I watched the game! It was hard to follow at times but I think they lined up something like this -----------23-Negrete-------------- 20-Penate-18 Estrada-11-Hernandez ---------34-Zulli-Anguiano 4-Cornfield-5-Lonergan-24-Arteaga-15-Payeras ---------------75-Lopez Negrete and Arteaga are the recent Nat callups. Arteaga didn't have much to do but he looked good on the ball. Negrete looked OK but didn't stand out. Penate was the player who stood out showing a variety of different skills. It was clear that we were the better team. Almost everyone on this team has had at least a little Nats interest at one point or the other and Lopez is a staple. A commenter on the Youth Nats forum who follows them more closely says that Kleiban (and I suppose the Galaxy in general since Munoz is the head coach of this team) chooses players by skill and tactical understanding and not on athleticism. You can see this, as unlike other youth teams, there's no one out there who blows by the competition based on speed. But speed does matter at the next level so I wonder how much of a constraint that will be. Another factor is that there's almost two calendar years difference in age between some of those players and this is an age where you can get rapid changes in physicality. Becerra was a late substitute and he's really small and runs around like a maniac. But they play him at the #9 position and I couldn't imagine another youth team doing that. He didn't have much time to show his skill, but the fact they have that kind of confidence in him to play him there suggests that he will be one to watch for the future.
Charles Boehm@cboehm 2m2 minutes ago FC Dallas, Galaxy, Quakes & Philly taking part in Liga MX int'l U15 tourney in DF; kicks off tmrw. Also incl Santos, Pumas, Tijuana, Pachuca
Update on the tournament: > LA is 3-0, beating all the MLS teams > The Mexican teams seem to be better than the MLS teams on average, with Pachuca being the best > We play Pachuca next. According to the tournament website, it's on Monday at 10am; according to the Galaxy website, it's Sunday at 10, so who knows. The Galaxy should stream the game but you can also go to the tournament website. I think the games are also up on youtube-streaming, but I don't know if they are archived. > The next four games are against the Mexican teams, so it will give us a better idea of how we stand; particularly the Pachuca game. That game should be worth seeing.
This team is mostly made up of the 2000s, which is in some ways our first real class that has developed in the system. Almost every starter has been to at least one Nats camp. Once these guys are at the level of going pro, it will give us an idea of how well our academy is working.
My sense is that individually many of the 2000's lack the physical attributes (quickness, strength) to be MLS players, though Los Dos level may be within the range of at least 3-4. The other problem is that the style the DA plays may not mesh with LAG and Los Dos. The DA plays an FC Barcelona style possession game, and MLS teams don't know what to do with such players, whereas other leagues, like LigaMx, might welcome them.
If this turns out to be the case, I won't consider it a failure. More like an education. But I wonder about that too. I haven't watched much of the Mexican games, but I saw about a half of Pachuca-Xolos. They play a different style (more dribbling!) but the players weren't slow. For all the talk about Mexican teams poaching our players, there really hasn't been too much of that. Villarreal was loaned to a Mexican team but didn't generate much interest. Mendiola, despite being a Mexican citizen, hasn't had offers as far as I know. The one player who was taken from us was Arriola, who is fast. And Abraham Romero, but keepers are a different story.
I've noticed the same thing - we are developing some great technical players and some great athletes but I don't see the combination of the two. That's what made Landon so rare - world class speed (for soccer) plus magnificent skills with the ball at his feet.
Update: LA lost to Pachuca 3-0. Pachuca was just the better team and apparently the class of the group. LA tied Pumas 1-1. The game was more back and forth and I thought we looked their equals. Since this is mostly about finding individual talents, a few impressions: > Shooting is hard. Both teams had opportunities where a player was 1-on-1 with the keeper and blew it, either shooting it into the stands or sending it right to the keeper. Obviously everyone is still young, but it's hard to see a forward coming out of this group. > Efrain Alvarez is going to the be the test case for Kleiban's method. He's playing two years up (although he's a big kid for his age so that's less of a disadvantage). He's very skilled, both at passing and free kicks, and has great vision. He also doesn't seem to have much speed, quickness, or range. So we'll see what happens. > There are a couple of outside backs who really enjoy pushing the ball forward but we don't really emphasize overlapping so hard to evaluate. > The defense seems a little slow to the ball, but this schedule is brutal and I expect everyone is wearing out.
