From @bshredder : http://www.americansoccernow.com/ar...s-optimism-over-the-u-s-u-17-team-player-pool
Didn’t make much news. I suspect the FCB player he mentioned is Kochen. Any idea who the other player at a Catalan club (not FCB) he mentioned could be? @Dave Marino-Nachison @ChuckMe92 @NoHammiesAltidore.
These have to be '06s or younger, right? Here's one guy I think it probably is not... https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/thomas-hudson-davis-at-espanyol.2088677/
I feel like some of those names are very recycled. I don’t mind giving fringe players a chance, but a lot of fringe players returning. The two 07’s make no sense. Ramos isn’t a bad player, but not to play up an age group.
My sources now inform me that the player in Catalonia is named Pedro Soma, at Cornella. There are some videos, including a few recent ones, here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAt7ROZf0EQFvYG3YV3RvhQ
I havent had time to follow US Youth soccer recently, especially with this cycle. But are there any Pulisic or Gio Reyna level talents in this cycle?
Austin just announced a callup for Micah Burton so I would guess a roster is on its way at some point: U.S. Soccer announced on Friday that Austin FC Academy midfielder Micah Burton has been selected to the U-17 U.S. Men’s Youth National Team roster for its upcoming training camp and international friendlies, taking place from March 10 to 20 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. https://www.austinfc.com/news/austi...on-invited-to-u-17-u-s-men-s-youth-national-t
Wanted to update my best 23 for this cycle. GK: Charlie Reed, Nick Bishop, Carlito Saylon DF: Matthew Schenfeld, Drew Baiera ('07), Brian Alanis, Luis Rivera ('07), Dane Agustin, Zach Stanton, Michael Dunne, Myles Nicholes ('07) MF: Matthew Corcoran, Jude Wellings, Adrian Gill, Nelson Hernandez ('07), Luis Moreno, Bento Estrela, Owen Presthus, Miles Perkovich, Bajung Darboe FW: Justin Ellis ('07), Tomo Allen ('07), Axel Kei ('07). Best XI: GK: Reed RB: Schenfeld: CB: Agustin CB: Stanton LB: Alanis DM: Corcoran LCM: Wellings RCM: Gill LW: Darboe RW: Perkovich CF: Ellis 16 of the 23 are 06's and 7 of the 23 are 07's. Probably the toughest omission from that 23 is Cruz Medina. There's a lot of depth in midfield. Thats the only real tough call IMO from that list. The rest is pretty clear, as I see it. I think this is a very good group of players, but there are some clear strengths and weaknesses. I think the midfielders are a big strength. That midfield is going to be nearly impossible to make. A lot of our top 06's and one of our top 07's are midfielders. The only slight issue with the midfield is that there isn't much depth in #6 prospects. Corcoran is really good, and then '06 and '07 have very little in that position. It's a challenge. I would suggest the best solution is probably to use players like Estrela and Hernandez in that role as back ups to Corcoran. There are a few weaknesses. The best fullbacks are all small and none are that fast. All the best CF's are 07's. '07 is a great CF year, and '06 is a very weak CF year. I'm not sure those are necessarily real weaknesses, but it might cause us problems if the coaches lean towards not picking the best players, regardless of age or skillset. As for real positional weaknesses, I think CB is a slight problem. I'm not saying its terrible, but the 06's lack in real top-end CB's. While '07 has a lot of good CB's, it's a tough position to incorporate too many players playing up an age group.
David, Have you heard of ‘06 San Diego goalkeeper Duran Ferree? At 15 he just signed a First Team Academy Contract with USL San Diego Loyal. Landon Donavan have big hopes for him. He likely should be on your radar, if he isn’t already. Neal Thompson of Big Cat Goalkeeping and former YNT keeper coach is a big fan of him as well.
Good keeper. Getting taller too over the last year or two. He with full USL first team? I saw him on the roster but didn't have a number. I was under the impression he was still playing with the USL-A because he wasn't shown in their GK post from yesterday: All gas, no breaks. 😤Our 2022 goalkeeper kit. pic.twitter.com/NvZ5oZpdoL— San Diego Loyal (@SanDiegoLoyal) March 4, 2022 . I do love how the Loyal are giving chances to some of the quality players that Surf and other SD clubs are producing.
He is Yes, he is with the full USL first team. Duran is finishing his school year, training with first team on days off and will train with the first team full time once school year has ended. He will be then going to a charter school next year so he can continue to train full time with the first team. He is currently slightly over 6’0 and growing. Probably will cap out around 6’2 or 6’3 according physical evaluations.
He's on a first team Academy contract. So, he's available to practice and play with the first team, but he isn't on a professional paid deal and retains his eligibility for college if he goes that route.
What point are we no longer in purely experimental mode of expanding the pool? If they wanted to test out certain players, fair enough. It does seem a little odd though that it's 13/18 players from 5 MLS academies (three of which aren't exactly among the elite academies right now). There are some real good players on this roster that I would've selected or I won't quibble about being selected, but I significantly question the assessments of this coach if he thinks this is anywhere near the best group of players in the country. IMO, the main players to watch from this group are Moreno, Darboe, Medina, Carney, Castillo, Verhoeven, Hall. Hopefully these games will be streamed.
You recognized the quality of the San Jose Earthquakes academy earlier than most. It is very surprising they have twice as many players as LAG and LAFC combined. It’s also kind of shocking that they don’t have at least one Chicago Fire kid. The scouts live there, don’t they? You usually see a kid from their backyard they have watched for years and know almost too well.