I think there's enough Yanks with solidified roles, in the mix, or with outside chances to compete that a thread dedicated to tracking their progress is warranted this year. The UCL draw just took place, and with interesting results. Our eyes will surely be transfixed on the matches of Group H, where 3 Americans who project to firmly factor in their club's plans may be facing off - Pulisic w/ Chelsea, Weah w/ Lille, and Dest w/ Ajax. That is also a competitively loaded group with Valencia rounding out the quartet. Those games will be hotly contested and mean a lot if our boys perform. Also worth noting that Alex Mendez is lurking on Ajax's second team and if he rises quickly or there is a rash of injuries could factor into plans. Another intriguing storyline is on the managerial front where Jesse Marsch will be our first skipper in the group stages (if I'm correct) when he leads Red Bull Salzburg. While Group E is not the GOD, the competition will be formidable as he'll be the underdogs against reigning champs Liverpool and Napoli, at the very least. He'll likely have to take 4-6 points against Genk and then grind for every point he could extract against the other 2. The next most interesting group (imo) from a YA perspective is Group G where Tyler Adams and Leipzig will be competing. You figure he's going to drop back into the starting xi or at least 18 when he returns to action and his defensive exploits will be more needed against tougher comp they'll see in UCL. No juggernauts in the group but very evenly matches w/ Benfica, Lyon, and Zenit. Those are the only names who are likely to contribute to their team's campaign. But others with at least outside chances are Ethan Horvath with Brugge and Chris Richards with Bayern, a backup and reservist, respectively, but who've shown the talent to play on this level. The dominos will need to fall for it to happen this season however.
It's been disappointing to follow from a YA perspective so far. A lot of unrealized potential. The lone bright spots were Marsch's and Dest's performance. None of the other of the many potential participants played. But there's still a lot of time. He did. I guess the answer was no for some reason, without explanation. It seems like a reasonable request and they'd want to go by popular demand. But consolation was some Mumford and Son type s**t to enjoy in the meantime. We can do that anywhere. It's not why we're here.
There is one. It's right here. And here's the discussion of the rationale for putting coaches' threads in the Academy sub-forum, whether that can/should be changed, and why the idea behind locating coaches (or anybody) in the Academy forum is not a judgement on their accomplishments.
Preview of the double whammy Ajax vs Chelsea. https://www.volkskrant.nl/sport/chelsea-jonkies-spelen-makkelijk-uit-en-zijn-klaar-voor-ajax~b3772641/?referer=https://www.google.com/