Paradise's combo of defensive incident count and passing % is truly eye-popping. Farfan needs a move away from Portland, given what they're paying Villafana who has been good.
More Busio info. https://www.sportingkc.com/post/202...-minerals-complete-performance-gianluca-busio Logging the full 90 minutes at the No. 6 position for the third straight match, Busio won a game-high five tackles against the Rapids—the most by a Sporting player this season and the second-most by an MLS player across the 10 league fixtures that took place Friday and Saturday. The only other player in Saturday’s match with more than one successful tackle was teammate Khiry Shelton, who finished with three. Busio also won seven duels, tied for second-most in the game behind Shelton’s 10. From a distribution standpoint, he completed 27 of 31 passes at an 87.1% clip and was successful on all 11 of his passes in the attacking half of the field. “Each game, I think (Busio) gets better and better. The goal was a great strike and he has that quality in him, so it was good to see it,” Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes said postgame. “He had a good performance again. Each time he’s getting to be smarter and smarter in some of the decisions he’s making both with the ball and without it.”
It's good to see. I might have to go back and watch this game more closely. Tackles and duels aren't the greatest measure of defense, and Busio's was subpar in the prior game (as was SKC in general). If he can actually become a good defender, if not great, he'd be a pretty incredible asset given his passing.
Seems to me to have a ceiling way above Beckerman. In particular, the passing range is way better. If his defense improves over the next couple of years that would be great. And why not? He still could grow stronger over the next couple of years. He certainly would grow in experience.
Beckerman of course entered MLS as an attacking midfielder for the Miami Fusion, a #10................and steadily moved back to a #6 that started World Cup games for us. By the way, Kyle Beckerman is the last man standing from the vaunted 1999 Bradenton u17 team that also included Beasley, Donovan, Onyewu, Convey, etc. If you'd told folks that back in 2003, they'd have laughed you off the boards. If folks want a trip down memory lane regarding MLS youth development in the pre-DA days, this article about the P40 program (of which Beckerman took part) is a good one. Night and day to what we've got now in the league. https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020/04/02/mls-project-40
Agree. I really don't remember young Beckerman, so maybe back in the day, he was a really great passer. But the stuff that Busio is rolling out there is pretty fantastic. Perhaps I am overrating it because one of my bigger pet peeves is how many players receive a pass with no pressure and simply automatically pass back. How many times passing around the player pauses, looks, decides to be conservative and then slowly pass the ball to the most obvious place even though they aren't under pressure. I saw Busio receive a ball, under pressure, shield the defender, curl around the defender to the right, and then hit a mid-range pass, passing a line of defenders, to one of his more forward players in space to create a chance. There's a ton of value in that to my mind, and it's even more valuable the better the team he's on. But you can't give it back on defense, and Beckerman was very good there.
IMO, the one thing Beckerman lacked was a quick long range pass. He had one, but only if he took a second to push the ball a step up and get some power on it. Once he went to international level he didn't have time to do that. Also, we really need to remember the young DMs with a nice peg but not enough defensive bite and nastiness. That still might be Busio.
Man... full slate of games... mostly at the same time means that I need to stay away from this forum until I watch the games I want so there are no spoilers. Some of the ESPN+ broadcasts are good about not showing the scores but others are very annoying with their score spoilers. I also dislike how long it can take for ESPN+ to show the replays. That was the best part about FOX Soccer Match Plus... even though it was expensive... you could always choose to start from the beginning even if the game was mid-air. I might not even get to the USL games considering it is midweek. I kind of wish they would space these games out over a few days. But I guess it is all about rest during a busy schedule. I will post my thoughts afterwards. Enjoy the games!
