Hearing rumors from University of Michigan that Saad has left the team to sign a professional contract. Can anyone confirm? If so, it's gotta be a Yank abroad (unless it is USL, which I highly doubt.)
Re: Sonny Saad Rumor And Gatt seemed to be peeved that Saad got all the attention, so I'm not sure that would be something he would welcome.
Re: Sonny Saad Rumor I read an interview with Saad where he seemed pretty damn adamant about coming back to go to the Final Four again. But, you never know and money talks. He certainly had a great freshman year and I thought it was shortsighted of MLS not to pursue him for a GA contract. And from his perspective, it's gonna be real tough to top that goal-total - especially without Meram attracting some defenders' attention - so might as well strike while the iron is hot. If it is, in fact, Norway, I think it's a good place for him to start his pro career.
Re: Sonny Saad Rumor Wasn't Soony on that "SuperElite Discover Europe" tour that Josh Gatt also went on in 2009? I believe Gatt got noticed by Altach on that tour, and they ultimately signed him. If I'm not mistaken those kids went thru Austria and Belgium. EDIT: I'm right. I officially have no life. Why would I remember that? http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/superelite-soccer/united-states-football-club-archives/nid-8712 And the kids also went thru Germany it seems. Rowe was also on that team, who some people have recently said looked really good with our U20's.
Re: Sonny Saad Rumor On Ives draft coverage he made it seem like the league wanted Rowe to go pro but he didn't want to go pro yet. Ives also added that he felt Rowe might have been a top 2 pick if he were in the draft and looks likely to be a top 2 pick next year.
Re: Sonny Saad Rumor Snip: The athletes live in Ann Arbor throughout the school semester and are both undecided on their majors. Soony, however, mentioned taking German classes in case an opportunity presents itself in Germany for a big club. http://dearborn.patch.com/articles/bend-it-like-the-saads
Re: Sonny Saad Rumor It seems unlikely he would leave school for a team outside of a top division in Europe, in this case the Bundesliga.
Re: Sonny Saad Rumor Holy crap! It's not the end of the world. Are you really that embittered by the choice of a youth player? Who spent more than one year in college....hmmmm...Dempsey, Holden, Vedad Ibesevic, Jay Demerit, Charlie Davies, Steve Cherundolo (the mayor of Hanover). The list goes on. Is college the best possible avenue for development? Probably not but it does not doom a player and destroy any chance of their success. That said you should talk to Caleb Porter.
Re: Sonny Saad Rumor I mean, I don't think that Rowe is suffering a terrible setback, but frankly, it IS a waste of talent. He'll still probably be an excellent player, but he has nothing really left to learn or develop in the college game. That much is evident. We'll see though. I would say, though, that UCLA is a good program, but Akron it is not.
Re: Sonny Saad Rumor I am one of the "some people." He was fantastic Here's a article over the weekend on Rowe. He talks a little bit about going pro. ROWE AIMING FOR U-20 ROSTER SPOT
Re: Sonny Saad Rumor But this only shows how smart the kid is. See, when you learn High German, the Dutch, the Flemish, the Swedish and the Norwegian are very similar ... let me refer you to the Onyewu Linguistics thread.