Link to last year’s thread: https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/youth-yanks-abroad-97-00-yobs-2018-19-thread.2085000/ Thanks to @Dave Marino-Nachison for starting these threads last year.
A good day for @hikfodbold midfielder 🇺🇸 Christian Cappis (19) as he helped Hobro steal a point vs. Esbjerg fB in @Superligaen play. 🔄 89’ Subbed in🅰️ 94’ Assists Ahmedhodžić’s equalizerThink there’s a big season ahead for Cappis. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/eoRSIyQr53— Football Wonderkids (@fbwonderkids) July 21, 2019
Dest is moving closer to getting into the first team when the season starts, IMO. 1153357018016694272 is not a valid tweet id I wouldn't mind him transferring to a better club in the Danish league, but I don't know if he's yet ready to transfer to a better league. https://t.co/v4NfVWCNKK— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) July 22, 2019
Thought people without Twitter would like to see this. This is quality. This is next level. This is special. Do you see it?“If you know, you know.” 😎@aleexm21 @3four3 pic.twitter.com/8vBkMDyxZe— John Pranjić (@ThatCroatianGuy) July 22, 2019
Now that the Kleiban's have been exposed, they leave it to Pranjic to hype up their former players and current clients. Which is fine I guess. Note the comment stream. Once again their comments section becomes a stream of hyping Galaxy youngsters (or clients shall we say) and bashing the American soccer pool and other young players. As if this is an other-wordly pass that no other kid in the pool can pull off. Oh, but they say not other American players can pull this off.............except another client Jorge Hernandez. I like Mendez. I like Llanez. My dislike for the Kleibans/Pranjic (and the fluffers that surround them) really makes it hard for me to fully embrace them. I mean, what is this cult bashing Paxton Pomykal for? Did I not just watch the U20 WC in which Pomykal outplayed Mendez? Or am I just making that up in my head? I mean............read this clown's twitter feed. Really read it. Nothing but contempt for MLS, US Soccer, and what we're currently trying to do. You read his thread, understand what his role is with these young players.....................and then try to act surprised that Galaxy kids play for Mexico and leave MLS academies.
I think it's sad that the Kleibans and followers have conducted themselves the way they have. I wouldn't be saying this if they had nothing worthwhile to offer. Beyond Brian's coaching of some very good players, the 3four3 coaching methodology has helped many new coaches, many of whom are just regular guys looking to improve. Most of them only know about the coaching. I wonder how they would feel if they saw some of the antics. In addition, the podcasts that Pranjic has hosted have featured some very worthwhile guests. All that said, we come back to the other stuff, the constant put down of anyone or any entity who they don't deem worthy of their respect. Pranjic is so obsessive about promotion/regulation that he's been hounding Stu Holden on twitter, all because Holden, along with Steve Nash, are part owners in Real Mallorca, which just promoted to La Liga. Both were shown celebrating the promotion on twitter, so Pranjic is demanding to know why if Holden celebrates promotion in Spanish football he's not actively campaigning for it in the U.S. These tweets seem to occur every other day. Holden, to his credit, has not responded. As for Brian Kleiban, what in the world was he thinking when he so obviously shunted players to his brother/agent and away from the Galaxy. He had a good gig, and was highly regarded by many. Now where will he coach, considering that there's now a lack of trust. I suppose he can return to non-MLS club coaching, but what MLS club would now hire him? Maybe he can go overseas somewhere.
