Curb Your Enthusiasm: US Youth National Teams, Prospect Hype, and Youth Development Thread [The DA is DEAD updates]

Titans Bastard

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LAFC signed an '01 midfielder, Bryce Duke. One-time RSL academy player, recently left for an independent DA program, and LAFC traded for his rights. LAFC don't have a USL team yet, but they'll need to figure out something soon because their academy is getting good reviews and the oldest players are about to be pro-ready. So for the meantime, good luck breaking into this roster!

There really are a crapload of young professionals these days. In the current U20 cycle (2001s and 2002s), there are so many guys who have already signed somewhere, despite the fact that we are only six months into the two year cycle. The last U20 team was all pro by the end, but less than 50% of the players on the squad were pro at this point in the cycle.

The number and quality of opportunities for kids has expanded a ton even in the last five years. That's a product of MLS expansion, USL reserve teams, and aggressive Euro scouting.

https://www.lafc.com/post/2020/01/25/lafc-signs-18-year-old-midfielder-bryce-duke
 

Titans Bastard

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Charlie Kelman '01 has been playing more and more for Southend United this year. He has six goals in about 570 minutes, a solid haul for a forward who just turned 19. He missed a chunk of the season with injury, but as of late, he moved into the starting lineup.

Southend are likely to be relegated to League Two. If that happens, it will be interesting to see who — if anyone — come after him next summer.

Kelman is in the mix for the center forward with the current U-20 cycle. It is difficult to compare his progress with that of other U-20 forwards in the academies of much larger clubs with significantly larger hurdles to first team playing time, like Matthew Hoppe (Schalke) and Johan Gomez (Porto).
 

Titans Bastard

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Leonardo Sepulveda '01, a CB/LB originally from the LA Galaxy academy, has started the last two games for Salamanca's first team at LB. They are only in Spain's third tier, but we should see in the next 12 months if he's the sort of talent who will get snapped up by a bigger club or not. He's been part of the US U20s so far this cycle.
 

Titans Bastard

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Charlie Kelman '01 has been playing more and more for Southend United this year. He has six goals in about 570 minutes, a solid haul for a forward who just turned 19. He missed a chunk of the season with injury, but as of late, he moved into the starting lineup.

Southend are likely to be relegated to League Two. If that happens, it will be interesting to see who — if anyone — come after him next summer.

Kelman is in the mix for the center forward with the current U-20 cycle. It is difficult to compare his progress with that of other U-20 forwards in the academies of much larger clubs with significantly larger hurdles to first team playing time, like Matthew Hoppe (Schalke) and Johan Gomez (Porto).
Local Southend reporter, so maybe he's credible:

View: https://twitter.com/CJPhillips1982/status/1223978856534749186
 

Titans Bastard

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NYRB sign an out-of-town kid to a USL contract. Caden Clark '03 is from Minnesota and most recently played for the Barça Academy DA team in Arizona. He's spoken of as one of the top '03 prospects, but at this stage who really knows. Word is that Clark will bump him up to the first team when he meets the residency requirement for a homegrown contract.

There have been periodic rumors that MLS will dismantle the current "homegrown territorial rights" regions. If that ever happens, I'd expect a higher level of cross-country recruiting. Right now it's happening, but mostly with players from non-MLS markets.

View: https://twitter.com/NYRBII/status/1225140682668609538
 

Titans Bastard

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RSL signed an '03 winger/forward, Chris Garcia. He's from El Paso and apparently he's extremely fast. That's all I got.

View: https://twitter.com/realsaltlake/status/1226955261325148160


The US U17s announced their first camp of the 2021 cycle. These players are all '04s.

