Talent is different, We hate talent. See Donovan Landon. See Adu Freddy. Give me hundred Bradleys and Szetellas and I concur the world.
See what the coaches said in that article, IMO why USA doesnt have a ronaldinho, or a C. Ronaldo, or any great talent the soccer world has seen that is seen as that world wide. Bottom line, this kid IMO has the build to be a great player, and the tools. All he needs is to be challanged. Why hasnt he been called up? Where is he so far on USAs radar? His playing style, seems like the type to get snuffed by ODP and some high school coaches, as i have seen my fair share of great talents get snuffed, because they are 'ball hogs'. Well those ball hogs, can be broken and turned into a show horse, becasue they are wild stallions doesnt mean they cant be tamed right?
Geez. Talk about people overanalyzing, overreacting, and pretty much finding any excuse to bash the kid. A coach saying that Manzonelli has flaws in his game [GASP!] suddenly means that his coaches are delighted to see him leave. Him calling home means he's having a mental breakdown. Pathetic.
i now hate this thread. it's full of people using some random quotes about creativity/tricks to try and reinforce their own view of the us coaching system.
It may be a generalization on US coaching views, but tell me how am i wrong? When was the last time we've had someone as good as tab ramos on the ball? No one right now is like that for the US, we just use speed, and power to get through. I never see back heels or cheeky step overs when taking on a player 1v1. Is that the US coaching fault? Or is it the US players lack of creativity? You tell me.
I sorta agree, but he has yet to be on Tab's level, Internationally that is. As he hasnt been really called up much to the Mens Nat.'s. I hope he does good, but i got my money on Brandon. With that said, i hope parma scoops him up. THEN he will grow to his fullest potential.
Yes, Ramos was a great player. I was thinking of him the other day while at Stanford watching Chelsea. Last soccer game I saw there was in 1994 when Tab was elbowed in the Brazil game. BTW, in contrast to what most coaches would say Argentina's coach, when speaking of Messi, said: "You just have to let him fly." The workhorses are a dime a dozen, the special ones are not and you have to allow them to express themselves. At 16 he now has the tools to be great just like a kid you pick off the street for a college basketball team has all the skill they need. The tactics can be taught later when it matters. If the US can get 4-5 of those guys on a team at one time we will be a force.
Who cares? Beating your man is the important thing. Take your whining over to the Germany national team forum and explain how their coaching sucks as well cause they aren't known for their "flair". Besides this dumb argument, I think the playing style in the US is more latin than people realize. We are certainly not as direct as, for example, Sweden. They tolerate extremely little flashy plays here. Much less so than the US. But I still think they are a great example of quality coaching .
I completely agree! Thats where the maradonas, and the peles all started. Hell ronaldo, ronaldinho, all street ballers. Tevez etc. The ghetto. Where they play futbol for money. And have the chance of getting in street fights and what not over it, and dirty fouls. And i agree, sometimes you gotta let them spread their wings, and get taken down in a real game. Thats how those kind learn, they adapt and still apply their greatness and skill when needed. One word, ibrahimovic. Sure he's not a sweedish product, but by far IMO the best sweedish striker right now. What does that say? ANd its not fair to compare USA to germany, germany over the years have had ten fold times amount of talent over USA especially in the striker dept. Hell if we're so similar then why didnt landon succeed over there and come home with his tail between his legs? He most certainly plays their football, as he was a product of their youth program at leverkusen(sp.)
