The real money comes later. To sacrifice your career growth at 20-21 to make an extra 150-200,000 Euros is not smart long term strategy. The problem with Mendez: he hasn't proven anything yet in the Eerste Divisive. If he was "stuck" between JA/A1 like other Ajax players, he could go to somewhere like Heereveen. He hasn't even proved he can play at that mid-level Eredivisie side. That's what concerns me the most.
I don't think you can have it both ways, though. If Mendez is a fraud, he should cash in on his swindle and make Ajax pay. If he's not a fraud, he should continue developing at Ajax and leave only if the right opportunity presents itself.
Continuing to train with Ajax and play a handful of Eerste Divisive minutes playing out his contract would make him 21 without ever sniffing a first team. That's not exactly a recipe for success. I don't think anyone knows his level. He's 19 and the only thing that is clear is he isn't a CL-level player. But he also hasn't really established he's even an MLS level player. He could be anywhere in between. I think he's Lee Nguyen in a lot of ways down to how to where they started abroad. That's not the worst thing in the world. But I think Lee's career would have been different if he started playing real first-team football before he was 25.
Those 4 years of being an equivalent of a movie star might have been the best years of Lee's life. Doubt that Alex has a similar choice.
Lee was unlucky that in his time we hadnot Young teams playing in our second tier. So he effectively had no chance to develop like for instance Ledezma now has.
I am curious what Nguyen's upside was. I remember him at Copa America 2007 looking like he was playing in molasses. He was always really limited athletically (like Mendez) but sharp technically. He probably hit his level but it came so late when he was 27-28 in MLS that it was limited/too late to go abroad. If you hit that peak at a younger age, you have chances to move up the ladder competition wise.
perhaps but I don’t think his level was much above high MLS, if at all, particularly due to athleticism concerns.
If all else fails, there's always MLS, but first, let's play the hand we've been dealt, as it might still prove to be a winning hand. Summer 2019. Sign with Ajax. Get paid. Try not to laugh (publicly) at other young players who are stuck in MLS and/or making chump change elsewhere. Fall 2019. Settle in. Get in shape (for crying out loud). Play a half or two, learn the system. Help persuade Dest to stick with the USA. Winter 2020. Vacation in Spain, not Qatar, and convince Dest to beat-feet it out of Qatar before anything (worse than supporting the bribing Qataris) happens. Stir up Ajax transfer rumors, try to get Ajax to move product, clearing space for the elite Jong midfielders that are keeping you on the bench to be promoted to the first team. Spring 2020. Continue playing for Jong Ajax, increasing minutes until playing entire matches. Take advantage of the absence of newly-promoted players. Convince younger teammates that Jong Ajax isn't where they should be right now, that they should ask their agents to seek transfers to teams that offer lower salaries but first team minutes. To be continued ...
Starts for Jong Ajax: We're back at it! 😄📂 Starting XI > #JongAjax! 👀⏳ 20:00h vs. Jong PSV#jpsjaj pic.twitter.com/pMyLkGg2yv— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) January 13, 2020
first time i noticed mendez was when he took a corner kick. most ungood. this winger experiment seems useless
He's getting the start mostly because of all the players who trained with the first team. Early they were playing him more as a deeper CM. Now they've moved him to the wings. He's not going to win enough balls to play CM for Ajax so I think they think with an incredible left foot, let's put him wide with less defensive responsibilities and maybe he can cut in/make plays. Wingers at Ajax are better when they can pass/shoot vs. dribble. Attacking wise he can have Ziyech-LITE skill too.
Interview: https://www.ajaxshowtime.com/articl...looft-dest-levende-bewijs-dat-het-mogelijk-is Google Translate says "Dest" = "Destructive" Méndez gelooft: 'Dest levende bewijs dat het mogelijk is' Méndez believes: "Destructive proof that it's possible"
It's encouraging to see that Mendez believes he's in a good place and that he hasn't given up on himself.
easy kid to root for, really hope he pulls it off at ajax https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/ajax-podcast-international/id1493182259
Starts for Jong Ajax: Opstelling #JongAjax : Scherpen; J. Timber, Schuurs, Pierie, Castillo; Ter Heide, Q. Timber, Taylor; Danilo, Mendez, Ünüvar. #jajdor— Ajax Showtime (@Ajaxshowtimecom) January 20, 2020