GK
Jeffrey Dewsnup (RSL)
Gabriel Slonina (Chicago Fire)

DF
Logan Batiste (Inter Miami)
Kobi Henry (Inter Miami)
Samuel Jones (Philadelphia Union)
Antonio Leone (LAFC)
Efrain Morales (Atlanta United)
Devan Tanton (UE Cornella/ESP)
Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United)
Thomas Williams (Orlando City)

MF
Juan Alvarez (Seattle Sounders)
Eric Ayala (Tijuana/MEX)
Zach Booth (RSL)
Victor Valdez (LA Galaxy)
Aethan Yohannes (AZ Alkmaar)

FW
Kaile Auvray (Lille/FRA)
Federico Oliva (Atlético Madrid/ESP)
Evan Rotundo (San Diego Surf)
Dantouma Toure (NYRB)
Darren Yapi (Colorado Rapids)


I've previously heard of only half of these players and have formed my own opinions of exactly zero of them. That said, Leone seems to be a highly regarded CB, and has been in both US and Mexican YNT camps. Obviously, he's back with the US here. Slonina is the only player on a pro contract right now.
 

Titans Bastard

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The Galaxy signed a pair of prospects to MLS deals in the last two days:

Cameron Dunbar '02, a winger/forward and Jonathan Perez '03, a winger/attacking midfielder. Perez has played with Mexican youth teams lately, but he may be gettable at some point because he's been to US camps in the past. My guess is that the Galaxy will show a greater sense of purpose with youth now that Dennis te Kloese is in charge. He cleaned house with some of the sketchy conflict-of-interest issues with the Kleiban brothers. LAG did lose three major prospects: Uly Llanez (Wolfsburg), Alex Mendez (Freiburg, now Ajax), and Kobe Hernandez-Foster (not official, but probably Wolfsburg as well). Not sure if Dunbar and Perez are on the same level as those guys, but it's a start. Julian Araujo '01, who played a decent number of minutes in 2019, is also a significant get.



The Rapids signed GK Abraham Rodriguez '02. He actually played quite a bit in USL last year on amateur terms with Colorado Springs, a team with whom the Rapids have deepening ties. From what little I've seen, there's a lot to like about Rodriguez except his height. There just aren't many (any?) top keepers who are 5'9".

The young MLS GK that I have an eye on is David Ochoa '01 of RSL. He did well in USL, played up a cycle with the U20s and eventually won the starting job, and is now pushing hard to be Nick Rimando's successor. Preseason seems to be going well for him, and beating out Zac MacMath is achievable.
 

Titans Bastard

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There have been two signings in Texas today that catch my eye.

#1 - Tanner Tessmann (FC Dallas)

https://www.fcdallas.com/post/2020/02/27/fc-dallas-signs-academy-product-tanner-tessmann-club-s-28th-homegrown-player
#2 - Jose Gallegos (San Antonio FC)

https://www.sanantoniofc.com/news_article/show/1090753

Both of these guys have been generating a lot of buzz in prospect-watching circles lately. Tessmann is a CM with serious size and athleticism, but is also someone who has above-average technical ability. He was recruited to play soccer at Clemson and to kick for the football team, but he's gone pro instead. (Dabo Swinney is a big fan & family friend.)

Gallegos is a tricky winger who lit up FC Dallas & Reggie Cannon in preseason.
 

Titans Bastard

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The USSF announced the Olympic qualifying roster tonight:

GK Matt Freese (Philadelphia Union)
GK J.T. Marcinkowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
GK David Ochoa (Real Salt Lake)

RB Reggie Cannon (FC Dallas)
RB Aaron Herrera (Real Salt Lake)
CB Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake)
CB Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union)
CB Erik Palmer-Brown (Austria Wien)
LB Chris Gloster (PSV Eindhoven)

MF Brenden Aaronson (Philadelphia Union)
MF Hassani Dotson (Minnesota United)
MF Richie Ledezma (PSV Eindhoven)
MF Djordje Mihailovic (Chicago Fire)
MF Paxton Pomykal (FC Dallas)
MF Jackson Yueill (San Jose Earthquakes)

FW Jeremy Ebobisse (Portland Timbers)
FW Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas)
FW Jonathan Lewis (Colorado Rapids)
FW Ulysses Llanez (Wolfsburg)
FW Sebastian Saucedo (Pumas UNAM)


It's a pretty good roster. At least, it's better than the last two cycles for sure, even though we're missing a ton of the best U23 players who are injured or who weren't released.



