From College to the Pros - The US soccer ladder

Suspended...

2009-11-17T08:44:00.003-07:00

I mentioned in my last post, from a few weeks ago, that I recently became the proud parent of twins. As they approach eight weeks of age I've slowly realized how completely they have changed my life. Add to that the normal ebb and flow of life and my passion for posting to this blog has diminished.

At one point I thought and hoped that this blog would help morph into a career in professional soccer. That hasn't happened and I think that dream is slowly passing as I become more interested in other things.

All I know is that I can no longer dedicate the time required to keep posting and to keep up my database. In other words, I no longer feel I can hold your interest and sound somewhat knowledgeable.

In the time I've been running this blog others have popped up that provide better, more complete, analysis of the college game and college players. So, it is with that in mind that the referee around here is producing the following...

Sometime in the future my red card suspension may end, but until then you'll know where to find me...not here. If you're interesting in picking up and carrying on the torch, please email me at the address in the right margin. Thank you to all of my sponsors who have helped things carry on. Thank you to all of my readers whose interest and encouragement were amazing.

Sincerely,
Bonji

US U-17 World Cup Kicking Off...soon!

2009-10-26T10:41:00.002-06:00

Well folks, you may have noticed a total lack of new content around here. My wife and I welcomed twins into the family at the end of September and sleep deprivation has ensued. So, blog is not getting a lot of attention.

But I do want to call your attention to this, the US U-17 Men kick off their World Cup in about an hour and 15 minutes, at 1 pm central time. You can catch the match on ESPNU, Galavision and ESPN360.com. They're playing Spain so it should be entertaining.

Want to learn more about the team? Read this from ESPN.com. Hopefully the attacking style discussed in the article works for the team. The US U-20 team had a poor performance in their World Cup last month, so I hope to see better from the U-17s.

Great Post On The US U-20 Team's College Members...

2009-09-17T15:44:00.004-06:00

Remember how the US can't field an entirely professional U-20 World Cup team like most of the rest of the soccer world? Want to know more about those players joining the team from the college ranks? Here you go: yanks-abroad.com has done an outstanding job.

MLS to Break During Group Play of 2010 FIFA World Cup...

2009-09-16T14:10:00.003-06:00

No, this isn't college soccer related but it is music to my ears. I just got a press release from MLS saying the following:

Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber announced today that for the first time in its history, MLS will not play League games during the group phase of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The group phase includes the first 48 games of the 64-game tournament that begins on June 11, 2010 in South Africa. The last MLS game prior to the World Cup will be played on June 10 and MLS will not schedule any additional League games until after the group phase concludes on June 25. MLS does not plan to schedule games on the days of either World Cup Semifinal nor the World Cup Final.

It is about time! Now they need to figure out that other international dates when the US team is in action should be off limits. But I'll take what I can get for now.

Another nice little gem:

MLS clubs to play each opponent twice in balanced 2010 regular season

Hopefully they don't schedule the games back-to-back the way the Rapids are playing against Toronto twice in a row and then San Jose twice in a row. Balance the schedule from front to back MLS!

US U-20 World Cup Squad Announced...

2009-08-28T10:02:00.002-06:00

Unlike the senior team, Coach Rongen is announcing his roster almost a month before the first match of the U-20 World Cup. Yup, kick off for the Americans in this youth World Cup is September 25th.

GOALKEEPERS - Sean Johnson (Central Florida), Josh Lambo, Brian Perk (UCLA)

DEFENDERS - Gale Agbossoumonde, Kyle Davies, Jorge Flores, Ike Opara (Wake Forest), Anthony Wallace, Sheanon Williams

MIDFIELDERS - Daniel Cruz, Mikkel Diskerud, Dilly Duka (Rutgers), Jared Jeffrey, Aaron Maund (Notre Dame), Brian Ownby (Virginia), Dillon Powers (Notre Dame), Michael Stephens (UCLA)

FORWARDS - Sam Garza (Denver), Peri Marosevic, Brek Shea, Tony Taylor (Jacksonville)

I've highlighted the college players in the above list. 42% of the players are playing college ball. I've got to imagine the professionals will make up more of the starting eleven with the college guys filling in as needed. It is just hard to imagine how the Americans will compete against the rest of the world when 42% of the team doesn't play professionally and the rest of the world does.

Also of note, Soccer by Ives has the US vs. Germany game on ESPN Classic as opposed to ESPN360.com as I listed in my last post. Not sure when USsoccer.com will update their website to show the correct television schedule on their schedule page.

US U-20 WC Television Schedule Announced...

2009-08-27T11:17:00.002-06:00

USsoccer.com announced the U-20 Men's television schedule yesterday. Here is the only problem, the first game is on-line only.

9/26: USA vs. Germany - LIVE at 9:55 a.m. ET on ESPN360.com, 9:55 a.m. ET/PT on Galavision

9/29: USA vs. Cameroon - LIVE at 12:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2, DELAYED at 5 p.m. ET/PT on Galavision

10/2: USA vs. Korea Republuc - LIVE at 12:40 p.m. ET on ESPN2, DELAYED at 4 p.m. ET/PT on Galavision

Why is the match against Germany on-line only? ESPN2 for Cameroon and Korea is great...but what is up with Germany only being on-line? That is arguably the biggest match of all three. Well, we'll have to figure out a way to watch, won't we.

U-20 World Cup is coming up quickly!

I Want Another World Cup In The USA, Do You???

2009-08-20T09:48:00.007-06:00

If so, go to the website: www.gousabid.com. Sign the petition.

Watch the video:

Pass it on...

Comments: The Beckham Experiment...

2009-08-12T10:57:00.002-06:00

I believe there is little chance that someone reading this blog would not have heard of this book by now. Right? 1% chance. If in all honesty you have not heard of the book pictured above please leave me a comment. Anyway, I just finished it and I am posting some quick comments for two reasons. 1) I really enjoyed it. 2) I got the book for free from Press Box Publicity so I want to give them a shout out.

Back to reason #1; I really enjoyed the book. When I first heard of it and agreed to accept an evaluation copy I was skeptical. I wondered about how much access Wahl would have to Becks and the Gals. I wondered what kind of dirt could there be about the most celebrated soccer player to land in a US soccer league since Pele. Let's just say I had my doubts and I didn't think I'd learn anything I didn't already know.

Well, I was wrong. Before I received my book I started reading clips on blogs and then the whole controversy started up between Becks and Landycakes...I started to get excited. Once I received the book I dove right in and I finished it in a couple weeks. Recently I haven't finished a book in under a month so you can see I was drawn in. Despite some of the most juicy tidbits showing up on countless blogs, there was still more for me to discover during my read.

The biggest things I came away with; Alexi Lalas isn't as big a nut job as I once thought and didn't destroy the Galaxy on his own, Landycakes has bigger balls than I once thought but the hummingbird tattoo still drags things down a bit, Beckham brings a lot of baggage and hangers on everywhere he goes, if MLS ever makes this kind of signing again I hope they learn that just because your a famous player doesn't mean you should be allowed to make team decisions, and some other things I can't remember now.

I encourage you to check out The Beckham Experiment, by Grant Wahl if you are a fan of MLS, want to learn the behind the scenes of Beckham's signing and the further destruction of the LA Gals, or just want to see a book that doesn't paint David Beckham as a god in his MLS kingdom. Well done Grant Wahl, a great book.

The List...

2009-08-06T16:51:00.003-06:00

Loyal readers and new followers...if there are any. For the past couple years I've written this blog quoting some list, a database of players I keep. I've not really shared it with too many people to this point thinking there is some proprietary knowledge held in it. Well, I've realized there isn't. It is a list of players and some information I've added to each player's history as I can find it on-line. However, as the world of soccer has expanded in the US, so too has my list and my ability to keep up with updates and tracking down players has dwindled. With that fact I realized that it is time for Bonji to harness the power of the Internet by crowd-sourcing my list.

So here it is folks, all 1,220 rows of names. As I make updates, they'll get updated on here. The permanent link will be on the right margin.

I know some of these kids have quit playing, left college for the pros, or just fallen off the face of the earth after an unimpressive career. I slowly weed them out. But that is where you can help! If you know something, tell me. I've got an email address published on the right, email me. If you like doing updates and tracking this stuff, maybe you can work with me. I just want to get this info out there and improve it. So help me do that. If you do have some new information, please send me a link to a source. I want to keep some academic rigger.

Let me remind you, players get on the list by doing something like winning an honor, getting a call up to a US Youth Team, playing on a foreign national team before coming to college in The States. So, please don't send me players to add because you like them, or because they're your brother, etc. If someone wins the Golden Glove at the adidas esp camp and then enrolls in Harvard...tell me about it.

Thanks and enjoy!

Take Another Look At US Soccer...

2009-08-06T16:37:00.004-06:00

Let's all be honest with each other, ussoccer.com got a little stale having not changed in a long time. In today's instant info society it seems like some sites change once every two years. I think US Soccer had fallen down and couldn't get up since back before World Cup 2006. Anyone know/Remember the last update? Well, anyway...take a look at the new and improved site. Thoughts?

Also, U-17 World Cup draw is this Friday...tomorrow! At least I think that is what I read...I'm having trouble finding the link. Oh, here we go. The draw will be held in Abuja, Nigeria tomorrow, Friday. Nice.

The U-17 men did very well at the Copa Macae tournament in Brazil...they emerged as Champions! Well done.

Players Starting the Fall Season With Some Extra Practice...

2009-07-20T11:18:00.003-06:00

While most of the news these days is about David Beckham's return to MLS, the US' performance in the Gold Cup and MLS' drop in attendance, I'd like to remind everyone that we still have the U-17 World Cup and U-20 World Cup coming up this summer/fall. As part of that, many college players are getting some extra credit training in this summer. While their peers are playing on club and/or PDL teams, there are many college players training and playing matches with the young nats.

Tomorrow, July 21st 2009, the US U-20 team heads to Argentina for a 10-day camp with a couple international matches as part of the Copa Cuidad de Rosario. College players making the trip: Brian Perk - GK UCLA, Gale Agbossoumonde - D UCLA, Ike Opara - D Wake Forest, Dilly Duka - M Rutgers, Brian Ownby - M University of Virginia, Dillon Powers - M Notre Dame, Michael Stephens - M UCLA, Sam Garza - F University of Denver and Tony Taylor - F Jacksonville University. Wow, UCLA is going to have some fit players when they return to NCAA action this fall.

Do you think it will help their campaign to have some many players coming in from National Team camp? There is downside, if these guys perform well and make the U-20 WC team they head to Egypt in late September and could be gone for up to one month.

At the same time the US U-17 men are down in Brazil training and playing in the Copa Macae. These guys are still on their club teams and haven't quite reached college. Most of these guys have been part of the US U-17 Bradenton Residency program but I did see one or two who haven't. It was also interesting to see a couple names from the recent Development Academy Starting XI; Riley Wolfe & Victor Chavez. Another common thread...Parade's annual All-American list.

I don't know about you but I am excited for these events later this year.

Zizou Visits Denver, Plays With Young American All*Stars...

2009-07-08T14:09:00.005-06:00

For those who don't subscribe to the Rapids' Undercurrent Blog you will have missed this gem. Yes, Zinedine Zidane just happened to stop by the adidas ESP camp going on here in Denver and actually played with the All*Star team of the annual event.

This kind of blows my mind. Every summer the adidas ESP event is a premier invite only camp that works with the best of the American youth soccer field. What an amazing opportunity for these kids to meet one of the greatest players of all time and actually play with him. Hopefully some of the players gleamed a bit of skill from the master while playing alongside him.

The Rapids' blog even shows a photo of Zidane working some young American keeper.

So who else has been an ESP All*Star? I'm glad you asked.

Current college and US Youth standouts: Ofori Sarkodie, Christopher Schuler, Andre Akpan, Danny Barrera, Will Bruin, Bill Dworsky, Casey Townsend and more.

Professionals: Edgar Castillo, Charlie Davies (participated in the 2003 ESP event but wasn't an All*Star), Salvatore Zizzo, Brad Ring and more.

So there you go, perhaps a future MLS players will be able to say he learned a move from Zizou in 2009 in Denver. That will be cool.

Premier Soccer Academies - gone?

2009-07-08T10:06:00.001-06:00

It is sad to read about the demise of what I thought was a good idea. I had visions in my mind of starting something similar here in Denver using the great Dick's Sporting Good Soccer Complex. Unfortunately it looks like it is harder to make a go of than I thought. Bummer.

US Men Impress In South Africa...

2009-06-29T13:26:00.004-06:00

While this post won't be specifically about college players moving into the professional ranks I will try to work the theme of the blog in here. However, I mainly want to get my thoughts on paper regarding the US' improbable run to the final of FIFA's Confederations Cup.

Here is a question to the US soccer fans reading...what were your expectations going into the 2009 Confederations Cup? Did anyone expect them to reach the final? I didn't. I expected the results we saw against Italy and Brazil in group play and that is where I figured this would end. But it didn't, while the US did get blasted in the first two matches they came back against a strong Egyptian team and did enough to move on. The circumstances were somewhat similar to how the US got out of their group in the 2002 World Cup if I recall correctly. Unfortunately for American soccer fans we're becoming accustomed to backing into the next round, but I'll take what I can get.

When the US did sneak out of the groups and into a match against European champs Spain, I once again doubted the US' ability to advance. I almost went to a Rapids game instead of watching the match on DVR, however circumstances forced me to miss the Rapids game and I ignored omnipresent media and was delighted to watch the US beat Spain. That was the upset to end all upsets...until Brazil beat the hosts to set up a final that would require an even greater feat.

The US has only beat Brazil once on the soccer field and that was our home field during the Gold Cup. For those looking for a comparison between the Gold Cup and the Confederations Cup, there isn't one. The Gold Cup is our region's championship (which invited Brazil the year the US beat them). Brazil came into that event with an undoubtedly different agenda than the one they took into the Confederations Cup, FIFA's championship for regional champions. Yesterday the US needed to upset Brazil, away from home, in a tournament with an internationally recognized prize.

It is a game and anything can happen, but I certainly didn't expect the US to beat Brazil so when the stars and stripes walked into the locker room up 2-0 at the half I was shocked. I had flashbacks to Wednesday night and I thought it was really possible. Well, we all know what happened next and it sucked to witness, but at the end of the day at least I have the memory of going up two - zero against Brazil...the best.

I am kind of disappointed to see all of the facebook posts about the US team chocking yesterday. The US didn't choke, they just couldn't achieve a second miracle in a row.

This tournament proved we can compete, we can come back from being down in the group, we can beat the big teams. We're 11 months out from the 2010 World Cup and I think we all believe we'll be able to advance out of the group. FIFA will have to take the US more seriously during the draw so that we don't get another group of death. When we match up with Spain in the second round there will be hope as opposed to pessimism. I'm hopeful going into the rest of qualification and next summer. I hope you are too.

I said I'd weave in the blog's theme, so here we go...here are the players who played college ball and are now performing on the world's stage:
Oguchi Onyewu - Clemson
Jay DeMerit - University of Illinois Chicago
Carlos Bocanegra - UCLA
Benny Feilhaber - UCLA
Jonathan Bornstein - UCLA
Ricardo Clark - Furman
Conor Casey - Portland
Clint Dempsey - Furman
Charlie Davies - Boston College
Sacha Kljestan - Seton Hall
Heath Pearce - Portland
Marvell Wynne - UCLA
Brad Guzan - South Carolina
Luis Robles - Portland

So there you go kids, if you want to be on the national team go to UCLA. Seriously though, while it is probably not statistically significant it is cool to see the programs putting kids through to the top. Also, while not statistically significant, most of these guys left college early to pursue their game, so it probably gives credence to the argument for certain kids with gobs of talent to either skip school, or stay a short time.

Now This Is What I Like To See...

2009-06-23T07:43:00.004-06:00

Climbing the Ladder has done it again. If you're not familiar with the blog, get familiar. Scaryice rules that roost and is the best at tracking and analyzing MLS and US Soccer stats. Seriously, I don't know any other blogger/writer doing what he's doing over there.

This time he's putting together college teams who have graduated and gone onto MLS. I love this kind of stuff and frankly I wish I had done it before scaryice, but I can't and didn't so go check his story out.

Sorry about the lack of posting recently (for the past three months or so). "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." — Ferris Bueller

Right now my life is moving too fast to stop and look around, or blog. But take heart, I've been busy updating my lists and I'll have those ready before the college season kicks off.

How about those Rapids too? The team is finally clicking after years of hearing how much talent is on paper. Looks like Smith was the right piece in the puzzle to get the most of these guys. Omar Cummings, an American college product, is coming into his own and roasted DC United. Although, seeing their goals against number on the table begs the question...how on earth are they top of the Eastern Conference? It is funny how the balance of power switches between conferences. Wasn't it last year that the West sucked and the East dominated?

Other American college players leading the Rapids; Nick LaBrocca, Jordan Harvey, Cory Gibbs, Ugo Ihemelu, Matt Pickens, Conor Casey, Colin Clark and Pablo Mastroeni. The Rapids have struggled since the signing of John Spencer to find an International player who can fit into the team and really help it succeed. Now it seems like they don't need that and can go it alone with the college kids supported by select other signings. I also believe we're seeing the proof in the pudding of what Fernando Clavijo and John Murphy always said, that these kids can play, and I'll add, just not under those two coaches.

And how about those Nats? Did anyone out there believe they would move onto the semi-finals after seeing the first two performances? I did not.

Who is going where?

2009-05-15T08:25:00.002-06:00

One of the toughest parts of following youth and college soccer in the US is that it doesn't get the same attention as the other bigger college sports like football and basketball. America's fascination with the next big thing doesn't translate to soccer the way it does for other sports. My blog tries to help peel back the curtain and many other blogs/on-line sources help piece together the puzzle. The net of it all is that there hasn't been a place to go and find the information on parts of American youth soccer that are easy to find in other sports.

Well folks, that could be changing. ESPN Rise Magazine is tracking where the high school boys soccer class of 2009 is going to college. I don't remember seeing this type of compiled list in the past, but it is a great step in the right direction. This takes ESPN up a notch in my book.

This is going to be a great resource for me filling in my database. Too often I have to hunt for players after the season starts using Google and the process is time consuming and often doesn't bear fruit. Now the info is all in one place. Thanks Rise! They also have a list of the class of 2010 commitments.

Now it is easy to check out how your alma mater's freshman class is coming together. Enjoy!

US U-20's To Train In Florida

2009-05-12T12:23:00.005-06:00

The USA Under 20's will be training in Sarasota, Florida from May 23rd to May 28th.

Roster By Position (Club; Hometown):
GOALKEEPERS (2): Josh Lambo (FC Dallas; Middleton, Wis.), Brian Perk (UCLA; Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (6): Kyle Davies (FC Dallas; Danville, Calif.), Jorge Flores (Chivas USA; Anaheim, Calif.), Aaron Maund (Notre Dame; Dorchester, Mass.), Ike Opara (Wake Forest; Durham, N.C.), Anthony Wallace (FC Dallas; St. Petersburg, Fla.), Sheanon Williams (unattached; Boston, Mass.)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Danny Cruz (Houston Dynamo; Glendale, Ariz.), Dilly Duka (Rutgers; Montville, N.J.), Jose Gonzalez (Atlante FC; Soquel, Calif.), Jared Jeffrey (Club Brugge; Richardson, Texas), Gerson Mayen (Chivas USA; Los Angeles, Calif.), Alfredo Morales (Hertha BSC Berlin; Berlin, Germany), Brian Ownby (Virginia; Glen Allen, Va.), Brek Shea (FC Dallas; College Station, Texas), Guillermo Torres (Longview Lobos HS; Longview, Texas)
FORWARDS (3): Fuad Ibrahim (Toronto FC; Richfield, Minn.), Peri Marosevic (FC Dallas; Rockford, Ill.) Tony Taylor (Jacksonville University; Jacksonville, Fla.)

http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_14352389.html

Interesting things to note?

1. The return of Jose Gonzalez.
- Jose Gonzalez is an Youth Soccer Internet Legend. He became one when stories about his path to U.S. citizenship came out of his hometown of Santa Cruz. He came here with his parents illegally as an infant and his father passed a U.S. Citizenship test in March of 2006 just in time for Jose to travel with the US Under-18's to Slovakia for a tournament. Then his story continued as he won the ESP Camp Golden Ball as a Sophomore in High School. He dropped off the map after High School but it was found out that he is playing with the youth squads of Atlante F.C. of the Mexican First Division.

Read about his story here:
http://www.scsextra.com/story.php?sid=39068
and here:
http://www.scsextra.com/story.php?sid=39687
and here:
http://www.scsextra.com/story.php?sid=44073

2. No Mikkel Diskerud.
- If you have missed out on his story you will have to check this thread from Bigsoccer.com:
http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=939469

He is a 19 year old Norwegian-born Arizonian (sp? :D) who has played for US U-20 squad and the Norwegian U-19's. He has yet to make his final decision on which National Team he will represent. Good news is that he was invited, but is too busy with his club to attend the camp. He has scored 3 goals from Midfield this year.
http://www.yanks-abroad.com/get.php?mode=content&id=4582

3. No Bryan Arguez, Vincenzo Bernardo, or Guiseppe Nazzani.
-There are some questions over whether these players are ready to play for the U-20's or whether Rongen has lost interest. It would be a real shame if Bryan Arguez failed to make the 2009 World Youth Championship team after being an underage player on the 2007 team.

4. Ike Opara is back.
- He is arguably the best Under 20 defender in the NCAA right now so it is good news if he is healthy.

5. Guillermo Torres
- He appears to be the little brother of Jose Francisco Torres. Hopefully he has as much or more talent than his older brother. This is his first ever USYNT Camp.

6. Gerson Mayen
- He was rumored to be attracting attention from El Salvador(country of his parents), but he is apparently still interested in representing the United States. This is great news as he has 4 assists in MLS this season and has shone in his few starts and multiple substitute appearances.

7. Sean Johnson, Gale Agbossoumonde, Amobi Okugo, Sam Garza, and Billy Schuler
- They are not here after participating in Qualifying.
Agbossoumonde and Okugo (both 1991's) are with the USA Under 18's on a trip to Portugal:
http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_14352384.html

Contact me at USvsIreland AT gmail.com

So much for the US becoming the regional youth champions...

2009-04-28T10:01:00.003-06:00

The CONCACAF U-17 championship was canceled due to the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico. It seems like the right thing to do, but I was really looking forward to seeing the US youth match up against our rivals to the south in the final. The rivalry between the two CONCACAF powers is intense and it is good to indoctrinate our players at a young age. The current U-17 team getting a chance to match up again a strong opponent in Mexico would have been a great event for the young Americans. Ohh well, another time.

Mexico went 3-0 in their group posting a +11 scoring differential. The US went 3-0 in their group posting a +10 scoring differential. I guess Mexico beat us there.

So no U-17 CONCACAF Champion will be crowned this time around. Until 2011.

U-17 CONCACAF Championships -> U-17 World Cup

2009-04-24T10:39:00.003-06:00

Well folks, the US has done it again. As you'll see in the right margin the US U-17 team has been to every U-17 World Championship since FIFA started hosting the tournament in 1985 and this summer will be no different. With two wins in the first two matches at the CONCACAF Championships, currently being playing in Mexico, the US stamped their ticket to this summer's World Cup in Nigeria. In the first match the US demolished Cuba by a score of 5-0. Next they beat up on our neighbors to the north by a score of 4-2.

