The leap between too good for us vs good enough for Germany is huge. He can posture and hope. He's probably good enough for their youth teams but senior national is a whole other kettle of fish. He's 17 and just getting his first start in the 3.Liga. The sheer number of German centerbacks starting in the Bundesliga who are in front of him is staggering. Especially since German fans would tell you 98% of them aren't good enough for the national team anyway.
That may be true right now, but compare the U23s for the US and Germany and there's not really a noticeable difference. https://www.transfermarkt.com/spiel...jahrgang=0&land_id=40&kontinent_id=0&yt0=Show https://www.transfermarkt.com/spiel...ahrgang=0&land_id=184&kontinent_id=0&yt0=Show By the team Che matures, there might not be too much difference between the teams.
I'm not sure I totally understood what you're trying to say. Do you mean might not be much difference between our U-23 teams in four years or between the German National team and ours in four years because as much as we've improved that seems wildly optimistic to me.
The latter. It's a combo of this being cherry picked to our first wave of real talent as well as Germany's production falling off a cliff. That list is putrid for a country with the footballing reputation of Germany.
Worth noting that Che has no USYNT appearances either. The cancellation of the U20 cycle had a lot to do with that. The point is..............................the US doesn't have a relationship with him either. Bayern II coach Danny Schwarz on Justin Che after his first start:"He was outstanding, one of our best players today. What he delivered at the age of 17 was great... An all-round very successful debut from the start." https://t.co/pwLcwbXPPM— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) April 16, 2021 Another FCD academy youngster out on loan is former USYTer David Rodriguez. He started for San Luis in Liga MX yesterday ➡️ ¡El XI de nuestro equipo! 🔴⚪️ #HagamosQueSuceda pic.twitter.com/6MQlAOSg8X— Atlético de San Luis (@AtletideSanLuis) April 17, 2021
Three MLS players born in 2003 have already scored this season. RIcardo Pepi, Cade Cowell, and Caden Clark. They may not win this award, but they're certainly in the running. It'll take an outstanding season to pass Euro-based players.
Olympic aged players not called up but starting in MLS: George Bello (not released?) Brooks Lennon (not released?) Miles Robinson (not released) Josh Atencio Gianluca Busio James Sands Keaton Parks Cade Cowell Caden Clark John Pulskamp Jaylin Lindsay John Nelson Leon Flach Marco Farfan Robbie Robinson Anthony Fontana Eryk Williamson Andreas Jasson Cole Bassett Austin Trusty Moses Nyeman (not starting) Kevin Paredes (not starting) ...am I missing anyone?
Jerome Ebobisse -- though he ended up getting injured in between the callups and the beginning of the season, and thus is not starting.
Jeremy. He had a head injury, right? He’s always struck me as a tweener forward. He played on the wing in his MNT cap(s) with Baird IIRC.
Yes, thanks for the correction; brain fart over here. No, I think his injury was a hamstring injury suffered right before the season began. But I could be wrong.
Ebobisse had a concussion late last season. He is currently missing due to hamstring issues. He has been productive at striker and at wide positions. Thus, he's not really a tweener.
Of course one big difference is that the US' U23 talent don't actually have much competition from the 23-30 yr age group (gruppe). If the time comes where we have equivalent talent to Germany, he might not choose Germany. If that point were to come, based on talent, we would have to be a favorite, or at least a dark horse to win it all....and on our growth curve, a favorite to become a world power for the foreseeable future. Of course that is assuming we catch up to Germany in 2-5 years.....I don't think I am alone in my skepticism.
Actually, thus he IS a tweener. He doesn’t have an obvious position that he excels at. He’s OK out wide, but he’s not a prototypical winger. He isn’t as big as a traditional holdup guy, sorta lithe and wiry, and OK at best in the air.
I would describe a tweener as someone whose skills are between positions. And prototypical wingers and traditional holdup guys aren't the dominant types of players in those positions in today's game. An MLS tweener would be someone like Tristan Blackmon. He's not a dominant CB in a back four. He's not the attacking maestro of a fullback. Could be ace as an RCB in a back 3. Ebobisse has put up excellent numbers at wide position and at striker.