Here are a few names of players who could hypothetically play for the U23s if the US qualifies and if the Olympics actually happen:

- Pulisic
- Adams
- Dest
- McKennie
- Reyna
- Sargent
- Weah
- M. Robinson
- A. Robinson
 

Dummy Hoy

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Seen a lot of positive response to the roster online from people that aren’t always the most positive. So as a relatively ignorant fan, I appreciate that.
 

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No Richards either. So what you're saying is, of the entire preferred starting outfield, exactly none of them will take the field against Costa Rica next friday night. We're playing an entire second-string lineup. Grrrreeeeaaattt.....

Meanwhile, Mexico are fielding a CB who is the De Ligt replacement at Ajax... oh, and remember the guy Matt Miazga mocked for his height in that friendly like a year and a half ago? Not only does he remember that, he's now a starting winger for Real Betis in La Liga. And guess where the tournament is being held?

I don't blame Berhalter and Kreis for not being able to secure their absolute first-choice squad, but 0-for-9 on those guys you list? At some point getting run over like that is a big L in Berhalter's column, isn't it? I mean, they're not even toting an overage GK along, and at least Steffen wouldn't be out of place age-wise.
 

Mr. Wednesday

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There's no over-age players in the qualifying tournament, I don't believe. I think that's only for the Olympics proper.
 

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And Pulisic is still injured, sure. But if Ajax release Edson Alvarez for MEX while holding out on Sergino Dest who starts right next to him for the club, I'm gonna be ripshit. Alvarez was on their preliminary roster, but Dest wasn't on ours (and obviously isn't on the final roster).
 

Titans Bastard

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I don't think you can blame the staff here. Nobody has to release players and the USSF has no leverage. ("Hey, can you voluntarily send your players to fly across the globe, miss important league matches, get their legs broken by Honduras, all in the age of coronavirus?")

Mexico always has it easier for these things because a much larger percentage of their youth pool is domestic and Liga MX clubs are very permissive about YNT releases. For us, even Atlanta and Colorado were out there denying releases.

Anyway, has Mexico's roster been released? I couldn't find it if so. Inclusion in the preliminary roster (like Lainez and Alvarez) is no guarantee that the player will actually be released. In the specific case of Sergino Dest, his primary competition at RB for Ajax (Mazraoui) is injured.


One shot at our best U23 XI:


Pulisic — Sargent — Reyna
McKennie — Pomykal
Adams
A. Robinson — Richards — M. Robinson — Dest
Ochoa​
 

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You think that highly of Pomykal, putting him up there ahead of Reyna and pushing Weah (when healthy) and Ebobisse to the bench? I'd think Ebobisse is a little more seasoned than Reyna right now today, leaving questions of peak-level potential aside.

And that little of CCV, that 20yo Chris Richards (playing in the 3.Liga) bumps him off?
 

67YAZ

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You think that highly of Pomykal, putting him up there ahead of Reyna and pushing Weah (when healthy) and Ebobisse to the bench? I'
Pomykal had a great season for Dallas as a 19-year-old. He has a wonderfully well-rounded game for such a young player. Last year he played over 1900 minutes and averaged per match: 2.2 tackles, 1 dribble, 1.6 key passes, attempted 40 passes & connected on 85%, and got fouled 2.5 times. I saw him in Chicago late last season, and while Dallas played like crap overall, their attack was being channeled through Pomykal, and he was pulling the strings. He also scored a clever goal in Dallas' opening win over the Union this season.

I'm jazzed about the prospects of a 4-3-3 built around a McKennie-Adams-Pomykal midfield. Those three are so well-rounded that they could interchange very fluidly, add a lot to the attack, defend staunchly, and press effectively. Maybe I'm over excited, but I don't think that the US has ever had a set of young midfielders who complemented each other so well in a way that fits into an actual, functioning formation.

 

Titans Bastard

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You think that highly of Pomykal, putting him up there ahead of Reyna and pushing Weah (when healthy) and Ebobisse to the bench? I'd think Ebobisse is a little more seasoned than Reyna right now today, leaving questions of peak-level potential aside.