The American's potent offense is being led by Jack McInerney who has four goals and two assists in the first two matches. McInerney is a Georgia native who has been part of the US U-17 residency program since the fall of 2007. That is when he first landed in my database.

Next up for the young Americans is Honduras. They play tomorrow. The US already has a ticket to the tournament semi-finals booked. If you want to follow along with the tournament, head on over to the official CONCACAF website.

Kyle Davies Returns To US

2009-04-17T12:11:00.003-06:00

It looks 19 year old centerback Kyle Davies has given up on playing in England for the time being. He's signed a 4 year deal with Major League Soccer. Real Salt Lake one the lottery and now have his player rights.

With an English mom and a Welsh dad, was this the best of moves for Davies? He was getting regular playing time with Southampton's reserve squad this year. And with his contract coming to end he would've been free to move to another club in search of playing time. Will he progress as well in the MLS? Will he see any playing time this year?

A bit from Southampton's web site :

Saints' American defender Kyle Davies has returned home to the States after signing a 4-year deal with Real Salt Lake.

The MLS side swooped to sign the 20-year old centre-back, who recently captained the USA Under-20's side in their CONCACAF Championship, as a pick in this year's draft lottery.

Davies was out of contract with Southampton in the summer, but Major League Soccer's transfer window closed on April 15th, meaning that the Utah-based team had to move early to seal the transfer.

This however means that Saints will receive compensation for the player who joined the Saints Academy as a Second Year scholar in 2007, but has found regular first team opportunities limited by more senior players.

Head coach Mark Wotte explained more about the background to the move by saying that he felt that it would hopefully be a win-win situation for all parties involved.

Enjoying the MLS Season?

2009-04-03T08:30:00.003-06:00

Hello folks. Sorry for the slow rate of posting recently. In many ways life has prevented me from focusing a lot of attention on FCTP recently. Apologies.

If you don't know about the MLS Confidential blog, you should learn about it. It is run by Soccer America, the longest serving American Soccer media outlet I know of. The blog features the thoughts of Ridge Mahoney, a great soccer journalist. In his most recent post Mahoney talks about young American players moving to Europe.

I find the following quote particularity interesting.

MLS, and U.S. Soccer, regularly take broadside hits for their efforts to find, develop and groom players, but ours is not a soccer culture, where being steeped in the game nurtures understandings and appreciations most American players need to be taught. Just about every player who heads overseas talks about feeling out of place, surrounded by so many teammates for whom so much about the game is second nature, learned by absorption as much as instruction.

That is the truth, isn't it? American kids who have lived soccer for their first 18 years are living in a "new" soccer nation if you listen to MLS. However, this isn't a soccer nation. MLS is still the outsider to the American sports landscape. Maybe in 50 years people won't remember a time when there wasn't professional soccer on our shores but even then there will not be the history the sport has in Europe. Will American kids ever grow up with the sport at a level where it is "learned by absorption as much as instruction?" That is really the difference between our young players and the rest of the world.

I hope that will change someday. I hope my kids grow up with an understanding and appreciation of the beautiful game. Anyway, be sure to subscribe through Google Reader or a similar service to MLS Confidential. It is one of the best blogs out there.

New MLSnet.com Feature...Rookie Life...

2009-03-10T17:37:00.003-06:00

Looks like MLSnet.com is coming out with a new on-line video feature, Rookie Life. This is right after the hearts of our readers here at FCTP. Check out the trailer and support this cool new feature once it comes out next week.

MLS Rookie Life from The Offside Rules on Vimeo.

Thanks to The Offside Rules for pointing this out.

US U-20 Team Off To A Good Start...

2009-03-07T07:10:00.002-07:00

Last night the US U-20 team kick started their quest to reach the U-20 World Cup this summer with a 3-0 pasting of Jamaica. Goals from recent MLS draftee Peri Marosevic, Rutgers Freshman Dilly Duka and UNC man Billy Schuler carried the US to the comfortable win. The match featured more professionals than college kids but the US educational system was represented. The US can clinch with a win on Sunday against Honduras.

Former #1 Pick Available On Waivers...

2009-03-03T09:21:00.003-07:00

As I am a Colorado Rapids fan you can assume this post has a component of bias in it. On the other hand, is there any bias? Doesn't Real Salt Lake deserve some heckling for taking Nikolas Besagno first overall in their first MLS SuperDraft? Hindsight is always 20/20 but at the same time most outside observers knew RSL was taking a big risk. After all, Brad Guzan, Chad Barrett, Michael Parkhurst, James Riley, Chris Rolfe and other current MLS players were available in this draft and there to help the expansion club.

At the time Besagno was 16 years old and coming straight from the US U-17 residency program. While some players have come from the residency and flourished, a seemingly equal number have struggled. To give RSL credit, 2005 was one year after Freddy Adu was drafted and drew big numbers to see the young phenom...but did RSL actually think Besagno was another Adu? That is the judgment I fault. The club was clearly trying to pick another youngster with tons of potential that could grow into a starting role. But with 16 year olds how can you really judge professional potential. Foreign leagues are riddled with former phenoms who never quite panned out.

It looks like another young American who didn't live up to his promise will be headed to the USL to try and resurrect his career as Nikolas Besagno was waived by RSL yesterday and is available in today's waiver draft. If another club doesn't take him, he'll be looking for work elsewhere.

Here are the other players available in the waiver draft with the club they're leaving in parentheses:

Kai Kasiguran (Chicago Fire)
Tyler Kettering (Chicago Fire)
Kraig Chiles (Chivas USA)
Anthony Hamilton (Chivas USA)
Roberto Nurse (Chivas USA)
Keith Savage (Chivas USA)
Brian Grazier (Colorado Rapids)
Justin Hughes (Colorado Rapids)
Kwame Sarkodie (Colorado Rapids)
Cesar Zambrano (Colorado Rapids)
Sean Bucknor (FC Dallas)
Andrew Daniels (FC Dallas)
Jamie Watson (FC Dallas)
Chase Wileman (FC Dallas)
Pat Carroll (D.C. United)
Ryan Cordeiro (D.C. United)
Craig Thompson (D.C. United)
Rod Dyachenko (D.C. United)
Mike Zaher (D.C. United)
Stephen Wondolowski (Houston Dynamo)
Vardan Adzemian (LA Galaxy)
Charles Alamo (LA Galaxy)
Michael Gavin (LA Galaxy)
Mike Munoz (LA Galaxy)
Sam Brill (New England Revolution)
Brandon Manzonelli (New England Revolution)
Brandon Tyler (New England Revolution)
Joe Germanese (New England Revolution)
Gary Flood (New England Revolution)
Nik Besagno (Real Salt Lake)
Kevin Reiman (Real Salt Lake)
Brennan Tennelle (Real Salt Lake)
John Cunliffe (San Jose Earthquakes)
Michael Ghebru (San Jose Earthquakes)
Ned Grabavoy (San Jose Earthquakes)
Kilian Elkinson (Toronto FC)
Derek Gaudet (Toronto FC)
Joey Melo (Toronto FC)

Above I highlighted some players I think could end up back in MLS. I think this list has more quality than in the past due to the elimination of the reserve league. MLS teams are having to discard "project" players for those who can play on the first team and contribute now. That is a mistake in my opinion because not all players reach their full potential in the first three years in the league. Unfortunately at this time the USL will become the player development grounds, outside of MLS' control. If these players improve after a season or two in the lower divisions, hopefully they'll be able to pop back up to the big leagues. Time will tell.

A Few Questions With Brandon Manzonelli

2009-02-20T11:04:00.003-07:00

Brandon Manzonelli was nice enough to take some time out of his day to answer a few questions for our blog. Thanks to Brandon for the time and answers.

Me: Would you mind giving a small background of how you got to be where you are?

Brandon:
While I was playing at Scott Gallagher, Manchester United came and put on one of their soccer schools. The coaches really liked my style and told me if I ever came to England to contact them and they would get me a trial with the youth team at Man. Utd. I went to England a few months later and the coach who told me this had moved to Blackburn Rovers. I trained with them for a few days and they told me they wanted me to come back in a few months for a full trial. When I returned I trained for a full week and they wanted to sign me. Before I signed anything I had also trained with Manchester City and had plans to go train with Bolton and Preston North End as well. Before further exploration in English clubs, Villarreal called and said they wanted me to come over to Spain in 2 days. I went to Spain, trained for a week, played in a tournament, scored against Barcelona, and after a total of 2 weeks in Spain, signed a 3 year contract. I played in Spain for a year but was not able to obtain a European passport so I was not able to play there anymore. I came back home, trained at a couple mls clubs, a couple belgian clubs and ended up signing with the New England Revolution last May.

Me: Who has had the biggest effect on your career so far?

Brandon:
I think my mom has had the most effect on my career as she has helped me achieve my goal of a professional soccer player at such a young age. She flew everywhere from Spain, to England, to Belgium, to France in order to help me get where I want. She allowed me to leave my family and my hometown of St. Louis to Spain for a year at just 16 years old. She believes in me the most which helps me perform.

Me: Your fans know that you have trained in Europe. Which country's league do you think is best suited to your game? (Apart from MLS)

Brandon:
MLS is a nice league, but I don't think it suites me as a player. My style is more technical and face paced. I believe Spain was a great place for me as well as England as there is such great skill in each of these leagues and I am a very skillful player myself.

Me: Which professional player do you model yourself after? Whose playing style do you try emulate?

Brandon:
I used to try and emulate Cristiano Ronaldo during his early years at Manchester United. After viewing his achievements as World Player of The Year, I think it was the right choice. HAHA. I enjoy the way he plays as well as it creates a major impact on the game which to me is the most important thing.

Me: Which part of your game do you have to improve the most?

Brandon:
I need to improve mostly on my left foot. I wish I would have practiced on it a bit more when I was younger but it can still get better the more often I use it.

Me: How have you enjoyed your experiences at the Milk Cup with the current Under 20 National Team? Which players impress you from your time playing with them? Who should we (the fans) be looking out for?

Brandon:
The Milk Cup was a great tournament. I think Perry Marosevic who had just been drafted into the MLS and Anthony Wallace who plays at FC Dallas. Another is Vincenzo Bernardo who plays at Napoli in Italy. There are many talented players on the team but these are players who stood out the most to me.

Me: I’m sure you saw the recent USMNT match against Mexico. How did it feel to make an impact in the game (providing two assists in a 3-0 win) against their U-20’s in July?

Brandon:
It was one of the best feelings playing against Mexico in July. I was very proud to represent the USA against them and I was happy to do well in that game.

Me: What do you think you would be doing if you weren’t pursuing a professional soccer career?

Brandon:
I'm not sure what I would be doing if I wasn't playing soccer. I had wanted to play professionally since 6th or 7th grade so I didn't think about too much else. I even promised my teachers and friends that I would play professionally before I finished high school and it just stuck in my mind as what I wanted to do.

Me: Would you advise young players to take your route (straight to the pros) to the top or go to college?

Brandon:
Playing professionally as soon as I did is not for everyone. There is a lot of sacrifices you must make in order to achieve this and some people may regret not going to college or leaving home and everything they've been around all their life. You've got to have a certain passion and love for the game to play professionally and I think this is how many players excel to the highest levels of soccer.

Me: Do you have any trials lined up? Where will we be seeing you in the next few months/years? Where do you see yourself in five years?

Brandon:
I am currently talking to a few clubs in Europe but we'll see where I end up. In 5 years I hope to be playing in Europe and making my way to the top.

Thank you Brandon!

The Felix Garcia Conundrum

2009-02-07T06:21:00.004-07:00

Apologies for being away for so long, I have moved countries and restarted my education in a new (extremely hard) school.

I think that many soccer fans look at problems and fail to understand the complexity of them. Hence the use of the word "conundrum" in the title. According to Meriam-Webster dictionary it is defined as " a question or problem having only a conjectural answer b: an intricate and difficult problem." This is crucial to understanding the scope of Felix Garcia's situation with the Houston Dynamo. It is an extremely intricate problem, and as we are fans with little inside knowledge we can only use what we know to express an opinion on the situation.

Here is what I wrote about Felix in September:

Felix Garcia
Club/College: PDL Laredo Heat
Age: 18; July 30, 1990
Position: Forward
Squad Chance: Almost a lock.

Felix Garcia is a wonderkid. He has been a favorite of Thomas Rongen's so far in this cycle. While all reports say he is "raw," he is a 6 footer with a lot of skill that is waiting to be honed in a professional environment. Apparently he is only a senior in HS this fall, so unless he drops out or graduates early he could still be an amateur by Summer 2009. He is reportedly getting looked at by MFL teams and I'm sure Rongen has been called about him by MLS teams.

To give you a rundown on what has been going on with Felix I suggest you read this article by Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/soc/6248997.html

Basically the very talented Felix signed with Houston, then went AWOL: "Since last week’s introduction, Garcia has walked out of an informal practice and skipped a meeting and mandatory physical. He also left town without notice, which caused him to miss the first week of training camp, actions that might hurt his chances of ever stepping onto the field donning the orange jersey."

No one knows for sure what the problem is. Apparently he is very close to his family and girlfriend saying this at his signing ceremony: "I feel very happy to be here. I came here to play soccer and enjoy my life with my girlfriend. I want to take the opportunity to thank those that had something to do with this. It's a dream come true, and I can't wait to get on the pitch." (MLSNET.com)

It's obvious that the desire is there, and he has never had problems before with the U-20's otherwise the very professional Rongen would have dropped him without a second thought. He has a reputation of being humble and hardworking. Whatever the problem is, it is complex, but it is nothing that should stop Felix from fulfilling his dream.

I hope that fans are patient and realize that Felix can be a great player for the Dynamo. I hope that Houston are in constant contact with Felix and make arrangements to help his family and girlfriend move to Houston if needed. I hope that they involve Rongen (who seems to be Felix's professional mentor at this point) in this transition. I hope that Felix realizes that the best thing for himself, his family, and his girlfriend is for Felix to make his way back to Houston and start his professional career. And mostly, I hope that this is not the last blog post you read about Felix Garcia.

Contact me at USvsIreland AT gmail.com

American Boomerang: Cam Weaver

2009-02-03T07:34:00.004-07:00

Soccer By Ives is reporting that San Jose has signed young American striker, Cam Weaver, from Norwegian club FK Haugesund. Does that name ring a bell? Back in 2006 he flirted with MLS after finding success with USL club Seattle Sounders. He trained and played with the Rapids reserves and as a Rapids fan I was excited by the prospect of a strong American striker. Then he signed in Norway. I was extremely bummed at the time. Now I'm excited to see him come back to MLS to see what he can do.

According to Wikipedia he's had a successful couple years in Norway, scoring 21 goals in 51 matches. You've got to assume similar production in MLS will bring him into the US National Team spotlight at a critical time during the run up to the 2010 World Cup.

I think this is a great signing for MLS and San Jose similar to some of the other boomerangs like Robbie Rogers and Kenny Cooper. We'll see if he can bring some of his Norwegian scoring back to the USA.

Not All Professional Soccer Players Follow The Same Path...

2009-01-27T12:40:00.003-07:00

Head on over to espn.com for the story of Collin Burns. This is a reminder to all the young players out there not to be discouraged by someone telling you, "no".

Better Late Than Never - Recapping The 2009 Draft

2009-01-20T14:20:00.004-07:00

If the most exciting day of the MLS offseason is the day before the draft, when more people than usual are dreaming of 4-4-2's and discovery options and Kansas City Wizards depth charts, the most terrible day is the day after the draft. This is the day when anybody who felt like it was worth some of their time to think about the draft realizes that thinking about drafts may be fun, but leaves you with a terrible pit in your stomach afterwards. They're just not important enough to be worth the time in the end, and it looks like it will be ANOTHER season without any franchise asking you to be their scouting coordinator.

(Before I go farther, let me just give myself a pat on the back for correctly and completely nailing three picks in Thursday's draft. You might say "wow, three out of sixty, in a draft with hardly any trades, big whoop". But let's consider the degree of difficulty involved. I missed the first 10 picks, based on lacking things like a "strong and explicit understanding of team needs" and "inside information". But I got 11, 21, and 55. Try to find another draft watcher who got those three right, including nailing a non-combine pick late in the fourth-round. The Revs taking Tyrel Lacey may inspire me to do mock drafts for another five years, since the shine of nailing #70 pick Lars Lyssand to San Jose in 2002 was wearing off.)

The most obvious talking point after this year's draft was the apparent resurgence of the combine as a key measure of a player's draft value. There are a lot of intuitive reasons why this is a bad idea, and they all seem to be pretty much accurate. Throwing a bunch of players together for a couple of pick-up games and thinking you can find the best player seems awfully unlikely, which is probably not much consolation for players who were passed over after sterling college careers. So, clearly, it is not so easy to erase the image of a player wandering around a torn-up Florida pitch with a lost expression in his sad eyes, or stepping on a ball and falling down and splitting his shorts or whatever, because players seemed to clearly rise and fall based on the agglomerated general perspectives of the combine.

I suppose I could give MLS teams more credit, and say, they invited these particular kids because they had already been heavily scouting them. So, maybe, the Revs were already smitten with Ryan Maxwell and just needed to make sure he wasn't homicidal or wouldn't poop in Oscar Castillo's hamper over the weekend (the old Najeh Davenport trick). But I don't buy it. If they loved Maxwell, then why invite him to the combine at all, and just invite other teams' interest? Maybe a bunch of teams were on his trail, but it seems unlikely. Maxwell did not have an amazing college career (perfectly good, but not amazing), he's Jamaican, he's 26 this coming season, he hasn't been called up by The Boyz since he was a teenager. It just doesn't add up together. Nothing against Maxwell, who appears to be a fine student, good guy, and better player than I probably am even in my dreams, when I'm dribbling circles around Luther College. That said, there doesn't seem an argument for taking him at #15, unless you thought the combine proved something important. Sure, he was fast and he can maybe replace Khano Smith someday, but shouldn't the Revs aspire to do more than find a facsimile of the man who still holds the mark for the worst free kick in world soccer history? While the level of athleticism required to jump from college to MLS keeps getting more daunting, you still need soccer players most of all, and production still is the best way to evaluate skill. Maxwell may prove me wrong, but I just can't believe he wasn't a fourth-round pick or undrafted without the combine, and that's no way to do things.

I'm probably the only person in the world to, secretly and only half-jokingly, believe the NFL might be better off just randomly distributing the best 800 college players to teams and letting them bring them in for a few weeks and work them out. The NFL has the opposite problem of MLS, in that they seem to care far too much about their draft, and spend insane amounts of money and effort over a period of months trying to convince themselves that they can forecast success and overlook college production. And while every NFL player comes through the draft process, unlike MLS, it isn't all that clear that doing well or badly in drafting is the end-all, be-all, except for the odd franchise top pick quarterback who turns out. The NFL has ample opportunity in it's liberal free agency to build a team. Arizona may have highly drafted stars like Larry Fitzgerald, but they also blew a top pick on Matt Leinart and Pittsburgh hardly ever has a top pick.

For MLS, there seems to be a general agreement that the SuperDraft will never decide individual teams' league fortunes. There is a risk, however, that this process is continuing to overlook players who can improve the general state of play a little and maybe even be sold off at some point, simply because they don't show well in a chaotic few days of ragball or don't get invited to participate at all. MLS might just be better off just sending 150 top senior players from all college levels to random teams, and instructing those clubs to have an intensive week-long training stint where those players and other trialists can be seen in a more comprehensive and conducive setting. A player like Nelson Pizarro, for example, was a great player for Lincoln Memorial last year, but nobody paid any attention to him, until he won a place on KC's reserve roster after shining in one of those questionable open tryouts where half the players are freelance journalists. He had proof he could play already - it would have been nice if someone had given him the time of day (although I guess it's nice to make him pay for his spot, instead of being paid to try out). Sure, the random allocation idea is overall pretty silly and unfeasible, but it's smart to consider what's best for the league, and if the combine is assisting that goal. How does the league get the best talent they can afford, from the biggest star to the end of the bench? These questions probably matter more than which kid gets picked #52 by the FC Philadelphia SC.

On the other hand, 10 of the 15 teams get my approval, so perhaps my mild outrage is misplaced. Also, I don't know which players have told MLS they'll be following their dream to play in Finland's Second Division, so don't bother. So, any pick analysis is ultimately left wanting for more info.

Teams I thought would do well I think they did: Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Salt Lake, Toronto

It's hard to evaluate MLS trades, because you never really know how much money changes hands and what it's eventually used for. It seems like Chicago didn't get a whole lot for an above-average keeper. But, if he was never going to sign for them, at least they were able to get a local GenAd player with some potential in Husidic. And if the allocation money allows them to keep Bakary Soumare for an extra few years, it would be super worth it. The other picks seemed pretty solid, especially Jata, who is poised to become the Luke Wilson of MLS. I always like what Dallas does in the off-season, so it's a shame about their usual in-season. Marosevic is still only 19 after three improving seasons at Michigan. Shriver was a good choice who should have been at the combine. Los Angeles took highly productive players, which I appreciate. They gave up a bit for Delagarza, especially to a close rival, so it will be interesting to see if he's worth it. Boateng and Patterson were both great value for where they were picked. I bet one of them turns out well, either in MLS or abroad. New York made a smart play swapping picks with Dallas at 11 and 14. Seemed minor, but it gave them the choice of two slippers - Hall or Frei. Hall is a youth nat and first-team All-ACC player, so whether he works out or not, that's good value. I think Ogunbiyi has a shot, but I thought the other two picks were banal combine selections. Salt Lake is getting a lot of stick for Alexandre, and I'm qualifying this thumbs up. Think of it as a thumb sideways. Until Buzz Carrick informed me that Alexandre was going to be a d-mid, I didn't get the pick either. A one-year scoring wonder in D2 is not a first-round prospect. A physically gifted midfielder, with a longing to commit violence on the field, who can ALSO score 23 goals for a top D2 team. Maybe not first-round either, but interesting, and I give RSL credit for that. Bhembe is the best Swazi in MLS ever, but at 26, can he even be called a prospect? Toronto does a good job in drafting, now can they develop some on-field cohesion? White was risky at #4, but since they got Frei at #13, I see no reason to quibble. Wow, they took two Canadian residents. Whoever hit MoJo on the head with a chapati pan and explained why domestic players could be particularly useful should get a raise. I'm not sure where Cronin fits in given their roster, but collecting skilled players never hurts, and Grella was a shrewd pick where they got him.

Teams I thought would do well but now I think they didn't: Colorado, Columbus, Kansas City, New England, Seattle

Colorado is really not a good drafting team, so they shouldn't be in this category should they? I thought they did well because of the production of their recent lower-round picks, but I suspect that was just due to Clavijo's lazy-susan roster management style. Getting Pickens was probably a great move, but I can't give them a thumbs-up because their actual picks seemed lazy, with only the last two striking me as good value. For example, Adjeman-Pamboe had basically one good college season. Columbus seemed like they didn't care much, making three ho-hum combine picks. They didn't need much and had no high pick, but complacency kills. I do like Clements though - if they had taken him first, I'd be more generous. Kansas City's draft lived up to all the boring, boring Wiz jokes. A whole slew of older, hard-working players, and nothing to get the juices flowing. Besler had an excellent college career, but not so excellent that I can see taking him over some of the young stars available at that pick. Seemed like a reach based on need, although I approve of getting a hometown kid. I don't really have a problem with their picks, productive players all, but there seemed to be an opportunity to be more proactive and get better value at the top. New England - I've covered what I didn't like. I like the Alston pick, he can play left, Albright can play midfield - whatever, you just have to collect talent. I'm dinging them solely on the Maxwell pick, because it makes me mad. The rest of the picks seemed fine. I thought Seattle was going to be all hopped up to win right away, but the picks looked more like Sigi woke up from a nap and scribbled some names down. I'd be nervous about Zakuani, and heights, if I lived in the Space Needle, because the record of #1 forwards is terrible, and SteZak will be making a lot of money in two seasons. I thought the entire remainder of the picks were overdrafted. Can Karkas make two Azusa Pacific roster stickers in two seasons?

