I've said this before but in his times with the U.S. U-20 team this cycle, Real has played well AND brought a lot to the team off the field. He's taken on a leadership role and has a captain-like/professional mindset. Tab really values that and it is important thing to consider when building a team at this level. Not every teenager is going to have a professional mindset. When these kids are with their clubs, they are surrounded by professionals who have played at high levels (Parkhurst, who played in the UEFA Champions League, really works hard with Atlanta youngsters). But when dealing youth teams, professionalism can be harder to come by. As a player, I think Real has some real strengths and weaknesses. He is technical and good on the ball. His passing is good and he is a very good crosser with his left foot. If the U.S. U-20 team wants to play out of the back or swing balls into Sargent or whoever in the box, Real is a good option. His weaknesses are tactical. You saw it with Philadelphia where he was in the wrong spot too often and that has made it to where he isn't particularly easy to play with. Yes, his foot speed isn't ideal. Real has a lot to work on if he is going to make it as a pro. The good news is that he is young enough to fix his problems, is professional enough to realize he hasn't made it, and has the work ethic to fix it. I hope it works out for him.
Pardon my ignorance, but has anyone ever made a one-time switch in order to represent someone at the YNT level? That is a pretty significant decision to make when you're potentially years away from knowing which (if any) national teams are interested in you.
Yes. Aaron Maund, now with Vancouver Whitecaps, played for Trinidad (where his dad is from) at the U17 level but switched to the US while at Notre Dame to play for the U20 team. I'm sure there have been a couple others, but that's the first one I remember.
No, he didn’t. Zelalem didn’t get US citizenship until his later teens so if he had played for Germany he would never have been eligible to switch. The paperwork he needed was not a switch, but a FIFA waiver. There is a waiting period of five years after obtaining citizenship before you can play for your new country. This is a rule mostly to prevent countries like Qatar and East Timor from naturalizing a bunch of random players en masse. For players like Zelalem, where there was nothing nefarious or untoward about his citizenship process, it’s not too hard to get a waiver.
Not a lot of discussion later around Manny Perez but I really do think he shows up for the tournament. NC State has only won one conference game this year and will not make the national tournament. They will most likely be an early out in the ACC tournament as well. Perez may be their best player but I can't imagine them taking away his chance to represent the USA for just a couple ACC tourney games at best, especially if asked by their best soccer alumnus.
If Perez isn't on the roster, it won't be because of NC State; it will be because he's been surpassed by Jaylin Lindsey and Sergino Dest.
My understanding is that Perez's stock has fallen quite a bit. He's the #3 RB behind Lindsey and Dest. Right now, I don't think he's going to qualifying.
TIL that NC State has only one soccer player, male or female, in its HOF. https://gopack.com/hof.aspx?type=sport&kiosk= And no Tom Gugliotta! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGS
While I was being cheeky, it should be noted that Roy Lassiter: Led NC State to a College Cup appearance; Was an MLS Best XI selection; Won an MLS Cup. All things Tab Ramos did not do. (Pablo Mastroeni did do two of those, and he played in two World Cups. You could make a case for him, too.) Also, Gooogs was awesome and the Bullets should've never traded him! More to the original point, NC State is 7-3-2 with a 39 RPI. That should get them in the NCAA Tournament.
Certainly surprising if for no other reason than he's got only one callup all cycle. But then, there are some other names that meet that description we might not be surprised to see. Here are all of the one-callup guys: Acosta George Akinola Ayomide "Ayo" Amon Jonathan Booth Taylor Carranza Jose Davis Gideon Durkin Chris Ejimadu Philip Fontana Anthony Garces Justin Haji Abdulkadir Harris Wilson Jones Zyen Lopez Eric Maher Jack McMaster Justin Morris Jake Nicola Chris Ochoa David Sands James Sargent Josh Stiebel Seth Tracey Greg Verhoeven Noah Vom Steeg Carson
No decision has been made but it seems pessimistic that Mark McKenzie is released to play in this tournament from the start. It's looking like he'll have to be one of the added players for the second stage. Again, that is NOT final yet. Tab's biggest task at the moment is getting Chris Richards released for the entire tournament.
There is zero evidence to suggest he will be. He also hasn't been in a single U20 camp this cycle. Granted, he knows many of these kids from U18 and younger teams, but not all. And it's been a while. Between the lack of fitness and lack of familiarity, I'd be surprised if he's called in.
Based on last cycle, Tab loves the guy. I'd be surprised if he wasn't on the preliminary roster unless Tab knew with 100% certainty that he wasn't going to be fit. If there's 15 slots for Tab to use for guys that either he likes enough regardless of if they are going to be released/healthy, Taitague is on there. He has been for almost two full years now.
Lara made his first Twitter post in about a year, changed his bio from "Mexico National Team" to "Bay Area, CA", and unfollowed El Tri's official account...
Is there any chance we see Justin Cavani Haak called up? Hes just a few months too old for the U-17's. I think hes one of the most underrated midfielders in the DA. Suprising that NYCFC has signed him yet to a homegrown deal
Yangel Herrera is back for NYCFC. So, that could increase the chances they release Sands (provided Tab selects James).
I know folks expected the USSF to screw up the USMNT job search. We didn't expect them to screw up two national teams simultaneously, though. A vacancy with the U20s right now wouldn't be all that beneficial. [I'll believe that this is true when I see it. Jorge Ramos is well connected, though.] 🚨 ¡Atención! 🚨Otra 💣 de @pereyraespn Dice que el nuevo técnico de #USMNT @ussoccer_mnt sería #TabRamos @RamosTab 🇺🇸⚽️ pic.twitter.com/oDbDGPQ2M6— Jorge Ramos y su Banda (@ESPN_JorgeRamos) October 17, 2018