US Takes on Mexico...Tonight...Part II

Ok folks, back at it. I’m losing time so I may not be able to get through the whole list. We’ll see.

Ricardo Clark – M – Jonesboro, Ga. – Houston Dynamo (MLS): Clark is another MLS player who left college early to join MLS. In 2003, after only his sophomore year, he signed a Project-40 deal with MLS and Nike and was selected 2nd overall by New York. Clark struggled with the Metrostars and was traded to San Jose where he flourished. Similar to many of his team mates tonight, Clark played in what is now called the U-20 World Cup in 2003.

Bobby Convey – M – Philadelphia, Pa. – Reading FC (England): Do you remember when young Bobby Convey joined MLS and DC United? I do. I remember watching the first game of the season on ABC and eagerly awaiting his debut. Bobby was the first Freddy, way back in 2000. He was drafted at the end of the first round by United. Fellow 1st round draft classmates include (in order selected); Steve Shak, Nick Garcia, Adin Brown, Carlos Bocanegra, Aleksey Korol, Danny Califf, Wes Hart, Travis Mulraine, John Wilson, Alan Woods and Sasha Victorine. Hindsight is 20/20, right? Convey came out of Bradenton and probably ended up in DC because it is close to his hometown of Philly. After shining in a Bradenton class full of stars (Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley and Oguchi Onyewu) Convey was a top prospect. After four successful years in DC, Bobby Convey was sold across the pond to English side Reading where he is today.

Ramiro Corrales – D – Salinas, Calif. – SK Brann (Norway): Corrales was a trend setter, a first of his kind. Back in 1996, at the age of 18, he decided to forego college soccer for MLS. This was THE FIRST MLS draft, before the league even got going. Similarly, the league hadn’t created the Project-40 program with Nike’s help and didn’t have any special incentives for young players. Corrales paid the price. He was selected 81st by Columbus and was immediately traded to San Jose. He played a couple seasons before moving to Miami in the expansion draft. By 1998 he was traded to New York and in 2001 he was traded back to San Jose. By his fifth year in the league he was one of the top defenders and helped the Quakes win some good hardware with then and current national team teammate, Landon Donovan. He has played overseas in Norway for a couple of years but rumors have him heading back to Houston for the 2008 season. Another stint with what was the San Jose Earthquakes.

Brad Davis – M – St. Charles, Mo. – Houston Dynamo (MLS): Hey, guess what. What? Brad Davis is another American soccer player who left school early. The Missouri native played locally for St. Louis University before bolting for the pros in 2002. He was selected third overall by New York. Another veteran of the U-20 World Cup (2001) Davis has been groomed for a senior team spot on many levels of the youth national team program.


The Game is quickly approaching so it looks like I’ll have to finish this tomorrow. I will, I promise.