http://www.record.pt/noticia.asp?id=488155&idCanal=11 according to record, a portuguese sporting paper, zach thornton will not be kept on at benfica after his contract expires in june. not exactly a stellar stint in lisbon for zach. i'm sure he has options; but who knows what they might be?
It doesn't surprise me. Zach is past his prime. He is not a good GK anymore. Unless he loses his gut, he will start out in A league when he comes back.
He should try to get a tryout with another euro club. Tim Howard didn't exactly impress enough in Holland when he trained there. Rimando is horrible so if Zach comes back to MLS, I'd like to see him play for DC too.
He's not past his prime, he was just never that good. MLS TV commentators puffed him up for American audiences because they thought his ability to kick the ball far would help mainstream american sports fans identify with him and the game. But he wasn't that good, ever.
Thats why I'm an MLS fan, actually. Because Zach Thornton could kick a ball really far. I was like, "Holy crap! Look how far he kicks that ball! Screw NHL, I love MLS, now!"
Yes! That's what I've been searching for on these forums all day! I think Thornton should just play for Arsenal
The Henry Ring who's played outstanding and who's posted a .71 GAA and been player of the week. You gotta be kidding you'd take Zach over him I like Zach but Ring is better. Zach is better off trying to hook up with another Euro team as his chances in MLS are limited.
ive never liked thorton. ever. he was never that good to begin with and i was first in line to yell when he was being looked ta for the nats. man that was embarrassing. anyways, i knew he wouldnt do anything for benfica, im shocked he went. hes got nothin to offer any euro club. he will come hjome and play either a league ball or play for another mls team. forza inter
You obviously don't remember Rob Stone or whoever it was yelling "BOOM" every time Zach kicked the ball really, really far and into the possession of the opposing team. They made it sound like it was good. It wasn't. He was conceding possession. But I honestly think that players in MLS get better reputations than they deserve because they are the darlings of "Soccer Saturday" annoncers.
Supposedly there was another american keeper in Portugal in December. He was the D3 USL GK of the year. Does anyone know how Chad Sackett and Justin Papadakis are doing over there?
Shucks. The myth of the Yank SuperKeeper takes a hit. Euros take note: YSKs look more like basketball players than linebackers. Of course, it helps to know what a linebacker is, let alone how they look, so keep it simple: if the keeper looks like Michael Jordan or Larry Byrd, you're probably in safe hands (on a somewhat shorter frame).
re: 2 young YA keepers... Papadikis evidently gave up the Portuguese dream and returned to the U.S. for his senior year of high school. He will play for Duke in the fall... http://goduke.collegesports.com/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/021804aaa.html Some comments on his abilities: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107748