From today's Soccer America MLS Insider : RE-STOCKING PROJECT-40: MLS is making a strong bid to sign several U.S. under-17 players, including 16-year-old midfielder Guillermo Gonzalez (Paramount, Calif.) and 16-year-old defender Jonathan Spector (Arlington, Heights, Ill.), as it replenishes its Project-40 pool. "Graduating" from Project-40 at the end of the 2002 season will be D.C.'s Santino Quaranta, among others. Gonzalez has been offered a multi-year contract by MLS and has also attracted interest from foreign clubs Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund. - Hopefully MLS can get it done.
I talked to Spector yesterday as he was home and he came to our annual Junior/Senior scrimmage and he said that going back to high school after Bradenton, going to college, MLS, and Europe are all possibilities. He said he eventually wants to go to Europe, but I don't think he will go right away and I also don't think he will come back to high school. Playing in the MLS is a strong possibility in my mind for him.
the slippery one how can i get to read the article on MLS insider.Can you please e-mail to me thank you
don't know, but surely MLS would want to give a player like that a better deal than the Project 40 arrangement, considering the interest he's apparently attracting.
Re: Re: MLS trying to sign Memo and Spector Age or number of games started. Tino has been a regular for parts of two seasons. I forget the actual number, but he's definitely not a developmental player anymore.
We've got some photos of both players from their August camp in Cary. This is Gonzalez: and (photos by Andy Mead/YCJ and Scott Bales/YCJ)
Memo has not made up his mind I talked to Memo last night. He has been training with the Galaxy while back from his Finland trip. He has not decided if he will sign with MLS or wait until after World Cup in Finland to sort out his offers from Europe. He said,"that he has a meeting with MLS on Tuesday Sept.3" He will sit down with his family and decide once the offer is made. He told me that his family and advisors have already turn down two offers from MLS.
think Dortmund might offer more than the Project 40 deal? Is there any precedent for MLS offering something OTHER than the Project 40 deal for a player of that age?
It sure seems like there will have to be soon if there isn't already. Our young guys are too good to play for McDonald's wages anymore. How're you s'posed to live in LA/Chi/DC/NY on $24k a year? You don't...look at Quaranta...he lives with his gramma or something.
Stepping up to the plate I recall that MLS has stepped up to the p-40 plate and took a big bite with Albright to the tune of 75- 100K a year, IIRC. That might have been renogiated over the years. As for Santino I remember an article in the Washington Post speaking of his driving a nice SUV and I think an estimated salary for him was @ 50K. That's just two instances out of many. I think the player has to really, really stand out to get anything more than the typical 24K a year. These guys are wise to wait and see how the U-17's do in their WC but of course MLS knows this and its working its angles as well.
is a possible downside of WC02 for MLS a now necessary salary cap increase? if they have to pay the older guys more, and now really know the importance of getting these younger ones to stay here, seems like they'll have to come clean a little bit and and raise the cap. or do p40's not count under the cap?
That is correct. While MLS does pay the young USNYT stars far more than minimum or developmental wages, they are part of the P-40 program and thus have a separate roster spot that does not count against the cap. If a player is NOT a P-40, then the developmental slot is paid peanuts. This is one reason why these guys are so highly sought after in the SuperDraft. The 18 man roster necessitates getting minutes from your developmental players. No good player will except a non-P-40 wage. Thus, if you want production from those spots you MUST get a P-40 player. Ingenious way to cut costs while still forcing clubs to give young American prospects playing time IMHO. Most of these top prospects should expect 40k-70k depending upon who great they are and the negotiation process. With Memo garnering interest from multiple high-budget European clubs, MLS will likely offer him more. The league would love to have a great young American that has recent Mexican heritage. To a lesser degree, the same goes for Arturo Alvarez who is of El Salvadorian descent. These guys will get top dollar. Spector is good, but I expected to see Brandon Owens signed as well, so I wonder what's going on there. Both of them are good but very young defenders. They will not be offered as much and will go later in the draft, but are both solid prospects. -Tron
I personally love the idea behind the P-40 program. It offers a player to defer college and get experience at the same time. The pay isn't as good as a known veteran, but these kids aren't known veterans. For every Davis, Convey and Beasley there have been a dozen Martin Klingers and Jose Burciaga's. If they play and play well, in two years they get rewarded with a bigger contract. If they stink up the joint (which means they aren't likely good enough for Europe anyway) then the P-40 program pays for their college education. Frankly, I think it's a program that all sports should use for players that go straight from High School to the pros. JMac PS: Am I the only one who thinks that Memo looks like David Spade from his SNL days?
As far as the money goes, ain't a large part of P-40 the fact MLS is putting aside money now for your potential college education later? All in all not a terrible deal... btw, the guy looks fine; get off his back...
Me too. The only thing I like better is the Bradenton Academy idea. In this age of me-ism in sports, it's great to see players building their patriotism while at the same time ensuring their education and fully developing their skills. I know everybody is gaga over MLS Reserve Sides, but really, I think this is the best situation possible. These players learn the basics, get a chance to play against a higher but not too high level of competition (colleges, other national teams, other youth teams and the occasional MLS side), get to develop their own game instead of being a square peg forced into a teams round hole by having their positions changed. They get playing time rather than watching from the bench. AND, most of these guys will NEED an education at some point, so the USSF assures that they have the requisite education enabling them to go to college at some point. Kudos to the USSF and MLS for setting this thing up and then expanding it from 20 to 30 people. Yeah, we'd like it to be 200 kids, but the money just isn't there even if it was as Reserve Sides. -Tron
I like all 3 concepts personally. Bradenton is perfect for pre-p40 players. Many of the players who went on the P-40 status started out at Bradenton. When they look ready for the pros, they get their chance, and get the insurance of a future college education if it doesn't work out. Reserve sides are great for a different group of players. Reserve sides are for the players that ODP and Bradenton might not identify. The 2nd generation immigrants, the inner-city kids and other groups that might be below the USSF's radar. By having reserve teams, the club looks locally to uncover the diamonds in the rough. All 3 of these programs combine to find the best talent the country has to offer, and they look through all walks of life to find it. JMac
Bradenton Academy The guys are no longer attending the Bradenton Academy. They are going to the " Edison Academic Center. All 86's are now in an accelerated program. They will all graduate THIS SCHOOL YEAR. There is already a feeding frenzy going on with the Colleges.