And that little of CCV, that 20yo Chris Richards (playing in the 3.Liga) bumps him off?
It's all a product of quantitative and qualitative improvements in the rising player pool. There's so much more depth, and so many more interesting prospects, that eventually you (well, the manager anyway) have to make tough judgment calls. I'm not saying this cohort is a golden age the likes of which the *world* has never seen...but it might well be by the lower historical standards of US soccer.

I thought about Weah. He's a tough one to evaluate because this season was an utter loss. Other players have progressed, he's on the sidelines, and it's unclear how he'll do when he gets back. There are a lot of close calls with this U23 pool, though, because there are a lot of good wing options like Weah (and Llanez).

I don't love Ebobisse on the wing, although he's played there for the Timbers at times.

I do think very highly of Pomykal. I think he even has a chance of winding up being better than McKennie (who I like a lot as well). Frankly, it is bizarre as a USMNT fan to be even having this conversation. Both players are really talented.

CCV would be a solid choice. He has a ton of experience for his age. That said, I don't think he has a super high ceiling. He has been dumped by Championship teams mid-season twice in three years. In both cases he was able to find a new loan in that league, but I don't think that augurs an EPL future. Richards is playing at a lower level, but I think a lot of that has to do with the reality that playing at a higher level right now means breaking into Bayern's first team. It's definitely possible that I'm getting ahead of myself in terms of where they stand today, but I absolutely think Richards has a lot more upside.

At many positions, there a lot of good options and close calls. Erik Palmer-Brown, who put in some really impressive performances for the U20s, has a shout. His career in Europe hasn't taken off yet (loans to Kortrijk, NAC Breda, Austria Wien), but he's been doing well in Austria lately.

I'm really looking forward to the coming years. I think in 2022, the US could be the sort of fun young team that everybody likes to watch, but that ultimately doesn't get that far. In 2026, at home, this player pool could really do some damage, especially if the '03s and '04s come in strong.
 

67YAZ

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And the Fire signed another '03 midfielder, Javier Casas. I hope all this is a sign that the Fire is finally taking their academy seriously. There are good implications for the Fire and even for the USMNT if they do.

https://www.chicagofirefc.com/post/2020/03/10/chicago-fire-fc-signs-academy-product-javier-casas
Yes, they are. They took the dedicated first team spaces at the Bridgeview complex and renovated them for Academy use - what used to house the entire Fire front office is now Academy staff & coaching space, the first team locker room is now the Academy locker room. They have also added staff as well as created a full-day Tuesday program (ie, players don’t go to school but train all day Tuesdays). There may be more investments, but I haven’t come across a lot of reporting. There are positive signs.

It’s exciting. There’s so much talent in this region, it should give the Fire a real competitive advantage and help generate more pros and USMNT players.
 
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My rage is contained... for now.

As for our roster:

(1) It seems CCV was in the U23 plans pretty recently and is very personally excited about it. Luton Town is in the (bottom of the) championship, they'd probably get more PR buzz from letting him go qualify for Tokyo than they'd get keeping him and maybe marginally improving their odds of getting out of the drop zone. Bummer he's not there to help, especially given that having a veteran of that level of experience in U23 has to be really rare - plus the Championship is frankly pretty good prep for when things get CONCACAF-y.

(2) Europe-based professionals were released for this roster in some cases: EPB at Wien, Ledezma at PSV, Llanez at Wolfsburg. I wonder what's different about those cases from the more significant upgrades we could have had. On the one hand:
- I'd think the hardest conversations would've been McKennie (who is crucial at Schalke, might be their best player or just behind Harit), and Adams (who was out for a few weeks and only just returned in time to come off the bench vs Spurs in the UCL).
- Just as obviously, there are injuries: Pulisic, Weah, and also Miles Robinson (ATL)

But on the other hand:
- Antonee Robinson just had a transfer fall through for timing; it's not like Wigan is guarding him jealously
- Josh Sargent is having a good run at Bremen, but he's not even the best striker on the roster (yet).
- Ajax knows they have something in Dest, but he's attracting serious transfer interest (seriously, 20M?!), and getting him showcased in the Olympics would surely help that value
- We know Dortmund LOVES Reyna, but they have plenty of depth in MF and letting a new hot asset gain a little reputation value probably wouldn't hurt.