Lost to Santos 4-2. Still clinched the MLS group. Xolos on Friday. We looked pretty tired and didn't have too much of an attack. Alvarez with a fantastic goal, lobbing the keeper from midfield.
Lost 4-0 to Xolos. Mostly our second team in the first half and then subbed in some players when we got behind. We play them again in the finals tomorrow (but I'm flying and will miss the game). Overall, it's been a disappointing tournament. We're the best of the MLS teams but are not competitive with the better Mexican teams. What I was struck by is that we didn't seem worse than the Mexican teams in terms of skill or sophistication of play. They were just better athletes and they had a few players who could make a difference. For us, the only real difference maker was Alvarez.
I just have a feeling that all of US soccer has been in a stall pattern for a few years now. For the couple decades prior it seemed like we were going up, up, and up. But in the last 5 or so years it feels like we've made little progress or have even regressed. And I mean that all the way from the youth level, through MLS, to the national team.
How old does a player have to be to play for the Galaxy first or second team? Is there a chance this kid is still here by then? He's 12 in that video. The @LAGalaxyAcademy is pleased to announce the signing of John "Xuxuh" Hilton to the Academy. Welcome to the club! pic.twitter.com/oK24efWbeq— LA Galaxy Academy (@LAGalaxyAcademy) November 4, 2016
Pretty huge news. Kids a beast who wasn't able to stay at Ajax due to permit issues. Soccer is getting over the hump in this country when kids are training like this to be play soccer rather than football or basketball.
I was going to say that it will come down to getting good coaches on board who can hone that and use him where he is getting challenged, eg, can he step up an age group and play against some lads that are faster and stronger etc. But I was also going to say technically he will need a coach that won't just allow him to be faster than other players and make him use his right foot...but weirdly he only seems to use his left when dribbling but his final product seems to be from his right foot! Interesting technique!
This weekend, Uly started playing 3 years up with @LAGalaxyAcademy U18s vs Sounders and vs Timbers.2 Goals, 3 Assists pic.twitter.com/c3nhsu2QRr— 3four3 (@3four3) January 16, 2017
I know this is just Gary Kleiban being a jerk, but you'd think he could have a picture of him in a Galaxy jersey.
Not sure what to make of this. Although the spirit of this is true, having rec people/culture in your org forces you to compromise your work.https://t.co/kGcfkmvQiD— 3four3 (@3four3) January 19, 2017 when they are holding positions above you it is beyond challenging and frustrating— Soccer Coach (@Sockercoach) January 19, 2017 .@Sockercoach That's why we're taking the next steps in forming our own club. Enough is enough. We'll bring it to market.— 3four3 (@3four3) January 19, 2017
Could be Kleiban is leaving. The brothers were in a collaboration with Total Futbol Academy for awhile before completely disavowing it as a franchise scam and they obviously jumped from Chivas USA's Academy to the Galaxy. Might be the promotion of Munoz was the final straw. Nevertheless, Gary talks a lot (but doesn't coach) and Brian keeps quiet (but is the one lauded for his coaching), so it's hard to know if Brian feels the way Gary feels. Gary has been railing against MLS for years, but his brother has obviously been comfortable working within it all that time.
Reading that guy's twitter feed he sounds like a maniac. It's odd that he's so vehement, when his bro is currently working in MLS, but more strange is that it's real tin foil hat shit. Like, you think he'd have more pointed critiques if he were this close to MLS. It sounds like the same nonsensical rambling I always hear on this board.
Interesting review of all the team Academies in the league: https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/club-soccer-articles/how-they-rank:-the-best-mls-academies_aid41352 LA is 2nd behind Dallas which seems fair. Apparently though LA has one of the most exciting midfielders in the country graduating in 2020
I haven't been following it that closely but don't we tend to lose players who turn out to be really, really good (eg, Liga MX wants him)?