Thats too bad... maybe you dont know who Johnny Torres was? He was a two time national player of the year in college at Creighton. His game and Diego's were/are much alike but in the end, he was just too small to play in this physical league. Age doesn't have much to do with it, its the style and the question... does he fit on this team? As a player taking a foreign slot, Diego is a a luxury that may end up badly for him in the end. Im sure he's making a salary and if he is, he has just lost his college eligibility. That leaves the kid with few options if this doesnt work out. Nguyen - great skills, good passer best option we have right now and better than any weve had in his position in as far back as I can remember. Yes he has 3 goals.... two in one game. I'm still frustrated with him though at times and his production(points wise) isn't all that
I don't think Diego's citizenship status in the US would have any real effect on his eligibility for Uruguay (if that's the route he chooses) as long as he has some claim to Uruguayan nationality. Giuseppe Rossi was American-born and lived in the US until he was 12 - but once he moved to Italy he was able to get into Italy's youth national team system. Also consider all the German born-and-raised players who currently play for the USMNT. Granted I don't know much about the FIFA rules and regs on cap eligibility, but you have to think there's a way for him to be a domestic Revs player and able to play for the Uruguay NTs.
Diego obtaining a US green card (or even full citizenship) will have no effect on his eligibility to play for Uruguay. His parents are Uruguayan citizens and he was born there, so that can't be a factor. The "numbers" situation is spot on. If there are two players rated equally, and one is a Domestic player and the other an international, the Domesitc player will be in a better spot every single time. While he is only 17, any talk of him playing in a national team of any kind is a bit premature, until he gets to the point where he can be a star on an average-at-best team.
It's not like teams are scoring at will. Last match likely would have been a shut out, less SJ being plugged in out of position, and we are attacking out of the back finally (again, less Macca's long ball proclivity). We have become unsettled with line up changes and we have lost some of the familiarity that players need to anticipate eachothers moves. I can't tell you how many time I've seen Benny or Lee look to make a pass/cross and then pull back because no one is making the run. That to me has become our major deficit, lack of understanding. With Lee facing two defenders, our strikers pull back thinking he won't make it through and then Lee jukes them into space and no one is there. They have to learn to trust eachother more.
Unfortunately I remember Johnny Torres all too well. I think that you're missing out on a couple of key points here. Johnny Torres was a 22-25 year old undersized striker who only found success at the college level, a very different game than MLS. Diego Fagundez is a 16-17 year old striker who is still growing (even though he's already taller than Torres), that has already found more success in a short period of time with the Revs than Torres ever did over three full seasons with the club. Johnny Torres never showed me the potential on the field like Fagundez has, comparing the two makes no sense to me. As for Nguyen, he's easily the most creative and skilled player that we have. Honestly, I think he's the most creative and skilled player we've had since Dempsey. While he's not at the level of Deuce's production, I think we need to re-evaluate how we're deploying Nguyen. I don't think Nguyen belongs on the wing, but rather as a CAM or a withdrawn striker. He does really well in tight spaces and is great at retaining possession and playing dangerous passes and chips. I honestly think that Lee Nguyen deserves a shot with the USMNT sometime in the near future. He has a skill set that very few American players possess.
Simple.--- I see this year as a pure rebuilding year with lots of trial and error of new players to see if they are of MLS quality, with current players in various positions and team tactics under a new coach who is learning on the job. If they make the playoffs--great-- but if they don't I won't be at all upset. Some teams have matured to the point where not making the playoffs would be a huge disappointment. I don't see the 2012 Revs as a mature roster (last weeks games was a good example). Add a few more quality players at the right positions and give the roster time (the rest of 2012) to gel-(DRINK) and I see the 2013 Revs as returning to competitiveness. Right now their to inconsistent and on the margin at best to make the playoffs this year.
Marko Perovic had so many flaws in his game. I think the fact that people remember him so fondly is just a testament to how bad those teams really were. He was extremely one footed, constantly dribbled with his head down, and always seemed to hold onto the ball too long for my liking. He was fun to watch, and the only real bright spot on the team at the time, but I think Nguyen is the more talented player. That's coming from someone who loved Marko and what he brought to this team and was really sad to see him go.
I won't deny that he was a bit selfish and dribbled with his head down, he still had as much skill as Nguyen.
This quote from the Globe says it all Pages 12 and 13 of this thread is all you need to know about Diego's situation https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/...s-arent-close-and-immigration.1831047/page-12 I think the bottom line is that Diego needs to prove himself a valuable commodity to the league/team before he receives his green card.
