The coming boom in multi-eligible player recruitment

If Alvarado is starting for Vizela, he’s in the frame for both senior teams immediately.

 

I like Alvarado, but Vizela is garbage. Would every MLS player of his age be in that frame?

 

Mexico's reaction has been to get clubs to transfer young players to Europe. Certainly the right thing to do. But, why haven't they allowed this earlier?

• Santiago Giménez, de Cruz Azul, al Feyenoord de Países Bajos.
• Jesús Alcántar, del Club Necaxa al Sporting de Lisboa B de Portugal.
• Alonso Aceves, del Club de Futbol Pachuca, al Real Oviedo de la Segunda División de España.
• Jordan Carrillo, del Club Santos Laguna al Sporting de Gijón de la Segunda División de España.

 

Portuguese League is not garbage. Probably better than Eredivisie.

 

Mexico is always going to produce some players. We can't expect that they'll become Honduras level. However, I think as we become better at the sport they are not going to be able to compete. Those types of moves don't really move the needle IMO, except for Gimenez.

 

Lower part of Porugese league is a total garbage. Vizela would have very tough time making MLS playoffs.
And that's a very generous statement.

 

These types of discussions always come up.

My thinking is you take the sum, not the top of the league or the bottom. It's a better league than MLS. It's a better league than Eredivisie. It's a better league than Belgium or Austria. There are probably five leagues better, so I would say that starting in this league gets you higher acclaim than starting in most leagues.

 

Depends on how wide the frame is.

If Alvarado was playing at his current level in MLS, we'd likely be talking about him as a possible callup to January camp.

When a player is starting in the Portuguese league, he should be vetted. Will he be good enough? That's to be determined. We do have USMNTers in the Portuguese League. Reggie Cannon, for instance. Boavista and Vizela finished very close to each other in the standings.

 

It goes a little farther than that. Mexican clubs have made every single move available to lock down their player market. The league is now a closed league with no free agency. The only recourse for a Mexican player is to run out their contract and go to Europe on a free. Unless of course the European club pays a nice fee. The Gimenez transfer at 4 million euros was probably one that would have happened in any situation. The other three look like something new for LMX players.

 

Well, his first 1-1 challenge won.
The following play the RB got caught out of position. Goalie saved his bacon.

 

We also have Mendez starting on Vezela, Boavista been close to Vezela tells more about Boavista than of Vezela. First 3-4 teams are excellent, a couple more good, than a few MLS level teams, then garbage. Philly would kill Vezela. Should we bring all their kids to the NT? Gutierrez? Clark? Where we stop? Edelman? Alvarado can make it on his own, without links to his lousy club.

 

Totally disagree. You don't take leagues. Aaronson was playing on RBS which is light years ahead of Vizelas of the world, while Austrian league is behind Portuges which has 3 great teams plus Bragga. Celtic and Rangers are raising their league level, while lower part of the league is USL. Porto's Transfermarkt value around $300M. Vizela $16M. Chicago $40M. Cincinatti $33M. Vizela is garbage.

 

I'm totally in favor of all the kids you mention there getting a USMNT introduction after the World Cup. Same time as Alvarado. Mendez too, actually. No problem with that.

I suspect that if we don't call up Alvarado..............Mexico will. He's an intriguing player.

 

I don't understand this reasoning, why can't you separate the qualities of each team? Why do I have to include really good teams in the evaluation of Vizela? Why is it pertinent to take into account Sporting Lisbon when indicating Alvarado would have difficulty starting for most MLS clubs. I think that's where our European comparisons fail is when we look at only good clubs as the sum of European football and not admit much of 'European' football is worse than MLS.

 

I'm not debating his level as a prospect, I'm just telling that playing on a garbage Portugese team isn't something we should be excited about.

 

Shrug. Luca de la Torre played on a garbage Eredivisie team that got relegated.

Alvarado only just turned 19.

I think we can probably find thousands of guys who turned into elite international players that were on nondescript clubs in mid-tier leagues as teenagers. I'll start. Robert Lewandowski. He was playing for some club called Znicz Pruszkow in Poland at 19.

So I don't understand the argument at all.

What I saw from Alvarado at the U20 CONCACAF Championships was quite intriguing. No reason to pre-determine that he does or doesn't have a USMNT future. I expect that if he starts in Portugal, and does well this season, he won't be at Vizela for long. Like say....................the Canadian central midfielder Eustáquio, who just moved from Pacos de Ferreira to Porto. Pacos de Ferreira finished tied on points with Reggie Cannon's Boavista last year.

 

As I told Alvarado can make or not make it on his own, without references to the team that he is on, as that team is sub MLS level and is minus rather than plus. And if you want to call everyone who was on that good U-20 team, name it what that would be: a recreational post U-20 WC camp.

 

I think a lot of folks would argue about how "sub MLS level" Vizela is. But that's not an argument worth getting into, because there's no way to prove it one way or another.

I'm not judging my opinion based on the club Alvarado is on. I'm judging him based on the quality of his play I saw with the US U20 team.

 

And I'm arguing with the idea that he should be called because he is playing for Vizela. I liked what I've seen from him on U-20 quals, but for God sake that's U-20 Concacaf teams with historically poor Mexico and CR squads. Tells me nothing. He is a smart, skilled, hard working player. He is also small and not fast. Let's see him at the U-20 WC, and even that wouldn't be enough as he is still small and not fast. Josh Perez has arguably had the best WC perfomance on the team with CP, Adams, and LDLT. Still isn't starting on his Uncle's Salvadorian MNT. So unless there is a proven track record Alvarado playing againt adults he shouldn't be anywhere near the MNT. And he isn't the talent level of Gomez/Pepi/Ochoa where fighting Mexico would at least make sense.

 

The nice part about being on a sub-prime team in a league with several good teams is that Alvarado will have every chance to play against good teams and show his level. The team around him may be garbage but if he can dribble in the midfield or make a pass then he controls how good he looks.

He doesn't have to move to Porto to make a case for himself. Moving just slightly further up the table to a team like Maritimo or over to Belgium is good career progression. Vizela probably wasn't his first choice but earning a starting spot there seems vastly better than struggling with game time with LAG.

 

Yes, but using the Aaronson example, Aaronson was also playing bad teams weekly. He plays UCL and gets good training against top level players, but the majority of the games are against teams at a lower level than MLS. How can you only consider one part of the equation and not others?

Vizela is not a great team, but thats 10 games a season against teams that could play in top leagues. It's a competitive league that sells a lot of players to the best leagues, even outside of the best few clubs.

 

Because the team you play for is not the only thing that matters in this game. Consider the GK situation of the USMNT. Is it better that Turner and Steffen are sitting on the bench for top clubs, getting 10 games a season, training against the best players in the world or is it better that they play every week for a lesser team against lesser competition?

Vizela is not a good team. They might not be better than the average MLS team. However, they face better competition than the average MLS team. That is pretty indisputable. They also are in a league with a long history of selling players at a high level.

There is good and bad with every club and league. You can't only pick or choose one or two things that are positive or negative. I think you have to consider everything.

 

Any scmuck can play for Vizela (not mean Alvarado). Aaronson was sold for 3 times more than the whole Vizela would if anyone was crazy enough to buy them. That's not whom are you playing against or even with, that's who you are at this moment. Alvarado as well as his teammates are nobodies. If he becomes a starter, plays well, and getting an offer from Benfica he is somebody, unless Benfica stuffs him to the B team.