Mukwelle Akale at Villarreal

Discussion in 'Yanks Abroad' started by Mario Balotelli, Apr 25, 2014.

  1. Mario Balotelli

    Mario Balotelli Member+

    United States
    Feb 28, 2012
    Club:
    Manchester City FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Mukwelle Akale is headed to Spain to sign a precontract with Villarreal on Monday, multiple sources told TopDrawerSoccer.com on Friday. The precontract with the La Liga side is necessary, as Akale does not turn 18 until January 18.

    The U.S. U18 Men’s National Team midfielder is one of the most skilled prospects in the youth national team structure. With sublime ball control, excellent field vision, and a knack for scooting around larger opponents, Akale has become a focal point of the offense while playing as the attacking midfielder with the youth national team.


    Link

    Seems like a great fit given his size and skill set.
     
  2. Scotty

    Scotty Member+

    Dec 15, 1999
    Toscana
    Tom Collingsworth repped this.
  3. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Jun 9, 1999
    He's good, but I always liked Ibagaza II better.
     
    Scotty repped this.
  4. Chance

    Chance Member+

    Minnesota United FC
    United States
    Apr 5, 2012
    Minneapolis, Minnesota
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    MINNESOTA REPRESENT!!! :thumbsup:
     
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  5. Scotty

    Scotty Member+

    Dec 15, 1999
    Toscana
    #5 Scotty, Apr 25, 2014
    Last edited: Apr 25, 2014
    So under the Cotonou Agreement, a Cameroonian passport would keep him from being counted as a foreign player in the Spanish league, right?
     
  6. Stogey23

    Stogey23 Member+

    Dec 12, 1998
    San Diego, CA
    Looks like it's just back to being Prince and Kirby Puckett.
     
  7. xbhaskarx

    xbhaskarx Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Feb 13, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    5'2" that's more worrying than Emerson Hyndman... someone contact Messi's doctors and get this kid some HGH.
     
  8. The Foo Fighter

    The Foo Fighter Member+

    Mar 15, 2011
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    See Cazola, Santi. He will be fine
     
  9. Bruce S

    Bruce S Member+

    Sep 10, 1999
    what was Maradona-5'4"?
     
  10. xbhaskarx

    xbhaskarx Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Feb 13, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Heck he could be an NBA star, see [name of some outlier from which no conclusions should be drawn].

    He may be fine at 5'2", or he may be not fine, who knows. BUT his odds would be far better if he was 5'6-8" (I'll spare you the list of soccer stars in that range)...
     
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  11. Tom Collingsworth

    Jun 14, 2011
    North Carolina
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't think the ussoccer listing is up to date (shocker) he is supposedly 5'4 now. Still a little guy obviously but seems he is still growing at least.
     
  12. gunnerfan7

    gunnerfan7 Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Jul 22, 2012
    Santa Cruz, California
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    People stop growing at like what, 21? He's got time. When's his BDay? He's 17-ish now, right?
     
  13. Scotty

    Scotty Member+

    Dec 15, 1999
    Toscana
  14. xbhaskarx

    xbhaskarx Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Feb 13, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Why do people keep doing this "one" thing?
    "I was going to take a basic statistics course and learn about sample sizes, outliers, etc. but I decided to drop out of college instead because BILL GATES."
     
  15. gunnerfan7

    gunnerfan7 Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Jul 22, 2012
    Santa Cruz, California
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    He's already 5'4", and he could grow some more. Plus, if he has enough skill on the ball, it won't matter how tall he is. Why are you so fixated on his height? This is NOT the NBA, height doesn't play as big a role in this game as it does there.
     
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  16. Scotty

    Scotty Member+

    Dec 15, 1999
    Toscana
    #16 Scotty, Apr 28, 2014
    Last edited: Apr 28, 2014
    I know he's hardly the average height for a pro, but the point still stands that the Spanish league has always had its share of small, skillful attackers. And as it's been pointed out, Akale only turned 17 a few months ago.

    But anyway, if you want to keep wringing your hands over it then by all means go ahead. In fact, maybe there's still time for you to contact the Villarreal scouts and point out his height, thus saving them from making a huge mistake.
     
  17. xbhaskarx

    xbhaskarx Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Feb 13, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #17 xbhaskarx, Apr 28, 2014
    Last edited: Apr 28, 2014
    Yes it's certainly not the NBA, where 17% of all American males above 7' have NBA careers and a player who is 7' tall or above gets paid 20% more than one who is just 6'11"... we're talking about 5'2" (or 4" maybe) vs 5'6-8"... what percentage of say the top 25 players ever for the US national team have been under that range?
    And maybe he'll get there given his age and if he's really 5'4" and not 5'2", but naming a few individuals who had success at that height is irrelevant (hence my comparison to dropping out of college because Bill Gates did it)... If there was a 6'7" youth forward I'd be just as worried, even if others were sure his height wouldn't work against him because Peter Crouch happens to exist. If there was a young player who was incredibly slow, the fact that Blanco was still playing professionally as a low old man would hardly be consolation.
     
  18. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This isn't even a question, if you're observant...5'4" is a problem. But he might be a late bloomer. I was about his height when I started my senior year of high school (maybe I was even 5'3"). I'm 5'10" now.

    Every inch will help. There's no cutoff point..."oh, he's too short." It's just really hard when you're 5'4", a little less hard when you're 5'5", a bit of a problem when you're 5'6", etc.
     
  19. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Shrug. Call me in two years when he's 19-20 regarding the height issue.

    He's a recently-turned 17 year old prospect. He's still got growing to do in terms of his height and his build.

    He's not going to develop into the next Luca Toni. I'm pretty confident of that. But let's give it a while before we fret about his height. We can all come up with a list of short forwards that excelled in this sport that were 5'8" or shorter. Antonio Di Natale and on and on.

    He was presumably smaller than many of the players he competed against at these recent youth tournaments, and yet he was named "Player of the Tournament" at a recent competition that both Spain and Argentina were at....................................
     
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  20. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    So his career will be about as good as Freddy Adu's.
     
  21. m vann

    m vann Moderator
    Staff Member

    Colorado Rapids, Celtic FC, & Louisville City
    Sep 10, 2002
    Denver, CO
    Club:
    Celtic FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think I am more concerned about some Villarreal clown throwing a banana his way than his lack of height. It's probably an isolated incident and Villarreal has taken immediate action to identify and ban the supporter who chucked a banana at Dani Alves but I'd think hard and long if I were of African decent looking to sign with Villarreal.
     
  22. Scotty

    Scotty Member+

    Dec 15, 1999
    Toscana
    Only a few years ago the tables were turned and it was Barcelona fans who were dishing out racist abuse:

    Kameni suffers racism at Camp Nou

    And a few years before that Kameni was receiving it from fans of his own team, as well as Atletico Madrid supporters.

    Basically, it's a league problem that extends much farther than just Villarreal.
     
  23. Scotty

    Scotty Member+

    Dec 15, 1999
    Toscana
     
  24. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
  25. Testudo

    Testudo Member+

    Jan 29, 1999
    Arlington, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

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