I'm pretty sure he is well aware of who Johnny Torres was. You know, the 22 year old rookie for the Revs. Do you know him? lmao Your whole argument is stupid, but its almost so funny that I want you to keep it up. It's seriously making my lunchtime reading more entertaining. Oh, and it's making me feel better about myself, too. So, thanks!!!!
This team isn't really any better than the 2010 team. Nguyen stands out on this team in part because he is one of, if not the best player on a bad team. I'm not sure who I would take over who. I would prefer both of them, but that's a copout. I'll go with Nguyen by an inch because he is more versatile. I actually think Marko was the more skilled player.
I'm sorry but this team is certainly better than the 2010 team. Reis, Shalrie and Perovic were the only players who were definite starters on most teams in the league. We currently have a much more solid core of players who play attractice, attacking soccer. Currently our results are only slightly better than that 2010 team which is disappointing, but the current Revs have shown so much more potential than the Revs of old.
Reis, Nguyen, Benny and.....who are definite starters from this team? Sene? Maybe. Simms? Maybe. Just because the team plays more "attractive", doesn't mean they are better. Also, because they play more "attractive" now, only further exemplifies the island that Marko was often left in going forward. Nguyen clearly has more options. Sure, they have potential because they are younger and have much more perceived talent than 2010. But right now, they really aren't any better than that 2010 team was. The packaging is just better.
I would add Soares and Alston to that list. Soares isn't an All Star but he's an above-average->good (for MLS) CB at this point in his career, and I'm confident he'll continue to improve based on his work ethic and what he's shown so far in games. Alston still passes at a sub-MLS level (and shoots at a middle schooler's level - which is why opposing defenses pay zero attention to him in the attacking end) but is one of the best lock-down RBs in the league (his only defensive gaffes seem to be when he's forced more to the center - on the right flank he can neutralize basically anyone and he wins a surprisingly high percentage of challenges in the air). The 2010 Revs may have been the least-talented MLS team in the past 5 years on paper (the 2011 team had much more talent but worse results, which was perplexing) - Shalrie and Perovic basically single-handedly dragged that team to the SuperLiga final and a non-horrifying league record. That was a team that regularly started Khano Smith and had Joseph Niouky (one of the worst players I've ever seen) as an auto-starter in the first half of the season. It doesn't really compare to the depth we have now. This year's Revs IMO are much better than their record, but they've leaked points (like a lot of MLS teams do) due to huge isolated mistakes in games. That's just an issue of cohesion and needing to be coached up long-term.
Alston was on the 2010 team. Soares is solid, and certainly better than any centerback they had in 2010 (which is why they drafted him). So, I'll give you that. And this team has regularly started Tierney and Blake Brettschneider (one of the worst players I've ever seen). You are your record. Bad teams make bad mistakes which cost them wins and points. Surely this team is moving in a more positive direction than the 2010 team. And of course they have more potential talent on the team. But as the team is constituted now, with the way they play, and the results they get, they aren't really any better than 2010. They could certainly change that in the second half of the season if things start to fit together.
Not to nitpick, but ... one exception to that would be when it is anticipated that the international would be getting domestic status in the not-too-distant future. That was the situation with Nyassi and Mansally, and undoubtedly is with Fagundez. The 2012 Alston is better and more durable than the 2010 Alston (although I don't think the 2011 Alston was!). If Tierney was as bad as some people seem to think, we'd be leaking goals and players would be eating him up. He certainly hasn't been a knockdown defender, but he isn't a sieve either. As for BB, in 2010, our leading forwards in minutes were: Schil, Stolica and Dube - and they scored a grand total of 10 goals between them in close to 3500 minutes of p.t. I'd rank only Stolica higher than Brettschneider (FWIW, Perovic had 6g in 2000 minutes and is listed as a mid).
Yeah, for all the criticism Brettschneider gets, I definitely consider him an upgrade over Schilawski. Take out his hat trick and his goals/min is cringe-inducing. Stolica actually was pretty decent, with 4 goals in 16 appearances, and some of those appearances were short substitute stints. He was overpaid but heck I'd take 2010 Stolica over Moreno right now. Kraft Out, have you forgotten how insanely terrible Niouky was? I don't think you can claim any other player was "the worst you've ever seen" after watching him. The 2010 team had a midfield with him AND Pat Phelan in it.