.@LAGalaxy's acquisition of Argentine forward Favio Alvarez is done. Official announcement from the club is coming soon— Kevin Baxter 🇺🇦🏳️🌈 (@kbaxter11) May 7, 2019
Official Announcement: https://www.lagalaxy.com/post/2019/05/07/la-galaxy-acquire-midfielder-favio-alvarez The newest member of the #LAGalaxy…✍️ Favio Alvarez: https://t.co/jnYJokb7dq pic.twitter.com/fTw2Ldvszz— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) May 7, 2019
A bit more analysis from someone who has apparently watched him. Comparisons with Neymar? We'll see. Now that is official ... here it is for you #LAGalaxy People ... @jguesman @kbaxter11 @arieljudas @JuanMapu @RobAbramowitz @GalaxyPodcast #MLS pic.twitter.com/ls31EHnpCo— John E. Rojas (@jrojasa75) May 7, 2019
Nice work from GBS and DtK We desperetly needed offensive help. If Alveraz can connect with Zlatan and give a final ball and add a goal here and ther we are good
We've desperately needed a Lodeiro/Higuain type of player and it looks like maybe he can provide that for us. If so, a tremendous pickup, but I guess the proof will be out there on the field...
I'm skeptical, but our signings with DTK have been good so far. Now I wonder if this pushes Lleget to left wing again? I am hoping so. I think he is best suited for that position for us.
This is so refreshing to see acquisitions being made, unlike last year where we, the fans, waited for reinforcements while the FO played their fiddle like Nero did while Rome burned (probably not a historical fact but I'm using this analogy).
I asked Peter Coates, a journalist that covers the Argentine league extensively, what he thought of Favio. He said: “Thanks! He's a tricky attacking midfielder, good technique, can beat a defender and can do a job wide too. Not a wow signing but certainly a potentially useful addition.” Sounds good! Can’t wait to see if he’s the missing link in the attack.
I'm stunned so many people are so high on this guy. He's been unable to earn a starting spot on middling team, in a bloated league with severe financial issues which only a few years ago brought up half the second division for some reason. In 3.5 years he's been in the top flight, he's managed 3273 minutes, which is roughly 36 full games, providing 5 goals and 6 assists. It's not even like he's young enough where he just never got a full shot and still could develop. Dollars to donuts this guy is mediocre at best and not worth bringing back next year.
Those are all good points. After reading descriptions of his play and his stats I'm guessing he has loads of technique, a tendency to over-dribble (ball hogging is how these players get so good on the ball) and maybe has a bit of mental block* that create a bit too high proportion of "almost" goals and assists. If any of you are interested I do Tarot card readings as well. The more optimistic counterpoint is that DTK and GBS haven't missed yet. (Knock on wood.) Unlike our recent administrations, I trust them to recognize value. * I know a lot of players like that - for example JDS when he gets in the final third. The guy can normally hit a gnat at 30 yards but still "barely misses" from 8 yards when he is in the box. Sadly our current non-confident version of Lletget has the same malady. So much ability. And so close, so many times.
I just like the fact that GBS knows this player and had DTK track him and try and sign him. He’s no mystery to our coaching staff and they think he can help. If he can play a killer ball in the final third I think there is a place for him in the squad.
I guess we will see first hand how substandard the quality of MLS really is. Or not. Actually, from watching the videos, he looks like he is a wonderful passer with good range and vision. Those are great qualities that we can use. However, that he hasn't been a regular starter in the past also means he must have some deficiencies. I am guessing they include average speed and poor/lazy defending. It's also possible he is a bit like Gio, trying to constantly beat guys one on one instead of passing, and then losing the ball. A lot of his highlights show those attempts, and getting lucky occasionally. Hopefully GBS can help him harness his strengths and limit his deficiencies.
DTK and/or GBS brought back Feltscher, so there's a miss everyone can agree on. I'm not high on Antuna either, who I see as better version of Boateng (fast and can dribble but lacks the final ball, the ability to cross, or much creative ability) and even if he improves, he'll go back to Man City at the end of the year (he's on DP wages at City, which he surely is not worth to us). I think we'd be much better off utilizing Lletget on the left. Even if one believes all the moves GBS and DTK have made have been good ones, it's been 6 months. It takes far longer than that for me to trust a player, much less for me to implicitly trust a coaching staff.
