Lol right as I post that, at 1:48pm (official time given as 12:51PM PST): NEWS: Earthquakes Sign Veteran Goalkeeper Daniel Vega The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that the club has signed veteran goalkeeper Daniel Vega. He comes to San Jose with experience from his native Argentina, Cyprus and the United States. Vega speaks both English and Spanish. “Daniel is an experienced goalkeeper that has proven to be very trustworthy for his clubs,” said Earthquakes head coach Matias Almeyda. “I’m excited that he’ll be a part of our team.” Vega, 34, began his professional career in 2004 with Argentina’s Nueva Chicago, where he played for three years before signing with powerhouse River Plate. Vega remained with River Plate from 2007-13, making 76 appearances. “We are excited that Daniel is joining us,” said Earthquakes general manager Jesse Fioranelli. “He is a goalkeeper with great qualities on and off the field and will provide guidance and leadership for our younger players.”
A new man in goal. ⚫️🔵BREAKING: #Quakes74 sign veteran goalkeeper Daniel Vega. Bienvenido, @indiovega! https://t.co/emSwJMfA4P pic.twitter.com/1Nc0EIg1ja— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) January 18, 2019
I've got some bad news for you... Transaction: San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) – Earthquakes sign GK Daniel Vega. Daniel Vega Position: Goalkeeper Height: 6-2 Weight: 200 lbs. Born: June 3, 1984 Preferred Foot: Right Hometown: Cutral Có, Neuquén, Argentina Last Club: Tampa Bay Rowdies (USL) College: N/A Roster Designation: International Yes, yes he is...
Are we using an international roster spot on a starting goalkeeper, or on someone who is here to provide "guidance and leadership for our younger players"?
Ok, I'll start form a point of view that the glass is half-full, (except for that beer, I expect it to be a full 16oz).
I think they mean for him to start and gradually give way to JT. So he'll be both a player and a mentor. And you know, when you go to a pub or restaurant and order a beer, they bring you a 14 oz Engulish pint, and frequently tell you it's 16 oz! That's crap!! I want freaking Imperial Pints!! Go Quakes!! We're going to suck like a Dyson! - Mark
I have to say this is a bit bizarre. I mean, the one position in which US players have been able to compete internationally is keeper (Keller, Brown, Friedel, etc.) I am really scratching my head at this one. Does it mean that Almeyda is essentially dissing the entire US player pool, or is it simply he wants Vega as sort of a player-coach (in much the same way Wondo was utilized by Jurgen on the USMNT)? Anyway - he'd better be lights out for us if he's taking up an international spot...
Vega is Almeyda's former teammate and countryman. Think of him as a security blanket. Makes a heck of a lot of sense to me -- especially if he's jettisoning another international in Magnus Eriksson. And if he's not dumping Eriksson, then that's a much bigger problem than acquiring Vega.
Her is something else to ponder. Vega is bilingual, our new GK coach, from what I heard, isn't that fluent in English. Vega will be there to serve as a translator as well.
I analogize Vega to Derek Anderson, the ancient journeyman quarterback signed by the Buffalo Bills midseason. He's third string quality, but he mentored Cam Newton at Carolina and the difference in the rookie QB starter Josh Allen's play pre- and post-Anderson signing was eye-opening. Allen himself credits Anderson. "It was huge for me to see how a true professional operates, how he prepared for games," Allen told reporters. "It opened my eyes, it truly did, to a whole other side of football I hadn't seen. It allowed me to take maybe another leadership step. He's been fantastic. I love the guy." https://pamplinmedia.com/pt/12-sports/416731-318778-bills-value-anderson-as-mentor
This is a pretty important point. I think the issue of language barriers gets glossed over a lot (a product of the US speaking one of the most widely spoken languages in the world), but imagine joining a company where you speak the language of only a third of that team. And in some cases in soccer, it's probably significantly less than that. I don't know good Vako's English (or Swedish) was, but he's a case where the language barrier could have been quite significant. Even for Spanish, which is widely spoken in California, certainly isn't spoken by everyone to even a serviceable level. Almeyda is going to have to communicate what he wants to players, and in order to do that he'll need other coaching staff people and other players in order to facilitate that.
Neither JT, nor Tarbell, nor Bersano is good enough to start in MLS. Or do you disagree? We desperately need a starting quality 'keeper. He doesn't have to be fantastic, just steady. In this case, the guy is a veteran team leader type and allegedly good with distribution. That right there is a step in the right direction. He's only going to be our starter for a season or two. Then JT will take over. We needed a new GK, and we just got a new GK. Sure, I'd have preferred that we sign one of the guys on the re-entry list, but Vega will do. Go Quakes!! I picked a bad season to stop sniffing glue! - Mark
Anything is an upgrade on Tarbell. I'm fine with this. We already have two goalkeeping coaches - he's here to start, there's no dual role here I can see.
The Bills had a QB coach. Nevertheless, there's no substitute for professional peer mentoring. Real world pro sports is not check-the-box position play, or a video game. This is building a team. A teammate is different than a coach.