Well, she's one of the few women players that were nominated for FIFA Puskas Award (for her goal at U-17 WWC 2010 in Trinidad & Tobago, where Japan finished 2nd). She always was a very prolific scorer in Japan's domestic league, usually fighting with Mina Tanaka for top-scorer's title. Her most spectacular feature in Senior NT was scoring the winner in the final match of AFC Asian Cup 2018 vs Australia. She had a quite disappointing season when she transferred overseas for the first time in her career, in 1.FFC Frankfurt for season 2017-2018, but it has to be said that the German club was already on its downward curve after the glory of previous years, so the blame can't be put entirely on Yokoyama. Her 2019 season, though, both in NT and in Japanese league (where she came back from Frankfurt) was quite underwhelming also. She needs to rebound and the experience in USA could do that for her if she manages to have a convincing season. her pros: she can score exciting goals, absolute screamers, especially with curved balls from the left-angle of the box (her favourite position for shooting and scoring); she has a very effective ability to dribble in the box, or anyway in tight spaces (see the aformentioned goal at U-17 WWC 2010 or the goal in the final of AFC Asian Cup 2018, when she got rid of Alanna Kennedy with spectacular ease); she is good at taking set pieces (she was the regular CKs taker at Frankfurt; or see her goal from FK in a recent friendly vs Norway one year ago). her cons: despite her good and important goals, she doesn't have a good converting ratio. It's often irritating to see how many shots she has to take before finally finalizing the work of her team; thus, if it's true that there were occasions where she was the actual positive game-changer for her team, it's also true that there were others where she didn't manage to do anything relevant for a whole match, also because if the team doesn't help her it's difficult for her to retrieve good balls for herself (think Sam Kerr in the last NWSL Championship game). Actually in Frankfurt she was tried as an assist-woman instead of a striker, and she wasn't so bad at that in that situation, but Japanese NT quite always played her as a FW, although often on the left-wing.
Not a player move, but another coaching move: Laura Harvey is stepping down from the Royals to work with USSF. https://equalizersoccer.com/2020/01...yals-nwsl-pursue-us-soccer-uswnt-opportunity/ Context for the USSF youth coaching drama: US Soccer FT YNT Staff: Girls BoysU23s: Vacant Kreis (lives in Miami)U20s: Vacant VacantU19s: Vacant VacantU18s: Vacant VacantU17s: Kevins VacantU16s: Vacant Vacant— Anthony DiCicco (@DiCiccoMethod) December 27, 2019
haha Wish I knew! I'm never up to date on coaching possibilities, even in men's game where options are aplenty. Maybe one of the NWSL players (current or recently retired) who's gone through USSF's coaching classes? I doubt NCAA DI coaches will leave their gigs, but maybe a coach from a local DII or DIII school?
The U20s desperately need a head coach with this being a world cup year, so I'm going to guess its that or possibly a technical director position (if that's still a thing after Heinrichs left and Markgraf now GM?). I don't think she'd step away from the Royals for less, and I guess she's willing to move to Chicago. The U20s is a good stepping stone for a national team head coaching position, especially with USSF where the coaches involved with the U20s and U23s collaborate often with the senior team. Hopefully, she gave sufficient notice to Utah, and they're already in search for a new coach. The draft is SOON.
I get the idea that, although they were more impressed by Andonovski's interview for the Senior Team position, they could have decided back then, during the hiring process for Senior NT, that Harvey could have been needed also, somewhere else in the federal system. She could have been offered this position soon after having lost the competition for Senior Team with Andonovski. We've seen that in corporations also: you have two candidates for the same single position; you interview both and choose one, but at the same time you decide that the second best is anyway too good to pass up and you hire him/her anyway, although for a different position,
Wow that’s a lot of vacant positions. Not sure why so many openings like that. It will hurt the women’s national team for many years if they leave it like that.
Part of it is that USSF apparently wants every single YNT to be based in Chicago, including having the coaches move there. That's a pretty hard sell with people currently living all over the country.
Especially if you factor job security, if you relocate your family and then get sacked two years later...
Well, the arc for coaches is like that most everywhere. Certain career paths come with that reality, and while I feel for families in it, you enter coaching with the itinerant nature of the gig in mind. I still think the requirement is poorly thought out.
Indeed! Considering the technology when you can freaking do video conferences with each other from long distances. Meeting each other face to face doesn't change anything unless they want to touch each other.
Keep your eyes out... Can confirm what Dan is saying here. Multiple sources have indicated to me that Portland and Orlando are working on a trade for the No. 1 pick and that *multiple* national team players may be on the move. https://t.co/Yc3j9CzMmE— John D. Halloran (@JohnDHalloran) January 6, 2020
Some interesting names touted for that trade Hearing Emily Sonnett and/or Midge Purce are on the move. Also hearing UCLA's Ashley Sanchez and Stanford's Sophia Smith are leaning toward signing with #NWSL early. https://t.co/D97XNOe1Vf— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) January 6, 2020
Sources tell The Equalizer's @JohnDHalloran that the @HoustonDash and @ChiRedStarsPR have agreed to a trade which will send Kealia Ohai to Chicago and Katie Naughton to Houston. #NWSL 📸: @EriMacPhoto ➡️: https://t.co/Qv5GdntdMb pic.twitter.com/QHqwl7VKI5— The Equalizer (@EqualizerSoccer) January 6, 2020
Sources tell me that Ohai requested the opportunity to pursue a fresh start elsewhere and that the Dash, obviously, granted her wish.— Hal Kaiser (@Hal_Kaiser) January 6, 2020 Wow Well That explains it, then I'm still shook There aren't many players you view as "franchise players" in NWSL (Rapinoe and Sinclair spring to mind, of course) but Ohai was one of the few
Quietly knocks door .... That Ohai news is pretty shocking. I wonder if the player is aware of the trade considering she have pretty strong roots in Houston.
With all due respect... I lived in St. Louis for most of my life, which is almost directly between CHI and HOU - and "close" to neither by any stretch. You literally made me snort water up my nose when I read that. Ow.