The Official Eric Calvillo thread

LAndy is officially listed as 5’8 but ok given the benefit of the doubt, there is ONE......

 

A dumb and irrelevant point to begin with, now down to arguing over a fraction of an inch. Pulisic is also 5'8", considered the best current USMNT player and could end up being greater than LD in the long run. So, potentially the 2 best USMNT players ever, both right around 5'8".

 

It’s not dumb it’s the truth. I’m telling you very few players under 5’8 , especially college draft picks are rarely signed or drafted. Just look at the rosters.

 

#1. The draft is the mechanism for MLS teams to sign college players.

#2. The college game is a physical affair featuring mainly header duels in the middle third of the field.

#3. College coaches are shit for the most part.

#4. Guys who are under 5'8" aren't going to get many college soccer scholarships.

#5. Guys who are under 5'8" are not going to be favorites of college coaches because they are less likely to win header duels in the middle third of the field.

#6. Guys who are under 5'8" are rarely going to see much if any development in college.

Notice how every one of those points had "college" as the common thread, and barely any had "league"? Hopefully now you see why the original point was dumb and irrelevant.

 

I'm looking forward to the season starting so there is stuff to talk about.

 

Yeah and that’s exactly what we were talking about. This is also the criteria MLS coaches use to judge and scout domestic talent and/or college draft picks. Therefore it’s not irrelevant when everyone does it.

Hugo Perez even came on the boards and said the same thing. This isn’t what he wanted but this is what he was told to pick when coaching the US youth teams. Again I don’t think this way but this is what the league goes after.

 

You're putting this on the "league", claiming it is some sort of policy. Instead it's a symptom and condemnation of something that has been wrong with American soccer in general. It's not just height, it's a bunch of other stuff as well, like picking "ball winning" ability over "not losing the ball" ability.

 

Of course it’s all rolled into one. Dangerfield mentioned size mostly and not just height. The league though is s reflection and the face of American soccer. Just like the NFL and NBA. They look to the colleges for their talent. Right or wrong, this is exactly what they do and it’s been going on since the inception in 1996.

 

Okay you win the argument. So what again do you think about Eric Calvillo, 5'7" and 138lbs, being signed by the San Jose Earthquakes of MLS soccer in the United States?

 

I know nothing about him. I hope he does well. I think Fioranelli is changing the thinking but I am betting he ends up in Reno.

 

In Reno? No kidding? ......

 

Reno means "biggest little" in the local dialect. So seems apropos.

 

Quakes just drafted Kevin Partida, a 5'7.7" midfielder from UNLV. Oh well, so much for that theory. I guess if he doesn't make the senior team, he will join 5'5" Quakes 2017 pick Lindo Mfeka at Reno.

 

Obviously, how tall you are as player isn't as important as how talented are you as a soccer player. However, not every 5' 7" player is going to be a Lionel Messi. Everything else being equal, a taller, bigger player is more of an asset than a smaller player. The smallest player in the Premier League is Bournemouth's Scottish international Ryan Fraser, at 5' 4". But, he is also 154 lbs. He is not going to be pushed off the ball as easily as a 5' 6" 138 lb player. Probably the best d-mid in the Premier League is Chelsea's N'golo Kante at 5' 6", 150 lbs. and his greatest attribute is his work rate, he's inhuman, he just doesn't stop running. But, at 150lbs he still has a little more bulk than the sub-140lb crowd.

 

You don't worry as much about a 20-year old who's 138. He's going to bulk up a bit naturally and he could add to that with some training if he wanted to. 28-year old and 138, yeah, a bit. TT was definitely more slight of build than Calvillo when he was signed, and now he's put on probably 10-20 pounds. Calvillo didn't even look that thin to me in his clips. Looked like he could be a low center of gravity guy.

 

This.

This whole discussion is so MLS 1.0 it's making me cringe

 

You're right, Tommy has bulked up in the last couple of years, and I think it has helped his game.

 

Players carry their weight differently depending on body type. Some guys would be considered lightweight but have very strong lower body strength, great low center of gravity and balance. Some guys can lunge into a 50-50 challenge so quickly they can generate the same force as a heavier player moving slower into the challenge.

f=ma

Maradona in his early 20's was 148 lbs...5' 5"... almost impossible to move off the ball.

Messi plays at about 160...cuts against much larger defender's momentum, blocks the ball and rides through challenges hardly even slowing down.

Imo, total weight isn't a great indicator of what the player can get done on the field...more about force generated...leverage and technique.

 

And even if you don't have a low center of gravity - you just have a slight build, like Baca, you can still be effective. Baca doesn't really get knocked off the ball because he is so quick. And he found a way to defend effectively also by using his quickness rather than strength. Same with Donovan in his prime. Just too quick. That's not necessarily sprinting speed. That's quickness in short bursts.

 

Yep, Baca was really a critical player for us...probably weighed 128 lbs..haha...quick smart distribution and was great at quickly closing space and filling passing lanes. It was a shame, we didn't need to replace him, we just needed to add an offensive ACM as an option. Then next season we got our "attacking mid" in Pierazzi. I honestly don't know how any of us survived Doyle at GM..sheer lunacy.

 

Read this and you'll know a tiny bit more:

https://www.centerlinesoccer.com/20...fielder-mls-new-york-cosmos-usa-national-team

 

I absolutely do not care anything about those Cosmos. My Cosmos died when Giorgio Chinaglia left this world...

 

It's not about the Cosmos, it's about Eric Calvillo, you know the guy we just signed and who you think is going to Reno but might actually be good enough to stay in San Jose.

 

Oh yeah the guy who will end up in Reno. Now I remember him.