Former Project 40 player, Columbus Crew player, and Eircom Player, Mario Longo is on Trial in England right now. He played in a scrimmage with some conference teams so that he could be seen by a couple scouts in attendance and he had interest from Middlesbrough, QPR, Swindon, and a couple other teams. He is at QPR right now training on reccomendation from the Middlesbrough scout. He is doing well apparently and hoping for a contract. I have no internet, or written source, I only know this because he is a good friend of mine. He was training hard in preparation for this trip and getting himself in good shape so that he could impress while there. Having played with the guy for years now he is a very good player, going forward he is very creative and is good with both feet. Has a smooth touch and a good first 3 or 4 steps with pace, but lacks that knockout speed. Very well suited attacking mid who I think will catch on. And Mario just turned 25 about 2 weeks ago. As I hear from him I will update this post.....
Interesting to see this guy still playing at a high level. Last I did a check for him he was pretty far from anything like this -- so it's good to see he's still got interest. I have Longo as having played at Waterford United, possibly Wroxham, and youth ball at Napoli. He's a 1980.
Dave-Marino-Nachison - From what I remember Mario spent a season at Waterford then returned to the US and played a season with the Carolina Dynamo in Greensboro NC before they went to the PDL..... As far as level of play Mario has been far from this level of soccer but has been playing a lot of soccer almost everyday at as good a level as you can find in the Raleigh NC area which isnt bad, most of the players Mario and I train with are all former college players that we grew up with from UNC, Duke, UNC-Wilmington, NC State University, Clemson, and some smaller colleges....its as good a level as you might find in any area...
Mario is back in the states awaiting word back from any possibilities of playing in England, impressed while there from what I know....
I, too, wish him nothing but good luck. However, he is also an example that playing in England is more a matter of genes rather than quality. Here is a marginal former MLS player hoping to catch on with a lower level team who couldn't make it a top USA level. On this basis every 1st choice MLS player could find a higher paying job elsewhere if not for the accident of their birth. It is curious that the best USA players can only qualify for a work permit with USMNT exerience whereas all USA players, regardless of quality, can qualify through birth!
Or perhaps just an indication that the process of identifying potential pro players in America is not as well structured as it is in the UK . If I were asked to bet on who has made the correct choice regarding this player, MLS or Queens Park Rangers, I'll go with the Championship level club with a history of producing top class players (Rodney Marsh, Terry Venables, Stan Bowles, Les Ferdinand, etc etc) I'm reasonably certain QPR and every other professional English club use a far more discerning process of selection than a person's ancestry.
Kerry Zavagnin. Joe Cannon. Matt Jordan. Josh Wolff. And this doesn't include those whom MLS matched financially like Clint Mathis or Tony Sanneh or someone like Landon Donovan who took a marginal pay cut (though potentially a huge pay cut) to return to the US.
It was for Donovan, though I doubt it's more than a few hundred Gs. Still, he ain't hurting, no doubt. Others may have some off the pitch opportunities too but I doubt they're especially lucrative.
[Quote:=Originally Posted by WJMarx] I, too, wish him nothing but good luck. However, he is also an example that playing in England is more a matter of genes rather than quality. Here is a marginal former MLS player hoping to catch on with a lower level team who couldn't make it a top USA level. On this basis every 1st choice MLS player could find a higher paying job elsewhere if not for the accident of their birth.... [/QUOTE] What is your point? Is it that these 1st choice MLS players did not receive contracts in England or that their lack of EU passports prevented them from receiving them. I suspect the latter. Certainly you are not implying that Longo, an MLS retread, is a better talent miraculously uncovered by QPR! Nor are you denying the synergy of an EU passport!
All, except Zavagnin, received contracts, just not in England/UK. But the offers weren't substantially higher, adjusted for the cost of living, than those from MLS. As to Longo, not having seen him play, I can't offer an explanation. However, I can venture a guess, which is that MLS is a more physical and less skillful league than Colaship and some players are more suited to one type of football and some to another.
I wonder why a UK club or an American player would even entertain trialing if employment permissibility is an issue...it's not as if it's a closely guarded secret that unless an American footballer has national team experience or an EU passport, a UK pro contract is nigh impossible to obtain. And speaking of talent uncovered Roy Keane began his career with Cobh Ramblers after failing to gain an apprenticeship in English football... You act as if the footballer who begins as one club's reject only to go onto success later on with another club is rarer than hen's teeth. It's horses for courses mate, and it's quite possible MLS just wasn't this lad's course.
It's very hard to judge speed when you are not comparing players&teams side by side. The Norwegian league, for example, pays a little better than Colaship and plays a similar style football but you saw how unathletic their team looked vs. the US. But watch the Norwegian league highlights and it looks an entertaining sport.
An unexpected update on Mario today: How many people have had a pizza made for them? Everyone. But how many people can say that they have had a pizza made for them by someone who competed with the best athletes in the world? Not many. Raleigh citizens who dine at Vic’s Italian Restaurant in the City Market section of downtown Raleigh often don’t know that they are dining in the presence of an elite soccer player who has seen playing time around the world. Whether he greets you at the door with his million dollar smile, or spins the dough that makes your family a pizza, Mario Longo, manager of Vic’s Italian Restaurant, is not your everyday restaurant employee. http://www.raleightelegram.com/2010062405.html
Well, you should check it out and let us know if his pizza is any good. If it is, we should definitely cap him before Italy get their hands on him.
This article has cleary been hatched by his agent. Doesn't even spell the names of the squad members right!