Mooch's boys are supposed to leave for a tour of Portugal later this week - anyone heard anything about who has been called up? All I can say for sure is that Donovan, Beasley, Martino and Convey won't be there since they've been called in for this month's senior camp. Also, is there any word on the U20 roster for this month's camp? I'm curious to see if Rongen calls in any new faces.
Seth Stammler from Maryland was a late add. I hear he was the third choice from UMD. Clarence Goodson was first but he is enrolled in a mid-term class and Dom Mediate is slightly injured. Perhaps these two will get a call later. Abe Thompson had a rough NCAA Tournament appears out of the picture for now.
US Soccer should be releasing the rosters this week. Maybe today. Rumor has it that Magee was called into the 20's.
MLS signings Magee, Eddie Gaven, Memo Gonzalez and Arturo Alvarez are supposedly playing with the U20 side at the Combine. I'm told there will be four college players involved who were not at Charleston, but I don't know who. I'm guessing Simek and D. Johnson will not be part of the U20 side at the Combine.
From US Soccer: (sorry for the formatting problems) U-23 MNT HEADS TO PORTUGAL THIS WEEKEND FOR FIVE-GAME TRIP: U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team head coach Glenn “Mooch” Myernick named a 20-man roster today for a five-game trip to Portugal from Jan. 10-23. The roster, which features young MLS stars like D.J. Countess, Kelly Gray and Brad Davis as well as college standouts like Alecko Eskandarian and Roger Levesque, is very similar to that of the last camp in which the U.S. split a pair of games with Canada last month in Ft. Lauderdale. The U.S. will play three games against reserve squads from the top pro clubs in Portugal across three consecutive days (Jan. 14-16), then take a four-day break before facing Russia on Jan. 21 and an opponent to be named later on Jan. 23 to finish the five-game trip. This first camp of 2003 will provide further preparation for the 2003 Pan Am Games, which take place in the Dominican Republic from August 1-17 and will act as the team’s first major international competition since the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. In 2002, the U-23s posted a 6-2-2 overall record, including a second place finish in the Maderia International Tournament, but were just 1-2-2 in international games. U-23 MNT Roster GOALKEEPERS (2): D.J. Countess (Dallas Burn), Doug Warren (Clemson); DEFENDERS (8): Jose Burciaga (K.C. Wizards), Kelly Gray (Chicago Fire), Ricky Lewis (Clemson), Oguchi Onyewu (FC Metz – France), Seth Stammler (Univ. of Maryland), David Stokes (UNC), Scot Thompson (UCLA), Chris Wingert (St. John’s University); MIDFIELDERS (6): Kyle Beckerman (Colorado Rapids), Brian Carroll (Wake Forest), Brad Davis (MetroStars), Adolpho Gregorio (UCLA), Logan Pause (UNC), Seth Trembly (Colorado Rapids); FORWARDS (4): Alecko Eskandarian (Virginia), Roger Levesque (Stanford), David Testo (UNC), Jason Thompson (Eastern Illinois). U-23 MNT Schedule Date Opponent City Kickoff (ET) Jan. 14 Sporting Lisbon (Reserves) Alcochete, Portugal 9 a.m. Jan. 15 Benfica (Reserves) Riachos, Portugal 12:30 p.m. Jan. 16 Santarem District (Reserves) Almeirim, Portugal 2 p.m. Jan. 21 Russia Almeirim, Portugal 3 p.m. Jan. 23 Slovakia/Portugal winner Abrantes, Portugal TBD U.S. UNDER-20s TO TAKE PART IN MLS COMBINE NEXT WEEK: The U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team will kick off their 2003 preparation for March’s World Youth Championship with a 13-day training camp in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., from January 12-24. The Under-20s, who qualified for a U.S. Soccer record fourth consecutive FIFA World Youth Championship in November, will play three matches against MLS Combine teams and then conclude their camp with a January 23 game against Mexico’s Under-20 side. The combine teams will be made up of the best senior college players in the nation, as well as MLS’ recent Nike Project-40 signings. Mexico has also qualified for the 2003 World Youth Championship, which will be held in the United Arab Emirates from March 25-April 13. U.S. Under-20 head coach Thomas Rongen is expected to announce his roster for these matches next week. Date Opponent Venue Kickoff (ET) Jan. 12 MLS Combine Team #3 City of Sunrise Fields 5 p.m. Jan. 13 MLS Combine Team #2 Sunrise Hilton 9 a.m. Jan. 14 MLS Combine Team #1 Sunrise Hilton 10:45 a.m. Jan. 23 Mexico Sunrise Hilton TBD
