Is Alecko different?

Cullen, Carrieri, and Gbandi are good enough for MLS. Cullen was a starter for NE last year, Carrieri did well for Colorado after being awful his rookie season, and Gbandi has been injured for all of his MLS career. I'd say Gbandi is a class by himself for #1 picks, as he'll be one of the best players at his position in the league rather than a role player like Cullen or Carrieri.

For the record, I would say no, Alecko isn't different. He's going to need time and add some dimensions to his game. He is different from Wood and Albright, who got by on athleticism rather than skill. I think he'll end up better than those two did, but won't be anything close to what people are expecting for some time.

 

The league has continued to improve and to think a college guy will come in and dominate is no longer realistic if it every was. At best a college player can come in and be a key contributor.

 

I thought AJ wood got by on his size...
He doesn't strike me as particularly athletic.
He also had a really good team around him, as did Albright.

UVA when Alecko was there didn't have too much help up top as far as I could tell.
I think he is different in that he is more skilled than these guys. He just seems to have a knack for scoring goals. He's also done it at the U-23 level whereas Wood didn't and Albright was inconsistent at best.

That being said, I still think the jury is out on him.
If he gets good enough service from Stewart, Olsen, Convey, and Etchevery I think he can score 5-10 goals in the 20+ games that he'll likely play.

 

You've really asked 2 different questions here: comparison with other U.Va strikers and comparision with other MLS #1 picks.

First, the U.Va striker thing. AJ Wood was a striker at a time when American college players weren't very good. AJ's rep was always that he had a "nose" for the goal (a decent enough poacher), hard worker, and good (but not great in the air). And that's a fair rep. He didn't have great technical ability. He hustled, he got garbage goals, he worked hard, he played a target role.

Chris Albright is a great natural athlete. Before his knee injury, he was perhaps the fastest player in MLS--plus also height and athleticism. He'll work hard. And shows some good technical ability. But Albright was signed for 2 reasons: Donovan had just gone to Bayer Leverkusen and the word on the street was "MLS can't even keep the good American youth so it will never be any good". So signing Albright became an imperative. Also, Olsen did such an outstanding job as a rookie, the league (and DCU) felt his potential (and it was never performance, it was potential--he never scored a lot of goals at U.Va) would eventually develop. And it never has.

As for the first round pick deal, Carrieri, Moore, Shak, Gbandi--all seniors who played 4 years (or abouts) of college soccer. I'll leave off Gbandi b/c he hasn't played a minute of pro ball yet. Shak was a stupid pick by Alphonso Mondelo. Carrieri turned out to be a serviceable pro but was drafted by a SJ side who hired their coach (Yallop) 1 day before the draft after Bobby Clark and Steve Sampson turned SJ down (so there wasn't a lot of scouting done). SJ desperately needed goals, they couldn't wait 2-3 years for someone to develop (ala Quaranta) so you go for the senior. Look who Yallop drafted this year--a bunch of Stanford seniors (rather than P-40 players). The talent in college has gotten significantly better. Before, it was a shock that an Olsen could actually contribute as a rookie--other than MLS's first year (when teams were struggling to find 8-9 players worthy of starting), teams couldn't count on rookies to be serious contributors. Olsen changed all that (especially as a P-40). Now it's now shock when a Kelly Gray comes in and not only starts but turns out to be a major contributor to a team.

Here's the case for Eskandarian (and I'm not arguing he's going to be a star striker, only that he's the real thing, not a Curtis or Carrieri).
1. Lineage: his dad played internationally for Iran and with the Cosmos. NASL was a mixed bag, the Americans were terrible and didn't know soccer for the most part. Many stars who came here came to retire. But the Cosmos were assembled at a time when most Euro leagues limited the number of foreign talent to 2 or 3 on the field. By fielding Chinaglia, Bogecivic, Romero, Neeskens, Eskandarian, Yasin--they were an outstanding team with outstanding talent that in a short season--would have stood up against anyone in the world. Aleco's dad was a part of that team. A very professional, "hard" player (at a time when professional fouls were big, only sissy's wore shin guards, bunkering was common).
2. Skills: Aleco is a radically different player from AJ and Albright. He's built like a spark plug--shorter than both, not as fast as Albright but I think quicker than both. He's got a superb first step and a superb first step. Technically, he's vastly superior to both. A great first touch (AJ didn't have one to speak of). A much better shot than either AJ or Albright. And his ability to take people on with the ball is good. John Maessner (now a U.Va assistant) compared Aleco to Serna, saying they are almost identical as players. Maessner said that both turn quickly and take people on, have tremendous confidence in their ability to beat people, they beat people off the dribble, take snap shots, use their quickness and strength to get position or angle.