Teams I thought would not do well but now I think they did: Chivas, DC, Houston, San Jose

I like what Chivas did. People are cracking on them for passing Frei, but maybe they have another keeper in mind. For me, Lahoud is not a slam-dunk, but he should stick around just based on his versatility and athleticism. I liked the trade down to get two additional players for a team that can't keep a full lineup together, and the difference between 19 and 35 in an MLS draft is pretty small. And both later picks interested me - two non-combine players whose production deserved more attention. DC needed to do well, and I think they did. Wallace gives them speed and Pontius gives them heart, both of which are sorely needed on the Lovebugs. Kocic and Adams may never sign, but at least DC made sure to get two pre-signed players first this time, so they are talented and acceptable risks. Houston getting Danny Cruz was fortuitous for both parties. Cruz may have shed more tears at the draft than Rashard Lewis chopping onions, but I bet his being passed over by everyone ends up reflecting worse on them than him. Look, he's 19, did the business at UNLV, and has enough burn to play for the youth nats. History says these sliders usually pan out better than a combine crush. Meanwhile Cruz gets to be the top pick of a team with a good coach and not a lot of depth. The Tracy pick was wise too, because anyone else they wanted they could sign post-draft, while Tracy's rights had to be locked with a pick. San Jose redeemed last year's tomfoolery. I love both picks, and had both players in my first-round. If you squint, the thin and blonde Ring might get you imagining Dario Brose, and I wouldn't be surprised if Amarikwa, six-months in, is giving everything they would have gotten from Sealy, but at a much lower price.

Teams I thought would not do well and didn't disappoint me: Boo, none

2009 MLS Super Draft Wrap Up...

2009-01-16T14:28:00.001-07:00

FCTP 2009 MLS SuperDraft Review

I guess I'm still in the post draft hangover stage of feeling like I typed a little too much yesterday but I also want to get some thoughts down on "paper". Yesterday was a good draft. Not a lot of trades and no real head scratching surprises. I got excited about how my Rapids compensated for a lot of low picks by using a trade and allocation money to shore up the goal keeper position. To do this review I thought I would go back to my points rating post from the other day.

You'll remember I came up with the following ranking of teams draft picks:

Toronto FC
New England Revolution
FC Dallas
D.C. United
Kansas City Wizards
Seattle Sounders FC
Los Angeles Galaxy
Chivas USA
Colorado Rapids
New York Red Bulls
Chicago Fire
& Real Salt Lake
Columbus Crew
& San Jose Earthquakes
Houston Dynamo

Ok, now here comes a change up. You folks didn't get a chance to read what I was working on in this space up to this point, because Ives just published his draft review and it basically negated mine. I'm not going to try and reinvent the wheel. I was trying to do something similar but Ives said it more eloquently and he's more educated on the draftees then I am. So, go read his review and then come back.

Ok, hopefully some of you actually came back. Ives says well what needs to be said. Toronto did very well but we predicted that, didn't we? So let's compare my rankings pre-draft with Ives' rankings post draft. My ranked team on the left, Ives on the right.

Toronto FC - Toronto FC: We matched. My rankings were weighted towards the teams with more first and second round picks and Toronto had the most. Well played by them stacking up all those picks. Now the best prospects need to turn into players for the men up north. There is a high likelyhood that one or more of their picks will wind up playing well for the team. Well drafted TFC.

New England - D.C. United: Looks like NE squandered their picks and DC did better than expected with what they had.

FC Dallas - LA Galaxy: Again, LA did better than I thought they would and FCD did ok.

D.C. United - New York Red Bulls: Can Jeremy Hall fill in for recently traded Dave VDB? I'm not so sure, I actually think Ives has New York a little high on his list...home team bias? Babajide Ogunbiyi is a good prospect but we'll see if he can get onto the field much as a rookie.

Kansas City Wizards - Chicago Fire: I'm not sold on Baggio Husidic. He certainly looks talented but will he be able to come in and make an impact. The Fire don't need him this year with Blanco coming back but still, will he be ready to take charge when Chicago needs him? We'll see. I don't agree with Ives that moving up to #20 gives them a good draft grade. Meanwhile I do like KC's picks more than Ives. Besler was early at 8th overall but maybe someone on the floor was telling KC they were going to take him...who knows. Zusi and DeMartin could look bargains once the season starts.

Seattle Sounders FC - New England: I agree that NE could have done better, I mean they were #2 in my "mathmatical" analysis. I think I was pretty good with Seattle and Ives does give them a B which is the same as New England. We'll call this one a push.

LA Galaxy - FC Dallas: Interesting that these two teams find themselves paired up again, isn't it? Ok, maybe not.

Chivas USA - Seattle Sounders FC: Some people are putting a lot of stock in Michael Lahoud but I am questioning his size. We'll see who's right in the long run. Regardless as Ives points out how do you pass on Frei when you got your taste of a great, young keeper in Brad Guzan. It would have been poetic to see Frei follow in Guzan's footsteps all the way until Frei leaves for Europe and gets a solid allocation out of it. No? Allas, they didn't and right now you're left wondering who from this draft will make an impact for Chivas USA in the future.

Colorado Rapids - Colorado Rapids: Ding, ding, ding...we match. I think Colorado did a good job with what they were working with. For the price of an allocation they get a solid MLS keeper, who is up and coming in the US National picture, to replace apparently want away Bouna Coundol and not as good Preston Burpo. The Rapids found the best way to get a starter in the second round out of the MLS SuperDraft. Good on ya. In the 4th round their PR department enjoyed touting being the first team to have four selections in one round...ok...big deal. They got a bunch of guys who could make the team and who will put pressure on the current Rapids development guys to accept the low ball salary renewal offer because you've got a bunch of young, hungry kids on your heels. Jordan Seabrook turned some heads at the combine so I hope he can turn into an impact rookie for the Rapids. God knows they need someone to step up and start scoring goals.

New York Red Bulls - Kansas City Wizards: Again, New York did better than my analysis predicted but I don't think as well as Ives thinks. Time will tell. Kansas City left us scratching the head with Besler at #8 overall. I'm sure he is going to work to prove us all wrong.

Chicago Fire - San Jose: I agree with Ives that SJ moved up. Just having two picks is tough as my analysis showed putting them at the bottom. Ring and Amarikwa could seem like great pics sometime down the road. Again, Chicago showed either my analysis was bunk or they're crafty because I agree they did better than this ranking showed they could. Good job.

Real Salt Lake - Chivas USA: Did Salt Lake just pull another Bessagno draft? Time will tell if Jean Alexandre was worth the high pick. Ives doesn't think so as he put RSL to the bottom...frankly where they belong. Chivas USA dropped in my analysis as discussed by Ives.

Columbus Crew - Houston: As Ives points out Houston didn't "need" a lot from this draft and they took one guy with a lot of talent on paper who won't count against the salary cap. Then they took a flier on the best name in the draft pool who just signed a European contract today, Marcus Tracey. Now, in the off chance that Tracey doesn't like Europe and wants to come home, Houston will own his rights for two years. We'll see if that happens. Columbus didn't have a lot of chances to impress in this draft and as Ives points out, they lived up to my ranking...or worse.

San Jose - Columbus Crew: San Jose did better, Crew did worse...kind of.

Houston - RSL: Houston did as expected...RSL did worse. And I love to see RSL do poorly at anything.

So there we have it folks. Another draft gone by. I love the draft because we get to see some kids come up through the ranks and then land with teams. I also love it because it means training camp is right around the corner. Players are reporting for duty here in Colorado in 10 days is memory serves. I'll be out at Dick's Sporting Goods Park by late March. Thank god.

Rivers Cuomo, Soccer Lover...

2009-01-16T09:07:00.003-07:00

This video was posted on another blog this morning but I wanted to call special attention to it for a couple reasons. 1) I like the band Weezer, 2) because I relate to the feelings he talks about and I bet you do to. I mean how many of us grew up wanting to be good at soccer and to play professionally or dream of taking the field with professional soccer players? And here is a internationally known musician having the same feelings. Cool!

Take a watch over on YouTube via the above link as embedding was disabled. It is a cool story. Rivers, next you need to get some Bumpy Pitch gear for the road.

Colorado Rapids Youth Team Headed To International Tourney...

2009-01-15T17:25:00.005-07:00

I am a little typed out but I thought this was news worthy. The Colorado Rapids are sending one of their youth teams to complete in the Clyde Best Tournamenthttp://www.bermudasun.bm/main.asp?SectionID=8&SubSectionID=203&ArticleID=40091&TM=55811.67 in Bermuda next month. This is the kind of development MLS clubs need to participate in. Young soccer players from Colorado will be facing off against top French club Sochaux and two Bermuda national teams in the u-15 age group. Competing against teams from around the world in this way will expose the young Rapids to different styles of play and difficult opposition. In the long run these types of events will help MLS develop top players. Well done Rapids, well done accepting the invite and sending the kids.

While we just wrapped up the MLS Draft, this kind of development will someday help improve college players and MLS players.

2009 MLS SuperDraft Live Tracking...

2009-01-15T11:45:00.051-07:00

Folks, here is how we're going to work this today. This will be the live thread. I'll update it as information comes across the wires running under my desk. You can follow along live on ESPN360 and via all the other blogs out there. In particular I'm going to give you my thoughts and the honors I've tracked for these kids. Nerves must be high in St. Louis right now. We're 15 minutes away from go time. Remember to refresh, refresh, refresh...

all times Mountain time by my computer clock.

12:03 pm - Is anyone getting anything on ESPN360?

12:07 pm - Steve Zakuani #1 overall as many expected. He grew up in London playing with the Arsenal youth squads. Had a strong college career. Is rumored to have signed the largest Generation Adidas contract in the history of MLS. Honors: 2007 CSN All-Freshman Team, 2007 MAC Newcomer of the Year, 2007 1st Team All MAC, 2008 CSN POTW, 2008 Hermann Trophy Watch List, 2008 Hermann Trophy Semifinalist, 2008 Hermann Trophy Finalists, 2008 NSCAA/adidas Men's All-America 1st Team.

12:11 pm - Toronto FC takes Sam Cronin with the #2 pick. I guess they didn't want to wheel and deal the way people thought. Honors: 2003 NSCAA Youth adidas All-American, 2003 - 2004 ESP, 2007 TDS 3rd Team TOS, 2007 NSCAA/adidas All-America 2nd Team, 2008 CSN 1st Team Pre-Season All-American, 2008 ESPN.com Preseason All-American Starting XI, 2008 Hermann Trophy Watch List, 2008 All-ACC 1st Team, 2008 Hermann Trophy Semifinalist, 2008 Hermann Trophy Finalists, 2008 NSCAA/adidas Men's All-America 1st Team

I think LA will take Frei. They need help in the nets.

12:12 - Ohh yeah, I now have ESPN360 up and running after restarting it. Nice.

12:15 - Oops, forgot about Ricketts the keeper they just signed. LA takes...Omar Gonzalez. He's a tall one. Honors: 2005 FIFA U-17 WC Team, 2005 NSCAA/adidas Boys Youth All-America Team, 2006 PARADE All-America, 2006 US U-20, 2006 CSN 100 Freshman to Watch, 2006 SA Freshman of the year 2nd team, 2007 U-18 Pan Am Games, 2007 TDS 1st Team TOS, 2007 NSCAA/adidas All-America 3rd Team, 2008 CSN 1st Team Pre-Season All-American, 2008 ESPN.com Preseason All-American Starting XI, 2008 Hermann Trophy Watch List, 2008 All-ACC 1st Team, 2008 Hermann Trophy Semifinalist, 2008 NSCAA/adidas Men's All-America 1st Team

12:19 - Let's check in on my mock draft. I've got two out of three right in that they went in the first round. I had who, when, wrong. Ohh well. Better than Emile's 1/3.

12:20 - Toronto takes....UConn's O'Brien White. Well, this is the Canadian angle many saw coming but I've got to say I would think he'd be on the board a lot longer. Does Mo not care about their next first round pick because I think he would have been able to get him then. Who knows if another team would have taken a risk on him. Seems like Mo could be dealing the next one if he didn't wait for White in the #13 slot. Honors: U-15, U-17 and U-20 Jamaica, 2005 1st All-Freshman Team, 2006 Big East All-Conference, 2007 CSN POTW, 2007 CSN Playmaker, 2007 TDS 1st Team TOS, 2007 NSCAA/adidas All-America 1st Team, 2007 CSN 1st Team All-American, 2007 SA POTY, 2008 CSN 1st Team Pre-Season All-American, 2008 ESPN.com Preseason All-American Starting XI, 2008 Hermann Trophy Watch List, 2008 Hermann Trophy Semifinalist, 2008 NSCAA/adidas Men's All-America 3rd Team.

12:24 - Got this one right. FC Dallas takes Peri Marosevic. Go Blue!!! Honors: 2004 - 2006 US U-17 Residency, US U-17 & U-18 Team Member, 2005 ESP, 2005 NSCAA/adidas Boys Youth All-America Team, 2006 CSN 100 Freshman to Watch, 2006 CSN 2nd All-Freshman Team, 2007 US U-18, 2007 U-18 Pan Am Games, 2008 US U-20, 2008 Big Ten All-Conference 1st Team.

12:29 - DC United takes Rodney Wallace with the 6th pick overall. A quick, young defender from Maryland. Solid choice and I hope he works out for the Red and Black. Honors: 2004 ESP, 2007 CSN 100 Freshman to Watch, 2007 TDS All-Rookie 1st Team, 2008 All-ACC 2nd Team.

12:31 - As in previous years Generation Adidas kids are going quickly.

12:34 - 5 minute time out for DC United...there must be a trade on the table because there is no way they need an extension when they have back to back picks. Trade, trade, trade!

12:37 - DC United...is picking someone? Chris Pontius, F, goes to DC. Good pick up, but why did they need the time out? Honors: 2007 CSN POTW, 2008 CSN 3rd Team Pre-Season All-American, 2008 Hermann Trophy Watch List, 2008 Hermann Trophy Semifinalist, 2008 NSCAA/adidas Men's All-America 3rd Team.

12:38 - Pontius is making an acceptance speech? At #7. Hugh?

12:42 - KC Wiz takes Matt Besler, D/M. Honors: 2004 ESP All*Star, 2008 CSN 2nd Team Pre-Season All-American, 2008 NSCAA/adidas Men's All-America 1st Team. Another acceptance speech.

12:44 - That last pick is the first I really blew in the mock draft. I had Matt at the bottom of the second round. Congrats to the senior defender from Notre Dame on moving into the first round. He is a Kansas City kid so looks like a solid pick from that angle.

12:46 - Wait, did anyone else notice the kid they just showed in a SuperDraft shirt and standing with a Chivas USA scarf was previously shown holding a DC United scarf? WTF?

Chivas USA picks Michael Lahoud. M/F from Wake Forest. Honors: 2008 All-ACC 2nd Team.

12:51 - New England goes for Kevin Alston. He slipped from where I thought he would go but I'm expecting some good things from him. I think he has a solid pedigree and a lot of skill. Nicol made a great pick here I think. Honors: 2004 ESP, 2005 FIFA U-17 WC Team, 2005 NSCAA/adidas Boys Youth All-America Team, 2005 Parade All American, 2006 CSN 100 Freshman to Watch, 2007 U-18 Pan Am Games, 2008 Big Ten All-Conference 1st Team.

12:55 - #11 sees Jeremy Hall go to NYC. This could be an exciting pick for them. Knows how to score and play the ball. Harks makes an interesting point...another outside midfielder for NY? I guess they could see him as a replacement for Dave VDB who just went to Dallas but those are big shoes to fill for a rookie. Honors: 2003 - 2005 US U-17 Residency, 2004 ESP, 2005 FIFA U-17 WC Team, 2005 NSCAA/adidas Boys Youth All-America Team, 2006 PARADE All-America, 2006 CSN 100 Freshman to Watch, 2006 ACC Freshman OTY, 2006 CSN 1st All-Freshman Team, 2006 SA Freshman of the year 1st team, 2007 U-18 Pan Am Games, 2008 All-ACC 1st Team.

1:00 - RSL goes for who? Jean Alexandre...Lynn University....Didn't have him on my list. Ohh well, he's going to RSL. I guess he's from Haiti.

1:04 - Wow guys, how do you really feel about Mexico?

1:05 - #13 for Toronto FC picks the MVP from the combine, Stefan Frei. Well there you go. I got the player right, just the wrong round. I think Toronto has just had a very successful first round. Honors: 2007 NSCAA/adidas All-America 1st Team, 2008 CSN 2nd Team Pre-Season All-American, 2008 Hermann Trophy Watch List.

1:09 - #14 pick for FCD - George John from University of Washington. Honors: 2008 Hermann Trophy Watch List. I heard from an MLS insider that John is his dark horse pick for 2009. He was right in that no one expected him in the first round. I had him at the start of the second.

1:13 - Twellman says he's coming back to NE this season, he wants to see a good pick. What if he gets traded right now? Hah. That would be a funny one.

1:15 - NE takes Ryan Maxwell, M from Tampa. I guess Taylor will stay in NE another season. Last pick of the first round.

1:18 - My Rapids are coming up in this next round, five more picks. Let's think about who they could select that I'd like to see in Denver in 2009....personally I think a forward is an important piece for the Rapids. But a solid defender would be nice as well. Mike Grella would be nice if you can sign him. He says he wants to go abroad. Since this is their only pick for awhile lets skip him. Jordan Seabrook did some good work to impress at the combine. Those are a couple forwards. How about Michael Holody on the defensive side...or perhaps Yohance Marshall. We'll see soon enough.

ESPN360 is gone....my posting will be slower in the second round.

1:24 - Did you all notice no trades in the first round. WTF? Anyone want to research when the last time that didn't happen. Does that mean Mo isn't Mr. Trade now?

1:39 - #16 Seattle - Evan Brown, #17 San Jose - Brad Ring & #18 New York - Babajide Ogunbiyi. New York is collecting a team of names. Look at their roster with Babajide Ogunbiyi. All noise before the Rapids first pick.

1:41 - Without my ESPN360 feed I nearly missed a trade. Chivas USA's #19 pick to LA?

1:44 - AJ DeLaGarza to LA after the trade. I like this guy. A lot of people think he's too small to be in MLS as a defender but what they're forgetting is how often players are converted in MLS. Perhaps he can help on the outside of defense or in midfield. We'll see what LA does with him, but I think it is a good pick. He was solid for Maryland on the road to the 2009 championship.

Now the RAPIDS are on the clock. First big move of Coach Smith's career.

1:47 - Rapids trade their pick to Chicago who takes Baggio Husidic. Now is when we'll see if that new Rapids blog is at all useful.

1:49 - There you go. The Rapids Undercurrent has some useful information on the trade: "Colorado has swapped second round picks with Chicago in a deal that nets the Rapids the rights to a player to be named later. Now Colorado will make their first pick of the day at #28." Well done Undercurrent.

Player to be named later...hmmmm.......Brian McBride? Doubt it! Must be a lower level guy who is worth trading up 8 slots for.....want away Wilman Conde? Calen Carr for a little sizzle on the front line?

1:59 - No sign of the Chicago player headed to Colorado. I'm working a couple lines. There could also be allocation money going on of the directions.

2:07 - Rapids Undercurrent now saying allocation money is in fact going to Chicago in the deal. That makes me think the Rapids are getting a bigger name like Conde...however word just in is that Colorado traded for Matt Pickens' rights because Bouna isn't re-signing.

2:11 - Colorado is almost back on the clock. Can we snag an attacker this time around?

2:14 - FCD takes F Brian Shriver from UNC. I like that pick. Rapids are on the clock.

2:18 - Still no confirmation on the trade as we await the next Rapids pick.

2:20 - Rapids take Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe, M/F from George Mason University.

2:24 - End of the second round. We saw our first trades this round, and I'm still trying to figure out what happened with the Rapids and the trade with Chicago. We know Colorado moved down and got a player, but who? We know some size of allocation money went to Chicago. Stay tuned.

2:35 - Just noticed the Rapids now have 1 pick in the third round, #37. They traded #35. MLSnet.com says it is now with Chivas USA via LA.

2:46 - Toronto take Mike Grella with the 34th pick. Good move by Toronto. They've filled their plate with young players who should contribute in the next couple years...now if Grella can't sign in Europe he'll come back to them too. Low risk move with what they've already accomplished today.

2:50 - Ives and I agree. Jordan Seabrook is the best talent still on the board. Here's hoping he doesn't get picked by DC before the Rapids can take him.

2:56 - Rapids take Steward Ceus, GK, with the 37th pick. I guess the Rapids aren't too keen on keeping Justin Hughes around. Honors: 2008 NSCAA/adidas Men's All-America 3rd Team. Huge kid at 6' 6", 215 lbs. Interestingly he went to Albany. Isn't that where Bounatime went to college? Between this and the Pickens rumor I think Bounatime is over in Denver.

3:06 - Ives is confirming what we reported here an hour ago.

3:07 - The Rapids trading for Matt Pickens and then selecting a solid prospect in Steward Ceus
shows coach Smith is starting over at keeper. Preston Burpo was part of the Clavijo team and had his ups and downs while Bouna was out of country. When Bouna returned Smith didn't play him right away. Perhaps there was a rift. Bouna was allegedly offered a six figure contract renewal by the Rapids but it now looks official that he isn't signing it, instead he'll probably listen to his agent and try Europe. It makes sense as his family is still in Senegal. So what will happen with Preston Burpo and Sharpe the league keeper who trains with the Rapids?

3:26 - The Rapids take Ross Schunk, F, University of Redlands (OR) with the 47th pick. He's got good size but is going to be a long shot to make the team.

3:36 - In what could be the steal of the draft the Rapids pick Jordan Seabrook, F from S Florida.

Honors: 2004 ESP All*Star, 2005 1st All-Freshman Team

3:42 - six picks to go. Rapids have one more after taking Henry Kalungi with the 53rd pick. Time to start working on the draft recap...

3:58 - Rapids finish their draft on a solid note. Michael Holody. D from Michigan, Go Blue!!!! Good expereince in the PDL and solid size at 6' 3", 200 lbs. Honors: 2003 - 2004 ESP, 2006 PDL TOTW (2), 2008 Big Ten All-Conference 1st Team, 2008 NSCAA/adidas Men's All-America 3rd Team

Chris Clements is the last pick. That is it. I'll come up with some kind of wrap up tomorrow. What do you think of the draft today?

Thanks for following along.