So let's see about the U23s compared to the players in the MLS Combine. This list on MLSNet.com has the following at the combine. Someone told me Warren will not be there, and I see he is slated for this tour of Portugal, so that explains that I guess. Perhaps there are other changes as well. The only other duplicate I see on here is Roger Levesque. If he's going to Portugal, will he not play at the Combine? Surely they will leave by the 12th. EAST GOALKEEPER: Michael Behonick (American University); DEFENDERS: Will Thornton (University of Connecticut), Rich Bradley (St. John’s University), Guy Abrahamson (Rutgers University); MIDFIELDERS: Anthony Curtis (University of Connecticut), Trevor Perea (Duke University), Donald McIntosh (Duke University), Sherif El Bialy (Rutgers University); FORWARDS: Damani Ralph (University of Connecticut), Matias Asorey (Florida International University), Phil Swenda (Seton Hall University), Machel Millwood (Towson University) CENTRAL GOALKEEPER: Doug Warren (Clemson University); DEFENDERS: Tim Glowienka (University of South Carolina), Brent Jacquette (Penn State University), John Swann (Indiana University); MIDFIELDERS: Diego Walsh (Southern Methodist University), Matt Crawford (University of North Carolina), Ryan Mack (Indiana University), David Testo (University of North Carolina); FORWARDS: Jordan Quinn (University of South Carolina), Dimelon Westfield (Clemson University), Byron Carmichael (Marshall), Pat Noonan (Indiana University) WEST GOALKEEPER: Josh Saunders (University of California); DEFENDERS: Todd Dunivant (Stanford University), Tim Regan (Bradley University), Steve Lawrence (Marquette University), Jason Cole (St. Louis University); MIDFIELDERS: Ryan Futagaki (UCLA), Nick Walls (St. Louis University), Jack Jewsbury (St. Louis University), Andres Murriagui (Loyola Marymount University); FORWARDS: Mike Tranchilla (Creighton University), Tim Pierce (UCLA), Roger Levesque (Stanford University) The college players going with the U23 team are: DEFENDERS: Ricky Lewis (Clemson), Seth Stammler (Univ. of Maryland), David Stokes (UNC), Scot Thompson (UCLA), Chris Wingert (St. John’s University); MIDFIELDERS: Brian Carroll (Wake Forest), Adolpho Gregorio (UCLA), Logan Pause (UNC); FORWARDS: Alecko Eskandarian (Virginia), Roger Levesque (Stanford), David Testo (UNC), Jason Thompson (Eastern Illinois). are all of these guys underclassmen, or are the college seniors all just too old to be eligible for the Olys? Now I know Eskandarian is going into the draft, does he not need, then, to go through the Combine like the others? I guess MLS will miss out on a grip and grin photo on draft day as well. I'm starting to wonder about the quality of the Combine. Somebody reassure me.
Gersman I suspect some of the players on the U23 trip have been seen by most of the teams that are interested and they won't be losing out on the exposure--except the Photo Op. It will be intersting to look at the draft results and see where those players on this trip end up being drafted--
Thanks Gers. I wasn't aware Mike Magee had signed with MLS. The combine will indeed be watered down without the top U-23 seniors and rumored U-23 Project-40 signings. David Testo appears on both lists in addition to Levesque and Warren. Scot Thompson is the only other graduating senior included on the U-23 roster. However, there are still some good players invited to the combine including Diego Walsh and Todd Dunivant. Trevor Perea's supposed to be a technical midfielder that likely would have made the Argentina '01 U-20 roster had he not been injured. There should be a few sleepers in that group too. I'm curious about the 4 college players invited to the U-20 camp.
Since Ricardo Clark has officially opted out of his last two years at Furman, what are his chances of getting a good look?
