Marc Connolly consulted with a number of MLS GM's, coaches, etc and came up with a list of American players with the best prospects for European success. They are: 1. Landon Donovan 2. DaMarcus Beasley 3. Tim Howard 4. Carlos Bocanegra 5. Pablo Mastroeni 6. Edson Buddle 7. Kyle Martino 8. Eddie Johnson 9. Santino Quaranta 10. Ricardo Clark On EJ: "Recently turned 19, yet is already in his third season in MLS. The Dallas Burn striker hasn't beat out Bobby Rhine for a starting role yet. His nagging injuries have gotten in the way, but some have also questioned his attitude. "You're not in Bradenton anymore," says one insider. He's still raw, but his speed and touch is easily noticeable. Should turn heads in November at the Under-20 World Cup. "It will be a waste of talent if this kid doesn't move on soon," says one coach." http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=265853&cc=5901
Great article. A really interesting read. The few times I've seen EJ play I've really seen a ton of potential and wondered why he hasn't broken into the starting lineup. (at least until last week) But it seems a bit premature to say it would be a "waste of talent" if he doesn't move on soon. He hasn't yet proved he can consistently produce in MLS much less "make a splash in Europe" One interesting and sobering aspect of the article was the fact that only one person mentioned Mathis as a player who would soon be going abroad. It seems emblematic of just how far Mathis' star has fallen in the past year. Last year it seemed possible that he was headed to Bayern Munich and other clubs in England were interested in him. Seems like that interest has faded along with Mathis' game over the past 12 months. Kinda sad.
""It will be a waste of talent if this kid doesn't move on soon," says one coach." which moron said this? so basically he is saying mls is worthless? mls should be keeping its young talent as long as possible! i dont appreciate connolly doing a column on mls players that should move to europe. THIS IS DEVALUATING MLS!
LOL. Most of the little punks at Dallas Cup thought their $hit didn't stink. And Landon thought MLS was crap before he actually came to the league. *Rude* awakening.
I THINK he may have been referring to the fact that EJ has had no playing time. Not necesarily leaving MLS. But I could be wrong.
It'll be a waste of talent of this kid can't start scoring goals and becoming a Burn starter. Neither of which he has done consistently yet. The thing is players 1 - 7 have dome some things in MLS - EJ has done very little. He has a long way to go before he gets to Europe, literally and figuratively. And where's Kyle Martino on that list?
Re: Re: EJ rated a top prospect for Europe by MLS coaches I thought that Donovan could've gotten a good contract overseas but wanted to stay home and support MLS? Dunno if that's the scoop tho.
Re: Re: Re: EJ rated a top prospect for Europe by MLS coaches Donovan has a good contract overseas. He's officially the property of Bayer Leverkusen. He couldn't crack the 1st team though, and life in Germany was tough for a teenager like Donovan. Before being loaned to MLS, Donovan had made more than one comment about how low the quality of MLS was. It wasn't until he came here and went from being a practice squad player to a star that he decided he liked our little league.
That is an odd quote. I expect it came from Hudson, who has played every teenager that he's got. There is only one reason why EJ should have gone to Europe...if getting his ass kicked every single day and not being able whine about it, would have made him a better player between his ears. In THAT case, coming to MLS would be a mistake. But like Donvan, Kirovski, Lewis, and Hejduk, it's a crapshoot which way it turns out when you go to Europe and have to earn your way onto the bench, much less getting real playing time. EJ will start again this week, and if he gets ahead of Jason on goals, then it's going to be REALLY interesting.