Emile's 2009 Mock Draft - The MLS Draft, So Out, It's In Again

2009-01-15T10:09:00.004-07:00

After last year's draft, I felt fairly confident that it would be my last one to follow closely. The draft is increasingly being seen as a relic, and even though (or maybe because) MLS teams do a better scouting job, by and large, than they used to, the results felt uninspired and the players made little impact on the field. Was it a one-year downturn blip? I guess we'll find out, but I'm of the mind that the draft remains no more or less important than it ever has been. Which is probably not all that much. Teams like Dallas, that treated the draft as a serious swap meet haven't gotten much from their efforts, and teams like Houston that don't bother much have remained strong. Clearly, the key is to have a strong and consistent organizational philosophy and no amount of hot picks will fix your problems if you don't.

I expect that we will see more and more of the impact young American players being kids returning from those European handbag leagues I've heard so much of. For MLS, this is not a bad outcome, since they can get players who are just old and wizened enough to contribute immediately. And supposedly we'll start to see more of the teenage set getting scooped up from MLS academies before they ever get to attend the debauched bacchanal that could possibly be the NSCAA Conference where the draft is held. But college will keep supplying the meat and potatoes, the organizational soldiers who will fill out the squad's unglamorous positions and get their shots in the US Open Cup, and become stars every now and then.

The draft reeled me back in. It always reels me in. However, I didn't spend as much time this year thinking about it and collecting information as I have in the past. My picks may reflect that. Although guessing this thing has always been a wild crapshoot anyway, so I don't expect it to be any more or less embarassing than usual. But I feel happy today that this yearly ritual is back, while I freeze my tuchus off in the frozen Midwest and ignore my job.

To me, being bothered or angrily apathetic about the MLS draft is like hating duckings, or younglings. It's a fun exercise that tells us a little about the braintrusts of each team, and gives us sweet MLS fantasies in the middle of the winter when everybody else in the world is stuck watching whatever passes for actual football in their corner of the world. The draft is a riot of rumors, obscure colleges, and funny names. Players with amusing backstories who will never be heard from again. I know everyone is in a hurry to get MLS up to world-wide snuff, so that the most interesting stories we get are a star midfielder punching a Pakistani kid in the throat at a nightclub, or a star forward giving it to some dumb model who isn't the same dumb model he's married to. But my friends, these are the shabby chic days of MLS, and the draft is the shabbiest, chicest day of the year. So enjoy it, and when Dan Loney reviews it five years from now, take it all in with a fond, nostalgic laugh.

Rather than format this one pick at a time in order, I think it's more instructive to think of it in terms of what each team wants to do, and who will be doing it. My analysis for each team may be way off, so feel free to imagine your own ideas in their place.

Chicago Fire
Drafting Personality - Smart, Stupid, Predictably Unpredictable
2008 Draft Represented By - Stephen King, Melford James Jr.
2009 Predicted Picks:
28. Doug DeMartin 6-0 F/M Michigan State Mason, Michigan
43. Kevon Neaves 6-0 175 M South Florida Petit Valley, Trinidad & Tobago
52. Ryan Roushandel 6-2 188 D/M Central Florida Atlanta, Georgia
58. Ancil Farrier D Southern Connecticut State Los Bajos, Trinidad & Tobago

I always love to watch the Fire work the draft. Somebody on that staff (I'm guessing Daryl Shore) really tries to dig deep into college soccer's welcoming folds to find lost crumbs. Every year, the Fire braintrust makes one or two just hair-raising, inexplicable picks - and then redeems themselves by unearthing one or two serious contributors later than they ever should have been able. In bad years, the Fire hilariously blow an early pick and in good years they save their wacky stuff for the second or third round. Their 2008 efforts will take time to evaluate, but it was a fairly safe and sedate draft until the Supplementary Draft (when they picked James and Tim Conway). I think Nyarko will pan out into something, and King was a smart, late-round grab of an overlooked and productive college talent, even if they did lose him to Seattle right away. The first-round will be a little drabber than usual without Chicago.

My favorite fact about DeMartin is that he played his college ball at the DeMartin Soccer Stadium in East Lansing. It's named after his aunt and uncle and not him, but you'd have to feel pretty bossy about it. He's a productive college scorer with good size, who might be able to play a midfield position in MLS. Neaves could be one of Chicago's late-round sleeper picks. He's solidly built and has played for T&T at the senior level, but never quite reached his potential at USF. It was reported that an injury forced him to decline a combine invite. Roushandel moved back to defense this year, and did well in an otherwise mediocre season for the Knights. The former Clemson recruit could be nice long-term project for the back line. Farrier is another T&T full international. He had a subpar senior season, but it probably talented enough to be worth a look.

Chivas USA
Drafting Personality - Barren, Grouchy
2008 Draft Represented By - Keith Savage
2009 Predicted Picks:
09. Graciano Brito 6-2 175 F Quinnipiac San Nicolau, Cape Verde
19. Daniel Cruz 5-8 F/M UNLV Glendale, Arizona

Chivas indicates their concern for the draft by never having any picks, then resorting to hiring cabbies halfway through the year to play in their midfield. To their credit, it doesn't stop them from making the playoffs. Savage was their only pick last year, so this year's bounty of two picks (in the top 20 no less) is a rare treat for the occasional Goats fan.

This Brito selection will probably make me look bad, but I don't see Chivas USA as a team to follow convention. Brito is tall and lanky, and a good athlete, who could make a good understudy for Galindo. I haven't seen his story around the blogs lately, but, according to a feature by Paul Kennedy in SoccerAmerica, Brito had not played any organized soccer until he went to college at age 18, having been a star volleyball and basketball player in Cape Verde. He seems to be a smart, level-headed guy, and he may have more room to improve than most. Cruz would be a nice second-round prize. He's probably a ways off from contributing, but Chivas can use some new faces on the wings, just like - well - every other team.

Colorado Rapids
Drafting Personality - Mysterious, Nut-Punching
2008 Draft Represented By - Ciaran O'Brien
2009 Predicted Picks:
20. O'Brian White 6-1 175 F Connecticut Scarborough, Ontario
37. Kyle Patterson 5-9 160 M Saint Louis Birmingham, England
47. Michael Callahan 5-9 150 D/M North Carolina Cary, North Carolina
51. Lamar Neagle 5-11 UNLV F/M Federal Way, Washington
53. Patrick Figueiredo 6-0 M Adelphi Campinas, Brazil
59. Tyler Barry 6-0 165 D California Mission Viejo, California

Alright, nut-punching is not really a drafting personality. The Rapids actually have a pretty solid recent history with the draft, although it hasn't helped them in the standings much. The nut-punching comes from the assorted anti-fan decisions coming from something called a "Jeff Plush". I think it's some sort of haunted doll. The mystery, meanwhile, is supposed to have finally left the building. Under John Murphy's reported high-level scouting and Fernando Clavijo's documented lunatic coaching, the Rapids had some pretty mixed results - unearthing oddball contributors like Kosuke Kimura and banishing other high picks to Clavijo's revolving, high-density doghouse. Take O'Brien. In classic Rapids fashion, he played in the season opener, got a red card in 19 minutes and was never heard from again. The new gaffer is supposedly an improvement, and if Paul Bravo had as much to do with LA's draft as I think he probably did, then Colorado should be pretty well covered on the scouting end. So maybe things will be looking up, perhaps with more of a West Coast angle on prospects than in the last few years.

White is a real wild-card in this draft. For a second-round pick, he seems like a good gamble, and, while Colorado's offense was not the glaring chasm of a problem it was a few years ago, depth never hurts. Others have Patterson much higher, but I'm not sold. He obviously fared well at Saint Louis, but neither he nor the team did so well that I buy him as more than a mid-round roster striver at right wing. Callahan didn't get a combine invite, but he was a four-year starter at UNC. He's undersized, but plucky and defensively versatile. Neagle played well when UNLV was crap, and kept playing well when they got good. He had 27 goals in his career, but I'm not sure he can play in the midfield and late round forwards are dicey. We're due for another MLS player from Adelphi, and it also seems that at least one Brazilian gets drafted every year, so let's go with Figueiredo. He dominated the Atlantic Soccer Conference, for whatever that's worth. Barry would be a defensive long-shot, but Cal guys always seem to get picked, don't they?

Columbus Crew
Drafting Personality - Deservedly Smug I'd Expect, Unstressed
2008 Draft Represented By - Andy Iro
2009 Predicted Picks:
30. Darrius Barnes 6-2 175 D Duke Raleigh, North Carolina
45. Graham Zusi 5-10 155 F/M Maryland Longwood, Florida
60. Craig Henderson 5-10 155 M Dartmouth Wellington, New Zealand

They have to be pretty relaxed in the Arch City. After somehow keeping Chad Marshall, this young and deep team hardly has any holes to fill and at least has the whiff of a new league multi-year top dog. Sure, Sigi took his common-law midfielder Brad Evans with him to Seattle, but Adam Moffat will be back from injury and Emmanuel Ekpo seems ready to become something special. Iro was a top pick, but was hardly needed, and is still high-quality surplus for now. Warzycha and Co. really just have to resist the urge to do something crazy. In the long run, they need to avoid becoming complacent or believing that they are the 39th incarnation of the Benevolent Sky Giant or whatever. Teams with sustained success always get too heady and start drafting like drunk Ellingers. It doesn't matter what league or what sport. The Crew need to just stay the course, be cool, and try and get one or two players who can cover for injuries and maybe take a role in a few years when the European cleat pimps come for real.

Barnes reportedly did well at the combine, and he has just enough athleticism to play outside at his size. If anything, it looks like the Crew need depth at the outside back positions. Although he played a key role in last month's Maryland title run, Zusi was not really a star player until this season. On a team like Maryland, you can just rise to national prominence as a senior and get picked, but in my opinion it keeps you out of the first round for sure. I miss the good old days of MLS, when you make a visit to Crew Stadium without a New Zealander bloodying your sock. Henderson has been stellar in the Ivy, which is no joke, and played for the Kiwis in the Beijing Olympics.

FC Dallas
Drafting Personality - Soul Devouring, Enigmatic
2008 Draft Represented By - Josh Lambo, Brek Shea
2009 Predicted Picks:
05. Sam Cronin 5-10 165 M Wake Forest Winston-Salem, North Carolina
14. Peri Marosevic 5-9 160 F/M Michigan Rockford, Illinois
27. Calum Angus 6-0 168 D Saint Louis Portsmouth, England

Am I the only person who fears Schellas Hyndman? When I try to think of what he looks like, all I ever come up with is Max Schreck's Nosferatu, although I don't think there is really all that much of a resemblance. I'm interested to see what Dallas is up to, given that the last regime had a very particular approach to the draft. Which was wheel, deal, mass picks, seek value, and, above all, draft kids like Shea and Lambo. Draft kids until you can't draft any more because they've eaten all of Steve Morrow's Cocoa Krispies. I always liked their approach - it seemed highly-planned and daring all at once. Unfortunately, it took too long for the kids not named Blake Wagner to turn into something, and so the regime got disbanded when they produced a soggy, bitter mess of over-hyped internationals backed up by naifs. You'd think that Hyndman would relish some good old-fashioned, stalwart college player selection, but their moves and rumors indicate that this regime might not be predictable.

If Hyndman does decide to look for more mature players, having Cronin available at #5 would be ideal, especially since Adrian Serioux is rumored on the block and Ricchetti always seems about to leave. Marosevic would not replace Oduro's speed, but Dallas seems to have openings for all types of depth forwards this year. It's just too easy to put a guy named Angus on the team with a cow badge, but it was unintentional, I swear. Dallas will no doubt deal with it's defensive issues through international acquisitions, but Angus might be able to stick and would be reasonable value at this pick, based on his college production.

DC United
Drafting Personality - Hopeless, Cavalier
2008 Draft Represented By - Andrew Jacobson
2009 Predicted Picks:
06. Michael Lahoud 5-8 140 M/D/F Wake Forest Annandale, Virginia
07. Kevin Alston 5-8 150 D Indiana Silver Spring, Maryland
21. Milos Kocic 6-4 200 G Loyola-Maryland Leskovac, Serbia
26. Jide Ogunbiyi 6-4 205 D Santa Clara Gwynedd, Pennsylvania
36. Bright Dike 6-1 195 F Notre Dame Edmond, Oklahoma

Watching Tom Soehn sad-sack his way through this sad-sack team's sad-sack season was, well, sad. DC thought they could just go the full international, forget about putting a team together, and just stick a bunch of South Americans everywhere. And so they ended up with a depressing Latin fusion, lacking grit and speed (but with an imaginative goalkeeper at least). Emulating Los Angeles should never be a goal. This draft is probably as important to DC as any team. With four picks in the first two rounds, they would be helped greatly by getting at least two contributors who can breathe some life into this corpse this season. To this end, they should take care to not have all of their best picks sign in Europe, like Jacobson last year, so Generation Adidas players may be a smart way to go.

Lahoud and Alston would comply with DC's needs of a little youngblood and vigor in the midfield and defense. Both guys are local, which DC surely wouldn't mind, but would they use both of these important selections on such little guys? We'll make it up with more size later. Kocic might be tempted to stick around in the US if he can stay in the Metro, or he could be just another who got away. Ogunbiyi is a hulking presence with enough foot skills to have played forward in college, but big center backs have not been faring well out of college lately. Yeah, yeah, Bright Dike is a wacky name - we went over this years ago in the BigSoccer college forum, so don't think you're funny. Dike didn't do much at Notre Dame until a big senior season this year, but he has the sort of size/athleticism combination that gets scouts thinking about the possibilities.

Houston Dynamo
Drafting Personality - Petulant, Bored
2008 Draft Represented By - Geoff Cameron
2009 Predicted Picks:
41. Zack Simmons 6-2 185 G Massachussets Durham, New Hampshire
56. Jean Alexandre 5-11 190 F Lynn Delray Beach, Florida

Houston gives the impression that they really don't care much about the draft. They trade their picks, make strange picks, and fail to address glaring positional needs that are NOT going to be fixed by aging Scotsmen from crappy Scottish teams. Yet, it keeps working for Houston. They've developed a strong organization that can take unheralded picks like Corey Ashe and Cameron, and make use of them. It doesn't always work - for example will John-Michael Hayden ever be let out of the Sugar Land porn dungeon they've apparently been keeping him locked in (zero first-team minutes in two seasons for a first-round pick is ridiculous)? Yet, Houston seems to be inching towards a large-scale rebuild, and you'd think at some point, they're going to need to keep a few picks and find a few players who can reset the dynastic form they've enjoyed for the past several years. I like the Julius James addition, but they don't really have any more MLS MVP's to trade, so they'd be helped by a more voluminous draft one of these years.

The Dynamo's inattention to the goalkeeping seems like lunacy. They still have a single netminder on the roster - one who just turned 41. Even if Onstad is the Peter Shilton of Point Grey, a developmental backup would certainly be useful. I'll send them Simmons here, the darling of UMass' crazy NCAA run in 2007. More likely the pick will be a player from the combine (because I don't think Houston does very deep scouting), like Steward Ceus. Or perhaps more likely, no goalkeeper at all. Houston's forward depth is at a low ebb right now. Even if Ngwenya comes back, they'll need more there, so they take Alexandre here, the bulldog Hatian-American who had 23 D-2 goals this season.

Kansas City Wizards
Drafting Personality - Jocular, Competent but let's not go crazy with praise or anything
2008 Draft Represented By - Chance Myers
2009 Predicted Picks:
08. Baggio Husidic 6-1 173 M Illinois-Chicago Velika Kladusa, Bosnia
22. Akeem Priestley 5-11 165 M Connecticut Kingston, Jamaica
23. Joshua Boateng 5-9 160 F/M Liberty Accra, Ghana
42. David Hertel 5-10 D Michigan State Holland, Michigan
50. Alfonso Motagalvan 5-10 175 M UC Santa Barbara Gilroy, California

Peter Vermes and Curt Onalfo have an air of competency about them. The Wizards go into the draft, make a few solid moves here and there, make fairly straightforward picks for the most part. They just seem like they have a plan in mind. Apparently that plan is to be genially mediocre until the end of time. Can anyone hate this team? You never see them on TV, they seem to just chug along merrily at about .500 never pissing anyone off. Well, there was l'affaire Kevin Souter, but I don't see it being the basis of a John LeCarre novel any time soon. Chance Myers fits in with the Wizards pathology. Seems like a good kid, right? Might develop into a solid piece, right? Meh, so boring!

Husidic seems to be a guy that nobody can quite get comfortable with. Perhaps they are reminded of Xavier Balc, or other central players that couldn't get or take the chance to make an MLS midfield. Traditionally, college pans out wings and defenders. The trail of failed strikers and central midfielders will soon be made into a constellation. But Husidic has plenty of admirers, and he certainly had an impact at UIC. Kerry Zavagnin has hung up his legendary boots - is there enough bite in Husidic's game to play defensive midfield for the Missouri Azzuri? Remember that KC pioneered the whole Bosnians in MLS thing, or have you forgotten Refik Sabanadzovic already? Priestley is another central midfield prospect who has been capped by Jamaica and quickly acclimated to the Big East after transferring from Jacksonville in 2006. Boateng should be going to the Chicago Fire, who seem to think they have territorial rights on Jerry's Kids from Liberty. I say KC nabs him before the Fire get a chance, given that African attackers are the MLS hip thing, and throws him up top or on the wing. Boateng had a great season with Patrick Nyarko at Virginia Tech in 2005 before transferring. This gives KC three international players in a row, but the new roster rules don't make this so problematic anymore. Hertel wowed everyone at the combine, and even though everybody says the combine doesn't tell you anything, they obviously really think it does. Hertel was first-team Big 10 this year, so he's no stretch at this pick. Motagalvan had two very good seasons at UCSB. What I really like about him is that he lists Chivas USA as one of his favorite clubs, making him the rare college player to admit liking MLS. And even rarer as a human being claiming to be a Chivas USA fan.

Los Angeles Galaxy
Drafting Personality - Busy proving that good drafting is wasted if your team is a three-ring circus, Assholish
2008 Draft Represented By - Sean Franklin, Brandon McDonald
2009 Predicted Picks:
03. Stefan Frei 6-3 200 G California Widnau, Switzerland
33. Jamie Franks 5-8 150 M Wake Forest Medford, New Jersey
35. Maxwell Griffin 6-0 175 F UCLA Palmdale, California
48. Matt Besler 6-0 170 D Notre Dame Overland Park, Kansas
49. Andrew Bailey 6-0 150 F/M Sonoma State Davis, California

We'll have to see if Bruce Arena's malevolent smirk can answer all of the questions surrounding this side. You'd like to think the answer is yes, but after his fairly dismal stint in New York, I'm not so confident. Now that New York has tasted some success, is Los Angeles poised to become the league's semi-permanent Rotmasters (if I may steal the term from irritable geriatric Paul Gardner), with a series of unprepared celebrity coaches and disinterested Eurostars? This is not a drill. This is happening and Bruce needs to squash it quick before the culture of losing overwhelms. Paul Bravo headed up a great draft last year, so they have a few nice young pieces. Franklin will only get better and McDonald is perhaps the most interesting developmental project from 2008. I don't really remember Arena's drafting style to be honest, other than taking everyone from Virginia and any flesh and blood that might be available. Bill Archer reminded us that he left New York with Dane Richards and Sinisa Ubiparipovic, so that's a good portent, even if those were just basic, smart picks of highly productive college players. Often though, that is all you need.

I know some will say Frei doesn't make sense, given the Galaxy's multiple field needs and the recent signing of Donovan Ricketts. But LA is a team that will always be able to find interested internationals to fill the most pressing problems, salary cap willing. Making Frei win the starting job over a veteran might be a good motivator, although I guess Brad Guzan managed with being thrown straight into the firing line. Franks is the forgotten member of Wake, a 3.5 year starter who didn't get to the combine. He's small, but piled up assists and hails from New Jersey. Did you know Bruce Arena is also from New Jersey? And that Brian Ching is from Hawaii? Griffin, the brother of current Galaxy player Leonard Griffin, never really improved his numbers over the years but finished his Bruins career with 25 goals. Besler didn't show much attacking verve from his center back position at Notre Dame and lacks ideal size for the position, but he scooped up a lot of conference and national honors. The lanky Bailey had his lowest career goalscoring season as a senior, but showed enough over his career to be worth a look.

New England
Drafting Personality - Bespectacled, Trend-Setting
2008 Draft Represented By - Rob Valentino
2009 Predicted Picks:
10. Brad Ring 5-10 165 M Indiana Rockford, Illinois
15. Quincy Amarikwa 5-9 160 F/M UC Davis Bakersfield, California
24. Mike Grella 5-11 170 F Duke Glen Cove, New York
25. Trevor Banks 5-9 160 D/M Old Dominon Madison, Wisconsin
38. Yohance Marshall 6-2 170 D South Florida Malabar Arima, Trinidad & Tobago
55. Tyrel Lacey 6-3 197 G Tulsa Jenks, Oklahoma

After spending a few years trying to convince everyone that Nicol and Mariner were not an infallible drafting juggernaut (remember Leandro de Oliveira, or what?), I've come back around to regarding them warmly. When they started heisting all sorts of good players early in their reign, it was mainly sitting at the bottom of the aquarium awaiting for some teams to fight over their stupid picks and letting the tastiest flakes just fall to them down in the treasure chest. Yeah, Clint Dempsey was not an unknown in that draft people. Then, after blowing a draft, they tried taking Wake Forest players before it became this year's fashion. Last year, it was Duke. Look, taking a lot of players from the inarguably best conference in America is never going to be a bad move. What I'm liking now is that they seem to be maintaining their simple plan of taking the best players available, but adding some scouting nuance. The Valentino pick impressed me, because he's from the West Coast and had missed his senior season. It showed they were paying attention, which is all I ask of anyone. We don't know how Valentino will work out yet, but I'll always think it was a smart pick. Good thing they draft well too, since the Revs are determined to never bother putting together a complete team or spending any money on helpful players from foreign lands. Maybe this 24 man roster will be to their benefit, since they usually only had 24 anyway. Or maybe they'll try to go with 18 players. They have a lot of picks this year, and they need to be good ones, because the attrition of having been a cheap-ass franchise for so long is starting to glaringly show and is only going to get worse.

Ring has a very solid record of success at Indiana, and a nice bite to his game. I think he can rival Sam Cronin as a holding mid prospect, and it's a shame he had to miss the combine. I like Amarikwa more than most. It's hard to undersell how much UC Davis accomplished in becoming a high-level team after just five seasons in Division I. Amarikwa has improved every year and appears to have the sort of feisty nature that the Revs can use up top. Grella hasn't signed overseas yet, that I know of, and the Revs have enough picks that they can wait and see if he gets homesick in the next few years. He's probably not an MLS star, but another guy who can make a team and be especially useful for a low-budget enterprise like the Revs. Banks has experience all over the park, but would best supply outside speed depth on a team exposed as painfully, painfully, painfully slow against Joe Public. I expected Marshall to slip even before the combine. At 38, he'd be great value at a position in need of depth. Lacey ably replaced Dominic Cervi for Tulsa this season, and the Revs are still unsettled at backup keeper.