(3) As we gear up for these games, I know I could really use a preview of some of the players likely to start, some of whom are serious Senior Team prospects who've already gotten some run. I know a little bit about Cannon, Llanez and Pomykal. But the rest... I hardly watch any MLS, so it's hard to know whether I'm looking at the next Tyler Adams or the next Andrew Carleton. If anyone's seen some previews or good breakdowns of play-style profiles, I'd welcome that, or would be interested to read about someone who's your prospect binkie here.
 

Titans Bastard

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(2) Europe-based professionals were released for this roster in some cases: EPB at Wien, Ledezma at PSV, Llanez at Wolfsburg. I wonder what's different about those cases from the more significant upgrades we could have had. On the one hand:
- I'd think the hardest conversations would've been McKennie (who is crucial at Schalke, might be their best player or just behind Harit), and Adams (who was out for a few weeks and only just returned in time to come off the bench vs Spurs in the UCL).
- Just as obviously, there are injuries: Pulisic, Weah, and also Miles Robinson (ATL)

But on the other hand:
- Antonee Robinson just had a transfer fall through for timing; it's not like Wigan is guarding him jealously
- Josh Sargent is having a good run at Bremen, but he's not even the best striker on the roster (yet).
- Ajax knows they have something in Dest, but he's attracting serious transfer interest (seriously, 20M?!), and getting him showcased in the Olympics would surely help that value
- We know Dortmund LOVES Reyna, but they have plenty of depth in MF and letting a new hot asset gain a little reputation value probably wouldn't hurt.
Ledezma and Llanez aren't first team players, so their clubs were more willing to release them. EPB's release was a surprise to me, as he is a regular starter and he will miss club games for this.

All the other guys you mention simply were never going to be released. European clubs care about the Olympics only to the extent that they find it irritating, and sending players off across the globe to get hacked by some Honduran U23s is not something to which they will willingly consent. I doubt that management at Ajax or BVB thinks that any U23 competition would be a more valuable showcase for players than simply performing for their own high-profile clubs. Sargent and Robinson are at clubs in relegation battles, and Robinson hasn't played since the failed transfer. He supposedly has a groin injury, although there's been radio silence for a while.
 

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Titans Bastard

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We talked about this a bit in the USWNT thread.

Cordeiro had to go. However, my opinion is that the power of the USSF President position in general is overrated. Nobody on the outside knows much about Cone's mentality or ability as an administrator, although there are positive things being said about her by people with some inside knowledge. Hopefully she can be a much better face for the USSF than Cordeiro was.

All that said, the identity of the next CEO is more important. The CEO, and the board that hires for the position, is the center of power. It has been a good while since Dan Flynn announced his departure. Jay Berhalter seemed like the heir apparent, but his unpopularity among the rank-and-file within the USSF torpedoed his chances. And since then, it's been awfully quiet.
 

Titans Bastard

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Jed Zeppelin

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Will anyone important age out of being U-23 eligible for a hypothetical Olympic roster next year? Pulisic and McKennie both have late-summer birthdays so they'll still be 22.

Then again, it's not like the over-23 cohort is so good that competition for those three slots would be particularly fierce.
 

67YAZ

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There's not much to talk about here with no games happening, but the Chicago Fire's rampage of academy signings continues even in the Age of Coronavirus. Interestingly (well, to me anyway), he's the second '04 goalkeeper they've signed, along with Gabriel Slonina. Now, get a USL team please so that these guys can accumulate pro experience and work up to the MLS squad.

https://www.chicagofirefc.com/post/2020/03/24/chicago-fire-fc-signs-academy-goalkeeper-chris-brady
The Fire announced a partnership with Madison Foreward earlier this month. Looks like the Fire will send a member of the technical staff to every Madison home game to monitor loaned player development and there might be more coordination & partnership between the coaching staffs.
 

Titans Bastard

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Will anyone important age out of being U-23 eligible for a hypothetical Olympic roster next year? Pulisic and McKennie both have late-summer birthdays so they'll still be 22.

