Dalby Trial w/ Siena in Serie A

I think Italy fits Greg's skillset perfectly.

 

Good luck to him. I'm pretty certain he would have played against Italy at the U20 WC last year - wasn't he team captain?

How did he do in that game?

 

He may have completed a pass but don't hold me to it.

 

Any updates?

 

This can't be for real. That kid is no good.

 

Jeff Carlisle says, "Dalby is reportedly on trial with Italian Serie A club Siena."

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=405451&root=mls&cc=5739

{I just posted this article as a new thread, btw.}

 

Basically:

Today (Jan 23), a young American defender Greg Dalby - born in New Orleans Nov 3, 1985 - joined the Black & White (Siena's colors), and will train briefly with Siena.

No word on how long the trial is, but he's been there a week now.

 

all you really need to get a trial is a good agent.

 

And a passport from an EU country helps, too!

 

It worked for Lalas too....

 

Siena news:

http://www.soccer365.com/EUROPEAN_NEWS/Premiership/page_99_135981.shtml

"Italian club Siena have confirmed the signing of Middlesbrough striker Massimo Maccarone on a free transfer."

 

http://www.yanks-abroad.com/content.php?mode=news&id=2698

 

That's great news for Dalby, however, if his signing at Siena is contingent upon them dumping a non-EU player I wouldn't hold my breath.

Especially this late in the window, I'd say it's gonna be tough for them to clear that non-EU spot.

BTW, either a lot of us - myself included - totally missed seeing the finer points of Dalby's game OR Serie A isn't quite as good as most of us thought. I suspect it's the former. Wouldn't be the first time the "experts" on BigSoccer were wrong!

 

Dalby is a VERY classy player. I see a lot of ignorant comments from people on these boards who have obviously not seen him play much. He is very technical, physically strong, a leader, and has good vision as well for a guy who plays as a dmid. He's got a great future and don't be suprised if he's on the national team sooner rather than later.

 

i've never seen him play... but a lot of the people on this board are very ignorant of how to judge a player's talents... it would not surprise me at all if he went over many people's head on this board...

 

I suspect it's a little of both quite frankly.

Many give the bottom half of even big leagues way too much respect and credit.

 

as a coach I can speak for our brethren when I say we look at players differently than fans do. as a fan, I can also see how we don't see what a coach sees. when you see somebody in training over time, you see things others don't. It can also be detrimental as well. A coach gets so "in love" with a player that they lose sight of the faults or bigger picture in a sense.

 

Dalby was incapable of completing a pass - any pass, forward, backward, lateral - at the U-20 WC. That's probably the last point of reference most of us have of him.

I assume he's improved since then and he should be more than capable of competing in Serie A from an athletic POV.

And he's likely to be a pretty smart kid too.

For a defensive/holding mid, what else does one need?

 

I watched him play Dmid for Notre Dame a couple times this season on the college soccer game of the week and he was pretty solid.

Not a lot of forwards passes, mind you, and I thought Maryland's Edu was the better player.

 

that last sentence you could insert Joe Franchino and it would draw a clear picture

 

Edu might have a bit more potential, but he also gives the ball up cheaply at times in midfield. Dalby is a bit more tidy.

 

Agree, Dalby's a bit more like Kyle Beckerman (w/o the bite); Edu's more like Rico Clark.

 

Or the Siena coach is seeing things that aren't there.

 

Or Dalby's agent is blowing smoke.