Have Wingert, Lewis, and Gregorio declared for the draft? They're missing out on the boat---Gregorio would make a great MLS right winger IMHO. Wingert and Lewis have a REAL shot to make the Olympic team if they turn pro.
GersMan, thanks for posting the roster. A few thoughts - *This is Stamler's first call-up to the 23s and he is an intriguing selection, even if he was the third choice. He plays out of position as a center back at Maryland but he is a real MLS prospect as a wing back. I didn't think he'd ever get a U23 call-up but it doesn't bother me that he got one and I hope he makes the most of it. *Interesting about Goodson and Mediate. Too bad for both of them though the fact that they were being considered serves as affirmation of both of them having solid seasons. Both are definitely players to watch in the future. *Besides Stamler, Onyewu, Stokes, Trembly and Gregorio are additions to this roster who weren't in the U23 camp in Florida last month. *After never being a youth international before, this is the third straight camp that Jason Thompson has been picked for. He must really be showing Mooch something. *This isn't our best forward group by any means. All 4 of these guys were great college forwards but I'd be surprised if any of them make the roster for qualifying, let alone Athens. *There are 8 underclassmen on this roster - Lewis, Stamler, Stokes, Wingert, Gregorio, Pause, Eskandarian and Thompson. I wonder how many of these 8 will be playing college ball next fall. (I'd guess 1). *Has Ricardo Clark actually "officially" left Furman and turned pro as Sevin implied in his post?
From 1/6/03 Soccer America Daily: "PROJECT-40: Along with Virginia forward Alecko Eskandarian, whose signing has been announced, also on board are U.S. U-17s Guillermo Gonzales and Eddie Gaven, and Furman midfielder Ricardo Clark."
You can add another name to the P40 list: Logan Pause from UNC has decided to leave early, signing a P40 contract.
I see akwari is not on the list for portugal. Is he hurt? If you said stammler was a third pick, I would think that akwari would of been picked before him since he is a pro. I heard that Yi was planning on going but his club team wouldn't let him go...
Brian Carroll and Jake LeBlanc (i kid you not) have signed with MLS Wingert turned them down. More on this on the MLS Pre Draft thread in MLS N&A
Gersman, Any offical word on the defenders such as Lewis, Cochrane, Marshall and Klaas going P-40. How about Grabavoy?
Looks like Lewis may be the only one of those to go. Marshall is contemplating (or was as of a few days ago). Cochrane turned down an offer. Klaas not offerred. Grabavoy is injured and will not be with the U20 team at the Combine. I guess NONE of this is the official word. I think MLS may announced the P40 signings today.
Of the players on this tour, the only ones who aren't already pros or who haven't just turned pro are Wingert, Gregorio and Stamler. This is Stamlers first-ever call-up to a youth national team so I'm not surprised he isn't going pro early. Wingert is an Academic All-American whose parents are teachers so that's no surprise either. Gregorio's parents are from Portugal so he's eligible for an EU passport. I bet he uses that to look for a club abroad, especially if he shows well at this tournament.
The U20s who haven't signed yet still have a bit of leverage with the U20 WYC coming up. If they show well there will be Euro interest. If there is Euro interest, there is MLS interest most of the time. Klaas not offered? Rumor was that some MLS scouts like him a lot.
not a rumor - some did various factors enter into these decisions apparently, not just how well a certain player is liked. If you can only sign X number of players, age will have something to do with it.
He has supposedly left school also. Maybe he wasn't in this group of P-40 signees because of that. That doesn't rule out his signing later this year.
Reading the IU website it does look like he left school but, if it is like the last U-20 championship, US Soccer asks that the players selected for the team pool take the semester off to devote to full time training and preparation. If they choose to go back to shcool after the Championship it is each players decision. If they show well, a number of players may elect to turn pro.
Nate Jaqua at MLS Combine U-23 pool forward Nate Jaqua's bio is featured in the MLS Combine media guide. It looks like he's decided to leave Portland with one year of eligibility remaining. They list him as a Project-40 player.
The league putting a cap on how many P40 players they can sign? Sounds to me like a negotiation strategy. We all know good and well that MLS will come calling should those guys decide to bolt after the U20 WYC in March. The MLS season doesn't start until April anyways.