Then again, it's not like the over-23 cohort is so good that competition for those three slots would be particularly fierce.
The cutoff is based on birth year. Currently, 97s and younger are eligible and it's unclear whether or not that will be bumped back to the 98s and younger for the 2021 version of the Olympics.

97s on the qualifying roster and/or who might be in the conversation for a best-possible U23 squad:

GK: Marcinkowski
RB: Herrera, Duncan, Lennon
CB: M. Robinson, Carter-Vickers, Glad, Palmer-Brown
LB: A. Robinson
CM: Yueill, Dotson, Parks
AM: Lewis, Saucedo
FW: Ebobisse

IMO, not terrible losses when you consider that everyone else gets a year of growth and development. CB depth and quality would be a concern.

The Fire announced a partnership with Madison Foreward earlier this month. Looks like the Fire will send a member of the technical staff to every Madison home game to monitor loaned player development and there might be more coordination & partnership between the coaching staffs.
Yeah, I know they have that, but it's just not the same. Having your own USL team means that (a) you have complete control over who plays, (b) the team is in the same place, so academy kids can easily play in games and USL guys can easily train with the MLS squad, and (c) nobody cares if you lose a bunch of games.

The partnership is definitely better than nothing, but if these kids need to hit the ground running at USL1 level or veterans will play over them. Forward Madison may be a partner, but they are also an independent club that is trying to win games, not allow a 16 year to take his lumps solely for the benefit of the Chicago Fire.

We saw a lot of these partnerships ~5 years ago, then most teams decided to go out and get their own USL team.
 

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Will anyone important age out of being U-23 eligible for a hypothetical Olympic roster next year? Pulisic and McKennie both have late-summer birthdays so they'll still be 22.

Then again, it's not like the over-23 cohort is so good that competition for those three slots would be particularly fierce.
The present age qualification for Tokyo 2020 is (aside from the over-agers for the final tournament) "born on or after Jan 1st 1997".

I would assume the age qualification for Tokyo 2021 will be "on or after 1/1/1998", although it's possible they leave it at 1/1/97. If shifted back a year, the players no longer eligible include:
- GK J.T. Marcinowski*
- CB Justen Glad*
- CB Erik Palmer-Brown*
- CB Cameron Carter-Vickers (12/31/1997! maybe he'll argue time zones)
- CB Miles Robinson
- LB Antonee Robinson
- RB Aaron Herrera
- DM Keaton Parks
- DM Hassani Dotson*
- CM Jackson Yueill*
- LW Jonathan Lewis*
- RW/WB Brooks Lennon
- FW Jeremy Ebobisse*

Of those, the starred ones were on the 18-man roster for the qualifiers, but only the Robinsons were on TB's Best-11 squad (if you were able to pull in Pulisic, Adams, McKennie, Reyna, Dest, etc).

My bet would be, FIFA actually leaves it at 1/1/1997 so that the same pool of players who were planning on it can give it a go, and 4 years' worth of players are aging out every olympiad, rather than 5-then-3.
 

Titans Bastard

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Regardless of the cutoff, if the US qualifies it's going to be a bit of a clusterfuck, as it will be the same summer as the 2021 Gold Cup. By that point, the overlap between our best USMNT lineup and our best U23 lineup will be even greater.
 

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no way does the Gold Cup run schedule-parallel to Tokyo 2021, not even a partial overlap. They'll get it in either before or after, if for no other reason than they'd make a lot more money doing so (probably after the Olympics as people suffer from sports withdrawal), and CONCACAF loves money like a toddler loves oreos. Pulisic, McKennie, Reyna, Adams and co will be able to do both if they want to cut their summer short.

I will say, though, that by making the Olympics a year closer to Qatar 2022, the temptation for the young guns to want the big global stage of the Olympics (having been deprived of Russia 2018, at least Pulisic anyway) has to be lessened. But people - especially Americans, if we're in it - will still watch the everloving fuck out of the Olympics, and if they did attend they'd probably go in there with a decent shot at winning the first-ever medal for our country. We've never done jack shit at the Olympics - 4th in 2000, our squad was shit even then, and haven't qualified since 2008 - so I'd be surprised if they weren't at least somewhat interested.

