Uh, El Paso to Dallas is a cakewalk compared to Dallas to Bavarian relegation-threatened club in 3rd/4th best league in world. This was a huge career leap in faith with a club with no track record of handling these situations well.
Just a follow up to my own post: Milan bought 18 yr old centre frward Lazetic from Red Star Belgrade for 5.0M Euros which just announced yday/today Not sure why all the negativity about Pepi so far at Augsburg. The fh of last game was awful due to game plan which has nothing to do with Pepi. In the second half, with the game lost. they took him off which seems to be a thing with YA's headed for WC quali's.
For the record i’m not negative about Pepi. He’s got the goods but he’s also got big challenges ahead. I look forward to seeing him succeed at Augsburg or wherever else he may land. I do find his current situation strange. But, color me positive!
Young and developing talent should never go a relegation team, that rarely work out well. You need a steady and solid environment to further develop and grow your game, a dog fight every week to survive is not that environment.
Yea for our young guys in MLS making moves to Europe ideally it’s a mid-table side whether it’s a team in one of the top 4 leagues or 5-7 (France, Portugal, Netherlands). Sometimes those clubs simply aren’t seeking someone like Pepi, have too much competition for time, aren’t offering enough $, or their playstyle isn’t ideal. Bottom sides are particularly tough for a developing striker like Pepi who needs more chances to develop. Augsburg were 13th, 15th, and 15th the last 3 seasons. Despite FC Dallas not performing as well as expected last season, they still had plenty of time in the opposing team’s attacking third which resulted in plenty of chances for Pepi. I’m still not completely convinced this was a bad move for Pepi though. I’m hoping this allows him to develop other areas of his game that need attention like his holdup play.
Yep. And you certainly don't go as the club's record signing. That paints a massive target on your back if you don't deliver right out of the gate and you'll become the Messiah or Satan incarnate A promotion-chasing side OTOH is good. They're strong in their division and if you work out quickly you're the cherry on top; if you don't, good messaging from the club can portray you as a "one for the future purchase".
'Broken nose' Ricardo Pepi on IG 🥴 pic.twitter.com/JxOxWAHDT3— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) February 3, 2022
Playing with a broken, bloodied frozen nose in those conditions is impressive. Pepi is definitely a tough dude.
Does anyone know the cumulative of Pepi’s games/goals since September? (Adding up MLS, Dallas, and Augsburg). It is quite low, no?
You can clearly see the play in which his nose got broken (about 4 plays in). That must have hurt like a MTHRFCKR.
Starting October 1, he has played in 16 games and has 2 goals and 1 assist. The 2 goals came in the home qualifier against Jamaica, and the assist came in the away qualifier against Jamaica.
Holden said that during the broadcast, that the face/nose would be the last place he would want to get hit in the cold.
Arrived yesterday back to Augsburg and not available today Carlos Gruezo und Ricardo Pepi sind erst gestern von ihren Reisen mit der Nationalmannschaft zurückgekehrt und deshalb nicht im Kader. ℹ Alle Infos zur Aufstellung ⤵— FC Augsburg (@FCAugsburg) February 5, 2022
Man, this is gonna suck either way. Either he is out for a number of games OR he has to deal with this (and breathing issues) for quite a while. I'd think we will see the famous clear mask? Has to be really uncomfortable to play with that thing on....
I'd rather he get some serious game time between now and March to try to get back into form prior to those crucial qualifiers and just for him to get some confidence and settle into life in the 1.BL.
A step back can be good for a young player's mental state. 12 months ago, he had scored 3 goals at the MLS level and had never played for the US above the U17s. Now he's a $20 million striker in the Bundesliga who's viewed as our national savior at striker. That's a lot of change to process in a very short period of time. Not to mention that it all happened during a pandemic.
Broken nose is NOT considering a soccer injury. Concussion yes, ACL yes, MCL yes, muscle yes. Not broken nose. When I played a semi-pro league and I got nose hit by a beast defender. I went to hospital, they said too swollen, come back few days for x-ray. I went back few days after swollen gone, they find out it is already healed.
In your case of super human healing speed or misdiagnoses I 100% agree with you. Unfortunately neither applies to Pepi.