It's up to individual coaches (and teams) to tell the league whom they want as a GA player. Even at age 19-20 there's no assurance that someone will become the player a coach thought he would. And as in other sports some coaches just have a better eye for talent than others. Maybe a few old names will be continued to be bandied about, but most of the players offered GA contracts receive them precisely because the coach thinks they'll do something down the road, not because they were on the U17 team. Unlike youth coaches, pro coaches' livelihoods depend on replenishing talent for the 1st team, otherwise they may be out of a job. I don't know where Nakazawa stands right now with regard to MLS, but if he's offered a GA next year it's because someone thinks he has enough to still become a decent pro. And finally, there have certainly been some miscalculations, the most prominent recent one being Ellinger's selection of Nik Besagno as the #1 pick in '05. One more like that and he's gone (but if RSL doesn't make the playoffs this season he might be gone, anyway).
I really think that the MLS does a bad job of scouting players for the combine. This is not a sport like basketball or football where if you're a good player they know about you no matter where you're from or who you play for. The mls coaches and executives rely alot on word of mouth and player hype from the few media sources that do exist for soccer. Guaranteed these coaches have not seen close to half of these players play before the combine. I feel that if MLS scouts and coaches were solely responsible for picking who they wanted to see it would be alot different. Clearly this has a lot to do with resources of the league but I also think that this needs to be an important concideration of the league itself. I know that the combine participants do not fairly represent all of the top college players in the US....just look at all the people they have missed in the past....bornstein, boswell, etc. It will be interesting to see who breaks through this year, but as I have been saying this really is an issue that the league should address
Buzz, you might just sign up for a blogger.com account and put your stuff on there. I (and tons of others) really want to see your work, and it appears Matchnight is all f-ed up at the moment.
This year the word is GA was signing less players but for more money & longer terms. I am sure some of the signings and $$ thrown will surprise many.
I was surprised the Julian Valentin didn't take a GA (assuming 1 was offered). I think that he is ready for MLS.
I have been thinking about getting some temp free site or something, but then the only people that would see would be people that saw various posts... so I will just post it here... the formatting will be messed up. Oh well.
MLS Combine 07 Report: Day Two Welcome to moving day. It's day two and the beautiful 70 degree weather of yesterday is about 80 today. That makes it a touch on the warm side for most of the players who don't live in this area (and fans too). Since it's the second set of games in two days the officials cut it a bit shorter with 35 (give or take) minute halves. Overall the standard is much higher today than yesterday. Put it down to nerves, or perhaps travel, but it's much more enjoyable. The overall combine standard is still down this year compared to the last two, most people believe it's because the Ga players are not here. Most of the U20s and U17s who would bring some real class to the combine are still in camp in Orlando. In fact I hear some of the MLS staffs sent some coaches to Bradenton today to watch the U20s, not sure which ones as I wasn't paying attention to who was around. News, Notes, and Comments - Abdus Ibrahim has been with the U17s but should arrive today/tomorrow and play Monday. - Rumor making the rounds to explain his absence is that Steve Purdy, the Cal centerback, has signed with 1860 Munich. I can't verify it, but there it is. - Bryan Bryne I am told had some kind of communication problem with MLS and is in Ireland. It's not exactly clear what happened with him. Not a great way to make an impression. - Riley O'Neill, the massive Kentucky forward, is also sick. I was told he may be the one who has Mono, not Gonsalves... who is also sick word has it... just maybe not with Mono. Except that some papers have said he does have Mono. All that matter is both are not here and both are sick. - Top Drawer Soccer is reporting that four more U20s are "going pro" and signing with MLS. The names are Chris Seitz the sophomore keeper from Maryland (had that one already on our Ga tracking page), Amaechi Igwe a freshman left side player from Santa Clara, Anthony Wallace a freshman defender from the University of South Florida, and Bryan Arguez a defender/midfielder from West Pines United who would be a freshman this fall somewhere. That's a nice selection of talent that will really help the poor standard of the combine. - When you look at the formations below you will see what the lack of defenders has done. Three of the teams played 3-5-2 yesterday because of