Playing both would also give them more time to gel as a group in advance of the real rubber hitting the road for WCF qualifiers.
 

Titans Bastard

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It doesn't matter that the Gold Cup and Olympics don't exactly overlap. Clubs have to release players for the former; they don't for the latter. Good luck convincing clubs to release players for a second int'l tournament of the summer. This would eat into preseason time and deprive Euro-based players of any sort of offseason rest. It would also cause MLS-based players to miss a huge chunk of the season.

I'd be surprised if a single player was on both rosters.
 

Titans Bastard

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There are a lot of rumors flying around that the USSF is going to kill the Development Academy for both boys and girls. That would be a pretty seismic shift if true, and I'm very curious to see what becomes of the youth landscape if this is true.
 

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It's not official yet, but it might as well be:

https://theathletic.com/1746877/2020/04/14/sources-ussf-to-shut-down-boys-and-girls-development-academy-programs/

I'm not getting the vibes that there is a clear succession plan. I would love to know where MLS academies and non-MLS DA clubs are going to play in 2020-21 (or whenever soccer can start up again).

There's a lot to digest here. Professional leagues/clubs are taking a hit, NCAA teams are going to be shutting down many non-revenue sport programs (which doesn't matter much for pro soccer development but DOES matter for the pay-to-play concept that dominates youth soccer, predicated on getting a college scholarship), MLS academy teams are suddenly homeless. There are a lot of moving parts.
 

Titans Bastard

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The USSF announced the death of the DA:

View: https://twitter.com/ussoccer/status/1250554077064372224





MLS announced it will launch a new youth league featuring MLS academies, non-MLS clubs from the DA, and potentially clubs that weren't in the DA as well. My suspicion is that this isn't yet a well-developed plan because I don't think anybody had any idea USSF leadership was going to kill the DA until very recently. I am glad to hear that MLS intends to include non-MLS clubs, as an MLS-only league seems crazy to me for a variety of reasons.

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020/04/15/major-league-soccer-leads-domestic-player-development-launch-new-elite-competition
 

67YAZ

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After reading around a bit, I haven't seen much discussion of what will happen on the girl's side of things. There certainly seem like there should be some benefits to having MLS run a nation-wide league that includes MLS and non-MLS clubs - but only for the boys.
 

Titans Bastard

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After reading around a bit, I haven't seen much discussion of what will happen on the girl's side of things. There certainly seem like there should be some benefits to having MLS run a nation-wide league that includes MLS and non-MLS clubs - but only for the boys.
For the girls, the ECNL is top dog again. The girls' DA was already bleeding clubs who were deciding to rejoin the ECNL even before this shutdown.
 

Titans Bastard

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USSF CEO Will Wilson has announced a lot of spending cuts and layoffs in the organization. The highest-ranking execs to leave are Brian Remedi and Tonya Wallach.

Additionally, all YNTs outside of those with official competitions attached to them (U17, U20, U23) will be shut down for now.

https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2020/04/letter-to-us-soccer-membership

Soccer America interviewed Todd Durbin (major MLS exec) about the new youth league. There's not a ton of great info because it's obvious that nobody knew this was coming and there wasn't a super fleshed out plan ready to go. That being said, the biggest takeaway for me was that they are not yet committing to having a U19 league, focusing first on U15 and U17. The theory I've heard talking to people is that MLS clubs are coming to believe they can identify serious pro prospects before they hit the U19 bracket, but...I'm a little skeptical, for several reasons. (1) The best U17s are too good for the challenge of a U17 league, but some of them aren't physically ready for the pro game. (2) There are still plenty of late bloomers. (3) For clubs without a USL team, the jump from U17s to MLS is HUGE.



