Brooklyn teenager Noah Leeds reportedly invited to join Spain La Liga club Sevilla FC ...“They said if I keep working hard, I can make it,” Noah said. “I love soccer because if you work hard you can be great at it....” http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...bulls-prospect-noah-leeds-set-move-spains-sev
Some more coverage (boldface type is theirs): He started playing soccer with Brooklyn AYSO, coached by his father Jon, when he was just four years old. At the age of six, he began playing with SC Gjoa of the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League (CJSL) on their Boys-Under-8 squad. Noah also played for two other CJSL clubs, Manhattan Kickers and CDC New York United, always playing against boys two years older. He also competed for the New York Red Bulls academy. “Noah was traveling over two hours to Newark from his school, Mark Twain, to train with Red Bulls and getting home at 11:30 pm,” said his father Jon Leeds. “It was all very stressful, emotionally and financially, on our family so we decided to withdraw two winters ago and train full-time with Phillip Martin, his coach with the Manhattan Kickers who runs Total Futbol Development.” http://www.soccernation.com/nycs-st...s-youth-academy-cms-6090#sthash.5eAuMQZu.dpuf
Looks like he's still with Sevilla as of about last summer @tadigun still playing at Sevilla's academy. This is from about 9 months ago pic.twitter.com/g4UHFpEVp5— Nats Abroad (@Nats_Abroad) February 10, 2016
A tweet from what appears to be his father (based on the Twitter handle, which matches the name in the NYDN article) has him at a club called AD Nervion, about which I know nothing -- and agitates for a U20 callup: 16 year old Noah Leeds brought up to AD Nervion first team to bring them out of relegation zone. Ready for a call up Tab Ramos. pic.twitter.com/YUTcvac944— Jon Leeds (@Nycicyman) March 21, 2017 There also seems to be a Zack Leeds at that same club. http://www.adnervion.es/2017/03/07/cdap-inf-a-dura-baja-para-los-de-merino/
Not claiming to be an expert, but per wikipedia (I know...), AD Nervion competes in the 5th tier of Spanish soccer. Essentially, it sounds like young Leeds has been promoted to a level that, if he performs well, should lead to bigger things at a bigger club. Have no idea of the relative strength of the league compared to English U23 teams, League 2 teams, 3. Bundesliga, etc., so can only surmise that a U20 callup seems...premature?
Story about Nervion http://elcorreoweb.es/movil/el-deca...esto-con-forma-de-hazana-en-nervion-NI2831197
It's hard to say without knowing more information. I was pretty familiar with the Tercera Division at one point, which is the 4th Tier and also regionalized. The range in quality of clubs and players was pretty staggering. I think there are a total of 80 teams across the 4th division. This player would basically be a 16 year old kid excelling against adult amateurs and semi pros from the southern part of the country. If he's U20 quality as it pertains to the current cycle, he'll be playing at another a club come mid summmer. Edit: If he really started out with Sevilla's academy then that's not a good sign. Sevilla -> AD Nervion is travelling through the pipeline backwards. The best talent throughout the region rises up towards Sevilla and Betis.
Based on @petsnyc's post from 2014, Noah is an '00, which puts him in the peer group of the current U17s -- in other words, very young, and if he's playing/contributing at an organized adult level (even if it's something around the level of the PDL/NPSL) at that age then he surely has some talent. Where that ends up, of course, is anyone's guess. It's not that uncommon for non-YNT U.S. kids to end up with foreign clubs in their teens.
http://mv8academy.com/training-with-a-d-nervion-football-club/ This academy program - who has a partnership with AD Nervion - says that Nervion is rated as one of the best academies in Sevilla. So it could be likely he was doing so well for the academy that they brought him up. It mentions that Nervion has produced players that have gone on to play for Sevilla, Atletico, Real Madrid, etc. Again this is all conjecture, but it can't be completely ruled out that playing for this club is a bad thing for him. The same mv8 academy posted congratulations on their facebook for AD Nervion youth side which beat Real Betis youth 2-0 in a promotion battle. So maybe it is a good program? Who knows really. Hard to tell if you're not there. https://www.facebook.com/footballsoccerSpain/posts/644171702437792
AD Nervion does have a claim for best academy in the city of Sevilla, after Sevilla FC and Real Betis. However if he went from Sevilla FC to AD Nervion, it's logical to assume he may not have been good enough for Sevilla FC. The top talent in the area funnels up to the two big La Liga clubs. Nervion Juvenil is currently in 5th place in Liga Nacional. They're 7 points behind 3rd place Betis B and 28 points behind Sevilla B who are top of the table. What really matter is in terms of promotion is that they're only 6 points behind 4th place Atletico CF. Who ever finishes ahead will win promotion to Division de Honor Juvenil, which is the most prestigious youth league in Spain. Sevilla B, Betis B, and 3rd place Cordoba B are ineligible for promotion as all three already field A teams in Division de Honor. From the article posted above, it sounds like AD Nervion has been through some turmoil this season and only had 15 senior players at one point, so they brought up the top two Juvenil players, one being Noah, for support. Generally speaking, I'd be more intrigued by a 16 year old prospect excelling in Division de Honor (think Akale) than one playing at the senior level in Andalusia Primera which is basically the top adult amateur league in that part of the country. Would be huge if Nerion Juvenil could win promotion to Division de Honor. Noah is still age eligible and would likely join them again next season.
Agitating for a callup certainly is a bold step. U17 team has always been a tad political. And not necessarily a step to greater things. Good luck to Noah in his promotion battle. Hopefully he continues to progress.
I have no problem advocating for a call up as long as it's done with tact. But that's a difficult dance especially on a platform like twitter. Throw in the emotions of an invested parent, and there's a propensity for ugly.
Noah scored for AD Nervion Juvenil in their Division de Honor preseason opener, according to his Twitter account.
Props to Noah and his club for securing promotion to Division de Honor down the stretch last season. He has my full attention.