yeah something weird is up with stolz. really strange to see a player of his caliber not get picked up off waivers. he did good for nyrb ii last year from what I heard. maybe he is done with soccer or wants to go back to germany? or maybe he is a free-spirited guy who soccer is not a #1 priority for.
I saw this. It makes you ask why couldn't Dom loan him out to Sac like he did with Jahn and Thompson?
Because he needed the roster spot and he didn't rate JJK as highly as Jahn or TT. BTW, TT and Jahn could get recalled at any time, and it could be that they are loaned only occasionally when the Quakes have a break and Dom wants to keep them sharp. TT was loaned out to Sac last year for just a few games. I imagine it will be the same this year. He will go back and forth. It is not a long-term long I would guess. Could be different for Jahn.
I think it has to be more that he doesn't see him as having a future in MLS. Otherwise he could do a season long loan without recall-ability and still have the player next year and the roster spot this year, right?
Yeah, I guess you can do that. They did that with Barrera, right? But I think we are saying the same thing. When I wrote "doesn't rate JJK as highly" that is shorthand for "not rated high enough to be an MLS player".
Perhaps Koval will be an MLS player again, perhaps even a starter, as part of a Sacramento Republic expansion franchise. I'll be rooting for him.
Yep, could certainly happen. I wouldn't be surprised to see both JJK and TT starting for Sac's MLS team one day (after the Quakes blow it and squander their 1st ever homegrown signing).
I actually talked to JJ personally about this. He told me that the career change would be easy for him because trying to make a good living playing pro soccer is "like pulling teeth".
Having a degree from Stanford I'm sure will land him a decent paying job. Probably a lot more than he made with either the Quakes or the Republic.
When JJ first played with us, many here thought that he was a good player. But then ... he drifted into that sunsetland, where young Quakes players so often go, where his confidence went to crap, and he lost his flair and aggressive instincts. We wreck young players more often than we develop them. Naturally, I wish JJ good luck and a long and profitable career. Naturally, I wish the Quakes a sea change in coaching style, philosophy, and practice. Go Quakes!! - Mark
Kind of a sad picture - JJ making a lonely walk away from his soccer career. Sounds like Sac wanted him back this year, and I think the coach claimed he was playing with a knock last year, so I don't think it was really a decision that was made for him.
I don't know what his salary was but it couldn't have been more than what the Quakes were paying. If that is the case, is it really worth risking further injury playing for $45k a year?
All depends on how much you like playing and how eager you are to pull people's teeth (for a lot more money).
Probably one of the nicest Quakes I've ever met....affable and easy to talk to. He'll always have the away game against Toluca to look back fondly on... I wish him well, he has much bigger fish to fry outside of soccer. We didn't ruin him at all...
Hey, good for him, wish him the best. Would have liked to have at least tried him as a central defensive option with Wynne getting so much PT there this year, but i guess thats neither here or there.
I thought someone posted a link to this Wash Post article, but I couldn’t find it. Anyhow, it was sad to read that JJ Koval and the other guy in this article both got screwed by their teams once they asked for a transfer. Altho, frankly they are both better off for having left MLS behind. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...their-soccer-dreams-changed-they-walked-away/ As a different example, Kevin Hartman is going to finish his BA in History at UCLA, 21 years after he left “a few months before graduation”. https://ussoccerplayers.com/2018/03...r-mls-kevin-hartman-set-for-diploma-walk.html
I think it was the other way around. MLS left them behind. If they are good enough, teams will find them. Everyone's different, but having kind of abandoned my passion years ago in another field in order to "make a good living" (and mostly regretting it), I would encourage any young person to follow their passion as long as they can. One good thing about the U.S. is that there are many opportunities to go back to school and retrain at any time in your life, as in Kevin Hartman's case. I mean it's not like a BA in History is going to open up the employment floodgates for him, but he could then go into an MBA program, or get a Masters in History and teach, etc.
The holding midfielder spent the ensuing season with Sacramento of the second-tier United Soccer League What a bunch of garbage... First, the above is just straight up false. Koval was only with Sacramento for one season, in 2016, and the USL wasn't second division until 2017. So, back when USL was the third division, JJ Koval was below-average for the Sacramento Republic. Were Sacramento fans even sad to see him go after 2016? It didn't seem like it to me. Most probably didn't even notice his absence, because he's such a nothing. And what is this transfer nonsense? It's not enough to want to be transferred, some other team has to be not only interested in you, but willing to trade whatever assets it would take to acquire you. Apparently all those MLS teams that were willing to give up something of value for Koval suddenly disappeared a year later when the Quakes released him and he ended up in the third division because no other MLS team wanted him when he was available for free. As far as retirement goes, there is no lower professional league than the third division. What were his options? No one screwed him over (although Doyle screwed the Quakes over by drafting Koval with the 9th pick in the 2014 superdraft... as I have been saying since... 2014), and he did not leave willingly. If he didn't suck he'd be in MLS right now, not going to school to become a dentist. Exactly. “My passion and excitement about playing soccer was kind of declining, and my excitement about whatever was next, and that became dentistry, was growing,” echoed Koval, who’s planning to start school at Creighton in the fall. WTF I thought he was in dental school already. The guy retired at the end of the 2016 season. He's not starting school until late 2018?? What did he do for the two intervening years? I have been making "How is Koval doing in dental school" jokes for well over a year now! He's really displaying his passion and excitement for dentistry! Altho, frankly they are both better off for having left MLS behind. But hey at least mjlee22 can use Koval's delusional revisionist history to s**t on MLS
I believe he needed time to study and take exams to get into dental school. I also believe he had classes to finish at Stanford to get his undergrad. Most players who go to MLS right out of college are in the same boat.