From what we can tell...............................for the U23 Olympic qualifying team, other players were simply selected over Ebobisse. Sebastian Soto, for instance. At the time, he didn't have an injury that prevented his selection. Jeremy is who he is. He's not a prospect anymore. He's 24 years old. The USMNT has simply moved on to younger forwards that have potentially higher ceilings. Daryl Dike is what? Three and a half years younger than Ebobisse? That's not to say I don't like Ebobisse. Our forward pool isn't deep enough for us to discount anybody. He's just a pool player to me, though.
I use the word to describe someone who doesn't have an obvious position as well. He gets moved wide and up top, but doesn't set either position on fire. His production is very good in terms of goals for a winger, decent for a forward. I haven't seen a breakdown between his time at winger vs. forward, but if it's unclear which spot he's better at, and he's splitting time equally between the two roles, then he's a "tweener" for me.
There's being good but not excellent in multiple positions: jack of all trades, master of none. Then there's excelling at multiple positions. Ebobisse has done the latter.
One thing I know about Ebobisse is that I don't consider him eligible as a "Breakout Youngster." He's 24. But anyway.......................I don't think we should sleep on Johnny. He's behind the Euro competition for the award, but becoming a starter at Internacional is no small feat. Let's see if it happens. People have judged him harshly for his performance at the Olympic qualifiers, however he was one of the youngest members of the team. Internacional 🇧🇷 Coach Miguel Ramirez said:“ We are preparing Johnny Cardoso 🇺🇸 to be a THE starting 6 or 8 for Inter for many years” https://t.co/GZQrIaLQT1— Tactical Manager (@ManagerTactical) April 25, 2021
He looked terrible at the Olympic Qualifiers in the latter two times he played. *But* when he and Perea came in at the end of the first game, I thought he looked pretty intriguing; good footwork, passing and creativity out of that position. I feel like his club team sees those qualities in him and that's why they've been so high on him. His stock definitely plummeted but we're so thirsty for creative mids that he'll be given more opportunities for sure.
Che (a CB) came off his last game at halftime down to 0-2. If you know how often CBs get subbed you know that's not great. Bayern is giving him a chance but wait and see if he gets bought. And then we should already know from Richards that Bayern is a hard place to break in.
Re Ebobisse, an 11 goal season is exaggerating "excelling." It's nice. We have a pile producing at that level or capable of it. When you have, say, Pulisic or Reyna or Morris or Musah wide (Weah and Konrad in reserve), "excellent" has to raise its game. I see him as a tweener because I think there are 9s with better foot skills or production, and wings who can finish better or create more precisely. At USMNT senior level with a decent pool it starts to matter if you are an excellent specialist, good at your specific job. IMO his best shot would be work on his finishing and put up big 9 numbers. That position you have some "brands" or "prospects" people like but few who put up MNT numbers.
We have some interesting off-season decisions looming. Konrad de la Fuente is one of the top for me. Excelling with Barca B. Can't break routinely into the Barca first team (like Richards at Bayern, that's no crime). De la Fuente has a Spanish passport, so a lot of doors are open to him. Konrad de la Fuente is catching fire 🔥 https://t.co/rpKLwcxbbl— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) April 27, 2021
Speaking of Bayern, it'll be interesting to see what they do with Taylor Booth this off-season. He's done really well on loan in Austria. Booth and Servania both starting! 🇺🇸🇺🇸 https://t.co/UU8EesnEhy— 🇺🇸 ⚽ east (@eastdeflection) April 27, 2021
Yup. Something to keep in mind, though..................... Justin Che is ~two years ahead of Chris Richards' timeline. Justin is 17. RIchards didn't play for Bayern II until he was 19. They don't have a transfer clause in this loan contract like they had on the Richards one. Will they make a move for him? Who the hell knows. Either way, this is a great opportunity for Justin.