Re: Zimmerman to SV Kapfenberg (Austria) With Twellman, I would not worry about his body, more his skill. He could hold the ball a lot better if he was more skillful. He has the heart of a lion... but average skill. Look at Crespo. He is not astonishing physically, but he is very skillful. THAT is what most yank players need more of. B
Re: Zimmerman to SV Kapfenberg (Austria) Posted results in thread with no [R] despite YA gameday thread existed.
Re: Zimmerman to SV Kapfenberg (Austria) Seems like our other threads used to track a player's progress at his club have [R] in the title, so...
Re: Zimmerman to SV Kapfenberg (Austria) For the record, Zimmerman has been playing mostly on the right side of midfield. This is according to the kid himself.
Re: Zimmerman to SV Kapfenberg (Austria) Preston is started today for KSV against Ried. 0-0 right now, late first half.
Re: Zimmerman to SV Kapfenberg (Austria) Make that 2-0. This would be a huge three points for Kapfenberg.
Re: Zimmerman to SV Kapfenberg (Austria) Zimmerman subbed out in the 86th minute because of Rückenschmerzen, better known as back pain. Hopefully it's not too serious because Zimmerman seems to have locked down a starting spot. The win gives KSV a 3 point lead over Karnten for last place and the only relegation spot, assuming Karnten loses to RB Salzburg later.
Re: Zimmerman to SV Kapfenberg (Austria) I have highlights from the game up: http://watchsocceronline.blogspot.com/
Re: Zimmerman to SV Kapfenberg (Austria) From the highlights, it looks more of a right forward in 4-3-3 type of formation or a really aggressive wingplay because he is spending a lot of time on the penalty box area. He's been looking good too.
Predictably enough, Kapfenberg is getting manhandled by RB Salzburg 6-1 right now, 58th minute or so. On the plus side, Zimmerman's starting, so that Rückenschmerzen must not have been serious.
Yeah, and I'm glad he's cashing in if that is indeed the case, but the Austrian Bundesliga is not even on the level of MLS. If he is not making some decent money and doesn't get offers to move on within 18 months or so, he should think about going home to play.
Ended 7-3. Brutal. As Pagefan mentioned, it is still good news that he is starting. I believe this is the third game in a row that he has started. Good news for him there. Unfortunately, Preston wasn't able to get one of those 3 goals. highlights of the game are up: http://watchsocceronline.blogspot.com/
What level is MLS level? Panama? T&T? There are a lot of places between Kapfenberg and MLS. The Austrian B-Liga is ~ high B-liga II quality and playing there in one's early 20's ain't the worst sin. And the money is better to boot. I believe HSV has a buy-back clause but, regardless, Austria is a satisfactory intermediate step in one's career. Preston is starting at 19 and getting valuable experienc. If he doesn't turn into anything more than a career Austrian league player, then it's probably his limit.
Many Austrians have a very different view. They see the main reason for the total stagnation of the national team in the horrible quality of their league, and the fact that many talented young players stayed too long in their Bundesliga, and never developed to a higher level. After the good performance at the last U20 world cup, almost everyone hoped that the players would leave Austria as soon as possible, and become quality players in a better league. I don't think that the level is high Bundesliga II quality, some comparisons indicate it is worse. Take Steffen Hofmann, the superstar of the Austrian league; 19 goals and 54 assists in 87 games in Austria; he was a total flop at 1860 in Bundesliga II, and went back to Austria after 6 months. Or Stefan Maierhofer, made redundant in Fürth in Bundesliga II for a lack of quality; top striker in Vienna with 7 goals in 12 games. The Austrian Bundesliga is a good place for aging players to make some money in a league with a lower tempo; it is no very good place for a young player to develop. They will go down from #20 to #25 in the UEFA country ranking next year.
What I'm screaming. I mean, I only live in Austria, but don't mind me. Just assume I am attacking the kid for no good reason. The fact is that he not only went to an Austrian team, he went to a team that was only promoted to the BL for this season and is wallowing at the bottom of the league. Most of the best young Austrian prospects are already with clubs outside of Austria by the time they are 18 or so. The Austrians have absolutely no problem with this because they harbor no illusions about the quality of their league. It is not as good as the BL II, Belgium, MLS, or any number of other leagues. It is, in fact, quite a bad league that exists only as a springboard from guys transitioning from the Balkans to the bigger leagues in Western Europe and they don't even land so many of those anymore.
Austrians, much like all Germans, are naturally pessimistic. If they think their own league sucks, it must suck slightly less than what they think. But, off the highlights (including last year's Jaqua clips), the movement off the ball and combination play is superior to MLS. I assume MLS is superior athletically. Comparing player here vs. the same player there is acceptable if a large sample exists. So far, Nate Jaqua did as well in A/B-liga with Altach as he had done in the MLS while Joseph Ngwenya, who scored 7 goals for Houston in 2007, couldn't get off the bench at Kärnten. So, that's one for and one against.
Yeah, and gaving seen them, I don't think any of them will ever be counted as greats either in the annals of Austrian players or among contemporary world stars. Hoffer and Kavlak are OK but aren't even fully integrated into a weak national team and Okotie isn't nearly as good as he was made to look against the U.S. U-20s in Austria. The majority of the Austrian national team plays abroad and with good reason.
The best teams in Austria are better than the best teams in the MLS. Rapid, Salzburg, Sturm, and Austria Wien are better than any of the teams in the mls in my opinion, and i've seen enough of both leagues to be a pretty fair judge. No player from the NCAA could just step into the bundesliga here and be a starter like they do in the MLS. that would be a pretty big deal to step up from being about 4th division quality player here to all the sudden becoming a bundesliga player. the mls has some good players who they pay a lot of money, but the quality of your average player in the MLS is not as good as it is in the austrian league.
Well, I will give you Rapid and Salzburg, but I think it is pretty much all downhill after that. Teams like Houston, Chicago and Columbus would do very well in Austria.