Zimmerman is simply the most important player from this U-17 group. He is the target or in the box forward for the future and that is the one position I see very little talent coming up. We have McBride nearing the end, Ching and Casey who both should be beaten out, maybe Jaqua, Twellman, Cooper who are not very good options as a target but maybe could function as a unit with Johnson/Donovan, and the underwhelming Ochoa from the U-20's. Now I suppose we may not always use a "target" forward but i'm hoping that Zimmerman becomes good enough that it's not a sacrifice. This would be a fantastic opportunity for him to get in there and start fighting for positions with grown men in the Regonalia. I would expect he'll have growing pains for a few years but he has such a motor that he would come out of such challenge as a fantastic player. For those not familiar with him think Brian Mcbride with a motor that never stops and vocal leadership. His younger brother is a dm and Preston could probably be a good one of those two if he wasn't so busy scoring goals. He simply is a fantastic full men's team prospect and just for those wondering he's been more productive than golden boy Arvizu. Personally I was shocked to see all those goals from Kirk but his future is at a wing or the U-17's would have left him up top. 2005 GP/GS Goals Assists Arvizu, David F 34/28 8 7 Gonzalez, Omar F 29/14 6 6 Kirk, Quavas F 30/24 19 6 Soroka, Ryan F 39/35 9 7 Zimmerman, Preston F 37/35 15 11
Assuming HSV can't get around the FIFA rule and that PZ can't get an EU passport and, thus, he can't sign in Germany till he turns 18 next November, why not just go to Duke for two semesters - this spring and next fall - and sign with HSV after finals? Obviously, a lot can happen between now and then and HSV could change their minds, but there are worse places to serve your soccer pergatory than a season of ACC soccer.
If it can't get worked out as you say, I'm pretty sure he'd be perfectly fine with heading to Duke. I have never once heard him say he isn't happy with the choice of Duke. In fact he is always very positive about Duke and playing there.
He could train with HSV for no pay. His parents would have to pick up the tab for one year. I am sure HSV will then reimburse the expenses.
Durring the U-17's Zimmerman made a first control touch in the box from a long/high ball that would make Zidane or Pele proud. He really had to stretch for the second touch to slide it over to a teammate before his marker got to it but he had totally opened up the center of the box with one touch and set up his teammate with a sitter. The problem is that more than likely this was a "lucky" mistake rather than a piece of "good" play, but sometimes a forward would rather be lucky than good. If Zimmerman can actually finish at a good rate, over 20%, then his "luck", anticipation, and work ethic will take him to the first team.
It's a waste of a year for him. If he wants to go pro - and it sounds like he does - then he may as well jump into it feet first, as it were.
I'm still processing fact that Hamburg wants him (it did say that, right?) to play in Benny's group. That is some vote of confidence.
But jump where? If HSV can't sign him for another year, does it really make sense for him to train over there without the protection of a contract or the ability to play in real games? Might make more sense to play college ball one season, get some youth US games in as well, get at least a taste of the college educational/life experience, and then move to Germany next winter.
Or he could go to Duke, age a year, and enter the market as a n actual commodity. If HSV is this high on him, they're unlikely the only ones. Nothing wrong with a bidding war. And, as everyone who frequents the internet knows, those who've just turned 18 are always in high demand.
They could always buy his contract and loan him to MLS. Not likely, but I think we'll start seeing some more of this in upcoming years to get around the age rule.
No, I don't think so. While he's 17 he can't register with the German FA, so they can't sign him as a soccer player. There does seem to be a Dutch team that signed a Brazilian kid who is underage, but the contract is non-binding once he turns 18. Basically, the Dutch team (forget which) is paying him to train with them. He can't play reserves or U-x or anything. They're paying for goodwill, they're paying him in hopes that when he's a free agent at age 18, if he's really good and gets better offers, he'll stick with the Dutch team. I think teams might try this, but IMO it's ultimately a doomed strategy. If a club signs a kid and he's not that good, they've wasted their money. If they sign a kid and he IS good, I suspect enough kids will go with the highest bidder, especially if the difference is substantial, to eventually convince clubs it's not worth it. But we'll see.
I think so. IMO, he'll get real pro training at HSV that he won't get in NCAA and the financial arrangements, although not a pro contract per se, can be made with the parents anyway. He's a Bradenton kid, so he has had his "dorm experience" already. Besides, once in Hamburg, I hear he can find more than a few things to do. I believe in handshake agreements and Hamburg scouts have obviously been tracking PZ for quite some time. And HSV is a big Euro club. As long as he get insurance, this is a no-lose proposition for him. Heck, I spent half my 17th year "abroad". It ain't that bad, especially if he's got a few schillings to spend.
One thing people are leaving out is that Duke girls are ugly. Granted, he'd only be 8 miles from Chapel Hill. Still, his college experience won't be as great as it might have been.
Realistically there has got to be a way around this for clubs willing to openly flout the supposed spirit of the law. Could a club maybe sign a player like Zimmerman to a multiyear "consulting" contract at some inflated value -- maybe his "job" is to hang out with the U-7s for 30 minutes a week for $300,000 year -- and then let him train "informally" while he's with the club? Then they could cancel the contract when he turns 18 and give him a pro deal... No doubt smarter people than I are trying to figure this out as well, but on its surface it at least seems slightly possible...
But then he would be living in the country illegally after his 3 month visitor visa expired. He would have no rights and wouldn't even be able to get a bank account. I don't think that would ever happen.
Isn't it six months in Germany? Anyway, he could just fly back to the US before the deadline and then return a few days later. re: work permits - I don't have a umlimited WP but I do have permission to work here at the university as an native speaker of English and an US cultural expert. Sounds fancy don't it
I don't think it is that hard to circumvent European immigration limits to time spent in country. I did it. When studying abroad in Hungary (which had a one month limit), I left the country every time I almost overstayed my alloted time. Once, I just crossed the border into Croatia and recrossed the border five minutes laters. I took an afternoon in Vienna another time. My fiance did it in Spain during the same period and a friend of ours did it in England. Another way to do it is to enroll him in an educational program in Germany where he would have a student visa, which is a lot more accomodating.
Yeah, they could...but the club has no mechanism to force the player to sign with them when he turns 18. I used the analogy somewhere, Chelsea could make Freddy Adu the most highly paid steward in soccer, but he'd still be free at age 18 to sign with Real Madrid.
What if the consulting contract ran for, say, three years? If you signed a 17-year-old player to such a deal, you could keep him in this manner until he was 20... I suppose the player could just stop showing up for training and take your money, though, fulfilling only the letter of his contract and costing you a heckuva lot of money. (Granted, this would arguably hurt his career, too.) In the end, an awful lot would rest on a handshake.