Kirk Harwat - Moenchengladbach Reserves

Harwat was on the Chicago Fire Reserves last summer and participated in the MLS pre-draft camp. Kirk was no more than a part time player on a very talented team, but impressed when he did play. I was surprised he didn't get drafted by MLS. It's good to see him get a chance as a pro. Viel Gluck, Kirk.

 

Here is Akron University's version of the story:
http://gozips.collegesports.com/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/062504aaa.html

Found it while looking for info on their recruiting class, and hadn't seen it posted yet.

 

I don't get this. Former Akron U. forward Kirk Harwat gets passed over by both MLS AND A-League drafts and signs with Borussia Moenchengladbach, albeit the amateur team. Still, he has a chance to advance to the pro team. Is the ass't coach there just doing a favor for his friend at Akron, or are the pro scouts here deficient in their ability to assess talent? Enquiring minds need to know.

 

Perhaps the German scouts are deficient in their ability to assess talent. Ok, probably not. I'd guess that teams with larger budgets than MLS can cast larger nets to find possible players. It could be that they're taking a huge gamble. That doesn't seem likely though since if he can't be much worse than some of the players in MLS much less the A-league if he'd have the potential to play in the Bundesliga. The most likely thing is that the US scouts messed up.

 

Having seen Kirk play many times, it's pretty obvious that he's talented.

But before you go all overboard here, you need to keep this in perspective:

- MLS has very, very limited roster space. Just to bring Harwat in as a DP/Coolie (and I suspect they did not offer him, contrary to the speculation, because I believe he would have taken it) the Crew would have had to cut someone as they are already at their maximum of six. Unlike Euro Clubs, MLS teams do not have reserve tems, long benches, amateur sides, etc. which allows you to pick up anyone who might interest you and keep them around for awhile.

Fact is, our entire league only has 180 TOTAL full time jobs and another 60 "fringe" players many of whom work part time jobs in retail just to put gas in their car and food on the table. There are a LOT of talented players out there that they'd like to bring in but they just don't have the room.

- You need to disabuse yourself of the "MLS scouts" myth. There are no "MLS scouts" in the sense that other sports like baseball have - grizzled old farts leaning on a fence muttering about how some fresh-faced Iowa farm boy is a five skill player and then racing to the phone to call the White Sox.

These guys just flat do not exist.

In Harwat's case, he was brought into an MLS team camp, worked out under the coaching staff, played very well in a scrimmage against a college team and may have even been offered a contract to hold down one of their precious roster spots, meaning they were ready to fire another player to hire him.

How this constitutes "missing" Harwat escapes me, unless you are contending that the Crew should have dumped Edson Buddle or Jeff Cunningham and given him a senior roster spot.

- In the end, Harwat chose to play overseas, and - having seen the guy many times - I think it's possible he could eventually have a pro career.

Right now, however, the guy is playing AMATEUR soccer. Yes, it's for a big club, and YES Germany certainly has many talented players, but it's not like he's going to be trotting out against Borussia Dortmund anytime soon. Mom and Dad are still paying his college loans.

Ask the essential and inestimable Dave Marino-Nacheson how many Americans there are playing "over there". Did MLS "miss" them all? Especially the ones who actually have paying jobs? None of these guys were secrets - every damned one of them has a file in MLS HQ in New York. The vast majority of them will never see first team play in a major European league. It's just a fact.

Harwat has a chance to get noticed and to work on raising the level of his game to a professional level. Maybe he'll do well, and I earnestly wish him the best of luck - he's a great kid and it would be wonderful to see him make it.

But to say MLS messed up somehow is just way, way wide of reality.



(PS: It's not that great a picture, Dave, so I could be wrong, but I don't see Kirk Harwat in it anywhere)

 

Side note:

I am not sure, but I don't think the Germans use Amateur in the the same way we Americans do. I think Amateur team just means reserve team and they are all paid professionals. Can anyone confirm? Maybe that minor league never had it can come back and let us know

 

This time, it's (even more) personal.

 

You are correct. From some info at bayer and back in 1999, the lower guys on the totem pole at a reserve team make about $30,000 a year, but some guys are making close to $100,000. Back in 1999 I saw the Bayer reserves play a scrimmage against the US B team. Landon played for Bayer that day, was before he signed.

I was thinking those guys could do great in the A-league and would make more money, I asked the GM and he laughed when he saw my reaction "These guys are amateurs?". Most if not all players get apartments, cars, and nice cash - as I'm sure the pay scale has increased the past 5 years.

 

Harwat scored against Borussia Dortmund recently.

http://magazin.torfabrik.de/cms/amateure/20040714222038.php

 

Well, he got the last two in an 11-0 Cup rout yesterday, but you probably figured that out:
http://www.borussia.de/CDA/borussia...ml?PHPSESSID=ddba6c87f5c09d91af3870d2bfdd373a

DNP for the U23s on the 22nd:
http://www.borussia.de/CDA/borussia_news_details,581,0,newsid-105206,de.html

Or on the 18th for that matter:
http://www.borussia.de/CDA/aktuell,518,0,,de.html

Still looking for more news... If you find links post 'em and I (or someone with better German hopefully) will take a whack.

 

Horst Koepel, the U-23s coach, used to be a big-time BL coach (I believe he once won title w/Kevin Keegan Hamburg). Anyway, weird to see him at U-23 level

 

It appears that Harwat is still earning his spurs with the under-23 team at BMG. Here is a link to their results so you can follow their games week-to-week and see if he played

http://www.borussia.de/CDA/u23,102847,0,,de.html

just click on the score to get a brief summary in German with a listing of played-substituted-goals

I've been checking in week-to-week and I haven't noticed him playing in any of their games as of yet (that early blowout that he scored in was a pre-season tune-up)

 

Köppel was a midfielder for the same Mönchengladbach team during its glory era of the mid-70s with Rainer Bonhoff, Jupp Heinkes, Berti Vögts, Allan Simonsen, Uli Stieleke, Herbert Wimmer, Otto Kleff, et al. Horst himself earned 11 caps for West Germany in the late 60s and early 70s.

He later coached Borussia Dortmund in the late 80s and early 90s to some respectable results. He didn't seem to have had any major jobs in the mid-late 90s.

 

Last game: 7-1 win, Harwat didn't get in the game.

 

Koepel is now coach of Borussia...so if Kirk was doing anything, and/or if he still with the team- you'd think he'd get a better 'audience', since his ol' coach now running the big side..

 

Kind of late info, but kirk was injured for most of the first half of the season. He picked up a groin pull, then healed up a bit, came back and strained it again. Docs didn't want it to get worse, so he just trained and didn't see much run because of it.

 

Any info is appreciated.