Cumulative Percent of Minutes in MLS played by an American (probably should include Canadians, but you folks don't care) at this year or younger: 1997 (U23): 10.0% -- Last year, 1996s and down were @ 8.3% 1998: 6.4% 1999: 4.5% 2000 (U20): 3.4% -- Last year, 1999s and down were @ 2.5% 2001: 1.4% 2002: 0.8% 2003 (U17): 0.4% -- Last Year, 2002s and down were @ 0.2% 2004: 0.01% So 10% of all MLS minutes have been played by an Olympic-eligible American. I can't find the numbers for the broader context versus the Eredivisie and other first division leagues. I believe that at the U20/U21 level, this puts MLS closer, but still behind the Netherlands, France and Portugal, but ahead of many others. Either way, it's a decent increase from last year, though there are some variations caused by class quality.
It's sort of an easy bet because this is the best youth group ever in their last year of eligibility.
Kind of an odd slate of games midweek w/ a lot of the normal lineups getting shuffled up to give core players some rest. Despite the large number of young US players on the pitch there wasn't nearly the results w/ respect to their effect on the scoresheet... I mean, the last set of games was ridiculous w/ all the young US players getting scores and assists. I started drawing up some notes but quickly realized that I had too much work to do and couldn't sit down and watch them all. I turned off the Atlanta/Inter game at halftime because it was a real snooze-fest. You have to really wonder how Atlanta is going to score moving forward... they had one perfect chance off Lennon's cross in the 1st half and it was shanked. Also, not sure how he played in the 2nd half but Hyndman doesn't look nearly as dynamic as he looked towards the end of last season... probably has to do with them having no one up front that inspires any fear whatsoever. I did take some detailed notes of my "Must See Matchup" between FC Dallas and Sporting KC: A battle between the academies. The home-growns were all over the pitch for both sides. Gotta start w/ my favorite player in this match... Busio. Coming off his best game offensively and defensively I was hoping for another. He really started a bit poor in this one. Not really involved with the goal they gave up but he looked a bit slow to read the play early and had a few errant passes. But he certainly grew into the game and by the 2nd half was making tons of positive plays. He made a great hustle header to start the run that led to the 1st goal. Also had a great block in the box to stop a relatively likely goal for Jara. Lastly, towards the end of the game he started to make tackle after tackle in the opponents half to start counters. I expect growing pains from a player his age making a switch to such a difficult position and we saw a few in this one early but I love how he responded. Other home-growns on the pitch to note for KC: Duke got his 1st start and looked pretty good as an attacking midfielder. He lined up right next to Felipe Hernandez who also played a good game. But the best of the rest again has to go to Jaylin Lindsey who was switched from LB back to his traditional RB role. He was a standout in this one for me and you can tell he felt more at home on the right. His natural right-foot crosses were outstanding in this one... showing the whip one desires coming into the box. Sporting were w/o their best offensive weapons with Kinda and Pulido out. That being said, they still created a ton of chances and will be disappointed that they only came away with a point. On to Dallas... again... so many players from the list getting minutes in this one... but it is Nelson at LB again shining above the others. His challenges in the box saved several clear chances at goals. This is two games in a row where he really has shown serious chops on D. I have not seen a ton of him going forward though and we didn't see it in this one either. Until he can show me he brings some danger on the left wing he will remain further down my list at LB... but it isn't that long... so who knows? Who else? So many to choose from... Tessmann had to come on for an injured Acosta... and he showed none of the flash we saw from him in his appearances earlier this season. For the moment... the hype train for this kid has come to a screetching halt. Ferreira and Servania got starts and were found wanting IMO... just not much to pump me up. Reynolds came on late and again... up front, not at RB. Not many minutes... but nothing to really talk about either. In short, aside from a good first 10 minutes... another underwhelming performance from the Dallas O and the young home-growns. But I assume the team will be happy to come away with a point on the road against a tough team. As I said earlier... I didn't have time to write out notes our watch all the other games... I did watch Araujo play well at RB for the Galaxy... he has created a bit of a conundrum for LA because he is playing well defensively at RB and I am totally for Feltcher not being on the pitch but he brings a lot going forward further up the field as well. I guess it is better that he get time at his natural position. In the same game I was eager to see Farfan back up his brilliant performance that he put on in the tourney but he was pretty vanilla in this one... but did get a bit better when the Timbers finally brought on their good players. Not sure why the Timbers coach felt like he needed to remove so many dangerous weapons at once.?.? They ended up losing by one. Perhaps if he had started one or two of those key players things would have gone differently. The O was non-existent in the 1st half. A few other things I noted in the games I did watch.... Why would Philly pull Aaronson when they really needed a goal and he had a couple of the best opportunities when on the pitch? It isn't like the coach has been playing him 90 minutes in every game. I thought he was pulled too early and the Union's O was found wanting down the stretch. I really enjoy watching Sands play CDM... he doesn't display a ton of desire to get up the field like you see with young Busio but he is a destroyer out there and brings an edge that I think a NT could use in certain games. He is going to have to sit a game out soon as he is a yellow away from a suspension but I love the way he gets after it on D. One the games I didn't complete was the NYRB/DC United Game. Indy11 and I were discussing the possibility of Paredes playing LB and it looks like he was playing left wingback in this one. He more than held his own against Duncan early but I don't know how he did after the 20th minute. Reviews?
