I knew very little about this guy going into the U-20 Cup and was a bit distressed that he was seeing so much action at an important position, seeing how his only qualification was NCAA. But I've really been quite impressed. Does he have the ability to claim an Italian passport? If so, any rumors anyone's heard yet?
Re: Sal Zizzo I believe in the Poland game the PBP announcer stated he held Italian and Cuban passports.
Re: Sal Zizzo So then he's elligible to play in the lucrative and prestigious Cuban 1st division? Excellent!
Re: Sal Zizzo have to say that pretty-boy impressed. i mean, how often do you see americans turn w/ the ball and take on defenders on the wing when they can make the easy back pass? breath of fresh air.
Re: Sal Zizzo UCLA. I'm told he declined a Gen Adidas invite ostensibly to hold out for European opportunities, so this tournament may be his ticket.
Re: Sal Zizzo Against Brazil he showed a nice package: pace, skill on the ball, a strong body, and good instincts. Two stellar games in a row from Zizzo in my opinion.
Re: Sal Zizzo I think he looked great against Poland and good against Brazil, but given the competition, there's nothing wrong with that.
Re: Sal Zizzo I thought he had some trouble against Brazil. playing against Brazil pretty much sorted out those with pro or amateur experience.
Re: Sal Zizzo Zizzo has looked alternatively spectacular and ordinary. But if you would make a tape of his top 6-7 runs vs. Poland and Brazil, and explain the context.... Most scouts would be very, very interested in the kid. He reminds a lot of a young Ribery with his twisty style on right. I think he could actually wind up as a right back also. He showed some real ferociousness in the Poland game tackling, and getting back on D. If I am a good European team- I'm taking the kid as an Ashley Cole pick (forward/winger, that we can convert to back if he isn't skilled/fast enough up front)
Re: Sal Zizzo He needs to break the habit of watching the ball at his feet when he's making runs. Other than that, I'm pretty positive about his future.
Re: Sal Zizzo He had wanted to go to Italy, I believe, but essentially can go anywhere in the EU. One reckons he'd get at least as good a deal as Benny Feilhaber and probably somewhat more due to his position and the increase of money in Euro soccer in general.
Re: Sal Zizzo I think he'd look great on the wing for Ajax or PSV. He has a very nice skill set for a winger.
Re: Sal Zizzo this kid is also a good crosser. Did he not take the frre kick that resulted in US first goal? and he also had a couple of other good crosses in the Poland game.
Re: Sal Zizzo Agreed - he is a good crosser. He also will generally play intelligent balls towards the middle, whether in the air or on the ground, straight across or pulled back. And he's got speed to burn - you can't teach that. And the way he runs reminds me a little of Aaron Lennon. That's not so much a comparison as it is an observation, but having speed and crossing ability on the wings is always a good thing to have.
Re: Sal Zizzo They do have excellent healthcare. I heard John O'Brien was interested in playing there. Zizzo has been the revelation of this tournament so far. I was not terribly impressed with him previously, but he appears to have the whole package as a right mid. He has good pace, ball control, crossing ability, size, strength and he's quite good defensively as well. He's definitely going to Europe.
Re: Sal Zizzo He has looked great, has some good skills and a lot of promise, but needs to go somewhere that will let him really hone these skills.
Re: Sal Zizzo He might be able to light a fire under Clint Dempsey's ass. I still think Deuce is not a right winger. Whenever he get's the ball in the middle third of the pitch on the right flank, he never seems to want to dribble it up field and seems more interested in drawing a foul or doing some step over trick that goes nowhere. Zizzo appears to be different. Someone mentioned Aaron Lennon, and while I don't think Zizzo is as pacy as Lennon, he has the ability to dribble down the wing with speed and eventually trip up fullbacks who are running backwards or beat them ouright. The senior team seems to be lacking that on both flanks. I mentioned Dempsey above, Beasley doesn't have the ball skills, and Mapp either holds the ball up or runs with it, but can't keep control and/or can't cross. With some refinement, perhaps in Europe, I can see Zizzo in South Africa.
Re: Sal Zizzo I can't agree with this. I'm not saying he hit all his crosses right and made all the best decisions, but if you take the entire package, I thought Zizzo absolutely owned Brazil's left back. He skinned him enough time both with speed and skill that that his defender was backing off him to try and just contain him and hope for help. That guy was playing very scared as the game wore on. I bet if you could find player reviews of the Brazilian team, they would be skewering that left back.
Re: Sal Zizzo wasn't zizzo lined up against marcelo for brazil in the last game? the guy real madrid paid like $15 million for last year. think that would be interesting for scouts as well.