False alarm for the Toronto game. Now hearing he DID NOT travel. My mistake. I don't entirely understand exactly what happened there. Anyway, I still would expect Wednesday to be the day, but of course we'll see.
Glad to see he is working on defending and making runs. He is also going to have to keep learning that "less is more" sometimes on the ball. I bet that is what Lamal was focused on a couple of years ago.
Per the Spanish feed of the game, in a conversation with Jim Curtin ahead of the match, Cavan Sullivan was intended to debut against Toronto."In a conversation with us and our colleagues with Jim Curtin... the plan was for Cavan Sullivan to debut today at 14 years old, no… pic.twitter.com/fZObKlySKd— José Roberto Nuñez (@JoserNunez91) July 14, 2024
Curtin clarified in his post game presser that the plan was for Cavan to be in the matchday roster, but NOT to make his debut tonight. Paperwork issues with Canadian/US Child Labor Laws. He may be on the bench this week, but most likely will NOT make his playing debut. https://www.youtube.com/live/EVO54nzMRQc?si=t-77scXs0g5ZRe9E
Now that he could be closer to his debut and him traveling with the team was impacted by labor laws I want to resurface some of what I mentioned previously. The legal working hours for children under 16 are as follows: Anytime from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on days when school is not in session. I don’t know if the above means weekends will always be an exception, I assume it is. I tried looking for exceptions related to sports, but the only thing I could find was around more prep/cleanup work, not participating in them. If he’s going to play for the first team, it seems like he’d need to start a half or come on as a sub away from home in states where the working hours for minors are more lenient.
Not sure why this didn't post, but here it is:After the loss against Toronto, I had the opportunity to ask Jim to comment on what the Spanish-language feed (and I guess the English-language one as well) mentioned regarding Cavan Sullivan making his debut yesterday."Debut? I… https://t.co/91GwsaAjmf pic.twitter.com/fCq6HZ55nF— José Roberto Nuñez (@JoserNunez91) July 14, 2024
Cavan Sullivan will be part of the roster for tomorrow's match. #doop #MCFC cc: @FabrizioRomano and @tombogert 📷:MLS pic.twitter.com/EMYnWDiH08— José Roberto Nuñez (@JoserNunez91) July 16, 2024
I can not wait for the terrible overreactions when a fourteen year old does not immediately dominate in this game.
I wonder if he will even see the pitch.?.? Philly has been in a free-fall.... they need a win so badly. Even though they are in last place they could still make the playoffs if they get on a nice run of form. It could be a serious mistake to put too much pressure on a 14-year-old... but it would be pretty sic if he hit the ground running. <fingers-crossed> Just like his time so far with Union II, I am not super concerned w/ scoring stats. I am more concerned with his decision-making and ability to compete physically. If he can do that at 14 it would be a huge win. Goals and assists would be gravy.
He'll be on the bench. That doesn't mean he's going to get in the game. Vazquez has made the bench recently and is yet to make his first team debut despite Gazdag being away for the Euros.
He and a few others already train some with the first team from what I've heard, but at this stage wouldn't it still be better for him to play a lot for Union2 than warm the bench? I do know that (at least with Sounders/Defiance, them being my main interest) there are players who have been on the bench for the MLS side and then still played in NextPro, so maybe that's their play when travel allows it?
Indeed. They're only 5 points out of a playoff spot. They're not going to play Cavan just for the sake of playing him. I think the more impactful development is that Blake appears back for the first time since late April. This is a big "playoff 6 pointer" at home against a team down there in the standings with them. Add 3 points to Philly in the standings right now, and they jump all the way to 11th (or 10th depending on goal difference). Could Cavan play? Sure. If the game dictates it. Those of us who were around for the Freddy Adu debut remember the absolute circus around that event. This is completely different. This isn't hype for the sake of hype. If it makes sense to bring on Cavan, then they'll do it. If not, they won't. Maybe I'm naive, but I trust what Philly is doing with him.
bumped from April 2023 I've been thinking about 30% odds But they are rising Close to 50% now He's helped by the bigger rosters (I'm assuming they remain at 26) but I think he would be more than a symbolic selection. My thinking is partly influenced by the progression of Kendry Paez and Lamine Yamal. But also by the fact he has progressed FASTER than I had anticipated. And also by his physical maturation.
Exciting times. I watched his last three MLS Next Pro matches last night (2 goals in the last 3) and he has looked really good. He is learning to play with more control and his explosiveness is really showing up. He has been more productive in MLSNP than some of the guys who… https://t.co/Q95XMXIK3g— Marcus Chairez (@chai_asc) July 16, 2024
I remember being at RFK Stadium when Adu made his debut at 14, in 2004. He had incredible hype -- much more than Cavan. I don't recall anyone in my circle being shocked or dismayed when Jeff Agoos dominated him. Cavan is a child. But seeing it happen (his debut) is exciting to the fans.
Time to erase Freddy Adu from the history books If Cavan Sullivan makes his MLS debut tomorrow, he will be the youngest player in league history.Current record is held by Freddy Adu at 14 years and 306 days. https://t.co/Iv1SSgCI5k pic.twitter.com/g2HPkvbRzA— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) July 16, 2024
I think 50% is just too high. His development has to go absolutely ideal between now and then to have a chance to sneak onto the roster. He could have a good two years, and he falls short. Right now he's not even played any higher than U-15 at youth international level I believe (although he'd have easily been picked for U-17 if released). It's a long way from where he is to a World Cup team.
I will say Yamal lucked out that Barcelona gave Dembele that absurdly low release clause that allowed him to go to PSG and then Barcelona being too broke to bring in a replacement. If not for that Yamal maybe hasn’t broken through yet. I would say 50 percent is way too high for now. Let him play some first team soccer first. And the for him to be good enough for the World Cup team he’s going to need to be at the level of standpoint player in MLS. Which he may not quite be at the age of 16. Someone like Yamal is very rare. That’s more the exception than the standard. And even he needed some breaks to go his way.
The next interesting data point for me is if by the end of the U20 World Cup cycle if he’ll be at the level where he’s good enough for that team.
I think a lot of different groups with power would LOVE for him to be in world cup so he does have that going in his favor. And I don't think its necessarily a bad thing for soccer in the USA
If nothing else with a 26 man roster he can be like Ronaldo in 94. Didn’t play at all but was such a good prospect they took him for the experience. If he’s on the same trajectory in two years that could be the rationale with the idea he’s going to be a big part of the group going forward. But he’s got at least be a good player at the MLS level at that point.