https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=2172 Mike Magee is headed to Ajax according to a post in the U.S. Youth Teams forum. According to someone else posting to the same thread, Raul Palomares (who was with Kaiserslautern IIRC) is now with a team in Croatia.
Do you have a link on Magee to Ajax? There have been articles in various Chicago newspapers talking about his desire to go to Europe but no follow up.
Sorry, no hard evidence. I just wanted to pass along the scuttlebutt. Also, the person on the other thread could be referring to a training stint and not a permanent move (which would still be a positive development, if significantly less so than a permanent move).
I've spent the last hour trying to find any info leading to the whereabouts of Raul Palomares. I couldn't find him on any squad list for any Croatian team. I don't know if he is still in Croatia. IIRC Palomares' father held a position on Loyola Marymount University's soccer team and that somebody on BigSoccer knew him. If anyone knows where Raul is I'm certain his father would know.
If he is, he's not with their first team, according to soccerassociaton.com: http://www.soccerassociation.com/sqp/7/sq915.htm This kid's promising career has taken a turn toward obscurity. Maybe he is the next Gus Kartes.
Could be on a youth team or something. Would teams in small leagues really have updated websites or something? Doubt it. Remember, Jorge Flores, playmaker of 1997 U20 and Carlos Parra, one of the dmids for that team were one of the 1st P40 signings. Where are they now? Exactly. Some guys make it, some don't. That's soccer for ya.
Well Parra's in the A-League with the Silverbacks. My question is where the hell is Flores anyhow? -OS
He's only going to be 19 this year and he's a midfielder. Looking at Reyna and JOB and other midfielders---they tend to start hitting their stride just a tad bit later in Yank cases I've studied.
My point exactly. Some guys just can't keep up and they go to a lower level or drop off the face of the Earth.
Here's a fairly recent article on Magee. Says he's going to Europe but doesn't name a team. In fact, the story is written very strangely: While it says "the 17-year-old South Barrington resident is preparing to leave his back yard next month," nowhere in the story is it even suggested that he has signed a contract. Don't know if this is a case of bad writing or lazy reporting -- not sure why this story couldn't just have said "Magee sets his sights overseas" and talk about tryouts. Instead it is set up like the Euro move is a done deal, but the reporter hasn't bothered to tell us what the deal actually. In fact, we don't even know if he asked from this story. Strange. http://archives.pioneerlocal.com/cgi-bin/ppo-story/archives/sports/2002/ba/06-20-02-3343.html
Sort of a "local boy makes good" story. To reverse the angle,if a German boy comes to the US to play D1 hoops,would it really matter to the burghers of Darmstadt whether Hans enrolls at Syracuse or Oklahoma? Or if two years later (assuming Hans has game) he signs with Miami or Houston? I would guess not ,for most of them.
Reply to Dave: The Pioneer Press article is carbon copy of the Sun Times article written a month or two before. I will have to go look for it. Since the Pioneer Press and the Sun Times are affiliated.....it may be that article recycled
letsplaytwo, Thanks -- I didn't know that. Just did a search on "Magee" and "Ajax" and that's what popped up. russ, Not sure I agree. It's a pretty basic fact. And how do we know the local boy has made good? We don't know where or even if he is going. At this point it's more of a "local boy hopes to make good" story.