it. When they switched to 4-4-2 today you got some weird people playing defense, particularly on the outside. - I am reporting nothing, but some people I asked think Preki will get the Chivas job. - Did we know Chris Henderson has joined the KC staff? I didn't and he's here wearing a Wizards shirt. I took a bunch of photos today and watched the game from the sideline. I wanted to try a different perspective anyway being on the sideline, and letting me take some pics was an added bonus. I won't bother with a note on every player, just ones that changed my opinion from my first impression or perhaps a player I feel deserves a mention for some reason. I'll break them down by team's this time. Game Three: adidas Tango vs adidas Tricolore Tango in white with blue shorts and white socks again, Tricolore in Red with white shorts and grey socks. Tango sticks with the same 4-4-2 as yesterday but with a diamond midfield, Tricolore shifts to a flat 4-4-2 but one central mid plays slightly more advanced although it's not a pure diamond shape. Both teams made several changes late in the second half I'm not bothering to mess with. 1-1 with a goal in each half. Tango (4-4-2) - white Smith (J. Cunliffe) Moojen (Findley) Harrington (Kent) Findley (Boukhemis) Hayden (Norman) Ebert (Hayden) J. Cunliffe (Curfman) Kirby Harden Curfman (Harrington) Konopka (Noble) Frederico Moojen - Object lesson for the day, never make a final decision on a player from one game. Moojen was much better today, maybe he was jet lagged or something, or perhaps it was the midfield thing. Who knows. I still think he lacks in pace and will struggle to make it in MLS. But today I saw enough to think someone might draft him. Moojen played as an outright striker and made some intelligent runs. He knows how to play for sure and has some nice feet. He scored white's goal on a header on a second chance cross from Harrington on a corner that was cleared long instead of out. Michael Harrington - He was effective in midfield on the left and then played right back in the second half, whoever takes him will get a versatile player. Robbie Findley - Playing in midfield was interesting. He was good at making runs forward into danger spots and has great ball moves. He's still the best striker here, clearly a great player. Eric Ebert - Another player that stepped up, he's better as a pure holder behind an attacking player. He makes nice decisions and had good timing with the ball. But I still think he doesn't closes down fast enough in the middle for the next level. John Michael Hayden - I liked him much better on the outside than in the middle. Terrific on the ball and tough competitor. He knows how to get it done on the outside and was impactful on the game. He was a solid d-mid in the second half. John Cunliffe - At left back he certainly looked out of place. You could tell he never played there before. But he had real moments going forward and overlapping Harrington. Red also tried to exploit him by running Elcock at him, but Cunliffe was able to stay with him to the end line. Played forward in the second half and was great. I just really like this kid. Zach Kirby - He was better today, more confident. Ty harden - Ty looked worse for me in this session, I liked him more as a marking back. He does not like the ball at his feet and in teh four man back that's trouble. He's a big physical athletic kid, but if you can't pass or dribble, even in the back line, your gonna be troubled in MLS. Steven Curfman - I wanted to watch him specifically today, and I wasn't impressed. Some people really like him for his versatility, but I don't see anything special on display here. Just a serviceable player who doesn't pass all that well and is a touch slow for my taste. Jared Kent - He appears to be ok after being injury yesterday. He was back in the game today and played at left midfield. You could see him shy away from contact some. Good feet, but he needs to move the ball quicker. Not tactically savvy enough. I'm glad he is all right though. Nate Norman - He took a step forward in my estimation today. Looks like a useful player running the wide line and he caused some trouble to the left back. Tricolore (4-4-2) - red Monteiro (Elcock) Altchek (Ubiparipovic) Ashe Dalby DiRaimondo (Tedula) Elcock (Faz) Ustruck Marples Daniels Tudela (DiRaimondo) Hall Nigal Marples - He ok in the more pure center back role cleaning things up well. Not sure if he helped himself or not. had a little trouble keeping track of Moojen. Edson Elcock - This kid can fly, although he's little. He was running hard on the right of midfield in the first half against two strong players. He was very dangerous in the second half playing up top and combined well with Ubiparipovic. He scored the red team goal on a flick through by Sinisa that showed he has a real quick burst through the gap. Josh Tedula - Horrible at right back in the first half, but what did you expect. He was solid in the midfield just as he was yesterday in the second half. Still too slow for my taste. Jerson Monteiro - As a forward he was better than some of the