Houston Doing Things Right…Again…

Sometime after the moving van unpacked the San Jose Earthquakes in Houston, and their name changed to Dynamo, they took the reigns from DC United as the class soccer club in MLS. DC United led the way, and San Jose slowly chipped away as Landycakes won a trophy or two but Houston has taken it to a new level and two championships later are the top of MLS.


This off-season they lost two young goal scorers when Nate Jaqua and Joseph Ngwenya signed contracts with European clubs. I thought for sure Houston would crumple back into the Western Conference pack. However, early pre-season matches show other signs. Last night they thumped Sydney FC 3-0 with youngster Chris Wondoloski showing he can finish. Dominic Kinnear told Glen Davis on air that Wondo is the best finisher on the team. Remember when I pointed out Wondo? Yeah, that is right, I saw him coming…

Now news comes that Houston is close to signing 21-year-old Franco Caraccio. I don’t know Caraccio from Adam, but this is what professional soccer clubs do in the rest of the world. They try to find the best talent at a young age so that the kid can grow and help the club. To this point most MLS clubs have focused on signing international players who are established names and generally on the down side of their career. However, you don’t see Barcelona doing that, do you? They sign Messi when he is a youngster based on the potential shown and the faith that their good coaching can improve his natural skill. That is what MLS needs to do with both young American players and young international players.

I’m not saying Caraccio will be a superstar, but imagine if this kid does become a great young striker in MLS. If John Spencer can coax the right stuff out of him, MLS could have an Argentinean Olympic player, or a multi-million dollar player who earns a real profit when sold to Europe. This is the direction MLS needs to move. Who knows if he will be successful with the Dynamo. His time with Argentina's under-20 national team and an Argentinean first division club points to future success. Who knows, MLS may have scooped Europe on the next big thing, or they may be signing a 21 year old has been. Whichever it is, I’d rather see 21 year olds joining MLS with their careers ahead of them as opposed to 35 year olds looking for a good retirement starter…cough… Juninho …cough…Claudio Lopez…cough…Joao Pinto….

Ohh yeah, he’s hung with Maradona, that must be worth something.