Plucked him right from the Galaxy academy. That's the 2nd or 3rd kid from an MLS academy they've taken for free. Look for MLS to make some changes to allow teams to be able to more proactive in signing academy players so they can contest that.
What about the league's roster rules precluded the the Galaxy from signing Arriola? (Not being a smart-aleck; I honestly don't know the rules.) Is it because he wasn't considered an academy product?
Could be wrong but I don't believe he was with the Galaxy Academy long enough to be able to sign as a HG player.
Iirc, with Jose Villarreal, they signed him right away, but he wasn't eligible for the first team until after he did his time in their academy.
Apparently Arriola has only played 11 games with the Galaxy. http://ussda.demosphere.com/teams/47158256/47187483-47158344/TEAM.html That's my bad, as I thought it was more, and that makes LAG not being able to sign him less of an indictment on MLS or the team.
They could only sign him for the league minimum I think. Only a certain amount of HGP's can be signed above the league minimum I think. MLS HGP rules are murky so I'm not sure. I'm not sure if it was monetarily based, though.
I don't think it's an issue of Paul not playing enough academy games with the Galaxy. I think it's one of the following. A) He was offered more money by Tijuana B) The galaxy rated Raul Mendiola higher, and thus did not offer a contract to Arriola
What they need to do is allow teams to get some sort of compensation, especially if they attend the academy for free.
Can't get compensation (from outside MLS) without a contract. Can't sign a contract because you can't play college soccer. Catch-22. So unless MLS is willing to sign all the kids at the MLS academy teams - and money aside, they don't have the sports on the senior team for them all - which is very unlikely, this will continue to happen. The college angle is something MLS teams have to deal with that academies abroad don't.
What about some training compensation. Maybe it's just the FA in England but when lower team picks off a highly rated youth player who wasn't under any contract they pay some sort of development compensation (Everton did this with George Green). Granted I have zero clue if it's just FA enforced or has the backing of FIFA or what.
That would make sense except that MLS does not like to reciprocate. Supposedly a hold-up in the Galaxy finalizing a deal Raul Mendiola is that he spent some time in Pachuca's academy and Los Tuzos want some compensation for said training from MLS and the league has dug-in over it. (This was reported third person so I can't say for certain the Pachuca part is true.)
Forget high-profile players like Mendiola and Pachuca. How about every single youth club in America asking for training $$$ every time an MLS academy recruits one of their players?' Even if you restricted training compensation only to players who eventually signed pro HG contracts, it's not a door I think MLS is interested in opening any time soon.
Unless MLS builds academies modeled after prison systems, kids are going to pursue other opportunities.
It seems like the only organizations with a legitimate claim for compensation would be the ones that aren't pay-to-play. Outside of some MLS academies, there aren't too many of these around.
MLSsoccer.com with an article with Galaxy assistant Jovan Kirovski that addresses some of the issues we discussed here vis a vis MLS academy players leaving for overseas. http://www.lagalaxy.com/blog/beat/2...-kirovski-discusses-implications-academy-prod
That's a good point and perhaps that's a line in the sand that could be drawn to solve a problem without creating an even larger one. That way, MLS clubs could poach from pay-to-play clubs for free while turning around and asking for money from other MLS academies or foreign clubs who sign their players. I'd be curious to know, though, how these training compensation systems work in Europe. Are they legally enforced by a government entity? Is it little more than a gentleman's agreement backup by the stern eye of the national federation? Is it country-by-country and, if so, how does compensation work when a player is poached internationally?
Those looking for more information regarding training compensation, take a look at this article. http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/17/sport/football/football-facebook-teixeira
Do the Galaxy retain Arriola's rights indefinitely? If he doesn't enjoy Tijuana and wants to come play in MLS in three years, do they have his rights? What if he plays in Mexico/Europe for 10-12 years and wants to come in MLS on the backside of his career?