Oh boy... two interesting games to choose from at 5PM tonight. Busio, Felipe Hernández and Lindsey in the starting 11 again for KC and Mueller, Dike and Michel are in for OC. Again, I hate spoilers... so I wish these game would be spaced out better throughout the day. I have actually turned to setting up pillows underneath the TV to block out the ticker on the bottom of the screen but sometimes the announcers still ruin it for me. At any rate, I think I will go with KC because Busio is probably the guy that I want to watch play soccer the most.
It's only a matter of when: https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-l...chesparents-know-hes-destined-for-europe-move
Busio and KC looked gassed in the 2nd half against Houston.... a lot of tired legs out there... and Houston's subs come up big. Still... a decent performance from Busio and Lindsey in this one. Not their best performances but continuing to get valuable minutes at a tender age... especially Busio... who is both younger, more talented and playing a more difficult position. They get a week off now... so I expect to see them both play better in the next one... which won't be in the energy sapping Houston heat and it's terrible pitch. OC coach does it again... The young US front three are too much for their opponents but the coach subs them out and Atlanta scores late to get a point. I am not sure why he keep taking the foot off the gas. Mueller and Dike have been revelations and all of a sudden Michel is starting to make it a trio. They are really fun to watch... but perhaps you should get a two goal lead before breaking it up. It isn't like these guys are playing 90 minutes in every game. Mueller has not played 90 all season long and Dike has been subbed early two games in a row (make it 3 now). Bad decision IMO... and now you have two draws in a row against Nashville and Atlanta. Bello was hit and miss in this one. Not doing all that much offensively but did have a few good defensive plays. I thought Hyndman played his best game since the return... but he looks like a support piece that really needs a couple of studs up front to work off of. Dike was pretty much abusing Robinson in this one and he had one very poor pass directly to Mueller that could have led to a score. If there is one young US player for Atlanta that I am still quite high on it is Brooks Lennon. He had two perfect crosses in this one and the strikers just could not put them home. This is the best aspect of his game and I think if given a better supporting cast he could really have a lot of assists. Going to watch the late game tomorrow AM. There isn't enough time in the day so I no longer watch all Canada Team matches since they don't have young US players. If Aki decided to choose the country that gave him his Youth NT opportunities then I will tune in for Toronto.
So... before I get to the San Jose / Colorado game... I wanted to vent again about spoilers... I just don't understand how Networks and their announcers don't understand that some people don't want to know what the score is in another game.?.? In today's age of DVRs and On Demand is it so hard to think that people are trying to watch more than one game during a time slot w/o knowing what happens ahead of time? Now... ESPN+ is a great value and I find myself using it constantly but it has two drawbacks: 1) Why do you have to wait until 30 minutes to an hour after a game to see it On Demand? Fox Soccer Match Plus allowed you to turn on a game at any point in time during the game and choose to start watching from the beginning. I am sure they could do this so I am not sure why it isn't offered. 2) This morning I got a rude awakening before watching the San Jose / Colorado game... for some inexplicable reason ESPN+ puts the highlights of recent games above the On Demand section... what is worse? They caption the highlights with spoilers. So this AM I did not know the score of the game and before I turn it on I read that the two teams "Share the spoils". Ugh. <rant-over> Back to the game... A week ago I had a very long report because so many US Youths scored in the MLS during that slate of games... and Cole Bassett was one of them. But when discussing him I noted that he just looked like another guy out there during his 1st start and I didn't really see him flash until he came out of nowhere and scored. Well, last night was a different matter. I thought he played very well for most of his 89 minutes... he was far more involved on the attack and in transition thru the midfield. He also got very close to scoring his 2nd in as many games. But more importantly, the coach trusted him take take all of the set pieces throughout the game and overall I think he did very well. In the end he and Colorado were rewarded for his service by getting the game-tying assist in the waning minutes of the game. Coach says that he keeps getting better... well, he certainly played better in this one and I will be tuning in to see if he can become a legit threat for U23 minutes. Not much else to report for Colorado w/ respect to their US Youths... Acosta just aged out of my list.... I have been down on Vines all season and he didn't play great in this one either. He actually gave up the penalty kick to put them down... it was on a handball when sliding to block... but still... this guy is not playing at a U23 or USMNT level and that is considering the relative lack of depth at the LB position in our youth/senior ranks. Lastly, Colorado's leading scorer (Lewis) came off the bench again in this one but did not have much of an impact. For San Jose... my opinion of Yueill has gone down quite a bit since the return and I didn't see anything in this one to change my mind. Again, it isn't that he is a bad player... he is solid. But he doesn't bring much to the table going forward and I really don't see a high ceiling. He did have one good late run into the box that drew a dangerous FK just outside the box... but he took the "attempt" and it was not good. IMO, if we are looking for a young CDM that doesn't get forward all that much but brings a destroyer attitude with him I think we would be better off looking at Sands. The only other prospect worth noting for SJ in this one is the 16-year-old man-child... Cade Cowell. He was back on the bench for this one to start but came on in the 2nd half and flashed serious pace/skill to beat his man several times. Just mind-boggling that a guy that size and fast is 16. Color me intrigued.
What a ball.Cade & Wondo nearly connect in the box.#VamosSJ pic.twitter.com/hIXWi3RLcb— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) September 6, 2020 16 years old.Cade Cowell.That is all. pic.twitter.com/OfSIl6geNR— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) September 6, 2020
Mueller's performance was brilliant. Michel is a mixed bag. He got a goal, could have had an assist, but he botches easy chances from others. And he doesn't have the 1 v. 1 creation you'd want. Dike still a little flawed as a finisher but he's a force w/ his physicality, effort, & deft passing. I wouldn't say he dominated Robinson, but ragdolled him at times. Robinson also had some important interventions, like Bello. But both were loose w/ the ball, especially George. Another concerning game for him. W/ Lennon, it's just never quite added up as a starter in a respectable league or the NT. It seems like something should be there w/ his crossing, ball striking, athleticism, effort, etc. But he can't create space for himself on the ball. Defensively & tactically he's under-impressive. Another of these guys where you wonder if they should be a small striker. But in the States we pigeon-hole small players elsewhere. In Spain or Argentina it'd be interesting to see how they'd deploy him & if it would be a success. He's an excellent finisher.
These clips are insane. That first pass is so ridiculous it almost seems inconceivable he was actually trying to do it. Pace/strength in the 2nd for a 16 year old is nuts.
Reminds one of a young Jordan Morris in a lot of ways. Thick, strong, speedster who is doggedly determined, doesn't seem phased by much, has decent ability on the dribble however is very direct, possesses a wicked strong foot, but questionable weaker peg. We might find out what that guy would have looked like if he were in a pro setup from 15 to 21 to work on his weaknesses from game experience & training. I mean even if Cowell just ended up as the next Morris that'd be pretty exciting & add another asset to the NT for that next gen.
These young kids coming out of the academies have near complete games. It's more a matter physical and mental maturation, once the hit the pros.