MLS is still a big step up from college ball. But what I think the really best college players find is that college ball actually hides some of their skills. Crap like unlimited substitution turns games into nonstop sprints and players like Reyna at U.Va discover that the idea of controlling the pace of the game are lost in college. Eskandarian will need to make adjustments and he'll need to grow his game. Don't know how much he'll contribute as a rookie. But he'll be a fine player.

 

Don't forget that in 1996, the first draft pick was none other thatn Columbus and Everton's own Brian McBride.

 

Alecko cannot be compared to Albright. The skill difference IMO, is dramatic. In the game I saw, Alecko didn't come in until the second half. I had no idea who any players were because I never discussed them on Bigsoccer in any forum. I didn't know names or anything, I would just follow their numbers and think "oh, number #8 is pretty good." Well, anyways, as soon as Alecko came on the field, he absolutely blew me away compared to just about every other player out there. I immediately looked at my booklet I grabbed out front before I came in and I remembered his name. He didn't score that night, but he definitely has the skills to give some defenders some trouble, even many in MLS.

 

Ray has faith in him and that is good enough for me. Of course only time will tell, and Ray gets excited easily. Whatever the case I cant wait for the season to start.

 

You people make me laugh--1st Carrieri, was a P-40 who left school in his Junior year, second, he like Esk led the nation in scoring 25 goals 14 assist in the same ACC Division with UNC. He scored 12 goals and 5 assists this year with Colorado, and was in many of the top 10 scoring statistics this year, on a team that two other players with over 10 goals each (Chung-Henderson)--I would say he is the real thing !!!!!....

Now Curtis on the other hand,being the Herman trophy winner in 2000 and NOT being the real thing in the MLS!!!!..

Why dont we just all wait and see exactly what Esk can do before we start making any assumptions based on College and the Combine......

 

I'm confused as to what this has to do with anything. My dad is an aerospace engineer, but that doesn't mean I'd make a good one.

 

McBride wasn't coming out of college in '96, was he?
As far as the lineage point goes, I think it does say something. There is the genes issue and there is the "culture of soccer" issue. Both of those could have positive effects on his soccer growth and especially his feel for the game. Feel for the game is one of those intangibles that lots of people think its tough to get in the US, a non-soccer culture.
Its certainly logical to assume that Alecko might have more of that than the average US college player. It certainly seems like it from watching him play. But, I do agree it remains to be seen if he can make the jump. I think and hope he'll do it successfully.

 

if you are trying to say "is alecko like twellman, will he have a similar season like TT had last year", the answer is no. Alecko is gifted, but he's no where near what twellman was last year. Alecko will probably lead all rookies with goals, but will barely break into the top 10 in goals for the regular season. Certainly he'll get better with the veterans on the team and the coach.

 

The fundamental item to recognize is that the "draft" today is different from the "draft" of earlier years. Since 2000 we have had one "SuperDraft" that has been of a significantly higher quality than the previous multi-drafts. The early drafts were poorly scouted and had very few opportunities for the collegiate players to test themselves against higher levels of competition. So, the draft was a crap shoot.

Since 2000, we have also seen the results of some of the USSF's plans to strengthen American soccer, and it has proven to be extremely successful. When young guys like DaMarcus Beasley and Bobby Convey entered MLS it was a major test and testament for this system. The success and quick impact that these guys have made have allowed for a measuring stick of sorts. We now know approximately how good these guys are. We have a benchmark to hold against the collegiate players because the good ones play or played on the US U-17, U-18, U-20 and/or U-23 teams. This allows for better scouting. Also, it has resulted in a tremendous increase in skill level for the elite prospects.

Today, the draft produces far more known quantities, and far more skilled players. In such a short time it's amazing, but it's true. Guys like Carlos Bocanegra, Ryan Suarez, Kyle Martino and Brad Davis can be accurately projected into the pro environment from the collegiate ranks. We know guys like Chris Gbandi will become tremendous players, unlike the projection of a guy like Jason Moore.

With the advent of the U-17 residency in Bradenton, Florida, many players aged 15-22 have seen their skill levels surge prior to entering MLS. Even if they attend college, they reap the benefits of the residency and become immediate starters as freshmen and All-American caliber players by their sophmore years.