New York Red Bulls
Drafting Personality - Polyglot, Scheming
2008 Draft Represented By - Danleigh Borman
2009 Predicted Picks:
11. Jeremy Hall 5-11 163 M/F Maryland Tampa, Florida
18. George John 6-4 D/M Washington Shoreline, Washington
29. A.J. Delagarza 5-8 140 D Maryland Bryans Road, Maryland
44. Jordan Seabrook 5-10 165 F South Florida Indianapolis, Indiana

I'm pretty sold on Juan Carlos Osorio at this point. He may have some strange in-game coaching habits, but he seems to have a real knack for acquiring talent. He left Chicago with a well-stocked larder, an angry and confused larder perhaps, but well-stocked. And New York seems headed in the same direction. He's a bit like one of those college football coaches that recruits like a madman. Having talent will always get a team to a decent level. At some point, you may get frustrated by the lack of titles, but it's dangerous to forget that it's very possible to have a team that lacks both the ability to come together at crucial times AND talent. Which pretty much describes most of New York's history in MLS. Anyway, Agoos also seems sharp, and I expect it will be another productive draft for the Red Bulls. I panned the Borman pick last year, so I have to be gracious when a team shows they know a hell of a lot more about this whole business than I do.

One of the big names is likely to slip to New York at #11, which is why the first-round pick swap with Dallas in the van den Bergh trade was not just a thoughtless toss-in. At that point in the draft, three spots probably could very well be the difference between a GenAd youth star and hunchbacked college senior. I have Hall trickling down, where he can try to fit in on the left side vacancy left by van den Bergh. Certainly, Osorio will look for an international signing to take the starting role, but it will be nice to have a hopeful backup plan if the whichever Venezuelan they get is a bust. John impressed everyone at the combine, partly because he seems to taking to his new defensive role with enthusiasm. He still has to prove he can handle the marking demands at center back, but it's clear his dribbling and passing skills should be well above the average college to pro center back. Delagarza probably needs to figure out the nuances of playing outside, but even if he can't he might be able to join with one New York's normal-sized center backs in a four-back set. Seabrook made a big impact in college ball as a freshman, but never built on it much. Still, late in the draft, he's well worth a look.

Real Salt Lake
Drafting Personality - Analytical, Drafting is Serious Business
2008 Draft Represented By - Tony Beltran
2009 Predicted Picks:
12. Chris Pontius 6-0 170 F/M UC Santa Barbara Yorba Linda, California
54. Kyle Christensen 6-1 187 F/M Denver Layton, Utah
57. Brandon Barklage 5-11 165 M Saint Louis Saint Louis, Missouri

I have to admit that I'm kind of a fan of what Salt Lake has been doing. Last year Garth Lagerwey, who used to be best known as the world's only MLS-themed stand-up comic, was going around unsmilingly telling anyone who would listen that Real was going to do more homework than anyone and do a great job in the draft (he is apparently now referring to last year's draft as 'historically poor' by the way). It's yet to be seen if Beltran or David Horst will make it as serious MLS contributors, but I like the serious approach. I've been predicting that Salt Lake would be making the jump for a few years now, and I'm gratified to finally be sort-of right. Sure Jason Kreis' regime got off to a terrible start. So much so, that I'm a considering an illustrated book series for pre-teens about poor choices, called "Jason K.'s Terrible, Mixed-Up Day". But Kreis and Lagerwey have their business pointed in the proper direction, with growing depth, good young players, and a consistent management style. Another serious draft to address the remaining shallow positions could give them just enough of a push to have a consistently good season and legitimately challenge the top dogs.

RSL already took two UCSB players last year, but Pontius just seems like a good fit with the Salt Kings. He's feisty and active, and seems comfortable playing the wing instead of adding to the youth movement they already have at forward. The local kid Christensen could be more than just a PR release for the local news. Sure, he's a Mormon who left Denver for two years on his mission, but he came back and picked right up where he left off, ripping up the MPSF. Plus, his mission was in Argentina. How lucky was that? What if they had sent him to Nepal? Or Canada? Barklage is left-footed, which is a plus and a stated need for the club.

San Jose Earthquakes
Drafting Personality - Dreary, Grasping
2008 Draft Represented By - Shea Salinas
2009 Predicted Picks:
17. Chris Clements 6-2 187 D Tulsa Allen, Texas
32. Raphael Cox 5-7 M Washington Tacoma, Washington

Frank Yallop deserves more time to reinstall his narrow-field victory machine. But last year's draft was mostly a washout, although I guess you could easily argue that trading all but one pick was smart in a year with almost no impact rookies. I thought Salinas, their only pick, was overdrafted on a good combine and on strict need, although he has plenty of time to prove me wrong. San Jose had needs all over the park, and also failed to get anything useful at all in the Supplemental Draft (and a few useful players were taken by other teams, you can look it up). Yallop's first San Jose team improved after acquiring several quality veterans, but also got important contributions from college players they folded into their system who became stalwarts. With only two more picks this year, the Quakes are fighting long odds of finding similar contributors.

Clements has become underrated by his supposedly middling combine showing (he was reported to be nicked up), but he's the sort of rugged defender that I think Yallop appreciates. And I KNOW John Doyle appreciates. Clements had an U-20 callup in 2006, and has been around while Tulsa has ascended into a high-level NCAA team. If San Jose is still desperate to find wing speed, Cox might fit the bill. He's little, but a leftie who ascended to first-team Pac-10 this year.

Seattle Sounders
Drafting Personality - Silly, Possessing the Buddha Nature
2008 Draft Represented By - Lenhart!
2009 Predicted Picks:
01. Rodney Wallace 5-11 152 D/M Maryland Rockville, Maryland
16. Brad Rusin 6-4 200 D UCLA Holmes Beach, Florida
31. Matt Murphy 5-11 165 M UC Irvine Anaheim Hills, California
46. Nate Jafta 5-6 145 M Lindsey Wilson Pampierstad, South Africa

I'm impressed with Sigi's style. He doesn't have the same kind of sweaty need for approval like the Salt Lake guys or the faux mysteriousness of the Fire braintrust. He just sits there, with his Zen belly and little smirk, and makes smart decisions. Take Lenhart(!). He was the third forward in a row that the Crew picked last season, and that seemed a little much to me. The more highly regarded Josten and Pierre-Louis have already been put down at the MLS roster hospital, but Lenhart! remains. Sigi knew that he had some minutes for a rookie forward, so bring in a whole bunch and one of them will probably be worthwhile - and be radiantly comedic if you're lucky. Sure Lenhart! only played 278 minutes last year, but did the Crew ever win a title without him? Think about it. I get the sense that Seattle has big expectations this year, and I wouldn't be completely shocked if they made the playoffs given the general state of disrepute in the Western Conference. That does put some additional pressure on them to not follow the hallowed MLS tradition of totally blowing the #1 pick. Hopefully, Drew Carey won't let an Irvine frat boy decide it on the Plinko board. Oh yeah, take that Drew Carey!

I think I'm the only draft buddy to have Wallace first. So, Seattle would probably be smart to trade down, assuming they wanted him at all. I like Wallace's development curve at Maryland. He made an instant impact with the Terps and built on it with an excellent sophomore season. Wallace plays on the left and can slot in at the back or in the midfield. Using high picks on versatile outside players seems like a trend and a good way to flesh out the formation. Nobody knows what the deal is with Rusin, who trialled in Europe last college off-season and wasn't picked for the combine. If he'll sign, he's a pretty fair prospect. I'm reading too much into the Sigi from SoCal thing, but Murphy has had a Brad Evans like career at Irvine, without the youth nat call-ups. I'm sure he can be slotted in a lot of different positions if he can make the team. Jafta was all the rage last year, but had a quiet senior season at Lindsey and has fallen off the radar. He trialled with the Crew, so it's a possibility at least.

Toronto FC
Drafting Personality - Angry, Beet-Red, Furious
2008 Draft Represented By - Julius James, Pat Phelan
2009 Predicted Picks:
02. Omar Gonzalez 6-5 206 D Maryland Dallas, Texas
04. Steve Zakuani 6-0 170 F Akron London, England
13. Lyle Adams 6-1 170 D/M Wake Forest Orlando, Florida
34. Marcus Tracy 6-1 170 F Wake Forest Newtown, Connecticut
39. Michael Coburn 6-3 180 D Memphis Dundalk, Ireland

The organizational style of TFC is something akin to a tremendously intense game of 52-Card Pickup. Nobody wins in the end, and you probably don't visit those friends anymore. Recent history suggests that getting drafted by Toronto is pretty much a guarantee that you will get to live in at least two MLS cities. James and Phelan had their brief visits to Ontario before being cast away in two of Mo Johnston's copyrighted histrionic roster makeover episodes. Since Maurice Edu and Marvell Wynne (yeah I know he came in a trade) have been a couple of the team's more exciting players, it might be good to keep two top-four picks and bring in some more of that sweet young talent. Of course, this means that Toronto is shopping the picks. For what? Some veteran players who can later be shopped for draft picks, which can later be moved for allocation money, which can then be spent on the ruddiest midfielder in the English third level. Look, all of us other than Bill Archer want this Toronto side to have at least one good season before FIFA forcibly repatriates them into the Please Mum! Canadian Championnat, so MoJo, get it together and let a team gel for God's sake.

If Toronto sticks with what they have and ends up with Gonzalez and Zakuani, I think the PR will be good, even if I'm not totally sold on either player yet. Maybe Mo is right to be dealing....no, that can't be. There are 10 solid prospects in this draft. Please, just find two you like and let them breathe Northern air past June. Adams is a four-year starter at Wake, and with a lot of versatility. Tracy is worth a dig, because there's a chance he'll utterly fail in Denmark. Wake ran rings around almost every other team in the NCAA's, and we don't yet know how well Tracy will fare against tighter marking. Then again, teams don't usually give up right away on guys with the whole zoo arsenal (you know, fleet as a darting stag, hops like a scared chinchilla, and so forth). Coburn is just a reach pick, although he had a good career for an increasingly poor Memphis side. It seems like one Irishman always gets picked, and this is it.

Mock Draft, Round 2...

2009-01-15T10:06:00.002-07:00

Here is my round 2. Buzz over at 3rd Degree made a comment on his blog about how doing a full mock is kind of pointless. I am sitting here trying to finish mine up and thinking the same thing. There are going to be trades, I'm just slapping names in places, I didn't sleep well last night. It does seem pointless. So here is round 2. I'll brag about getting the 52nd overall pick correct when I do, but I doubt I'll post anymore mock draft rounds. Enjoy!

16 Seattle Sounders FC: George John, M, 6' 3" - University of Washington
17 San Jose Earthquakes: Lyle Adams, D/M, 6' 1" - Wake Forest
18 New York Red Bulls (from FC Dallas, Los Angeles): Josh Boateng, M/F, 5' 9", 160 lbs - Liberty
19 Chivas USA (from Toronto): Danny Cruz, D/M, 5' 8", 160 lbs - UNLV
20 Colorado Rapids (from FC Dallas): Mike Grella, M/F, 5' 11", 170 lbs - Duke
21 D.C. United: Yohance Marshall, D, 6' 2", - South Florida
22 Kansas City Wizards (from Colorado): Zach Simmons, GK, 6' 2", 185 lbs - UMass
23 Kansas City Wizards: O'Brien White, M/F, 6' 1", 175 lbs - UConn
24 New England Revolution (from Los Angeles, Chivas USA): Calum Angus, D, 6' 0", 170 lbs - St. Louis
25 New England Revolution: Michael Lahoud, M/F, 5' 8", 140 lbs - Wake Forest
26 D.C. United (from Houston): Andrei Gotsmanov, M/F, 6' 1", 170 lbs - Creighton
27 FC Dallas (from Salt Lake): Doug DeMartin, M/F, 6' 0" - Michigan State
28 Chicago Fire: AJ DeLaGarza, D, 5' 8", 140 lbs - Maryland
29 New York Red Bulls: Tosaint Ricketts, M/F, 6' 0", 170 - Wisconsin-Green Bay
30 Columbus Crew: Matt Besler, M/F, 6' 0", 170 lbs - Notre Dame

Tell me if you can find the piece of irony I put in here. It is a brain bender and will test your knowledge of previous drafts.

Mock Draft #1...

2009-01-14T16:46:00.002-07:00

Ok folks, here is my first round. Work commitments have kept me from going too in depth but I should get later rounds up tomorrow. My other contributors are working on mock drafts as well. Enjoy!

2009 Mock SuperDraft by Bonji

#1 - Seattle Sounders FC: Omar Gonzalez, D, 6' 5", 200 lbs - Yeah, those stats are more likely to appear next to a goal keeper than a field player but that is what is putting Omar Gonzalez at the top of my draft. Add those to the fact that Gonzalez is generation adidas and a skilled player and you've got a solid prospect for the future. With proper coaching from one of the top coaches in the league, Sigi, and Gonzalez could find himself holding down the American back line at the 2014 World Cup. Seattle finds themselves with a top keeper, midfielder with flair and forward who can score against MLS level defenses so why not take a gamble on the best defensive prospect in the bunch?

#2 - Toronto FC (from San Jose): Stefan Frei, GK, 6' 3", 200 lbs - Look around the internet and most everyone who has seen Frei play are big fans. Toronto has two early picks, in my mind that gives them license to take top talent, not just need. Many people out there think Frei will be another American schooled keeper who is sold from MLS to a foreign league, meaning when he leaves you get allocation money, not just a wave goodbye. He has a Swiss passport and has played for Switzerland's national youth national team, so going to Europe will be easier than it was for Brad Guzan. While Toronto does have Brian Edwards on the books, they could easily use him as trade bait with another team looking for a prospect/backup.

#3 - Los Angeles Galaxy: Sam Cronin, M/F, 5' 10", 165 lbs - Anyone you read who covered the blog called Sam Cronin the most ready to go player in this draft class. LA on the other hands needs young players who can come in and contribute. Last season was a mess in midfield once you looked past David Beckham. Sam Cronin could be a great player to come in and stabilize the action behind Becks and provide the link between defense and the Golden one...that is of course if Beckham returns. Cronin is said to be a student of the game and a quality individual. His addition could be a positive influence on LA LA Land.

#4 - Toronto FC: Steve Zakuani, M/F, 6' 0", 170 lbs - Depending on who you listen to Zakuani is either the real deal of the next over hyped. A coach who's opinion I trust tells me he's likely to not make an impact for a couple years, if ever. Through a secondary source I've heard other coaches love him. He learned from Arsenal as a kid and then came over here for college of which he's completed two years. In those two years he's helped propel Akron to national prominence. Again, Toronto has a lot of first round picks and can take a chance. He's also GA so he isn't a salary cap hit. Plus, he's British...does the Queen still appear on Canadian stuff?

#5 - FC Dallas: Peri Marosevic, M/F, 5' 9", 160 lbs - According to the bloggers I read Peri helped himself out a lot at the combine. FC Dallas can use some attacking power since Kenny Cooper appears to want out of Big D, or to get paid like Landycakes, and they just traded a useful attacker, Dominic Oduro. Marosevic was the top scorer at the combine and showed he can handle the ball. Generation adidas status will make him more attractive.

#6 - D.C. United: Kevin Alston, D/M, 5' 8", 150 lbs - Alston plays as a fullback and I've read he likes to get forward. That reminds me of Jonathan Bornstein. Alston has a ton of youth national team experience in youth world cups and the like and will not make a dot on the salary cap due to GA status. DC United's defense is somewhat in transition with the departure of their raft of South Americans signed last off-season so Alston could be put in a sink or swim environment. His combine reviews were good so I think he'll be a higher pick in the first round. Plus they've got back to back picks...they can stretch to a talented player as opposed to the perfect player.

#7 - D.C. United (from Colorado): Jeremy Hall, M/F, 5' 11", 160 lbs - Hall is another kid with a lot of quality youth experience having been through the US National Team Residency program. He learned in college from one of the best college coaches out there at Maryland. DC United can grab another talented youngster and give him time to develop because he's GA. Hall likes to run forward and try to score goals. He should be able to use speed down the flank and could probably learn a trick or two from Fred or Moreno. DC is deep at this position so maybe they trade. We'll see.

#8 - Kansas City Wizards: Rodney Wallace, M/F, 5' 11", 155 lbs - Wallace is a talented player who exceled at Maryland. Another GA kid would help the Wizards keep him in a learning role from a great attacking mentor Claudio Lopez. He also could probably be used in a central or flank midfield role.

#9 - Chivas USA: Chris Pontius, M/F, 6' 0", 170 lbs - If Pontius were a generation adidas player he'd probably be a top four pick after his combine performance. To many observers he showed versatile qualities by playing on the left flank and up top during the combine. A player like that is special in MLS because tight salary cap and roster rules mean players who can play in multiple positions add more to a team. That factor increases when we're talking about left sided players who are at a premium in MLS. All that said, Pontius will be a full roster spot player. He's a California boy and Chivas USA could be a good fit.

#10 - New England Revolution: Ryan Maxwell, M/F, 5' 10", 160 lbs - Maxwell came out of nowhere for me. He's a Jamacian player who started at junior college and then transfered to the University of Tampa. At the combine he impressed with great speed and attacking skill. Since the emergence of Dane Richards people are looking for players who can run fast and dribble down the flank and with Steve Ralston moving on in years, Maxwell could fill a hole down that side. He can learn to cross the ball...right?

#11 - New York (from FC Dallas, San Jose, Houston): Brad Ring, M, 5' 10", 165 lbs - Another midfielder with a great soccer pedigree this guys should be able to work his way into the league. He's an astute passer who grew up in the Indiana system which has produced good soccer players. Starter as a rookie? I doubt it, but he should be able to earn a spot on the bench.

#12 - Real Salt Lake: Graham Zusi, M/F, 5' 10", 165 lbs - This kid has been a productive attacker for Maryland and he should be able to work his way onto a team looking to find the final piece to the puzzle. He's a hard worker who showed some quality through his college career and at the combine.

#13 - Toronto FC (from Chicago): Kyle Patterson, M/F, 5' 9", 160 - Patterson snuck up on some people during the combine but I've been watching him since 2006. He's a quality kid from a good St. Louis program. Toronto loaded up on some generation adidas so I think if they actually make this pick they'll go with someone a little more mature who can compete for a spot.

#14 - FC Dallas (From New York Red Bulls): Baggio Husidic, M/F, 6' 1", 170 - A generation adidas player who slipped after the combine. A lot of people were calling him a playmaker coming into the draft but I'm not so sure American Colleges actually create any of them. Playmakers seem to be born on South American streets, not college campuses. I think Dallas could take a chance on him because he's not going to show up on the books for a couple years, but he'll have to come in and show he can get forward on the wings to stay on that team.

#15 - New England Revolution (from Columbus): Babajide Ogunbiyi, M/F, 6' 4", 205 - This is a big attacking player who could benefit playing on a team with a work horse striker like Taylor Twellman and a crosser like Steve Ralston. He impressed some people at the combine and I think that could be enough to garner some first round attention from a team that doesn't need much and is making their second pick.

Draft Day Coming Up...

2009-01-14T10:45:00.003-07:00

Tomorrow is the big MLS SuperDraft and I know we're all excited. Later today/tonight we should have some Mock Drafts up and posted. My fellow contributors and I are putting a lot of time in to them and that accounts for the delay. Tomorrow you can follow along throughout the draft as I post thoughts on the selections and I'll put up the honors I've been tracking for each player. It won't be real time because I'm a working man, but I'll do my best.

Now that you've all read the different combine reviews from around the blogosphere, who do you think will go #1 overall?

2009 MLS Draft - Counting Picks...

2009-01-12T14:14:00.003-07:00

If you have the time to go back in the From College To The Pros archives you'll find that in many of my early posts I tried to back things up with numbers and stats. You see, I went to college to become educated as an engineer, I went to business school and looked at a lot of spreadsheets and I've played an ungodly number of hours of Championship Manager since 1998...so numbers make sense to me. I like to relate things to them. If I had unlimited funds I would work to create a soccer scouting company based on numerical analysis of players' performances. You get the picture. Right now we're going back to basics here at FCTP.

All of the analysis was done on the draft order released by MLS a week or so ago. I don't remember hearing of any recent trades, but if there have been some, I didn't include them.

I decided it was time to look at how the 2009 SuperDraft breaks down on a team by team basis. Who has the most picks, the least, the best, the most in the first round, the most that will end up meaning something, etc. Then I assigned point values to each of the categories I created. Here is a list of the categories and how many points teams got for each.

- First Round Picks (2 pts each)
- Second Round Picks (1 pt each)
- Top 5 pick (1 pt each)
- Top 10 pick (1 pt each, in addition to points received for top 5)
- Greater than 3 picks (points = (total picks/2) - 1)

Lets start with the easy stuff.

Most picks: Colorado and New England both tied with 7. What does this tell me? Those two teams will do some deals, shuffling picks with teams that don't have as many. Why? With the smaller developmental rosters and the lack of a reserve team there isn't room for a bunch of draftees. However, you can have more senior players this season so trade for some solid veterans.

Fewest picks: Chivas USA, Houston & San Jose tied with 2. Perhaps these guys will try to get more out of the draft by trading a want away player? We'll see. News out of the combine says this draft is deeper than last year so maybe one of these teams will look for more young talent by obtaining picks. Perhaps not.

Here is the overall pick count:
Chicago Fire - 4
Chivas USA - 2
Colorado Rapids - 7
Columbus Crew - 3
D.C. United - 5
FC Dallas - 4
Houston Dynamo - 2
Kansas City Wizards - 5
Los Angeles Galaxy - 4
New England Revolution - 7
New York Red Bulls - 3
Real Salt Lake - 3
San Jose Earthquakes - 2
Seattle Sounders FC - 4
Toronto FC - 5

Now to the meat of the analysis I did. Who got the most points, showing they have the best chance of getting the top young talent entering MLS in 2009? Below is the ranking based on the point system I described above that obviously rewards early picks since the top rated talent goes early.

#1: Toronto FC (11.5 pts) - Toronto has 3 first round picks and 2 in the top 5. Add two more picks to that and TFC has a chance to do well this year. The #2 pick, yeah that's good.

#2: New England Revolution (9.5 pts) - 4 picks in the first two rounds should help the Revs re-tool for another title chasing season. It also helps to have so many picks which helped add points to a total which would have been lower given #10 being their first pick.

#3: FC Dallas (9 pts) - While FCD only has 4 total picks, they're all in the first two rounds, with 2 picks in each of the top two rounds. By the end of the second round pro grade prospects will be mostly off the board so the Hoops have a chance to get some good talent. Their first pick, #5, could bear fruit during the 2009 season.

#4: D.C. United (8.5 pts) - Similar to FCD, DCU has 4 picks in the first two rounds, two in each. That will help them load up with the top talent 2009 has to offer. Their first pick is #6.

#5: Kansas City Wizards (6.5 pts) - 5 total picks with 3 coming in the first two rounds should give KC a chance at top talent. The #8 overall pick helped them score points and gives them a chance to grab a gem.

#6: Seattle Sounders FC (6 pts) - Seattle hasn't been around long enough to trade away picks from this draft in previous years so they're straight forward, one pick in each round, in the position they're supposed to be in at the top of each round. However, after the #1 and #16 picks, things are going to get light, so they find themselves in the middle of the pack in this ranking.

#7: Los Angeles Galaxy (5 pts) - LA does have the #3 overall pick but then they miss the second round and their last three picks come late, so the best of the draft will be harder to find when their card comes up.

#8: Chivas USA (4 pts) - They only have 2 picks but they come in the first and second round. The #9 pick should yield something and the #19 has a decent chance, but with the SuperDraft sometimes volume outweighs position, and this year Chivas USA lacks the volume.

