The Efrain Alvarez Thread

Regardless of everything that has happened and who is right and wrong, I feel like things are moving in a positive direction with Efra. Getting the story out about what happened airs the dirty laundry, which seems like a good thing as far as it being put in the past. Secondly, he has said a couple of times recently that he has not shut the door on playing with the US (the American soccer media is actually paying attention to this, which is a pretty big development). Also, his professional career in USL/MLS is going very well, and everything seems to be on track with his long term desires that LAG is facilitating. Lastly, his statement that he wants to play in a World Cup with Mexico will be accomplished next summer at the U17 World Cup. There is no indication that this goal is anything more than a short term focus on showing well in his first big international showcase.

 

Except of course when we have the conversation about what the USSF could be doing better, nobody can tell us the answer. The USYNT technical director and coach of the U20s is Tabare Ramos.............you know, fluent Spanish speaker and immigrant. He doesn't understand first generation latino-Americans? Tell me more.....................

I mean................people do know that for a year there was literally nobody available to do anything. There was a lame duck president, no general manger, no permanent USMNT coach, no U23 coach, no U19 coach, no U18 coach, and now no permanent U17 coach. We don't even have a full-time goalkeeper coach at any youth level (boys or girls actually).

When people say there's been a lack of effort, I hope the do realize that's not the problem. There has just been nobody there to do that job. Tab Ramos and just a handful of guys are doing as much as they can. It was Tab Ramos that called in Jonathan Gonzalez UP A CYCLE before Mexico was even interested. He's not putting for the effort? People do realize that we've had U20 squads this decade that have been 2/3 latinos from California and Texas, right? Were they not the "right" latinos? I don't get it.



We can't scout these kids? We called up Jonathan Gonzalez and Efrain Alvarez before Mexico did. True or false. Or am I imagining things? Then they both bolted the first time Mexico became interested. What do people want US directors to do? Kidnap them? Present suitcases of cash to their families in dark alleys? I don't get it. If they don't want to play for us, then they don't want to play for us. I haven't given up on Alvarez, by the way. All we can do is keep trying.

 

Do you think that success is about one single answer? I think it's about doing many things better, from scouting to playing style to cost control to treating people with respect. I also read interviews with people like Hugo Perez, who have plenty of good ideas and have somehow managed to avoid losing hope.

Tab's first U20 cycle was a radical experiment in technical soccer. It failed and he changed course. Since then, his focus has been climbing the USSF hierarchy rather than pursuing initiatives that the insiders don't support.

You seem to think this excuses the USSF's dysfunction. In fact, it is a symptom of the USSF's dysfunction. It has lots of funding but can't even be bothered to staff itself.

What we've heard about Gonzalez and Alvarez makes it clear that their situations were more complex than that.

 

So now the question becomes, how much do we trust hearsay posted by BigSoccer user "abcdefghi" who joined on May 31, 2018....

 

I hope this self-righteous rant made you feel better. You're not the arbiter of who is and isn't reasonable on this board. There are plenty on BS that give USSF credit where due and call them out when they're not executing to a reasonable standard. And I like Tab Ramos, but it goes without saying that his particular background doesn't make him infallible on this or any other matter.

The fact that we missed the World Cup out of CONCACAF and that there is no reasonable plan to staff numerous vacant coaching positions is entirely USSF's fault.

Then he needs some temp help or a couple of assistants to help with the workload. Again, USSF's fault for leaving him understaffed.

It's not about latinos. It's about prospects with elite potential, such as Gonzalez who was about to break out for Monterrey and Alvarez tearing up USL at 16. Someone will post a trite response about the difficulties of projecting future success, but this is portfolio management 101 and there are ways to manage this to a higher standard relative to your competition.

He gets credit for that in my book. And hindsight is 20/20, but Gonzalez was also left off the final roster and ended up having a Best 11 (or at the very least, solid) season in Liga MX a few months later.

They can prefer to play for Mexico AND be disillusioned by shortcomings in the process on our side. I'm fine with losing battles for kids whose hearts are with rival countries. I'm not fine with not doing everything possible to maximize our chances for success. And there are plenty of rumored communication issues in both instances.

 

Check out @JREskilson’s Tweet:

Heard that Chivas is taking a look at Mauricio Cuevas along with a couple of other LA Galaxy Academy players. Sounds like they’ve been scouting the DA games. Notable for Cuevas given he previously played for Chivas Academy.

— J.R. Eskilson (@JREskilson) October 1, 2018

Uh oh, players headed to Chivas? We know what that means.