others, but I liked him better as a wide right mid. He's got a big body and can make some nice moves considering. It will be interesting to see how he turns out. Corey Ashe - He was all over the place as a left mid. Super fast and played some solid D winning balls off people today. Can't undervalue that left peg. Greg Dalby - Was very nice in midfield, super composed and making others look better around him. Completely cemented for me as a first round pick. John DiRiamondo - John remains an above average player, but when I watch him I see nothing special that says, "Oh, I want him on my team." Still, he's a good player. I actually thought he was good as a right back cause he can really pass back there and be a danger getting forward. Andrew Daniels - Fascinating to watch this forward try and play centerback all day. Was he top tier? Of course not, it was his fist time. But he did fairly well and I was impressed with his pace, vertical, and skill in what must have been a tough conversion for him. I kept having Tony Sanneh flashbacks watching him move around as they have similar body styles in my opinion. Charles Ustruck - Now here was a an outside back switch I really liked. As a forward I loved his work rate and tactical understanding and how he worked back to midfield. That same good mental side and work rate translated well to right back. He looked tough to get past and battled hard. His play moved him up in my estimation. Luis Faz - He switched teams. Today he is wearing #31 for the reds and yesterday he was #70 for the white. He's got some nice raw ball skills, but the tactical understanding and team play are way behind. He' not slow of thought, just has no idea how to work with players at this level. Brad Evans - DNP for the Charlie horse I think. Aaron Hohlbein - DNP Game Four: adidas Azteca vs adidas Teamgeist Azteca in all blue again, Teamgeist were in all black yesterday but swapped into white shorts today. Call them the almost all-blacks if you like. Azteca has also switched to a 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield. Teamgeist roles out in a 4-3-3, which is fairly unusual for the combine. Given their lack of great strikers it makes some sense. Just like in the game above, both teams here made multiple changes deep in the second half. Teamgeist wins 1-0 on a goal in the second half. Azteca (4-4-2) - blue Cristman (Omekanda) Patterson (Krizanovic) Omekanda (McGrane) Guadarrama (LaBrocca) Richards Solle Helton Soumare Douglass Sambursky Marfuggi Kyle Helton - I was right, he's much better as a left back. He was fast and strong, pushing bigger players off the ball. Nice day for him. Justin Douglass - A second nice day for him, I like this kid. Good passer and reader of the game, solid tactical defender too. Mike Sambursky - He played in the back line again today. He must be making a move to defense. If he doesn't get to play toward the front on Monday I will be moving him to the defense rankings. He's clearly never been a defender before, but you have to like what's he's trying to do. He sure as heck can go forward. Ryan Solle - So good again for my taste. Great in possession, can dribble multiple players to keep the ball and hold guys off. Hit some nice corners too. A complete player in my book. Was all over the place in midfield. Willy Guadarrama - Unfortunately today was not as good I thought yesterday. He gave the ball away far too many times and didn't make some of the nice passes I saw before. Tommy Krizanovic - A player I think gets it. He knows how to work the gaps up top and gets some results without the pace or big time skills of others. Plays above himself most of the time. Nick LaBrocca - Very active in midfield moving side to side. Not real fast, but good engine. Willing to tackle and above average passer. Not nifty on the ball in tight space. Dane Richards - He was a force wide on the right today. Tearing up and down the wings and getting behind whatever defender they put in front of him. Simon Omekanda - Not bad on the left, although not as good as Ashe is. He did some good work and running up top, but he should have scored and didn't. He's not clean enough in the box and the final pass or shot is not good enough. Omar Cummings - I don't think he played. If he did I missed it. adidas Teamgeist (4-3-3) - black Loftus (Trott) Colaluca (Wileman) Guy Thompson Needham (Alvarez) Asante Jones (MacDonald) MacDonald (Needham) Meier (A. Cunliffe) Chandler Hughes Wells Thompson - I liked him more today. He's scrappy as hell and likes to battle in midfield. Better than average feet and could hold the ball well and link play. Ryan Guy - Two straight good days from him in my opinion. He makes a nice slasher on the wing. Still needs to be better with the passing but he loves to take guys on the dribble running at them. He scored the goal for black on a counter. Black played out to Wileman who carried down the line and then cut inside. Wileman plays across the top of the key to Guy who has time to turn and take a well placed shot to the far post. Chris Loftus - Tall, he can win headers. Does