#9: Colorado Rapids (3.5 pts) - While they have the most picks, the Rapids only have 1 pick in the first two rounds and it is the second round. Opposite of Chivas USA, the Rapids have plenty of volume but it could come too late especially since there isn't a reserve league to let guys grow into the pro game a little more slowly.

#10: New York Red Bulls (3 pts) - The Red Bulls have a couple picks in the first two rounds but only one more after that. With 14 overall they should be able to get someone solid in a deep draft, but there is a chance that their pick doesn't mesh with the club and then they're looking at a second and third rounder and lower odds of success.

#11: Chicago Fire (2 pts) & Real Salt Lake (2 pts) - A tie for the 11th & 12th spots doesn't bode well for these two. Both teams have been assembling a strong veteran core so I'm not sure how much they need the SuperDraft.

#13: Columbus Crew (1pt) & San Jose Earthquakes (0 pt) - The champs lost their coach but re-signed the best defender in the league. Draft picks will just be gravy for them and with the #30 pick being their first, the chances of getting any gravy are slim. San Jose has a second rounder but only one more after that.

#15: Houston Dynamo (0 pt) & - 2 picks, the first one is #41, enough said.

So there you go. Nothing overly scientific about it but that is my ranking on who has the best draft changes this Thursday.

2009 MLS Combine Training #1...

2009-01-10T09:58:00.003-07:00

I am retracting this post. Sorry.

2009 MLS Combine Kicks Off...

2009-01-09T13:19:00.003-07:00

The 2009 MLS Combine kicks off its first match tomorrow. MLS released all of the official teams and schedule. Here they are.

adidas adiPure
Alec Dufty (University of Evansville)
Neal Kitson (St. John's University)
Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe (George Mason University)
Raphael Cox (University of Washington)
Danny Cruz (Generation adidas/University of Nevada Las Vegas)
Juan Guerra (Florida International University)
Jack Traynor (University of Notre Dame)
Darrius Barnes (Duke University)
Matt Besler (University of Notre Dame)
Graciano Brito (Quinnipiac University)
Aaron Clapham (University of Louisville)
Jokull Elisabetarson (University of North Carolina – Greensboro)
Wes Knight (College of Charleston)
Paul Nicholson (Rio Grande University)
Jean Alexandre (Lynn University)
Jordan Seabrook (University of South Florida)
Jeremy Hall (Generation adidas/University of Maryland)
Otto Loewy (Winthrop University)

Coaches: Bobby Clark (University of Notre Dame) and Jeremy Alumbaugh (Springfield United)

adidas Tunit
Stefan Frei (Generation adidas/University of California)
Trevor Banks (Old Dominion University)
Josh Boateng (Liberty University)
AJ DeLaGarza (University of Mayland)
Richard Jata (Campbell Univeristy)
Rodney Wallace (Generation adidas/University of Maryland)
Brandon Barklage (Saint Louis University)
Pav Castenada (Duke University)
Paul Gerstenberger (Boston College)
Andrei Gotsmanov (Creighton University)
Peri Marosevic (Generation adidas/University of Michigan)
Kyle Patterson (Saint Louis University)
Chris Pontius (University of California - Santa Barbara)
Matt Poole (University of Virginia)
Kyle Russell (Coastal Carolina University)
Babajide Ogunbiyi (Santa Clara University)
Daniel Revivo (Winthrop University)

Coaches: Cam Rast (University of Santa Clara) and Marc Nicholls (Greensboro Youth Soccer)

adidas Predator PowerSwerve
Evan Bush (University of Akron)
Sean Milligan (Dartmouth University)
Quincy Amarikwa (University of California - Davis)
Oscar Castillo (University of Connecticut)
Jeffery Harwell (Southern Methodist University)
Keum Sung Kim (Loyola University)
Akeem Priestly (University of Connecticut)
Lyle Adams (Wake Forest University)
Rhett Bernstein (Brown University)
Sam Cronin (Wake Forest University)
Doug DeMartin (Michigan State University)
Bryan Irwin (University of Portland)
Yohance Marshall (University of South Florida)
Ryan Mirsky (Southern Methodist University)
Patrick Murray (Furman University)
Steve Zakuani (Generation adidas/University of Akron)
Nick Zimmerman (James Madison University)
Omar Gonzalez (Generation adidas/University of Maryland)

Coaches: Caleb Porter (University of Akron) and Bobby Muuss (University of Denver)

adidas Tiro

Steward Ceus (University of Albany)
Milos Kocic (Loyola College (Md.))
Ryan Maxwell (University of Tampa)
Michael Lahoud (Wake Forest University)
Chris Salvaggione (UNC – Charlotte)
Kevin Alston (Generation adidas/Indiana University)
Calum Angus (Saint Louis University)
Evan Brown (Wake Forest University)
Graham Zusi (University of Maryland)
Chris Clements (University of Tulsa)
Dylan Curtis (University of California – Davis)
Alex Grendi (University of Pennsylvania)
David Hertel (Michigan State University)
Ryan Maduro (Providence College)
Baggio Husidic (Generation adidas/University of Illinois - Chicago)
George John (University of Washington)
Ross Schunk (Redlands University)
Nick Perera (University of California - Santa Barbara)

Coaches: Chaka Daley (Providence College) and Janusz Michallik (National Director of SoccerPlus Camps)

Here is the schedule of games:
Saturday, January 10
2:30 PM Predator PowerSwerve vs. adidas Tunit (Lockhart Stadium)
4:30 PM adiPure vs. adidas Tiro (Lockhart Stadium)

Sunday, January 11
3:00 PM adidas Tunit vs. adidas Tiro (Lockhart Stadium)
5:00 PM Predator PowerSwerve vs adiPure (Lockhart Stadium)

Tuesday, January 13
9:15 AM Predator PowerSwerve vs adidas Tiro (Lockhart Stadium)
11:15 AM adiPure vs adidas Tunit (Lockhart Stadium)

Remember, these guys are competing for fewer spots in 2009. There is no longer a supplemental draft and the number of developmental spots is shrinking from 10 to 4 or 6 depending on the team. Many of these guys will not be good enough to come in and unseat the established developmental players who have one, two or even three years professional experience. Does that mean we'll see more guys drafted by MLS signing with USL clubs? What do you think?

2009 MLS Generation Adidas Class Thoughts...

2009-01-08T08:09:00.002-07:00

We've all had a day to digest the Generation Adidas class. I've had some thoughts and I've corresponded with an MLS insider who gave me their thoughts. My thoughts aren't as insightful as my MLS insider, so we'll go there first.

on Alston...

I like Kevin Alston - D - University of Indiana very much - he is ready to go now

Alston is listed as 5' 8" so it would seem if he is in fact ready to go now it will be as a full back or perhaps some kind of winger. He's been a defender most of his career but maybe he can adapt like Jonathan Bornstein.

on Frei...

GK- University of California: probably the best GK candidate to come out of college since Adin Brown...excellent

This is high praise in my book. Looking back over his career he started well winning Athlete of the Year in 2005 at De La Salle High School. If you know anything about high school football you know De La Salle is one of the football factories in the US. They have kids going on to the biggest college programs and then the NFL. And a soccer goalie won Athlete of the Year there three years ago. What? He's got good size and had a commanding season in net as a junior at Cal (0.77 GAA, 9 SO).

This next one threw me. To this point all I've seen in the media is Zakuani #1, top forward prospect, a lock...not in the opinion of my insider...

F - University of Akron: overrated - mark my words / another Patrick Nyarko

That got me thinking...is comparing a draft candidate to Patrick Nyarko that bad of a thing? In 2008 he played in nine games and scored two goals. Some might say that is a decent start for a rookie forward. Others might look at Nyarko's 22 years of age and say Altidore was out scoring him at 17. I'd say the verdict is still out on Nyarko and the comparison says to me that Zakuani has as much of a chance to score a couple goals in his rookie year and to have the jury still out on him in 2010. We'll see.

on Husidic...

M - University of Illinois – Chicago - skillful, playmaker - not sure if he can go wide or not

I take the above comment to say that most kids coming out of school aren't ready to play in the center of the park as rookies. They take time to develop. Without the reserve league will someone like Husidic get that chance unless he can adapt to a wider position?

That's all I've got from the insider. The knock on Zakuani makes me think twice about putting him #1 overall. Perhaps Seattle would do better picking Omar Gonzalez. Seattle already has a skilled forward in Sebastien Le Toux and a good target in Nate Jaqua. Why not add a skillful 6' 5" center back to the mix?

This GA class is going to go quickly I think. The consensus on the draft class seems to be that it is shallow. My source is of the opinion that it future rookie classes will continue to deteriorate until young players developed by the MLS clubs start to enter the league in a few years. With this latest rule change by MLS where the spots for youngsters was reduced and the reserve league axed I have to agree. Picking the upcoming MLS talent is an art, not a science and the past has shown that you need to work with these kids over time, not expect excellence right out of school.

One interesting thing I realized this morning is that none of this year's GA class is direct from the U-17 residency program, they all have some college experience. Perhaps MLS is learning that Altidore is the exception, not the rule.

2009 MLS Generation Adidas Class Announced...

2009-01-07T09:42:00.003-07:00

Here are the young guys who will be leaving college early, getting paid more than most (if not all) seniors who finished school, attending the combine and entering the MLS SuperDraft.

Kevin Alston - D - University of Indiana
Danny Cruz - M - University of Nevada Las Vegas
Stefan Frei - GK- University of California
Omar Gonzalez - D - University of Maryland
Jeremy Hall - M - University of Maryland
Baggio Husidic - M - University of Illinois – Chicago
Peri Marosevic - F - University of Michigan
Rodney Wallace - M - University of Maryland
Steve Zakuani - F - University of Akron

Maryland fans are going to be bummed to see this amount of talent bolting after the national championship in addition to their graduating seniors, right?

The biggest surprise to me is Marosevic from U of M. As you know, I'm a Go Blue supporter myself but he seems to have been flying under the radar to this point.

Let's look at some honors I've been collecting on this group (as I've said in the past, I know I'm missing stuff...this is just what I've collected in my free time):

Kevin Alston: 2004 ESP, 2005 FIFA U-17 WC Team, 2005 NSCAA/adidas Boys Youth All-America Team, 2005 Parade All American, 2006 CSN 100 Freshman to Watch, 2007 U-18 Pan Am Games, 2008 Big Ten All-Conference 1st Team

Danny Cruz: 2007 US U-18, 2007 U-18 Pan Am Games, 2007 FIFA Under-17 World Cup South Korea, 2007 CSN All-Freshman 2nd Team, 2008 US U-20

Stefan Frei: 2007 NSCAA/adidas All-America 1st Team, 2008 CSN 2nd Team Pre-Season All-American, 2008 Hermann Trophy Watch List

Omar Gonzalez: 2005 FIFA U-17 WC Team, 2005 NSCAA/adidas Boys Youth All-America Team, 2006 PARADE All-America, 2006 US U-20, 2006 CSN 100 Freshman to Watch, 2006 SA Freshman of the year 2nd team, 2007 U-18 Pan Am Games, 2007 TDS 1st Team TOS, 2007 NSCAA/adidas All-America 3rd Team, 2008 CSN 1st Team Pre-Season All-American, 2008 ESPN.com Preseason All-American Starting XI, 2008 Hermann Trophy Watch List, 2008 All-ACC 1st Team, 2008 Hermann Trophy Semifinalist, 2008 NSCAA/adidas Men's All-America 1st Team

Jeremy Hall: 2003 - 2005 US U-17 Residency, 2004 ESP, 2005 FIFA U-17 WC Team, 2005 NSCAA/adidas Boys Youth All-America Team, 2006 PARADE All-America, 2006 CSN 100 Freshman to Watch, 2006 ACC Freshman OTY, 2006 CSN 1st All-Freshman Team, 2006 SA Freshman of the year 1st team, 2007 U-18 Pan Am Games, 2008 All-ACC 1st Team

Baggio Husidic: 2006 Horizon League Newcomer of the year, 2007 All-Horizon League 1st Team, 2008 NSCAA/adidas Men's All-America 1st Team

Perica Marosevic: 2004 - 2006 US U-17 Residency, US U-17 & U-18 Team Member, 2005 ESP, 2005 NSCAA/adidas Boys Youth All-America Team, 2006 CSN 100 Freshman to Watch, 2006 CSN 2nd All-Freshman Team, 2007 US U-18, 2007 U-18 Pan Am Games, 2008 US U-20, 2008 Big Ten All-Conference 1st Team

Rodney Wallace: 2004 ESP, 2007 CSN 100 Freshman to Watch, 2007 TDS All-Rookie 1st Team, 2008 All-ACC 2nd Team

Steve Zakuani: 2007 CSN All-Freshman Team, 2007 MAC Newcomer of the Year, 2007 1st Team All MAC, 2008 CSN POTW, 2008 Hermann Trophy Watch List, 2008 Hermann Trophy Semifinalist, 2008 Hermann Trophy Finalists, 2008 NSCAA/adidas Men's All-America 1st Team

Now that the GA class is out, the combine list can be finalized and the mock drafts can begin in earnest. A majority of these kids will be first round picks, if not all. However, you do see some GA kids slip into the first round. Check back in the next few days to see mock drafts and other new content regarding the 2009 MLS SuperDraft.

2009 MLS SuperDraft. Order...

2009-01-05T15:32:00.003-07:00

Just got a press release with the official order for the upcoming SuperDraft. Here it is:

1st ROUND:
1. Seattle Sounders FC
2. Toronto FC (from San Jose)
3. Los Angeles Galaxy
4. Toronto FC
5. FC Dallas
6. D.C. United
7. D.C. United (from Colorado)
8. Kansas City Wizards
9. Chivas USA
10. New England Revolution
11. FC Dallas (from San Jose, Houston)
12. Real Salt Lake
13. Toronto FC (from Chicago)
14. New York Red Bulls
15. New England Revolution (from Columbus)

2nd ROUND:
16. Seattle Sounders FC
17. San Jose Earthquakes
18. FC Dallas (from Los Angeles)
19. Chivas USA (from Toronto)
20. Colorado Rapids (from FC Dallas)
21. D.C. United
22. Kansas City Wizards (from Colorado)
23. Kansas City Wizards
24. New England Revolution (from Los Angeles, Chivas USA)
25. New England Revolution
26. D.C. United (from Houston)
27. FC Dallas (from Salt Lake)
28. Chicago Fire
29. New York Red Bulls
30. Columbus Crew

3rd ROUND:
31. Seattle Sounders FC
32. San Jose Earthquakes
33. Los Angeles Galaxy
34. Toronto FC
35. Colorado Rapids (from Dallas)
36. D.C. United
37. Colorado Rapids
38. New England Revolution (from Kansas City)
39. Toronto FC (from Dallas, Chivas USA)
40. New England Revolution
41. Houston Dynamo
42. Kansas City Wizards (from Salt Lake)
43. Chicago Fire
44. New York Red Bulls
45. Columbus Crew

4th ROUND:
46. Seattle Sounders FC
47. Colorado Rapids (from San Jose)
48. Los Angeles Galaxy
49. Los Angeles Galaxy (from Toronto)
50. Kansas City Wizards (from Dallas) $
51. Colorado Rapids (from D.C. United)
52. Chicago Fire (from Colorado)
53. Kansas City Wizards $
54. Real Salt Lake (from Chivas USA)
55. New England Revolution
56. Houston Dynamo
57. Real Salt Lake
58. Chicago Fire
59. Colorado Rapids (from New York Red Bull)
60. Columbus Crew

$ - Per a previous trade Colorado is to receive the lower of KC's 2009 4th round SuperDraft picks. This pick is to be determined 48 hours prior to the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. This trade will not include any future picks KC may receive in 2009 4th round SuperDraft.

The event will begin at 1 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET) in St. Louis, Mo., in conjunction with the annual convention of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). The first hour of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft will be televised live on ESPN2.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T10:48:00.002-07:00

Hey folks, sorry for the lack of new content recently. Holidays have been a busy time here in Denver. I should have an interesting look at the 2009 combine class coming out the first week of January, so look for that. In the mean time have a safe New Years Eve and a prosporus and happy start to 2009.

January will be fun around here. We'll get some mock drafts going, we'll see the rest of the player rankings from around the blogosphere, and we'll have the MLS SuperDraft!

Happy New Year!

NCAA Player Rankings Are Coming...

2008-12-19T09:44:00.002-07:00

I'm not great at doing the whole player ranking game. I don't see enough games to do that and the honors I track won't cut it. I rely on others for this part of the equation, and the flow of information is starting. Remember to check the right margin section '2009 MLS SuperDraft Previews, Information & Links' to catch the latest. This morning I added Buzz Carrick's recently posted espn.com piece on Goal Keepers. Buzz does a great job, give him a read.

Attention...First Mock Draft of 2009...Attention...

2008-12-18T21:59:00.002-07:00

Soccer By Ives has the first mock draft I've seen since the college cup ended with a Maryland championship. What do you guys think, is Ives smoking anything with Tracey going #1? Personally I'm not so sure about him going #1. Personally I think Generation Adidas players will be in higher demand this time around given the reduction in developmental spots. Opara, Gonzalez & Zakuani could all go before Tracey in my opinion due to the rule changes. Props to Ives for getting a solid first mock draft on the street.

MLS Draft Rules...

2008-12-16T11:41:00.000-07:00

Each year MLS fans around the country look at the college SuperDraft and get excited to see who is joining their team through this annual event. However, each year training camp comes and not all of the drafted players are with their team. Some have gone to Europe, some have gone to the A-League, some have just dropped off the face of the planet. The MLS SuperDraft is an imperfect process that needs improvement. Soccer America has a great blog post about it today and I thought I would call some attention to it.

MLS needs to learn how to increase the talent pool in the league both with international players and domestic players. Many good soccer players are playing in American colleges and MLS still has not found the best recipe for how to bring them into the league and help them grow. Top underclassmen are woowed with Generation Adidas contracts but then top seniors are asked to play for next to nothing. MLS seems to be saying finishing your college education is a bad thing.

I don't need to go off on a huge rant about this. The net net is that MLS hurt itself by removing the reserve league this off-season. The 2009 draft is going to have a lot of talented players who are going to be competing with guys who have already been in the league a couple years for fewer slots on teams. That is going to force more quality young players into the USL or abroad. Read SA's article for more.

Result Of NCAA Men's Soccer Semi-Final Numer 1...

2008-12-12T17:34:00.000-07:00

If you don't want to know, don't read on....

Huge upset in Texas as UNC beats Wake 1-0! Wake sees the defense of their 2007 championship end in heart breaking fashion. I got home just in time to see a Wake player, I think Tracey, laying on the ground dejected. Brian Shriver scored the lone goal in the 4th minute and the Tar Heels held on to win against their instate rivals. Most everyone thought Wake would get the win here, but it is not to be.

After I saw the goal scorer I checked to see if he is on the combine list. He isn't! I'm not sure how the UNC marksman missed the cut but it could be a sign of MLS teams understanding they're going to be drafting fewer guys who actually make the team. Shriver certainly hasn't been the most prolific scorer in his college career but he showed today he can come up big when it counts. He also led the boys in light blue in scoring in 2008 with 13 goals and five assists before his huge goal tonight.

Congrats to the Tar Heels, you've just killed my pool. I've still got Maryland winning it all. Go Terps!

All-Americans and Hermann Trophy Finalists...

2008-12-12T12:51:00.000-07:00

Two announcements I picked up on today.

#1 - 2008 NSCAA All-Americans. These will be added to player's list of honors and will potentially add new players to my list.

#2 - 2008 Hermann Trophy Finalists. Props to Sam Cronin, Marcus Tracy & Steve Zakuani.

You won't find Zakuani on the combine list...he's a SOPHOMORE. 20 goals, 7 assists and a Sweet 16 appearance will help your cause when it comes to big awards.

2009 MLS Combine Class Announced...Commentary...

2008-12-11T12:27:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I posted the 2009 Combine list as quickly as possible to get the MLS press release on the street. Now we've all had some time to digest and think about it. First off, so everyone understands these are all of the seniors who are invited to the combine. As the college season wraps up and under classmen decide whether or not to leave school for a shot in MLS, this list will expand.

Speaking of later additions. Soccer By Ives took a stab at potential Generation Adidas players for the '09 class yesterday.

If you are in the area of the combine, head over and check it out come January. I went last year and it is a fun event to watch. There are some velvet ropes between fans and coaches but some of the coaches leave the protected area and you never know. I ended up talking to Paul Mariner and Steve Nicol briefly.

Let's dig into the list and some of the honors I've been tracking for these guys over the years. This isn't in any kind of ranking or order, just as my thoughts come to me.

Before I start, isn't it interesting that the list has GK, D & M/F. The league isn't trying to classify the forwards as compared to the midfielders this year. I think that is interesting. We've seen in the past that college forwards turn into attacking midfielders and vise versa, so now the league is acknowledging that coaches will decide where they play in MLS, not college experience.

Mike Grella - Duke University - M/F: Mike Grella has been on my list basically since I started it; his 2003 Parade Magazine All-American honor put him on my list. At the time I think there were 100 kids on there. Each year he has been in college I have looked at the list of honors and wondered if he was going to leave early. He hasn't. He's had a solid college career and has stacked up the following honors: 2003, 2004 Parade Magazine All-American, 2004 ESP All*Star, 2004 NSCAA National High School Player of the Year, 2005 StudentSportsSoccer.com #1 top prospect, 2005 All-ACC Freshman team, U-18 & U-20 National Team, 2006 Soccer America POTW, 2006 ACC All-Conference, 2007 CSN Pre-Season 2nd Team All-American, 2007 NSCAA/adidas All-America 2nd Team, 2008 CSN 2nd Team Pre-Season All-American, 2008 Hermann Trophy Watch List, 2008 All-ACC 1st Team, 2008 ACC Offensive POTY, 2008 Hermann Trophy Semifinalist
I am sure I am missing some of the things he's accomplished. This year he led the Duke Blue Devils in scoring with 14 goals and 8 assists.

Doug DeMartin - Michigan State University - M/F: DeMartin his my list last year when he was added to the 1st team in the Big Ten. This year he had a great season and won the honor of Big Ten Player of the Year. Here are some more of his honors I've tracked: 2007 1st Team All Big Ten, 2008 Hermann Trophy Semifinalist, 2008 Big Ten All-Conference 1st Team, 2008 Big Ten Player Of The Year
I don't know a whole lot about him but given that he played well in a tough conference, leading his team to a top 10 ranking at the end of the season, I've got to imagine he could get some attention come January. He led his team in scoring this year with 17 goals and 3 assists.

Yohance Marshall - University of South Florida - D: Marshall is an athletic defender with good size and strength. He has quickly moved up the scouting lists after having a strong senior season leading the USF back line to a season where they gave up multiple goals in only two games. The young player from Malabar Arima, Trinidad will certainly be looking to have an impressive combine performance. I didn't hear about him until this year when he earned the following honors, but if you look at his USF profile you'll see I simply missed many other honors: 2008 CSN 1st Team Pre-Season All-American, 2008 ESPN.com Preseason All-American Starting XI

Tosaint Ricketts - University of Wisconsin – Green Bay - M/F: Ricketts hit my radar when he played for Canada in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. At 6'0" he has good size for MLS and in high school he was one of the top short distance sprinters in Alberta, meaning he's got wheels. This season he led his team in scoring with 8 goals and 2 assists. Being a Canadian player he makes perfect sense for FC Toronto but a good combine performance could draw the eyes of other clubs looking for a quick striker. Honors: Canada U-17 Team, 2007 Canadian U-20 World Cup, 2008 Canadian U-23 Team.

