go really far in Europe.
But he looks like Simon Kjaer with an even worse haircut. What's with that stripe he's got going now? It's better than before when he went thru various iterations of a Secretariat/Brian Bosworth combo, and of course the Bo Derek dreads look. If Shea moves to Europe, they'll instantly make him a defender. He won't even have gotten off the plane. He has "Make me a Defender" imprinted on his forehead.
One would have thought that his recently high quality play on the wing would put to death this idea...but it still lingers.
Well, that and the fact that he doesn't mark or tackle particularly well and his timing in the air is still poor.
Its not gonna happen now hes signed a long term deal with FCD but I could have see a European team with better options in midfield placing him with their reserves for a year or two to develop as a defender. I think Brek made the correct move by staying here though as hes consistently been threatening on the attack and that rocket of a left foot is starting to get homed in. While I wouldnt say he's been consistently good just yet he HAS been consistently getting better and its only a matter of time before the goals start pouring in. BTW I think Jacobson and all Columbians are getting close to taking the worst hairstyle title from Brek..... I expect Brek to throw down another guantlet in the comming games. (colored braids maybe?)
ps: if we had a player who made near-post runs, brek would probably have 4-5 more assists this season. please someone figure this out and get a few easy goals...marvin seems to be closest to doing this.
True, but you can tell (early crosses) are something SH has them working on. Like you noted, Shea is doing his part but it seems marvin just needs a slightly lighter pair of cleats. Its comming though and lord knows we need them to come (goals) from all kinds of different methods in this post #10 era.
We need both near and far post runs, a lot of Brek's crosses are wasted. SH talked about how they are working on this right now. While true he does need to improve his first touch and heading (both timing and ability) you guys are crazy if you think the new contract will make any Euro team shy away, or that Brek would want to be an MLS lifer. I doubt he will finish his contract. He is so young and still has a ton of potential growth in his game. He has excellent footwork and speed, not just for his size but pure speed, and good passing ability both short and long and crossing. Good field vision. He will get his shot with a big euro club sooner rather than later. And I don't think they will try to make him a defender. It is obvious in his play outside MF is his best skill set. Gareth Bale and maybe Johnson at Man City are good comparisons I think. I am glad he signed the contract extension and love watching him play and develop, but enjoy it while he is here. England or Germany would be good leagues for him, not Spain or Italy.