Feel the same way. I think if Alvarez succeeds here, it might also show that the MLS really is behind in terms of quality of south america. Either way, I hope this signing works out. Not a lot of risk in this one, but could be that spark we need.
I think this signing is part of building a certain style of play. He looks confident on the ball and fits the mold of Lletget, JDS and Corona. Guys who can hold the ball in tight spaces, distribute well and move off the ball. We haven't had those type of players since 2014, it makes for a dynamic style of attacking soccer. It's not about one superstar (Zlatan), it's about upgrading team wide talent.
If he succeeds here, it shows one data point in a large cluster of points. Plenty of guys from South America with better resumes have flamed out and guys with worse resumes have done well (typically younger guys though). Additionally, "South America" isn't a monolith anymore than Europe is. There are better and worse leagues and teams and no large conclusions can be drawn from a single player's ability to find a spot on a specific team. And it's not entirely low risk. You're using TAM on the guy so he's not cheap and even if he works out we'd need to cough up more to being him here full time. Plus, any minutes he gets are minutes Efrain doesn't, not to mention if we had actually brought in someone else from abroad who had the ability to be developed and sold along later.
He's not a Romain replacement; but if he's a little bit better version of Lletget, that's probably a win because that's probably what we need. Not that Lletget isn't good enough -- we kinda just need another one that can play wide while the other's in the hole and get better finals balls and finishing from either position. If that's what he turns out to be, that's a win, IMO. Fills an area of need and is not necessarily a long-term commitment that blocks Efrain's pathway.
I had almost those exact words in my earlier "guesstimate" post but took them out b/c I thought some would think I was venturing too far based on never watched him play. But the ave speed and lax defending (and overdribbling which I did mention) are highly likely traits of players who don't produce or play as much as you might expect.
Did it make financial sense to drop Feltscher? I don't know his contract situation. Also there is the matter of GBS being hired so late in the process - didn't give him much time to find an affordable replacement. Agree Lletget in middle isn't working right now. My druthers is that we find a replacement box to box midfielder and take the pressure off Da Boy by letting him rotate in or come off the bench for a while. IIRC Antuna was brought in at last minute to fill a hole in the roster and was very cheap to boot? He has a better upside than Boateng (who actually has no upside - what we seen now is what we will get going forward). Also Antuna is improving and fits GBS possession style better. The biggest complete whiff I see with GBS is selecting Cuello in the superdraft. It's true that he was another "possession" player and that he cost peanuts. But it was pretty obvious he doesn't have half the athleticism needed to compete in MLS. I'm guessing at 19th pick there must have been a more athletic diamond in the rough who might have had at least a tiny chance of helping us some day. Honesty time. GBS/DTK having both the wisdom and balls to get AEG/Klein to dump Gio even though it meant eating a lot of humble pie and paying $millions in sunk costs goes a long way with me. They will have to make some pretty damn big personnel mistakes to use up that good will with me!
In terms of Antuna and Favio, I can guarantee that DtK and GBS didn’t plan to sign these guys on loan. These two positions were meant for the two kids we lost to Germany. I’m sure they’re pissed they had to go out and look for talent when they had it here. Fortunately, Antuna has been alright.
I've been thinking that this signing looks like a (Good) Cuello type player so it may be that GBS and DTK knew they needed strengthening in this spot very early on and took a swing (that in all likely hood will be a miss) on Cuello and now is fixing it in a more realistic way.
It might be nice if Favio Alvarez was available for Saturday's game. We might need him. #️⃣1️⃣1️⃣ FAVIO ALVAREZ pic.twitter.com/agCcwLHZZp— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) May 10, 2019
New signing Favio Alvarez speaks... https://www.lagalaxy.com/post/2019/...-deliver-la-galaxy-im-playmaker?autoplay=true I'm not expecting a savior here obviously, but if he can create 3-6 key passes/chances each game I think he'll be extremely useful. Plus it'll free up Lletget to move to the wing, or to the bench. He has not cut it as an AM this season.