Basically how I feel. What I'm trying to say is....................give me the PRODUCTION of Matt Pilkington, Luchi Gonzalez, and others over the endless talk and self-promotion of the Kleibans. Brian Kleiban might be a better coach, but the harpies that he surrounded himself with made it very difficult to root for him. Just as an aside, the Kleiban/Pranjic/3four3 poster child for a loooooooooooong time was Ben Lederman. Oh, the endless social media posts about how this kid that they'd nurtured was too good to go into the American system. He had to go train at Barcelona in order to achieve the greatness that was so obviously coming. The endless complaints by Gary Kleiban and others that if he stayed in the US, Lederman would be marginalized due to his lack of size and sheer athletic ability. That his technical ability was so magical, that only abroad could he realize his potential. Turns out everybody else was right. And they might be right about Mendez as well. For we saw the same thing at the U20 World Cup. A kid with great technical ability, but we still have questions about his athleticism and the physical attributes required to be an elite soccer player. Hell, people still question the same about Efrain Alvarez. The Kleibans went ALL IN on technical ability first over the other attributes. And their success rate isn't great. The drills are pretty to watch, I'll give them that. But we are trying to develop elite athletes here. The Kleibans used to have social media posts indicating the similarity in size between Lederman and Lionel Messi. As if that meant anything. Lionel Messi is a much better athlete than folks give him credit for.
I agree that it seems they, coincidently, don't rate anyone not affiliated with them. But it is an American soccer fan, at least on Twitter and around here, thing to bash other Americans to prop up their favorite. From bashing Sargent to prop up Wright, or McKennie to make a case for Roldan, or Mendez to talk up Pomykal (or vice versa), it is dumb. Mendez is a completely different player, imo, than Pomykal. Did he "outplay" him at the U20 WC? I thought both were not used well by Ramos. I think Pomykal made plays in the center of the field and was a defensive force. However, I can think of several passes by Mendez that were some of the best I saw all Summer in any tournament, youth or senior, that I watched. Both Mendez and Pomykal are excellent prospects with some holes. Mendez is weak on defense and Pomykal doesn't really score goals or get assists.
The thing we didn't realize at the time, but do now, is that folks like Gary Kleiban aren't just fans. He's Mendez' agent. He was trashing players like Carleton and Pomykal on social media with an agenda. I don't know much about this "agency" but it won't surprise me to find out Pranjic is involved somehow as well. Te Kloese came in, cleared house of this sketchiness. He complained a bit in the media about agents of Mendez and Llanez, blaming him for the situation. I'm not sure all of these coaches with FMF/Mexico connections is good for us as USMNT/USYNT fans, but the Galaxy is in a better place.
I also enjoyed the sudden negativity towards Araujo almost immediately after he rejected Gary and signed with a different agent.
Araujo doesn't have the long Barca, ChivasUSA, Galaxy connection to the Kleibans that others like Mendez, Llanez, Alvarez, Lederman, Hilton, etc. have. Right? There was the cult of players/families that stuck with the Kleibans in move after move for a decade. Its this weird insular family that's completely bought in on what the Kleibans are selling. Ironically, the Kleiban family member impacting first team soccer right now is the one that stayed in MLS. Efrain Alvarez. Anyway, I'm going to drop it because the topic is veering the thread off course.
True, but for all I know, you are Pomykal's agent. You have to just take everything with a grain of salt. The Mendez play Pranic, tweeted (and Pranic is on the Kleiban payroll of course) was a nice play. I just enjoy the play, and know the source. Mendez hitting that ball says nothing about Pomykal, totally agree. When Gary says Tyler Adams has no skill, I can realize where that is coming from. I don't understand what Adams has to do with anything; or what he gains by trashing him. You would think agents would want to generally stay on any player's good side, they could be future clients! I wouldn't even have known Mendez was playing with Freiberg (U23s?) if these guys didn't tweet it out. So, there is some utility to what they are doing for me. But you have to think critically, no doubt. As for the Galaxy, let's face it. In the middle of a tremendous soccer area and they have produced Zardes outside of the kids Kleiban coached. We will see if anything becomes of Efra, Alex, Kobe and Uly.; and we will see if anything comes after. But as a USMNT fan, you would probably have wished Kleiban was still there. Not sure if Araujo was coached by Kleiban and just didn't sign with Gary. Further, we don't know, or at least I don't, if the previous regime (e.g. Arena) was ok with the set up with the Kleibans. Definitely helps to know the link though, agree again.
i will say, it couldve been a lot easier had the original tweeter said 'good soccer iq and great technique from mendez to switch field here'
That entire community creates the most tiresome echo chamber in footy. I can respect the angle that they are coming from in many respects, but the ego of that operation is insufferable. At least Pranjic is up front that they are much closer to media savants than soccer gurus.