Looking at that list shows us a few things. A Guy like Carrieri bagged double digit goals last year. If Alecko does that by his second year he'll be an unqualified success. Rodrigo Faria has proven to be a good scorer as well. Obviously Twellman was possibly the best draft pick ever. But the Tahj Jenkins and Jason Moores are fewer and farther between these days. Obviously the Metros (and the old Mutiny) have been a study in draft futility prior to Bradley, and they managed to avoid all of the choice players to select guys like Steve Shak and Mansour Njiae (sp?). But don't expect many of those guys from here on out.

Is Alecko special? I don't think he'll ultimately be as good of a player as Chris Gbandi or Taylor Twellman, and I don't think he was ever that kind of prospect. But, we do know that both he and Nate Jaqua (#3 pick overall) are going to be good professionals. In the 1990's nothing was a sure thing.

-Tron

 

Re: Re: Is Alecko different?

Point taken.. but at the same time, Ken Griffey Jr., Cal Ripken Jr., Peyton Manning, etc. etc. etc. make nice cases the other way.

Having a father who TAUGHT the game as well as having been blessed with exceptional athletic abilities can make a difference... or it may not... ie. Dalglish or Pete Rose Jr.

Well have to see...

 

I'm not arguing that if your dad's a lawyer or docter, you've got an edge there. Nor does having a dad as a pro athlete guarantee a huge edge (though Taylor Twellman has said repeatedly that isn't the case with his family history--his dad played in the NASL, I think his uncle played pro baseball).

But in the good ole USA, what we generally don't have is backyard soccer culture. We practice a lot and have lots of organized soccer for kids. But the norm for MOST communities (not all) is that kids don't get together informally as sub-teens or early teens and just kick the ball around.

The kids who's dad played pro have at least 2 advantages (which may not be trump cards, but they are advantages).
1. They get instruction at an early age from someone who knows what it means to be professional and knows the sport. Doesn't mean much? As a youth coach, I've seen a tremendous amount of incompetent coaching--even at the travel/select level. You can't tell me that having someone with pro experience to tutor you when you're 5 or 6 or 7 isn't a huge edge.
2. They grow up in families where there are guys who like to just "kick the all around" and going into the backyard to play with the ball is the norm. Sure, there are native Americans (both individuals and communities) where that has changed. But it's still rare to drive down a street and see a bunch of 9 year olds playing street soccer without an adult present. I think it's interesting that Mathis attributes his success not to any particular coach or team but to the backyard games against his older brothers. Reyna talks about his Dad tutoring him and being exposed to soccer at an early age (but not organized soccer). Alecko talks about his dad pushing him hard early, not tolerating sloppy skills, being willing to be "dirty" against him and play a very "hard" game against his sone. Again, doesn't mean he'll be superman, only that most of us who play the game can't say that our Dad's could offer any of that.

Bottom line: comparing Eskandarian against other first picks is foolish. Or comparing him to other U.Va forwards is foolish. Maybe he'll never be a star. But if you've seen him play, you can tell that physically (while he's not tall), he's a force in the penalty area, is quick, great acceleration, has excellent close control (better than Carrieri or Curtis from what I saw of them in college), a great turn and quick shot, is very confident taking players on with the ball. He has the technical ability to play right now.

 

Chris Albright is different than A.J. Wood. Like Alecko got an offer from Sporting Lisbon, Albright got an offer from Bayern Munich. The problem for Albright is that he didn't get a proper development. He was rush in as a full time start and expected to bring the glory to his team. He lost his confidence from that kind of pressure. Remembered reading an article about US Olympic team, about Albright throwing out before a critical game. But he is still young and can develop as McBride showed that you can be a later bloomer.

Compare with Twellman who spent two years just to develop, he coupled very well in MLS.

 

Yes, he did. 20 goals is a lot for one college season, much less a two-year career that includes just your freshman and sophomore seasons. He scored 20 goals has a sophomore and then left school (I don't have his freshman stats in front of me). How can you honestly say that he didn't score a lot of goals at UVa?

 

JoeW,

That was an excellent post. It was well thought out and I would have to agree with you 100% om both points.

I would be very surprised from what I've heard about this kid if he does not become a very solid MLS player. I've never seen him play but all the ingredients for success are there. I only wish my Metros got him.

Your points about youth soccer were spot on. Politics and stupidity rule the day. The top 8 & 9 year olds can't be denied, but there are shedloads of children that could become players, that haven't reached their peaks by 9 years old that are being turned off to the sport by stupid patheric adults. But, I'm sure it's the same in other sports as well.

Again, JoeW, well done.