Sam Cronin - Wake Forest University - M/F: Cronin is another player who has featured on my list since I started it or soon thereafter. He's had a great career at Wake being in the center of a team that has won the National Championship and is looking to repeat. This year he's continued to score goals and set them up with 10 scored and 4 assists. His honors list is long: 2003 NSCAA Youth adidas All-American, 2003 - 2004 ESP, 2007 TDS 3rd Team TOS, 2007 NSCAA/adidas All-America 2nd Team, 2008 CSN 1st Team Pre-Season All-American, 2008 ESPN.com Preseason All-American Starting XI, 2008 Hermann Trophy Watch List, 2008 All-ACC 1st Team, 2008 Hermann Trophy Semifinalist

Marcus Tracy - Wake Forest University - M/F: Marcus Tracy seems to be the complete package. He's skillful on the ball, fast and can put the ball in the back of the net on a regular basis. This year he had an impressive double double of sorts scoring 13 goals while creating 10. His honors list is also impressive and you can add the fact that he was heavily recuited by Duke, Maryland, UConn and Notre Dame before choosing Wake. Honors: 2004 NSCAA/adidas All-American, 2004 Connecticut Player of the Year, 2008 CSN 1st Team Pre-Season All-American, 2008 ESPN.com Preseason All-American Starting XI, 2008 Hermann Trophy Watch List, 2008 CSN POTW, 2008 All-ACC 1st Team, 2008 Hermann Trophy Semifinalist.

Richard Jata - Campbell University - M/F: If nothing else Jata is an interesting case study in Internet self promotion. I've received comments and emails from Richard's brother who is his foremost cheerleader. Jata's brother has created a blog to follow Richard's quest for a professional career. Kudos to the Jata brothers for chasing a dream and using today's technology to get noticed. I hope it works out for you. Honors: 2007 1st Team All A-Sun Conference, 2008 A-Sun POTY, 2008 A-Sun 1st Team.

As I said earlier the combine class will be supplemented as Generation Adidas players sign with the league. Buzz is doing a great job keeping on top of that market.

There are some highlights of the combine class. I'm sure I missed some honors. Who are some of the players you are interested in seeing at the combine?

2009 MLS Combine Class Announced...

2008-12-10T13:10:00.000-07:00

To be honest, I didn't see this list coming out until after the College Cup finishes up. Here is the official release from MLS:

For Immediate Release

Contact: MLS Communications

(212) 450-1227

communications@mlsnet.com

2009 adidas MLS Player Combine To Feature 65 of College Soccer’s Top Division I Seniors

Eight 2008 MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalists among invitees

NEW YORK (Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008) – Major League Soccer today announced the initial list of 65 college seniors from 45 Division I schools who have been invited to participate in the 2009 adidas MLS Player Combine. The annual player combine will be held at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Jan. 9-13, 2009. The game schedule for the player combine is also included below.

The coaching and management staffs of all 15 MLS teams will be in attendance to scout talent at the 2009 adidas MLS Player Combine, which concludes two days before the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. At the 2008 MLS SuperDraft 43 of the 56 players drafted participated in the 2008 adidas MLS Player Combine; 12 combine players were selected in the first round. The 2009 MLS SuperDraft will be held on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2009 in St. Louis, Mo.

The list of invitees is highlighted by eight players who are semifinalists for the 2008 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy, NCAA soccer’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. The MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalists invited to the player combine include Wake Forest University’s Sam Cronin and Marcus Tracey, Michigan State University’s Doug DeMartin, Duke University’s Mike Grella, Creighton University’s Andrei Gotsmanov, University of California-Santa Barbara’s Chris Pontius, Indiana University’s Brad Ring, and UNC Charlotte’s Chris Salvaggionne. The 2008 MAC Hermann Trophy finalists will be announced on Dec. 12, 2008, and the winner is announced on Jan. 9, 2009.

The initial player list was determined by a select panel of Division I college coaches representing all conferences who nominated and voted for players in conjunction with MLS coaches. Youth players from the Generation adidas program will join additional collegiate players from NCAA Division II and III schools, NAIA schools and Division I alternates to finalize the 2009 adidas Player Combine. The final player list and team assignments will be announced in the coming weeks.

The 2009 adidas MLS Player Combine will separate all players into four teams and feature two games per day at Lockhart Stadium on Jan. 10, 11 and 13. Each team will be led by an experienced Division I coach and will be assigned a youth coach, to be named at a later date. Santa Clara University Head Coach, Cam Rast has been selected to coach Team adidas Tiro. Caleb Porter, a former MLS player and current assistant coach at Indiana University will coach Team Predator PowerSwerve. Entering his ninth season at Providence University, former MLS player Chaka Daley will lead Team adiTunit. University of Notre Dame Head Coach Bobby Clark will lead Team adiPure.

The Sheraton Yankee Clipper Hotel and the Harbor Beach Marriott will serve as the official headquarters of the adidas MLS Player Combine and the host hotel for players and coaching staffs.

Media interested in securing credentials for the 2009 adidas MLS Player Combine should contact MLS Sports Communications Manager Stephen Rodriguez at 212-450-1227 or stephen.rodriguez@mlsnet.com.

The game schedule and the 65 players selected, broken down by position and by school are included below:

MLS PLAYER COMBINE GAME SCHEDULE

All games are open to the public. All times eastern and schedule is subject to change.

Saturday, January 10

2:30 PM Predator PowerSwerve vs. adiTunit (Lockhart Stadium)

4:30 PM adiPure vs. adidas Tiro (Lockhart Stadium)

Sunday, January 11

3:00 PM adiTunit vs. adidas Tiro (Lockhart Stadium)

5:00 PM Predator PowerSwerve vs adiPure (Lockhart Stadium)

Tuesday, January 13

9:15 AM Predator PowerSwerve vs adidas Tiro (Lockhart Stadium)

11:15 AM adiPure vs adiTunit (Lockhart Stadium)

2009 ADIDAS MLS PLAYER COMBINE LIST BY POSITION

GOALKEEPERS (7): Chris Brown (Boston College); Evan Bush (University of Akron); Steward Ceus (University of Albany); Alec Dufty (University of Evansville); Neal Kitson (St. John’s University); Milos Kocic (Loyola College); Sean Milligan (Dartmouth College)

DEFENDERS (20): Lyle Adams (Wake Forest University); Calum Angus (Saint Louis University); Trevor Banks (Old Dominion University); Darius Barnes (Duke University); Rhett Bernstein (Brown University); Matt Besler (Notre Dame University); Evan Brown (Wake Forest University); Oscar Castillo (University of Connecticut); Chris Clements (University of Tulsa); AJ Delagarza (University of Maryland); Paul Gerstenberger (Boston College); David Hertel (Michigan State University); Wes Knight (College of Charleston); Otto Loewy (Winthrop University); Yohance Marshall (University of South Florida); Ryan Mirsky (Southern Methodist University); Babjide Ogunbiyi (Santa Clara University); Kyle Russell (Coastal Carolina University); Seth Sinovic (Creighton University); Jack Traynor (Notre Dame University)

MIDFIELDERS/FORWARDS (39): Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe (George Mason University); Quincy Amarikwa (University of California-Davis); Brandon Barklage (Saint Louis University); Josh Boateng (Liberty University); Graciano Brito (Quinnipiac University); Pav Castenada (Duke University); Aaron Clapham (University of Louisville); Raphael Cox (University of Washington); Sam Cronin (Wake Forest University); Dylan Curtis (University of California-Davis); Doug DeMartin (Michigan State University); Jokul Elisabetarson (University of North Carolina-Greensboro); Michael Fucito (Harvard University); Andrei Gotsmanov (Creighton University); Mike Grella (Duke University); Alex Grendi (University of Pennsylvania); Juan Guerra (Florida International University); Jeffrey Harwell (Southern Methodist University); Bryan Irwin (University of Portland); Richard Jata (Campbell University); George John (University of Washington); Keum Sung Kim (Loyola University); Michael Lahoud (Wake Forest University); Ryan Maduro (Providence College); Patrick Murray (Furman University); Kyle Patterson (Saint Louis University); Nick Perra (University of California-Santa Barbara); Chris Pontius (University of California-Santa Barbara); Matt Poole (University of Virginia); Akeem Priestley (University of Connecticut); Daniel Revivo (Winthrop University); Tosaint Ricketts (University of Wisconsin-Green Bay); Brad Ring (Indiana University); Chris Salvaggionne (University of North Carolina-Charlotte); Jordan Seabrook (University of South Florida); Marcus Tracy (Wake Forest University); Nick Zimmerman (James Madison University); Graham Zusi (University of Maryland)

ADIDAS MLS PLAYER COMBINE LIST BY SCHOOL

Boston College
Chris Brown
Paul Gerstenberger

Brown University
Rhett Bernstein

Campbell University
Richard Jata

Coastal Carolina University
Kyle Russell

College of Charleston
Wes Knight

Creighton University
Andrei Gotsmanov
Seth Sinovic

Dartmouth University
Sean Milligan

Duke University
Darrius Barnes
Mike Grella
Pav Castaneda

Florida International University
Juan Guerra

Furman University
Patrick Murray

George Mason University
Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe

Harvard University
Michael Fucito

Indiana University
Brad Ring

James Madison University
Nick Zimmerman

Liberty University
Josh Boateng

Loyola College
Milos Kocic

Loyola University
Keum Sung Kim

Michigan State University
Doug DeMartin
David Hertel

Old Dominion University
Trevor Banks

Providence College
Ryan Maduro

Quinnipiac University
Graciano Brito

Saint Louis University
Calum Angus
Brandon Barklage
Kyle Patterson

Santa Clara University
Babajide Ogunbiyi

Southern Methodist University
Jeffrey Harwell
Ryan Mirsky

St. John’s University
Neal Kitson

University of Akron
Evan Bush

University of Albany
Steward Ceus

University of California - Davis
Quincy Amarikwa
Dylan Curtis

University of California – Santa Barbara
Nick Perera
Chris Pontius

University of Connecticut
Oscar Castillo
Akeem Priestley

University of Evansville
Alec Dufty

University of Louisville
Aaron Clapham

University of Maryland
AJ Delagarza
Graham Zusi

University of Norte Dame
Matt Besler
Jack Traynor

University of North Carolina – Charlotte
Chris Salvaggione

University of North Carolina – Greensboro
Jokull Elisabetarson

University of Pennsylvania
Alex Grendi

University of Portland
Bryan Irwin

University of South Florida
Yohance Marshall
Jordan Seabrook

University of Tulsa
Chris Clements

University of Virginia
Matt Poole

University of Washington
Raphael Cox
George John

University of Wisconsin – Green Bay
Tosaint Ricketts

Wake Forest University
Lyle Adams
Evan Brown
Sam Cronin
Michael Lahoud
Marcus Tracy

Winthrop University
Otto Loewy
Daniel Revivo

1999 US U-17 Team...Where Have I Seen That Before...

2008-12-04T10:15:00.001-07:00

Right now I'm not sure if I should feel honored or ripped off. Or is this such a common theme that anyone could be inspired to write about it? You see, today I went to ESPN.com and found this story by Justin Rodriguez. Immediately I thought about the blog post I wrote regarding this team. I even spread it out over multiple parts.

If you read Rodriguez's story it is obvious he didn't rip off any content. He actually wrote it as a journalist getting quotes and doing interviews; something I rarely do. He obviously put more work into it than I ever did. But it brings up the question, at what point is credit due to someone else for doing some base research?

Look, I don't know if Rodriguez read my post over two years ago, or ever for that matter, and got the idea and took off from there. I don't know if Justin Rodriguez has ever read my blog at all. With the proliferation of blogs it does bring up an interesting gray area.

Justin Rodriguez, or anyone at ESPN.com who can pass on the message to Justin Rodriguez, did I provide any inspiration for this story, or did you think it up all on your own? That's all I want to know.

**EDIT** I should add that I give a lot of props to Justin Rodriguez for the research he did into this team. I did my best to Google all these guys but people like Danny Bolin didn't hit my radar as well from my desk in Denver. Nice piece Justin.

Colorado Rapids Supporters Holiday Party....

2008-12-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

To those who live in Colorado and are soccer fans take a look at this! The Rapids are co-hosting a Holiday party with their supporters groups. The money raised will go to benefit the supporters groups. Sounds like fun.

WHAT: 2008 Colorado Rapids Supporters Holiday Ball

WHEN: Saturday, December 13, 6:30-9:30pm

WHERE: The Press Level (3rd floor) inside Dick's Sporting Goods Park

ATTIRE: Cocktail/Holiday attire is suggested

PRICES: Couples $25, Indviduals $15, Children $10, with a maxium ticket spend of $50 per family!

REGISTER: Sign up today by clicking here! You can also register by phone at (303) 727-3541.

If you've ever been interested in meeting some supporters club members or Rapids players and staff, what are you waiting for? Register!

NCAA Men's Soccer Championship - Elite 8...

2008-12-01T16:34:00.000-07:00

November Nuttery has run into December Dodgery, and that is a poor name. There are eight teams left standing in the 2008 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship.

#1 Wake Forest
#8 South Florida
unseeded Northwestern
#13 North Carolina
#3 St. John's
#6 Indiana
#7 Creighton
#2 Maryland

How many of those did I pick you ask? 4 or 50%. I did better picking the sweet 16. 11 of 16 or 69%. I think I'm middle of the road in the BigSoccer pool.

Anyway, you've still got three of the top four seeds. Michigan St. couldn't keep their ranking intact. They lost their first match against the University of Illinois - Chicago. Serves them right, State Sucks, Go Blue! Michigan's dream season ended against Indiana in the Sweet 16. I call it a dream season because back in the 90's the Michigan program wasn't even DI, it was just club. The coach there has taken the program a long way and as a fervent Wolverine supporter, I'm proud of them.

The next round of the tourney kicks off this weekend. Keep an eye on Wake, they destroyed a capable Dartmouth team 7-0 in the last round. Yeah, they put up 7 goals.

MLS Rule Changes and Player Development...

2008-11-25T11:01:00.000-07:00

Back in October I posted an update to a theme I had blogged about in the past. Player development is of great interest to me so you can understand why it hits the blog on a somewhat regular basis. Now comes more news on this front. MLS is doing what it does every year while crowing a champion, changes the rules.

In the past there have been important, great rule changes that have brought the league closer to the World's Game. One in particular signaled that MLS finally gets it, that was when they moved from a count down clock to a count up. This time around I'm not sure what the league gets.

Here is a summary of the 2009 adjustments:

- Roster size decreases from 28 to 24 players
- Schedule changes
- How to qualify for the playoffs
- International club competition qualification

As you can see from the detail in the above list, and as you might expect, I really only care about one of those. The rest I think the league did the right thing. I will say, I'd like to see the league have fewer teams in the playoffs, but that is for another blog.

So, the roster shrinks from 28 to 24. Read the following text to learn the details of the change directly from the horse's mouth. Bold is my own.

Following an extensive review of the operation of the Reserve Division over the past four years, MLS has decided that it will be more efficient to cease operation of the Reserve Division and to divert funds from its operations to more directed programs such as a bolstered senior roster, increased commitment to the Generation adidas program and focused initiatives to provide leading prospects with game experience, whether in MLS or elsewhere. These options are currently being reviewed by an MLS working group.

Each team will be permitted to carry 18, 19 or 20 senior roster players (at its option) within the overall salary budget (the limit in 2008 was 18 senior roster players). In addition, teams will be permitted to carry up to four developmental players (including Generation adidas players) outside of the team salary budget. Any team with more than four Generation adidas players carried forward from 2008 will be grandfathered with respect to the size of their developmental roster.

Bonji's Analysis: Senior roster spots go up to 20 from 18, developmental spots go down from 10 to 4. Sure, a team could keep 18 senior players and 6 developmental and I'm sure some will to save money. But lets look at the worst case scenario for player development. 4 developmental players without a reserve league to play in.

While deciding this change MLS must have ignored the success the Rapids have had with the reserve league, or they decided they aren't getting the quality of player from that system the league needs to thrive. The league also might have looked down the road at the youth systems teams have set up and thought those will fill in eventually as the sport grows. Either way, I am disappointed to see the league fold the reserve league. After all, it is the only trophy the Rapids have been able to win recently.

Back to the Rapids success with the reserve team. The Rapids have used the set up to get young players ready to play in MLS matches. Starters for the first team started out with the reserve team. See below:
Bouna Coundoul: 315 reserve minutes in 2005 before standing in for injured Joe Cannon in 2006. Those performances while backing up Joe Cannon opened the door for the Rapids to trade Cannon making Bouna the starter in 2007. Would the Rapids have felt comfortable with Bouna as a backup without the reserve team experience?
Jordan Harvey: 2006 missed only one reserve game. 2007 started 10 out of 10 reserve league games. 2008 became the starting left back for the Rapids down the stretch under Gary Smith, playing in 15 matches.
The list goes on; Stephen Keel (6 first team matches in '08), Omar Cummings (26 first team matches in '08), Nick LaBrocca (30 first team matches in '08) even went so far as to get a call up to a US National Team Camp this fall.

I think you get the point. The reserve team was working for teams who drafted well and took the reserve league seriously. The Rapids prided themselves on the reserve league and they got a group of players who went 5-4-1 under a good coach this fall.

This will change the draft as well. Instead of 15 teams drafting for potentially 10 development spots, they're now looking at 4. It is going to be a lot harder for a young college grad to find a spot on a roster since they'll be competing with second and third year pros who are also watching their prospects fizzle. Its a player cram down basically.

For me it was a mistake to cancel the reserve league and showed MLS is focused on signing players from abroad or Americans who have developed up abroad. The league is cutting off a good source of players so move the funds somewhere else. I guess the guys with the money didn't want to figure out a way to expand the senior roster and keep the reserve league which would have been the best of both worlds. What do you think?

Off To The Races....

2008-11-21T16:16:00.000-07:00

And they're off! November Nuttery is upon us once again. That's right, the 2008 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship kicked off today. Remember to follow along through the weekend on-line.

I didn't have anyone interested in printing and sending in a bracket so I'm not doing anything for a pool. I did however participate in BigSoccer's version. I'll use this blog as a bragging point if I do well.

Men's Soccer U-Pick-Em...

2008-11-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

Anyone interested in a little November Nuttery pool? Print and fill in the bracket before the first match, just like you do in March. Scan it and email it to me. I'll score them and post results...that is unless someone can find an on-line site doing this.

You've got two days to fill a bracket and email it in. In your email give me the name you want to have posted on the blog and where you're from. I need all entries by 11/21/08 at 11 am est.

Thanks!

2008 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship Bracket...

2008-11-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

Here it is folks, the magic bracket. By now you've probably seen the other soccer blogs talking about the seeds. I'm going to talk about the most interesting first round match ups.

First off, a lot of the first round games pit geographic rivals. I'm sure the NCAA does this for travel reasons, plus it is cool to try and get some local stuff going on.

UMass vs. Harvard
Boston College vs. Colgate
Northwestern vs. Loyola (Ill)
UCLA vs. Cal Poly
UConn vs. Fairfield
Cal vs. San Francisco

Those should be some good games. Which games are you looking forward to checking out? If anyone is headed to a NCAA Championship match let me know. I'd love to get some write ups from readers.

ACC Men's Soccer Championship Semi-Finals...

2008-11-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

Today we'll see who will face off for the ACC Men's Soccer Championship. Interestingly the seeding is coming true as the #1 - #4 teams are in the semi's. #2 Maryland vs. #3 Boston College kicks off at 5:30pm est and the second match, #1 Wake Forest vs. #4 Virginia, 8pm est.

As a reminder you can watch the games for free on the ACC Select website. Links are on the above linked ACC website. The coverage is actually remarkably good for on-line, college coverage. I watched some of the NC State vs. Wake game and the two doing the announcing did a better job then some MLS teams. Well done ACC!

2008 MLS Rookie Of The Year...

2008-11-13T10:15:00.000-07:00

It is official, Sean Franklin wins 2008 Rookie Of The Year award.

As I sad ten days ago, this class of rookies doesn't really seem to hold up to previous years. I also don't think Sean Franklin will end up being the best player to come out of the class, I just think it could take others longer to mature. I also think people will scratch their head when they compare this year's award winner to previous years winners.

2008: Sean Franklin - Los Angeles Galaxy
2007: Maurice Edu - Toronto FC
2006: Jonathan Bornstein - Chivas USA
2005: Michael Parkhurst - New England Revolution
2004: Clint Dempsey - New England Revolution
2003: Damani Ralph - Chicago Fire
2002: Kyle Martino - Columbus Crew
2001: Rodrigo Faria - MetroStars
2000: Carlos Bocanegra - Chicago Fire
1999: Jay Heaps - Miami Fusion
1998: Ben Olsen - D.C. United
1997: Mike Duhaney - Tampa Bay Mutiny
1996: Steve Ralston - Tampa Bay Mutiny

Does anyone out there think Franklin will be headed to Europe in a few years for successful careers like Dempsey or Bocanegra? Or will Franklin be the next Jay Heaps or Kyle Martino? I tend to think he'll have a career as a serviceable player but won't stay in anyone's mind as an amazing player.

I don't know, am I being too harsh? Is my season ticket in Denver keeping me from seeing a gem in LA? What do you all think?

FCTP and Facebook...

2008-11-12T17:12:00.000-07:00

You've by now probably noticed the Twitter widget on the right margin and now there is a new one. If you're a Facebook user there is a new way to follow FCTP. Read through the players I'm keeping my eyes on and you'll be rewarded. Amongst the players you'll find another new widget that lets you follow FCTP through my blog network. Hook in there and find lots of other quality soccer blogs.

Enjoy!

Where Did This Kid Come From?

2008-11-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

Remember this name: Tony Tchani

I stumbled across him as I was looking at ACC conference awards for this year. He won a few honors in his first year; 2008 All-ACC 2nd Team, 2008 All-ACC Freshman Team, 2008 ACC Freshman of the Year.

I asked myself how he won these without making my list previously, usually I have at least seen the standout kids through the ESP camps, someone else posting somewhere...but this time no. Nothing.

I did a little research and it turns out Tchani just emigrated here from his birthplace of Cameroon in 2006. He's been playing soccer since he was five and when he got here he quickly joined the Maury High School team in Norfolk, Virginia. His 6-4 physique and soccer skills developed a following and that apparently led to UVA.

The ACC Championship will undoubtedly be his coming out party with MLS coaches and scouts. Before long his name will be known in Europe as foreign scouts are watching the American game more and more.

In his freshman season the midfielder/forward led the Cavaliers with nine goals and created three more, in 13 matches.

Tchani has dreams of playing professionally and it certainly seems like he could be stepping to MLS in the next couple years.

ACC Men's Soccer Championship Underway...

2008-11-12T09:15:00.000-07:00

Let's face it, every year the Atlantic Coast Conference provides some of the biggest names in the MLS Draft and more importantly many of the players who actually make a professional career in MLS. No, I haven't done an exact study but lets look at some of the recent big names to come through the MLS draft.

