If Bradenton goes........it'll be because the USSF doesn't want to pay for it anymore. So a decision will be made several years from now whether MLS academies are able to do the job. Right now they aren't, but in 2013? 2015? Hard to say................... The USSF could take the money needed to operate Bradenton, and add it to the pool required to hire a top notch international head coach & his staff. Because operating Bradenton ain't cheap. And if MLS clubs are willing to foot the bill....let 'em. Essentially, MLS clubs would get a return on their investment in the way of transfer fees, etc. For the USSF it's a money pit. Whether Bradenton closes or not, it really has nothing to do with Wilmer Cabrera's accomplishemnts. I was happy with the team's performance in the last cycle, and I've been pleased so far this cycle. We'll see how it goes from here.
The rumblings in USSF seem to point towards shutting up shop pretty soon. I'm not sure how I feel about it.
Most of that money comes from Nike I believe. If Bton goes, the money goes also. The USSF wouldn't get it. Addidas has their claws in MLS, Nike needs Bton.
Sure. Bradenton needs Nike a hell of a lot more than Nike needs Bradenton. We can talk about this forever, but we all see what's coming. MLS is taking over this arena. If people like the way Cabrera runs things, there's nothing that says an MLS club like RBNY or LA couldn't hire him to run a similar academy in their neck of the woods. They may even give him a bigger budget, more kids, etc. to work with. If I remember, though, Honduras was interested in hiring Cabrera for their SENIOR national team position. I suspect that after this tournamet, Cabrera's gonna leave this post. He's gonna be in high demand. http://www.goal.com/es-us/news/3442...wilmer-cabrera-otro-candidato-para-la-bicolor
I think our academies are further off than people think. It's started, but it's going to take several more years for them to take shape and be funded properly by most of the league. FCD is an exception. Not the rule. Yes, I am pretty sure this is Wilmer's last cycle. That isn't a guess.
That was not what I noticed. What I noticed was the spacing, the triangles. I've commented about the past U17s that athletically and technically they're good enough to win those tournaments, but that tactically they were awful. Which I believed was inexcusable because they're basically a club team! Wilmer has taught them very, very well on how to move without the ball.
Bradenton needs to stay until all mls clubs have fully integrated academy systems (u10 to u18). PERIOD. I've watched a lot of MLS DA games and they are not anywhere as far along as people think. Still too much kick/chase, brick touches and over reliance on physicality. They dont seem to have a plan of how to build an attack(exept for FC Dallas). MLS academies have yet to entirely produce a star player (no Najar doesn't count, they cherry picked him later in his development). Its not entirely their fault, by the time they bring in players to their u16 academies they already have chronic technical deficiencies. One has to consider the opportunity cost of developing a promising player at a present day mls academy if B-ton didnt exist. I dont think Alejandro Guido would look half as polished if he was with chivas usa u16s right now. If the b-ton money was enough to help set up fully functioning academies then I would agree with shutting it down right now.
I would like Wilmer as under 20 coach if he had someone like Rongen scouting for him. I doubt Wilmer would have relied so heavily on Gale or raised expectations for a team that had such a shaky foundation, yet he is not a recruiter. It would be great if we could have the best of both worlds, particularly in regards to scouting our Mexican-American players. Those kids need to know that the USSF cares about what they are doing. Give Rongen a pay cut, but keep him involved - then let a better coach do the heavy lifting with the players. I get the idea that even the guys who Wilmer cuts or kicks off the team are better off for the experience. I would like to see the USSF make Wilmer's skill set work at a different level.
I don't think Wilmer would be good with people that don't want to and don't have to follow what he is saying. He is better in a situation where he has more control. We have a ways to go in developing our DAs before Wilmer could be effective in that role. Wilmer is not popular amongst a lot of the coaches. During the under 17 qualifying, a lot of articles quoted a lot of coaches that were anonymously throwing Wilmer under the bus - in my opinion, unfairly. Let's keep him in a role where he has the control to succeed. I like him for the under 20 job or even Olympic job. The DAs are still a little too wild west, in my opinion.
I've seen a few of his matches his now, and I actually think Wilmer would make an interesting senior team candidate. If I were Gulati, I'd have him guide our Olympic team, with an eye towards 2015.
I agree. His strictness can be a quality at U-17 but an issue at u-20. A bunch of the Mexican and German players may not be as willing to join as many camps if the coach is tough on them. I know some will argue that we shouldn't want those players, but I don't think we are in a position not to take a look at everyone we can. U-20 level is unique because players are pros but still lacking adult maturity, who may look at the level as a waste of their time. It's the one coaching position, I believe, that needs a player's coach.
The "Germans" are professionals. They are used to strict rules; they didn't get to play when they didn't make their homework for school, and weren't allowed to practice when they didn't clean their shoes in their academy days. Rules won't be an issue one year later, and players who grew up in the German system know how to behave in competitive situations. "Willing to join camps" would rather be a club issue.