little else worth mentioning even as the target in the 4-3-3. Jay Needham - Interesting in the midfield, he can win balls and is still a good passer when he has a little time. He was better than most of the holding mids here, but not nearly as good as he was in the back line. When he switched to the back later in the game the class player shoed up again. Scott Jones - His play at left back could only be called a disaster. Someone had to play there and I think he mailed it in. In the second half he came back on in the midfield for a time but even then was not real motivated. Hugh MacDonald - He's going to be borderline I think. He looked solid in the middle and was ok at left but may not be quite fast enough. Really fights and battles though, has an grittiness I liked. Aaron Chandler - This was another forward experiment in the back line that I didn't think worked. He looked lost and out of place and was frequently beaten. Not a great day for him. Geradro Alvarez - He has something to offer in the midfield. I wonder why we never see him up top though. He might make a better wing player in the three. I'd be curious to see him either high in a 4-3-3 or wide in a 4-4-2, rather than in the middle. He's better on the ball than most and can play in combination. Chase Wileman - Better today, he looks real nice as a left wing in the 4-3-3. Able to beat a couple guys and pass well. He took a step forward in my estimation. Justin Hughes - The only keeper I am mentioning today. He had one real nice save diving to his right. Even though he was not scored on, overall he was not good again. ** One more day to go. See you on Monday.
A few comments you and others made that I would like to comment on. Many Generation adidas players have been considering signing for the MLS but they do not want to be tied into long contracts (3-5) years without the option of being released to go to Europe. They would rather stay in school and try and make the transition straight to Europe when the time is right. It is understandable that the MLS does not want to lose all of it's young talent but this has made many of them afraid to make the transition from school to MLS. Playing in Europe is the dream... If the MLS would be more willing to release these guys after a few years in the league, I think you would see an increase in the number of Gen Adidas players each year. Also, calling Igwe a "has been" is not quite up to the mark since I just read in someone else's post that he has made the U20 team going to Panama next week. Past exploits??? I also read he has been playing forward on the team which by the way is the position he played at Santa Clara last year, not defense. A versatile player wouldn't you say?
I compliment you on your report, 3rd Degree. It certainly brings some clarity to the hacking mess I saw on the pitch. Your comments show that there was some talent out there...ok, not true MLS-level talent, but some talent nonetheless. I can hear the player's internal conflict now, "How am I gonna show what I can do at a-left-mid when I'm playing left back? I haven't played left back since I was 12!" [and vice cersa]. Our local USL coach (Miami FC) was present. Perhaps he saw something he could work with, as his team from last year is being dismantled.
Very good points. Agreed that one of the problems is committing to long-term contracts. By the time they get out of those, they are 23-24 and a lot less desirable for European clubs. As far as Igwe goes, I certainly was not trying to call him a has-been. A very versatile and talented player (although I would be very surprised if any MLS team wanted him as anything other than an outside mid or defender), but even not the best underclassman prospect on his team. I guess it is a smart move from an MLS standpoint though. A former u-17 or u-20 player will have a better chance of getting a trial in europe, so they hold on to those players.
Thanks. 3rd Degree is working again. here's the story... http://www.3rddegree.net/thirdindex.cfm?page=article&show=20238 day 3 (sunday was an off day) will be up late tonight. the games were this morning and I am at the airport flying home. I'll try to work on some stuff on the plane and hopefully have it to go tonight or early tomorrow. When I get the pics uploaded I will come back with a URl for that.
Well done with the Combine info again, Buzz. Props to putting up with the Matchnight downtime as well.
Low-Quality video and picture slideshow from my short visit to the MLS Combine (Jan 2007). [youtube]CqaozLCdK3o[/youtube]
This will prove to be a big help to me when I sit down to watch the 2007 SuperDraft. And it ought to come in handy for knowing about the new players in the 07 preseason. Thanks.
Really? I don't think the quality is good enough to make out any clear identifications of players (plus I don't remember which "teams" were playing). I guess you might be able to match up a few with help from 3rd Degree's great report. I was just messin' around with some new software and decided to share. It pleases me to hear that it might be useful, though. Thanx for the response.