And now this:

Check out @ULlanez’s Tweet:

pic.twitter.com/LccqF4ymjC

— Sr. Ulysses Perez Llanez (@ULlanez) October 1, 2018

 

I don't want to speculate which players of hispanic origin are Mexican-Americans, but if that tweet has something behind it and Chivas takes some of the better Galaxy academy players, our NT program might suffer some.

 

#Sub17 | 👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼

¡Pero qué golazo te mandaste, @efrain_alvarez1! 😱#PasiónyOrgullo pic.twitter.com/f1AiRm4YfB

— Selección Nacional (@miseleccionmx) October 4, 2018

Golazo vs Chile

 

Many mysteries in US soccer these days but for me, 1 of the most puzzling is that Efra Alvarez, who's scoring bangers for Mexico's U-17 YNT & averaging nearly a goal per 90 minutes for their USL side, has publicly been ruled out of a spot on the LA Galaxy's MLS gameday rosters.

— Charles Boehm (@cboehm) October 4, 2018

 

The Galaxy have resisted promoting Alvarez on social media for the most part, but they put out this video:

Efrain Alvarez: LA's next top talent | Youth Spotlight pres. by Target

 

MLS well-repped in USL's 20 Under 20

A week after MLSsoccer.com released our 22 Under 22 rankings, USLsoccer.com released their 20 Under 20. As you might expect, MLS clubs well represented on the list, with 19 of the players tied to MLS clubs.

LA Galaxy's Efrain Alvarez topped USLsoccer.com's rankings and was No. 17 on MLSsoccer.com's 22 Under 22. Atlanta's Andrew Carleton and Sporting Kansas City's Jaylin Lindsey made both lists.​

https://www.uslsoccer.com/20-under-20

From becoming the youngest player to score a hat trick in the USL’s modern era to a series of spectacular finishes throughout the season, there’s no young player that has caught the imagination of the broader North American soccer public this year than Efrain Alvarez. As a result, the 16-year-old is this year’s No. 1 selection in the USL 20 Under 20.

 

Doesn’t really say too much the reasons behind playing for Mexico just that Efra likes it there and they respect him there. He talks about how prideful he is having his son play for his (the fathers) native Mexico and ultimately the final decision is Efra on what country he wants to represent and he will support him either way. He’s hoping Efra gets chosen for Mexico’s u17 World Cup squad and to see him eventually reach the pinnacle of football playing in Europe.The article also mentions Efra not closing the doors on the US in the future as he’s a dual citizen.

 

Put a similar post in the u20WC thread but was wondering why Mexico doesn't put Efrain on the U20WC team? Do they not rate him as highly as many in the US do or they just want him to play closer to his age. With the success he is having at USL level I think he would be a shoe in for the U20WC roster.

 

...ya tiene poquito más de un año y no me lo han dejado de llamar a las concentraciones.
(he)has been here(in the MYNT)over a year and they haven't stopped calling him to the camps.

 

The article says US Soccer says Edwin Lara has indeed filed a one-time switch back to the US. Also, Mexico's top scout likes what he sees in Antonio Leone and Kevin Jimenez of LAFC and the US U15s. Leone has been the US U15 captain.

 

Just as a word of caution, we continue to hear only one side of this story..........................

 

https://www.theringer.com/platform/...alez-efrain-alvarez?__twitter_impression=true

Here’s the rest of cited article above

 

That was a horribly biased article towards the Mexican National Team and against the USMNT.

 

I'm so tired of hearing about this kind of stuff.

 

There's a new article it seems like almost every month that makes US Soccer into the bad guys and these players who choose to defect into the good guys. Thats not to say US Soccer should be let off the hook for being incompetent, but the stories that these articles portray are very one sided.

 

This is moving in a positive direction:

1. He was young when he made this decision. He has had plenty of time to reflect on everything that took place.
2. It sounds like he had some beef with a specific person. Hopefully that person is long gone and has been for a while.
3. US prospects seem to be in much higher demand than Mexico's. Efra's American peers are going overseas. His Mexican peers are not.
4. LA Galaxy are developing him well, and have shown that they are fully on board with his wishes of going to Europe. A move to a Mexican team seems unlikely.
5. His mom apparently prefers that he play for the US. Latino's listen to mom, period. (nice generalization, huh?)

 

We have a very good track record of retaining prospects if they stay in MLS and our domestic programs. When they move to Mexico they have a million (hundreds of millions in fact) of voices telling them to switch. Jonathan Gonzalez wasn't the first, and won't be the last.

There's no real reason for Efrain to make his one-time switch (like Lara) while he's still being called up routinely by Mexican youth teams. No reason at all.

As you say, there's still a chance on this one. But its gonna have to be a little bit of a longer term play. There's no real reason for him to switch until full national teams are involved. [that could be next year or 4 years from now depending on his performance level when he hits MLS.]