The article on espn sider said that the rumor is that Bradenton will go one more cycle after this and that would be it. Hopefully that is not the Case. Gulati was asked this and said there is mo timetable for Bradenton to close but it will he sooner rather than later. I don't think Bradenton is ready to close yet but think it's it will be gone I'n less than 10 years. Mls academies are just not ready to take over yet. They need to be more funded down to younger ages first. That prob won't happen for another ten years.
Eh, they played well but not that well. They are doing a lot of things properly but also have their shortcomings. Let's see how the tournament goes. Stefan Freund fully exercised his vocal cords today. Of course, I have no idea what he was saying but he yelled a lot.
I'd rather they pull the plug on Bradenton too late than too early. I don't really understand why anyone who isn't personally financing it would want it shut down, how is it harming anyone?
Jeez do you people realize what you are doing to me, making me agree with SFS.... One game?!?!?! In which the opponent out shot the US (near same SOG though), had more corners then the US, and possession was nearly equal. You'd think we were Spanish fans just watch Spain B pick apart some average CCAF side or something here It was nice, it was one game. Also a game our German friends have mentioned was merely a test as the team is average by European standards. If Cabrera/US can make the QF or SF then we can start talking crazy. If he can make QF I could see him getting the Olympic gig as a "reward/bonus"
Hmmm, if you didn't like that, I'd probably avoid the Uzbek and New Zealand game threads. Can't imagine the chest pumping level after those two games.
Well I wasn't a fan 18 months ago. I was really disappointed with who he picked in Phoenix. After having a kid like Marlon Duran, who probably isn't close to being in the top 5 of the FCD 92's as a fixture in the previous team, it looked like another crop of early maturing kids who weren't as skilled as many of the kids who were playing with their academy teams. However given that those kids were mostly kids who he was stuck with at ODP, I was still willing to give him a pass as the 2009 group was still a vast improvement over 2007, where the only thing we did well were throw-ins. Also, given the fact that there were far more kids in the 2007 residency group from the South East than from California suggested to me he was given a limited player pool to choose from. The 12 months since suggests that he either learned from his mistakes or took advantage of the Academy scouting. Interestingly enough, I heard from one parent of a former player complaining about the lack of discipline and that some kids were repeatedly allowed to break the rules. So my guess (and truly only a guess) is that if he comes across as hard nosed, it has more to do with what it was like, than how overly disciplined it is now.
Height is not always a great indicator of when a human hits puberty. I've seen many small kids with hairy armpits and facial hair by U14 and taller kids who have neither. As a matter of fact, those mature smaller kids are often seen as top players. They adapt quickly to their matured bodies and often excel in youth Soccer. I am by no means talking about Marlon Duran because I haven't the faintest idea who he is.
My reaction was solely to keep Cabrera from being anointed as the next king right away. In the past, there were several US U-teams that played decent enough soccer. They were various Thomas Rongen's U-20's and Peter Nowak's U-23 Olympic team. The problem with Rongen wasn't the style of play but his tactical decisions, player selection and game planning. I have no idea how or even if anyone scouts these teams prior to the WC itself - I suppose the tape of the regional tournaments exists somewhere - but now the real game coaching will commence. Let's see how Cabrera reacts to the adjustments made against him. FWIW, off the highlights, Uzbekistan wasn't that bad. It's just that most of NZ's chances went in and most of the Uzis didn't.
There are some promising prospects on that team. I was very impressed with Guido, Fehr, Acosta, and Koroma.Guido and Fehr might end up in Europe after the WC. Think I heard Fulham wants Fehr. Also impressed with Arriola. Very good touch and creativity, along with a beautiful assist. Wouldn't be surprised to see him in Europe soon. Would appear his touch is good enough. I've been worried about youth soccer in this country, but this game, along with what I;ve seen from the U20's, gives me confidence. These U17s clearly play at a higher level technically and are much more creative and the ball flows through them much more fluidly then the generation we see in the GC. I will say I don't have the confidence the MLS academies to develop these kids, and hope the best of them go to Europe. It's interesting that the U17s play a style many MLS clubs aren't capable or skilled enough to play. I am afraid the development of some of these guys would hit a wall in the MLS, and already do things with the ball many in the MLS aren't capable of. Seriously, the first touch on many of these guys is better than what I see most times I watch an MLS game. The style they're being taught with the NT is something that would continue at many clubs in Europe, while they'd suffer through the long ball play of the MLS.
Jond, I am not sure what game you were watching, but both Acosta and Fehr struggled against the Czech Republic. Acosta's first touch was not good and he made many passes that bounced to his teammates instead of keeping the ball on the carpet. As for Fehr, that was not Mobi's best game. He blatantly got beat on at least two occassions that led to good scoring chances for the Czech's. If you are going to pick out any defenders from Sunday that impressed, it would have been Carroll and Amon. Both Acosta and Fehr can be much better players, but to say either one impressed you on Sunday night makes me scratch my head.
I agree with your post, but this is funny because I watched that Czech/Germany match and Ze Germans had more than a couple problems trying to TIE the Czechs.
Totally agree with this. Amon was great, Acosta is good getting forward but obviously still relies on his athleticism defensively and is still trying to find his feet (obviously, he's what, 15?). Fehr was slow in reaction to the Czech attacking players and didn't have a good match.