I’ll preface it that I’m a big fan of the players Brian has produced but I hate 3four3 at this point. I agreed about Pranjic until they had that guy recently who was just a dude who is a fan of Pro/Rel and tweets about it. The guys essentially had no credentials, Pranjic was essentially just showcasing how a guy of moderate intelligence liked pro/rel. Pranjic gave such T-Balls as “you work in tech right” to which the guy vaguely says yes he works in tech and that for some reason made him so smart that he could fix US Soccer. Which for the record is the most obnoxious argument for Gary too, “oh, he’s not dumb, he’s a got a degree in engineering” I’ve met plenty of people who are very intelligent and I’ve never had to be told by them first, they just showed it. The problem with social media is that definitive statements like “MENDEZ IS THE BEST PLAYER IN THE WORLD, POMYKAL IS BAD!” Gets engagement and statements like “I prefer Mendez to Pomykal, and I think he has a higher ceiling” gets nothing. Its a free world and all so do as you will but he’s going to end up hurting the careers of children that trust him because he’s a condescending brat and no one wants to stand behind him.
Nobody is questioning the credentials of Brian Kleiban as a coach. Its the insufferable "holier than thou" arrogance of this 3four3 circle that really gets to people. As if these guys like Pranjic and Gary Kleiban know the light and the way. Everybody else in the US soccer community is doing it wrong...................... Give me Matt Pilkington. Back-to-back U19DA Champions with NYCFC producing a string of talented youngsters at Bethesda-Olney and NYCFC. We never, ever, ever hear a peep from him. Ever. There's no Matt Pilkington hype society on social media. There's no Matt Pilkington co-worker posting Gio Reyna highlights on twitter, making sure to point out the work that Matt did with him. Matt just does the coaching, and lets all of the results speak for themselves. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's my viewpoint..................... [And yes, I know the cult of FC Dallas can be insufferable. Of course that's partly because so many FCD fans post on these boards. As far as I know, none of us have any connection to the club or coaches however.]
I could care less, as a fan of the USMNT, whether the 3four3 guys say anything. I don't care what attitude they have. I don't care if they undermined the Galaxy's plan to get great young players cheap. I understand if you are a Galaxy fan or an MLS defender around here that those things would be important. Sorry, I just don't care. I don't even care about Gary, but Brian has proven he can evaluate and train talent. Not many around have done as well for the USMNT program in the last few years. 2 US U20 WC players, 2 USA U17 WC players, and a Mexican U17 WC player. That is a pretty good haul. And beats everything the Galaxy had produced in the previous 20 years, which is sad but amazing. As a fan of the USMNT, I hope Brian is involved in talent identification and training, in this country, again and soon. I can't think of a worst scenario than he is lured to Mexico or Argentina.
Brian Kleiban could go to Mexico or Argentina. I'd find it highly unlikely that he'll ever get an MLS or USYNT job ever again. No chance whatsoever he gets a USSF job. Are you kidding me? What a mess Southern California has been. Lets not forget that UCLA coach Jorge Salcedo was arrested/charged/indicted recently. Racketeering. He also had a strong connection to the Galaxy for a while.
Nobody said Brian can't coach, but he's burned any bridge of ever being involved with an MLS academy or within the USSF. His best chance to get a gig in this country is maybe a non-MLS DA. But can he compete against local MLS clubs that cover all costs? Maybe he can catch on at an NCAA job. But regardless, if on your resume is that you got fired from your previous job because you underminded your employer to financially benefit your brother is an absolutely horrible trait to have on a resume in any profession.