IMO that's not a great sign for Vassilev... If they had their normal healthy contingent of strikers and Vassilev still managed to break through and grab playing time that's one thing. It's quite another if you're getting PT, in part, because the club is extremely desperate at the position.
I can see that went over well. Onward and upward to today's EFL Cup Match: "Villa host Leicester with the semi-final tie poised at 1-1 following the first leg at the King Power Stadium."
Don’t beat yourself up. This is the internet. Randomly assign blame to another poster and lash out irrationally. #trusttheprocess
Folks, I've gotten the call for a clean-up on aisle 10. I'll get to it ASAP. Just to spare you the effort, please note that any additional national team comments posted after this message will be deleted. I'll try to move the other other stuff to the national team forum as soon as I get a chance. I'll also delete this noisy post once it's no longer needed.
Okay, national team posts were moved here: https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/in...and-national-team-discussion-welcome.2108550/
Well, Aston Villa advanced in the Carabao Cup. Fixture congestion is always good for young players trying to break into any team.
I truly cannot believe that Aston Villa is in a cup final this season. There won't be much in the way of fixture congestion though. They'll only have to move their Feb. 29 date with Sheffield United (final is March 1), and they're already out of the FA Cup.
Yes. Second qualifying round. Far more likely that City wins it and the spot gets passed to 6th in the league (pending the FA Cup winner).
Vassilev has apparently turned down the chance to play for Bulgaria's Under-21s having caught their FA's eye in the Premier League. He most recently played for the USA U20 side last year. #avfc https://t.co/fQxWMBYIZJ— The Villa Wiki (@AVFCWiki) February 3, 2020
At this point Bulgaria has nothing to offer Indiana... they are out of the Euro tourney and it doesn't look promising for WC 2022.... and then they offer U21? What a joke.
They're in qualifiers for the Euro U-21. That squad offered him a slot - which is all they can do at this point. It wasn't an insult to him; they have an age group team trying to get into a tournament and he meets the rules, so they invited him.
He provisionally cap-tied to the US, so they don't have much leverage to get him to switch, unless he's really committed to the move.
Unsure if it is leverage, but certainly if your career is in Europe then a program based in Europe is easier for a player than to have to deal with intercontinental journeys. I don't think that players really go in such a direction in terms of the thought process. But there are advantages because the recuperation can be easier and less likely to affect their ability to compete for playing time upon return from international duty.
Yeah... that is the main advantage I could see from going with Bulgaria.... but it would be silly not to take into account the fact that Bulgaria has yet to qualify for a WC in this century... and based on the senior team's performance in the Euros I don't see it changing during this cycle either.
Starts for U23s: Team News: Mark Delaney’s starting lineup for this evening’s #PL2 fixture versus West Bromwich Albion. 📝#AVFC pic.twitter.com/jhS1FDQWNO— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) February 3, 2020
Not being in any program is even easier. What's the point of being with a struggling team where you are basically a stranger?
how good is his bulgarian? how strong is his attachment to that culture? answers migh explain a lot of how he might feel. also, mayybe he could be the main man for bulgaria. thatt could be a pulling factor for some
It wasn't long ago that Indiana Vassilev played against Bulgaria and scored in a lopsided win. Probably gave him a good indication of what Bulgaria's has to offer in his age group - and it wasn't impressive The U-18 #USMNT ran rampant over Bulgaria 5-0 at the Vaclav Jezek Youth Tournament overseas. Goals from: Gabe Segal (x2), Thomas Roberts, Indiana Vassilev, and Folarin Balogun. Ulysses Llanez assisted twice. pic.twitter.com/DgJOGfTRkd— U.S. Soccer YNT (@USYNT) August 22, 2018