2008 #7 - Patrick Nyarko - Virginia Tech
2008 #10 - Pat Phelan - Wake Forest
2007 #1 - Maurice Edu - Maryland
2007 #2 - Bakary Soumare - Virginia
2007 #3 - Michael Harrington - North Carolina
2007 #4 - Chris Seitz - Maryland
2007 #5 - Wells Thompson - Wake Forest
2007 #6 - Nico Colaluca - Virginia
2007 #19 - Dane Richards - Clemson
2006 #3 - Jason Garey - Maryland
2006 #6 - Dax McCarty - North Carolina
2006 #7 - Justin Moose - Wake Forest
2006 #12 - Nathan Sturgis - Clemson
2005 #2 - Brad Guzan - South Carolina
2005 #7 - Hunter Freeman - Virginia
2005 #9 - Michael Parkhurst - Wake Forest
2005 #11 - Scott Sealy - Wake Forest
2005 #13 - Jamie Watson - North Carolina
2005 #20 - Marcus Storey - North Carolina
2005 #21 - James Riley - Wake Forest

You get the point. While the Pac 10, Big 10, Big East and other conferences do provide players to MLS, also who are drafted higher or have better careers, statistically speaking you're bound to find a solid pro in the ACC more often. There just seem to be more of them.

So now to the point of this post. The ACC Men's Soccer Championship kicked off yesterday with a first round game between #8 NC State and #9 Virginia Tech. It seems without Nyarko VT can't score anymore and they lost to NC State 3-1. NC State won the right to play #1 Wake Forest today...lucky them. Wake has been outstanding this season putting together a 17-0-1 record. Yes, only one draw all week...no losses.

The other matches:
#2 Maryland vs. #7 North Carolina
#3 Boston College vs. #6 Clemson
#4 Virginia vs. #5 Duke

Check out the All-ACC teams for this season to see many of the names you'll see in the draft come January.

Player Tracking Update....

2008-11-11T11:20:00.000-07:00

My apologies for being so far behind this year but the update is posted. All four classes are new and improved. If you see an error or a player who's school has a question mark next to it, please let me know if you know where this player is as I have lost track of him and haven't been able to find him.

Here is how the numbers look:
Seniors - 151
Juniors - 184
Sophomores - 177
Freshman - 126

To those new to the site, my methodology looks like this. If a player has won an honor or an award like Player of the Year in a conference, or if he was part of the US Soccer Residency, or if he participated in the adidas ESP camps...he makes my list. I obviously miss things because this is a manual process but I do my best. Any suggestions to the list are appreciated.

Let The 2009 MLS SuperDraft Chatter Begin!!!

2008-11-05T16:22:00.000-07:00

Anyone reading this blog knows what I get excited for every year. As the college season wraps up, as snow starts falling, as it gets cold out, my mind turns to the MLS Draft. The show is starting to pop and Buzz has updated his Generation Adidas tracking list. He did it a month ago, I'm a little behind. Check the right hand margin regularly as I'll post new links with resources for the 2009 Draft as I find them. Have one, email me.

Player Highlight...Casey Townsend of Maryland...

2008-11-05T10:51:00.000-07:00

I was just going through my list, doing some updates. Ok, many updates due to the fact I haven't looked at it in months. As I was looking at Maryland I was excited to see how Maryland Freshman Forward, Casey Townsend's season is going.

Townsend first made my list when he was named an All-Star at the Adidas ESP camp during the summer of 2006. Subsequently he added the following honors to his resume: 2006 NSCAA/Adidas All-American, 2007 US U-18 Team, 2007 NSCAA/Adidas Boys Youth All-America Team, 2007 NSCAA/Adidas Boys High School All-America Team, 2008 Rise Magazine #6 recruit, 2007-08 Michigan Gatorade State Players of the Year.

Townsend has led his school to a strong 14-3-0 record and the #5 spot in the CSN Top 30. Going into the ACC tourney, Maryland will be a force to be reckoned with in part due to Townsend's scoring prowess. Townsend has started all 17 games this season and has scored 10 goals while creating 2.

Coach Cirovski said the following about his freshman forward on the Maryland website:

He is the top attacking player we have recruited to Maryland. Look for Casey to be a nuisance to opponents. He is a goal scorer!

"Top attacking player" is high praise when you consider Taylor Twellman and Robbie Rogers played for Maryland.

This freshman season will undoubtedly put Townsend into the Generation Adidas scuttlebutt come January. What do you think? Should he stay in college or should he jump to the pros, seemingly to accelerate his development?

MLS 2008 Rookie Of The Year Nominees....

2008-11-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

MLS award nominees are out and as you should expect my eyes went first to Rookie of the Year.

Rookie of the Year: Sean Franklin, Geoff Cameron, Kheli Dube

As always I like to take a look back, see where they came from and the like. Here is some bio info.

Sean Franklin was the highest draft pick of the three. He was taken #4 overall by LA after playing college soccer at Cal State Northridge. He was the first non-generation adidas pick in the '08 draft. He first hit my list in 2007 when he got some time with the US U-23 team. He was also selected to the 2007 All PDL team after a strong summer playing in the amateur league. The defender was one of the lone bright spots on a terrible LA defensive line and you have to wonder if he would have earned those 26 starts on another team. I'm not trying to knock the kid, he played well and had a good rookie year, but he was part of a defense that gave up a staggering 62 goals. A stronger defensive unit, not starting a rookie almost all season, would have probably helped the Gals make the playoffs seeing as that they scored the most goals in the league. Obviously not all his fault, but something to think about.

Geoff Cameron was a total unknown to me when he was drafted 42nd overall by Houston. The young midfielder played his college ball at the University of Rhode Island and was the 2007 A-10 midfielder of the year. That award should have put him on my list, but I somehow missed him. I must have been busy with work when those were announced. Geoff played 921 minutes for the Houston senior team in 2008 making him a somewhat unknown commodity to those of us who don't attend/watch every Houston match. Frankly I'm somewhat surprised to see his name on the list, but like I said, I didn't get to see him play much. I'm starting to worry about this class selected by the league.

Last but not least; Kheli Dube. The forward had a strong rookie year for New England scoring four goals and making four assists. He played over 1,200 minutes for the Revs which is good on a team with such talent. Dube was drafted 8th in the 2008 Supplemental Draft out of Costal Carolina University. At CCU he earned the 2007 Big South Conference Player of the Year award. He is a quick SOB and I'm excited to see more of him in 2009.

Of all the players nominated I'm having a tough time picking my favorite. Franklin seemed to live up to his high draft pick while Dube came out of a less known college program and made the best of his opportunity and the same can probably be said for Cameron. However, I am surprised these are the Rookie of the Year candidates and I fear this is a sign of things to come as MLS signs more players directly from academies and foreign leagues. The young Americans players coming out of college are not always ready to play the pro game in their first year and this list shows it.

Should they be ready to make the jump? That is up to individual opinion. My opinion is as follows. The expectation should be different for each player. In the case of an eighteen year old GA player, you can't expect him to jump into a man's game right away. Kids like Jozy Altidore are the exception. If they can play well in their rookie year, great...but I don't expect them to. Twenty-three year old men like Franklin are a different story. They've developed mentally and physically and need to be ready upon joining MLS to battle and play hard. MLS is signing them hoping they can contribute from day one. As the player pool expands in the coming years rookies are going to get more chances and they need to be ready. The fact that Franklin's back line was so porous is due to his inexperience and lack of leadership, yet he is a rookie of the year candidate?

I fear for the future of American college soccer and the players it produces when this list is the pick of the litter. In foreign leagues twenty three years olds have been training professionally for a few years. They are ready to capitalize on given opportunities to start in the best leagues around the world. The kids coming to MLS from college are hindered by NCAA rules. Therefore, I see more and more future pros coming from Academies and other leagues, not college unless NCAA changes their rules and allows more training and game time. Time will tell.

As for my Rookie of the Year? He isn't on this list and I'm not sure there is one. Rookies in 2008 had a tough time and the breakout players were coming from reserve leagues having gotten some pro time under their belts. I'll look for the success stories out of the 2008 draft next year.

Names To Watch Come January...

2008-10-23T10:40:00.000-06:00

The US college soccer season is in full swing and next month we'll be watching as conference tournaments crown new champions before the big dance crows a national champ. Last season's national champs, Wake Forest, continues to dominate having won all of their games aside from a hard fought draw against ACC rival Duke. Wake has chalked up convincing wins against perennial powers Maryland, UCLA, UCSB, Clemson and more. At this point it seems like their high powered offense will roll against all opponents, however we know what happens in single elimination tournaments and someone else could come up and knock them off.

Here is the latest College Soccer News Top 30. The ACC isn't nearly as prevalent in the top 10 as in previous years. Is the power being distributed across more schools? Is MLS' popularity encouraging more college programs to win? It is hard to say but I think we can all agree that it is great to see a diverse group of schools cracking the Top 30.

And how about my team, Michigan! The soccer team appears to be making up for the Maize and Blue on the football field. Michigan chalked up big wins against Indiana and Notre Dame recently. Unfortunately some recent losses against State and Akron have brought the Wolverines back to ground. Hopefully they can make some noise in the Big 10 tourney coming up.

College Soccer News has a nice piece about some of the better team mate combinations out there. Senior forward Marcus Tracy was a player I hoped to see in the 2008 MLS draft as a GA player, but after another strong season the 6' 1" marksman has further proven his abilities. He and strike partner Cody Arnoux are tearing up the charts with 21 goals and 8 assists between the two in fifteen games.

O’Brian White isn't having a senior season to match his junior but he'll still be in the draft pool come January.

Andre Akpan will certainly be on people's minds after his Junior season at Harvard wraps up. Will he forsake a final year in school for a big money GA offer, if one is available?

Omar Gonzalez has been a highly watched prospect through his career and he has played at different levels within the US National team set up. At 6'5" and 200 pounds he is a physical presence on defense that many MLS teams want. Will he leave Maryland early if a nice GA contract is put out there? He was the ACC defender of the year in 2007, as a sophomore.

Brian Shriver is leading the North Carolina Tar Heels in scoring with 12 goals and 1 assist. If his Heels can continue to fly high he'll certainly get the attention of some professional scouts as the college season wraps up. He participated in the 2004 adidas ESP camps, putting his name on my list.

Jonathan Villanueva's Virginia Cavaliers are going to be looking for some post season magic as they haven't had the greatest of seasons. Can the junior midfielder propel his team to new heights before making the jump to the pros that his pedigree anticipates?

Nelson Becerra made my list when fellow blogger Ives profiled him awhile back. Now he leads his team in points and has helped the Red Storm to a #3 national ranking. He played for the regional power St. Benedict's Prep in high school and now in his junior year. Will the local Red Bulls come calling come January?

Speaking of the Red Bulls and Ives, freshman Matt Kassel is having a strong season for Maryland. He has played in and started all 15 of the Terps' games this year and is co-leader of the team in assists with 6. Maryland is currently ranked #6 nationally. If I recall correctly, Kassel will be a Red Bull if he chooses to leave school early. Is one college season enough for this youth star?

So there you go folks. As conference tourneys kick off I'll do my best to keep you all updated. I'll also be sure to update the players to watch margin item soon, it has been too long.

Steroids In MLS...

2008-10-16T15:27:00.000-06:00

Young ones reading the blog, let this be a lesson to you.

SECAUCUS, NJ (Thursday, October 16, 2008) – Major League Soccer announced today that New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Jon Conway and defender Jeff Parke have been suspended for ten MLS games, including regular season and playoffs, effective immediately, and each has also been fined 10 percent of their annual salary. The suspension and fines are the result of testing positive for androstatriendione (ATD) and boldenone metabolites -- performance enhancing substances.

“Jon and Jeff have been valuable members of the Red Bulls organization, both on the field and in the Greater New York community,“ said Red Bull New York Managing Director Erik Stover. “This is a sad day for our club and our fans. We are extremely disappointed that Jon and Jeff have tested positive for a substance banned by MLS’s policy. We have met with both players and they informed us that they ingested an over-the-counter supplement that unknowingly contained a banned substance. However, the Red Bulls support MLS’ policy and believe that performance enhancing drugs have no place in professional sports.”

MLS isn't messing around when it comes to 'roids. Baseball may dodge and weave on the topic, who knows what football does, WWE...let's not kid ourselves...but MLS is taking the hard line with soccer players letting them know that the rules are firm. I applaud MLS for sticking to their policies despite the fact that both players said they were just taking an over the counter supplement. That may be true, but the fact of the matter is that athletes need to be careful what they take. Just because GNC sells it doesn't mean it will be good for you.

I've always been skeptical of those mall stores hawking all sorts of milks and powders. In college friends were taking Creatine like it was their job so they could look good over spring break. I didn't understand it then and I don't now.

Kids: Work hard, eat right, train, play, kick the ball. Just don't think that taking something is going to help you be a better pro.

MLS Receives Expansion Bids...What Does That Do To The Player Pool...

2008-10-15T15:25:00.002-06:00

In the past I've blogged about the expanding pool of players in MLS as expansion teams are brought into the fold. Well folks, here we go again.

NEW YORK (Wednesday, October 15, 2008) – Seven prospective ownership groups from markets throughout the United States and Canada have submitted an application for a future Major League Soccer expansion team, MLS President Mark Abbott announced today on the League’s official web site, www.MLSnet.com.

MLS intends to add two more clubs in the next few years, bringing the League to 18 teams. Seattle Sounders FC begin play next year as the 15th team in MLS, and Philadelphia will join in 2010 as the League’s 16th team.

Recap of the player rules:
• 28 total players on the roster
• 18 senior players
• 10 developmental players
• 8 International Player slots per team, and the distinction between Youth International and Senior International has been removed

Remember Canadian teams (only TFC right now) play by different rules since they're in Canada, ehh.

Let's do the math:
14 current MLS teams * 28 players per team = 392 players currently playing in MLS. Expand by an additional four teams (which is how many are currently being discussed if the league is going to 18) and you get 504 players in MLS at the end of expansion. A 29% change.

Where are those additional 112 players going to come from? If rules don't change, 32, roughly 30%, are going to be international, coming from different countries. 40, or 36% will be developmental (recent college grads and other youngsters) and the remaining 40, again 36%, will be other American players presumably with some playing time under their belt in Europe or other foreign leagues. Hopefully by 2010 more players will be joining MLS teams out of their development academy.

Another aspect to consider is the youth development league below the MLS club roster. Here is the Rapids' pyramid of soccer development. Just think of all the kids who will get a chance to play the game in a club environment with this expansion.

As I've said in the past, I'm not sure College Soccer is producing enough players to meet this demand. There will certainly need to be more done to keep young pros in MLS as expansion occurs. There will also need to be more done to encourage boomerangs.

All in all I am for expansion, however MLS will need to be careful that it is bringing along players to fill the available roster spots without diluting the quality of play.

MLS Sets Another Milestone...

2008-10-06T16:49:00.000-06:00

As always, Ives has the scoop. The LA Gals are set to make forward Tristan Bowen the first youth academy grad gone pro. The Rapids have had a kid from their youth team play in the annual intra-squad pre-season friendly, but the Gals are signing one. Perhaps they realize they can't field a full team with both Landycakes and Becks on the payroll?

Just kidding LA, well done. I hope Bowen pans out and becomes a MLS starter a few years down the road. This is the kind of progress American soccer fans have been waiting to see. The question I have for readers, does this spell the end to College Soccer as we know it? Not this year, not next...but five or ten years down the road will College Soccer be sending kids to MLS or will all new MLS players be coming up through the youth ranks?

Rapids Playoff Push...

2008-10-03T12:41:00.001-06:00

This has been an up and down year to say the least for Colorado Rapids fans. I'm not going to do a season run down, this is a call to all the soccer fans in the Denver metro area to make sure you come out and support the playoff push. The Rapids are back in the swing of things. Coach Smith has the team back on the right track and they're playing great soccer. If you missed the Connor Casey game winning goal in New York last week, head over to the MLS website to catch the highlights. It was a world class service and goal.

This weekend Houston comes to town. The Dynamo are coming off a wild mid-week game in Mexico. They got a draw down there and are probably feeling good about themselves. The Rapids need to stamp them down.

This week the Rapids have launched a new campaign called Together We Rise. I like it. Here is the video.

You get the point, a packed house will help the team perform. Beating the first place team in the west this weekend will certainly help lock up a playoff spot in the tightest MLS playoff race ever. Three teams are currently tied for third in the west. A win and we make some breathing room while also closing in on 1st place ~~Dallas~~ Houston.

Come on out to Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The Rapids hopefully won't disappoint. Add to that the Supporter's Tailgate chili cook off in lot AA, starting at 5:30, and what more can a soccer fan hope for? See you there.

Send Them To Soccer Pro!!!

2008-10-02T14:46:00.000-06:00

I am pleased to announce a new sponsor here at FCTP. The folks over at Soccer Pro have shown me their great customer service, so now it is your chance to experience the best soccer shop on the web. Take a look down the right hand margin and browse their goods. You won't be disappointed.

http://www.soccerpro.com

You Tell Them, Ridge!

2008-09-30T09:19:00.000-06:00

Ridge Mahoney doles out some props to the college game and those who have made it in the pro game both here and abroad. Normally I would just share this kind of thing for you to read on your own time (check the What Bonji Is Reading... link to the right) but this time I think I need to direct link it, this is a nice piece. Thanks, Ridge!

FCTP Update - 9/24/08...

2008-09-24T13:03:00.000-06:00

chirp....chirp....chirp.....

You can hear the crickets chirping around here, can't you? My bad people, work has been crazy recently. But let's take a spin around the world of young soccer players, shall we?

For some reason the adidas ESP website doesn't have the male 2008 participants listed...WTF web guys? FCTP can't update their database!

Wake Forrest is having a fine season having started out of the gates at 6-0-0. Well done Demon Deacons.

Boston College Senior, Alejandro Bedoya, is showing why he's been on our radar for some time now. The playmaker is having a strong start to the season helping his team notch some big wins.

I'm getting ready to update the classes on the right hand margin, so look for that.

Sorry for being away from the blog, as the college season progresses I'll do better.

2009 MLS SuperDraft...

2008-09-10T15:53:00.000-06:00

It may seem awhile off to most of us, but over at WVHooligan - Soccer Blog you can sink your teeth into the first projected draft order I've seen. Nice work by Drew Epperley on this one.

Looking Ahead to 2009: The Involvement of College Soccer Players

2008-09-08T12:30:00.001-06:00

Hey! I am a new blogger here at FCTP! My name is USvsIreland and I am a student who is a massive fan of US Soccer. Hope you enjoy the first piece.

Looking Ahead to 2009: The Involvement of College Soccer Players

What went largely unnoticed in the furor of our Olympic exploits (or lack thereof) is that the United States sent a Youth National Team to a tournament without a single non-professional player. This by itself is a huge success and it shows that player development has come a long way in this country. It still has a long way to go, but we are showing progress. The fastest way to success is a large and deep pool of professional players. Can we repeat this feat in 2009 with our U-20's? The 2007 U-20 Side had 7 amateurs, most of which were Defenders or Goalkeepers.

Here is a look at some non-professional players who have a shot at making the U-20 WYC Roster:

Felix Garcia
Club/College: PDL Laredo Heat
Age: 18; July 30, 1990
Position: Forward
Squad Chance: Almost a lock.

Felix Garcia is a wonderkid. He has been a favorite of Thomas Rongen's so far in this cycle. While all reports say he is "raw," he is a 6 footer with a lot of skill that is waiting to be honed in a professional environment. Apparently he is only a senior in HS this fall, so unless he drops out or graduates early he could still be an amateur by Summer 2009. He is reportedly getting looked at by MFL teams and I'm sure Rongen has been called about him by MLS teams.

Sheanon Williams
Club/College: NCAA Div I University of North Carolina
Age: 18; March 17, 1990
Position: Right Back/Midfield
Squad Chance: Lock.

Sheanon is a self-described Right Back, Right Midfielder, and Forward. He has been starting at Right Back for the U20's so far. Formerly at Bradenton, Sheanon already has U-17 WC experience and with a lack of any pro option on the right side of defense, I think we will most likely be seeing Sheanon in Egypt in 2009. Will he stay amateur? He has trialed in Holland, and may be waiting for that GenAd contract in the winter.

Ike Opara
Club/College: NCAA Div I Wake Forest
Age: 19; February 21, 1989
Position: Central Defense
Squad Chance: Lock

Opara got a lot of notice for his important part of the Championship winning Wake Forest defense. He started 23 games including the Championship game. At 6 foot 2, he has a strong powerful presence and is great in the air. He has already won everything there is to be won at the college level and if he performs similarly to 2007 he may find himself contemplating a GenAd contract offer this winter.

Perica Marosevic
Club/College: NCAA Div I University of Michigan
Age: 19; May 5, 1989
Position: Forward
Squad Chance: Good Chances, needs to keep scoring.

Peri Marosevic has a fairly prolific scoring record at YNT level for the US. He was at Bradenton and a longtime U-18 player. In order to keep Rongen's attention, Peri needs to keep scoring at the college level once the season starts. While his college stats may not sound impressive (6 goals in 18 starts last season) he was his school's top scorer by 2 goals. Will he stay an amateur? He has trialed in Germany before and may look there or to MLS if he wants to increase his chances of making this roster. His recent 2 goals against Mexico will not go unnoticed.

Richard Balchan
Club/College: Indiana University
Age: 19; January 18, 1989
Position: Defense/Midfield
Squad Chance: Good Chances

Richard is listed as a midfielder with Indiana but has been playing Central Defense for the U20's during the trip to England and at the Milk Cup. So far I have read mixed reviews, but Rongen obviously sees something in him as his repeated call ups show. Rongen may be hoping to teach Balchan this new position in time for the WYC. I don't see a clamor for his signature this winter, but could be one who will benefit strongly from a good WYC showing a la Wynne and Feilhaber.

Chris Agorsor
Club/College: University of Virginia
Age: 18; January 9, 1990
Position: Forward/Winger
Squad Chances: Good Chances

Rongen made some statements about 2008 Gatorade Player of the Year and USSF Academy Player of the Year Chris lately that I interpreted to mean: You're very talented, but you need to improve and the best way to do that is getting your behind over to Europe. This kid is becoming a bit of an internet legend. He has trialed all over Europe, mostly in England and could be going anywhere after this fall season. He has a great chance to make the squad if he keeps making the headlines. Rongen will definitely be following his every move.

Hope you enjoyed it so far stay tuned for parts 2 and 3.

If you have any questions/comments feel free to post them or E-mail me at USvsIreland AT gmail.com.

Thanks!

2008 US Soccer U-17 Residency List....

2008-09-03T17:23:00.000-06:00

Another year another fresh crop of kids at the US Soccer Residency program in Bradenton, FL. Congrats to those who were selected, you've been added to my list. Ohh, and you'll be playing in the most prestigious soccer development environment in the country. There's that. I for one think there needs to be a second academy elsewhere in the country so increase the number of participants getting this kind of great soccer education. Say somewhere in the Rocky Mountain Region to take attract the west coast crew. Say in Commerce City, Colorado on some of the best fields in the country. Just a thought Rapids...cough cough...call US Soccer and help build a dorm for the kids on all that spare land you have...cough cough....

Anyway, want to know what I noticed while perusing the list? Take a look, see if you can guess.

GOALKEEPERS ( 4): Samir Badr (Fairfax, Va.), Earl Edwards (San Diego, Calif.), