I’m a bit disappointed in Soma, and the rest of our midfield. I get that it’s hot and humid, and these are kids, but the amount of sloppy, lazy, and reckless passes that lead to [or should have lead to] unnecessary and dangerous turnovers was beyond unacceptable. Even at this level. Segares is going to have to address this, or it could easily be 0-5 against France.
Sometimes its a good sign when a team like this doesn't play particularly well and still comes away with a win. France is up on South Korea right now, which would clinch advancement for us. We might then do more squad rotation in that game against France. I know its the sexy game, but these games are coming thick and fast in 90 degree weather. We have a frickin' nightmare of a draw shaping up in the next round regardless. If we finish 2nd in our group, our draw is looking set to be Germany. If we actually win our group, our draw could be friggin' Argentina (who managed to lose to Senegal and are sitting in 2nd in their group). So.............whatever in terms of the France game. We'll try to win, but whatever. Maybe resting some guys is more important. Shockingly, Mexico managed to concede a penalty in the dying minutes. They were up a man most of that game, and drew Venezuela 2-2. After failing to qualify for the U20WC and Olympics, now their U17s are struggling. They can still advance, but its a little out of their hands. Gotta throttle New Zealand in their last game to make up GD, and hope Germany beats this tough Venezuela team. So now the US is the only CONCACAF team likely to advance. Mexico's in trouble. Panama's in big trouble. Canada's in bigger trouble. We on the US boards complain when our youth teams don't win in pretty enough fashion these days. Right now the event is like a UEFA show. Spain, France, England, and Germany are all playing really well. Outside of that, its us and Senegal that have 6 points.
I was already thinking that about squad rotation for the France game. Why not? It would be good exposure for the other kids. And it doesn’t have to be stupid. But definitely mindful of not keeping the foot on the gas pedal and hoping to have enough steam for the next round….which Segares has already seemed mindful of squad rotation. If it were me, I’d probably start next game: GK Beaudry RB Harangi (Verhoeven) CB Hawkins CB Banks LB Miller (Reid-Brown) MF Habroune (Medina) MF Morales AT Burton RW Rudisill (Berchimas) LW Vazquez FW Jamison (Figueroa)
Marcus Chai has said for awhile that the u 17 team has some good prospects but it really lacks playmaker which I think we have seen. The outside backs have been the biggest issue though I love Peyton Miller as a prospect
I put this in another thread, but I'll put it here too for emphasis. That U17 Burkina Faso team we beat today, beat Nigeria and Cameroon in the African U17 Championships. Lost to Senegal in the semifinal on penalties (Senegal has beaten Argentina and Poland already at the WC). Then they beat Mali to take home 3rd place (Mali just played a tight game against Spain). I get that it wasn't pretty today. That team we faced was pretty darn good. Walking away with 6 points and advancement to the next round was a good result. The South Korea team we already beat made the final of the Asian Championships before losing to Japan. Also a strong team. Two tough opponents. 6 points. I'll take it any day of the week. Unfortunately, we weren't drawn with New Caledonia (who have a -19 GD after two games).
Gutierrez getting a big-money extension. Chicago Fire FC signs Midfielder Brian Gutiérrez to a new five-year Homegrown U-22 Initiative Contract.#cf97 | @bguti1101— Chicago Fire FC (@ChicagoFire) November 14, 2023
Wish he would have gone abroad. He’s got the talent to be successful, but this track will lead to stagnation.
This doesn’t prevent him from going abroad. And in general it’s far better to get bought than to wind down a contract and move on a free.
I don't think he's ready to go abroad yet. Too inconsistent, doesn't have much in the way of strength. The issue is that he's stuck with the dumpster Fire - his ideal club right now would be a well-run MLS team.
I get it. But we can run thru a long list of players that have signed extensions and were then sold shortly thereafter. Most of the FCD guys did that. Ricardo Pepi signed a new contract extension in July of 2021, and was sold to Augsburg in the next window.
A lot of twitter talk that Luna has an offer from Europe. Also on Guti, a lot of MLS people saying this does not mean no Europe. Just using the u 22 initiative to give a well deserved pay increase
It wouldn't be a bad thing for both Luna and Guti to spend one more season in MLS. But if a good opportunity to move comes along in the upcoming window they have to look at it seriously.
I guess Luna could have pulled out of the U23 camp because he had something to follow up on club-wise. Brian Sciaretta has reported that there were A LOT of moving parts with players for that U23 camp. In his words: ASN has learned there were changes to the roster throughout the weekend and even on Monday, the day the roster was released. For instance he's reported that Duncan McGuire, Aidan Morris, and Patrick Schulte weren't released. According to him both Luna and Caleb Wiley had minor injuries that led to them not going.
Luna and Guti aren't comparable situations at all. This was Luna's 1st season. He absolutely needs to stay longer, entrench himself, become more consistent. Whereas Guti's been good for a couple years, in MLS for 4, & in a bad situation on paper. This was his time to move. Staying longer is very disappointing and I fear stunting of his development. The best outlook is Chicago's good w/ 1 more year of maturation, while Guti develops killer instinct in front of net. Then he leaves to the Bundesliga or La Liga next season. But this is quite optimistic.
Luna should stay. His only role on a team is as an offensive centerpiece. RSL is likely going to give him the chance next year to be the man/one of the men and show that he can do it game in and game out, with the pressure on him. He's not going to get that anywhere else at least not next year. When he takes that leap forward, then go. But there's a really, really good chance -- especially if he goes to a better team -- that he's asked to take a complementary or secondary role. Or re-earn a spot. And he'll learn stuff doing that, but it'll push him away from what he's really good at. Gutierrez is frankly in the same situation, but he's got to wrest it from Chicago. This is a mindset thing -- go out and take a bit of control. He's their best offensive creator; time to show a bit of it. I have little confidence the coach will set him up for, whoever they end up being.
Agree on all counts, but one of the issues that Gutierrez needs to hammer out is figuring out when to pass and when to dribble. When he tries to take control of the team, he tries to do it via dribbling, and he's really not good at that. But he has good vision and he's a good passer, so if he can shift his mindset to controlling the game in that way, I think he'll take a big step forward. It would be helpful if the Fire had a striker that wasn't either a) a teenager or b) from the MLS scrap heap for him to actually steer those passes toward.
Pep Guardiola on the importance of expression/players who find space by dribbling: pic.twitter.com/7NWcKFfckv— the twothreefive (@TtfFutbol) February 7, 2022 Pep Guardiola when signing players:“My first question is always: Can this guy dribble? I only want players that can dribble. Because you can learn control and good passing. Dribbling is the key.”— AI (@nonewthing) June 2, 2022
I don't get the Gutierrez discussion. He wasn't going to be a free agent any time soon. He signed a contract extension in 2022. He was already under contract thru 2026 with an option for 2027. So all this new deal essentially does is ramp up his salary big-time in years he was already under contract. It added one year onto the back end of the contract. This new deal runs thru 2028.
Dual nat. Used to represent USYNTs, but now with Mexico. Currently part of the Mexico team struggling at the U17WC. Mexico rising star Barajas, 17, wins USL Young Player of Year - ESPN
Put him with Benteke or something and he has near 20 assists. But I agree with you on his game. He also needs to add aggression, and frankly some strength. He's young, but he needs to hit the weight room a bit more. He doesn't need to be big, but he needs to be solid.
As good as the Quakes academy looks right now, I think people forget Barajas and Diego Luna started there as well. Unfortunately, ownership is shit.
I don't think this is a thing. He plays a great early ball, but can chop up space off the dribble, then release it accordingly. Plus, he has decent take on ability (shifts hips, gets defender to bite, goes in other direction) if they throw him on the wing (it should be in the middle mostly, but Shaqiri's often in the way..his departure would help). The issue he does have is with killer instinct in front of net. He chokes on some of those opps, or just defers. That said, so did Brenden Aaronson & Kevin Paredes.
I'd recommend watching it - it's interesting. He cites the importance of dribbling (at first against a tighter defense but later generally). But then he says that you basically need everything -- dribbling, off ball movement, passing, size, etc. And then he goes on for a minute or so basically talking about the reading and reacting he expects his team to do. He also says that he doesn't think coaches deter it too much -- saying that a player who can dribble who is deterred by a bad coach doesn't have enough confidence to be a dribbler anyway. The reason why it is his #1 thing to look for in a prospect seems to be that he believes he can teach the other things but not that. Which makes some sense.