haha. ibrahimovic is a swedish product. he is certainly sweden's most talented player and one of the most talented players in the world. that's not the point. we are comparing coaching styles. a better argument would be to compare ibrahimovic if he grew up both in sweden as opposed to a country tolerating more individual creativity. but we can't do that. and that's not the point anyway. ibrahimovic is a special generational talent and would be special anywhere. he even came from a rigid nation like sweden and turned out ok... ibra came from a country that tolerates even less flair than the US. i think ibrahimovic is a better player because he came from a country like sweden. i also think sweden has a more successful national team because they play a tight tactical style with a focus on organization. but as a counter argument, let's look at anders svensson. certainly a solid professional and even international player. he has a lot of tricks even though he might not show them all the time. but he was totally dominant as a youth. probably much more so than manzonelli. but i think he has had a better career because he wasn't given total free reign as a youth for his tricks. he learned how to incorporate his teammates because his coaches (and even he) knew that if he was going to advance to the highest level possible he woudl no longer be the star of the team and therefore he would need to play a different game. remember, all professionals dominate youth levels. do we really want star youth players like tobias linderoth or steve ralson to be given free reign as youths because they are total stars at that level? remember that all pros are stars growing up. but unless they dominate their league they can't play the same way as they get older and play in better and better leagues with better players. and you are right we can't compare usa to germany. i wasn't. i was comparing germany to the rest of the world. they are one of the most successful footballing nations with a style tolerating very little flair. check out how many cups they have won in case yo don't know. but i'm not saying germany is the answer. i don't think they are. i think the netherlands have the best coaching in the world. but i really hate this argument the way it was going on earlier. will manzonelli turn into a better player because his coaches give him free reign for his tricks? i don't know. i don't think so though. where is his ceiling? even if he makes it as a professional player only the top players are given free reign by their coaches to do what they want on the pitch. no one wants a below par player on their team who hinders team play instead of helping it because he is used to being the star and having free reign. that's the risk. maybe then he would be wishing he would have found a coach that taught him to move the ball quickly and instead of working on more step-overs to work on his vision and passing. but people need to stop using dumb examples (like the quotes in this thread, or just saying ibrahimovic!) to try and make a point that can really only be made with in-depth studies into coaching techniques in respective countries. and just as a side point, i think you should look at the top youth teams in the world. youth teams like arsenal, manchester united, real madrid, barcelona, etc. despite what you may be thinking the coaches aren't going to tolerate excessive creativity. these teams will play quickly and with skill. because all the kids can play and teams know that the ball should be moved on the ground and quickly to break down defenses. do we play that we in the USA? no, certainly not. but i'm not sure if we allow less creativity/dribbling than those teams.
Trust me, hes smart from what he said. I dont doubt that he will learn how to play with a team, its the dumb ones that are too busy trying to nutmeg the whole team even when in front of goal that fail. He obviously is not. it was stated he scored 8 goals and 10 assists, doesnt seem like all hes good at is step overs does it? And that was for villareals youth team i believe. Also its good for him to get brought to a country where they tolerate that more so he can develop, he'd be great in argentina, already in spain, and italy. Those teams are more flair, than physical strength. Do you not agree? I wish the US would play more like those leagues, and yes holland too. Theyre a combo of a little bit of physical strength and flair. That is also like you said why they have a great program over there. The greatest players dev. over there. Good point. But again hes got the tools, all he needs is the smarts to realized how to mesh with a team, and he's golden. Like i said he's a wild stallion, who can be broken into a show winning horse. My main point as i read your last point, is the US is not a good country for a kid of his skill and flair to develop. USA is not meant for that, as the other guy up top mentioned, we make work horses. Who will never stop running and whos cardio and shape is some of the best in the world, we lack some touch and flair, but our physical adv.'s is what keeps us on par with the rest of the world. Do you see wehat happened when we got put against argentina? Who played so great, during this copa(yet blew it in the final) and that was our best all MLS squad, pure USA development, minus the backline which IMO was our strongest asset? Another great example how our offense produced in the states, is not as great until they are touched by europe. Thats why i wished E. Johnson would have gone to boca as the rumors were swirling a couple months back. They'd break him into the world class striker he deserves to be. He's got the tools, but is a little rough around the edges. USA cant develop those world class players, but no doubt we got the tools. That is my point.
Also another great example i just remembered, was the kid playing in sampdoria right now, who was from NY. I think he had half italian and brasilian roots? He was let go of ODP because they cut him, but at a last resort went to italy to hook up with family and some connections. Low and behold he now plays for the mens adult Sampadoria team!
Sorry everyone I'm being lazy here, but I don't want to go through 23 pages of threads to figure this out. Any reports on Manzonelli's progress in Spain?
LOL. It seems that hes looking at offers from bigger clubs before resigning with villareal, as his contract ends when he turns 18. Cant blame him.
You know how some kids who wind up doing well turn into real jerks if they weren't that already. Well I found this video on the UEFA.com website that shows that Brandon is funny, nice and down to earth. You can't help but hope that this kid succeeds. From what I understand he had never done this trick before that day. A link to the uefa.com Training Ground. http://www.uefa.com/trainingground/index.html
Thanks, great clip. He's a very likeable young man. He juggles better than my boy, no surprise there, eh? But the kid did the Ronaldinho thing to me last week, from 25 yards out pointed, said "Crossbar," and promptly banged the ball off the wood. It's good to be lucky. Fun and games, hope Brandon keeps that spirit even as life gets more serious for him.
The clip link changed. Here is the correct link. http://www.uefa.com/trainingground/index.html#34004/4096/558168