MLS hires Jay Berhalter as a consultant:

Paul Tenorio
@PaulTenorio

Multiple sources tell @samstejskal and me that MLS has hired former USSF executive Jay Berhalter as a consultant. Sources say Berhalter has been involved in conversations around the new MLS academy league.
12:19pm · 17 Apr 2020 · TweetDeck


A little bit of perspective on that:

Charles Boehm
@cboehm

The plot thickens! Multiple sources have told me that JB was heavily involved with the DA during his time at USSF. Remember when he was reported to be taking up the technical director duties that were nominally on Jurgen Klinsmann's plate?
1:00pm · 17 Apr 2020 · TweetDeck
 

Titans Bastard

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Paul Tenorio and Sam Stejskal are primarily writers for the Athletic, but they also do a side podcast called Allocation Disorder. They did a fantastic episode on the demise of the Development Academy and look at what MLS will do with its new as-yet-unnamed league. IMO, they've emerged as two of the best in the biz. Tenorio has basically become the foremost expert on the arcane minutiae of MLS budgetary rules and both guys do a great job of covering league trends in terms of changes in spending, rules, club strategies, etc.

View: https://twitter.com/AllocationDsrdr/status/1251277478041137152



A couple of highlights:
  • MLS has had a contingency plan for their own youth league for at least a few years. A number of Chief Soccer Officers (CSOs; their term for the top soccer-focused exec at each club, whose titles vary from club to club [GM, sporting director, technical director]) have been advocating for an MLS-only league for some time (these rumors had been around for a while)
  • At the last minute, MLS pivoted and decided to make the league inclusive of non-MLS academies
  • They are still sorting out some issues, like whether there will be a U19 level. (I think there should be.)
  • With MLS in control of the operation, expect the schedule to accommodate an increased number of international tournaments like the GA Cup. CSOs think their academy kids need more international competition. I agree.

A few things they advocate for, which I think are great ideas:

1) Institute training compensation and solidarity payments for domestic signings.

Recently, MLS announced they would seek TC payments when their academy players are poached by Euro clubs (and solidarity payments if they were eventually sold). Likewise, they would pay TC/S payments to foreign clubs when applicable. However, there are no TC payments to non-MLS clubs when MLS clubs sign a player to his first contract. I'd love to see this change because (a) it would help shape the youth soccer scene to be even more development-focused [don't believe anyone claiming this would be anywhere near enough money to "end pay-to-play" though] and (b) it would lead to a more productive relationship between non-MLS and MLS clubs. No bad feelings about "poaching" players if that's the clearly stated goal and is a win-win-win for the player and both clubs.

I'm a firm believer that non-MLS clubs should be included in the top-tier youth league. The country is simply too big, and even many cities are too big for just one club. Travel in an MLS-only league would be insane and would impose huge financial costs on the clubs and unnecessary psychological costs on kids, running the risk of burnout. Furthermore, allowing more clubs to compete with MLS academies provides a good challenge for their kids, and provides their kids with more exposure. Nobody has a massive scouting network for domestic youth, so let's make things easier not harder.

2) Abolish "homegrown rights".

Right now, MLS clubs can recruit kids to their academy if the kids aren't in anyone else's market. For example, KC has academy kids on their MLS roster from Charlotte, Greensboro, Nashville, and Carbondale. But they can't recruit a kid from Houston or LA or Chicago even if the kid has nothing to do with MLS academies in those cities. Competition for kids in your own market will increase accountability and pressure to provide a good developmental experience and a clear pathway to the pros. Besides, clubs will always have an advantage with kids in their backyard anyway.

3) A tiered system

They didn't fully get into this, but I like this concept. One controversial change for the 2019-20 DA season was the tiering of the DA, in which top teams (MLS + a few non-MLS) mostly played each other in an effort to avoid too many 8-0 beatdown type games. A think a Bundesliga-style system would be something to work towards, though it's extremely unlikely they'll have the numbers to make it work right away. In Germany, for the U17 and U19 levels, there are three regional "Bundesligas" of 14 clubs each. Beneath them, there's a second tier of Regionalligas, with promotion and relegation. Why not do something like that in the US? It creates a tiered system, but also provides some natural accountability; if some clubs become to weak to offer meaningful competition, they'll be replaced by someone who can. It also allows clubs from smaller locales to compete at a second-tier level and get some exposure, without too much extra travel. And if a smaller city club catches fire and consistently puts out really good teams, they'll have the opportunity to play against the best.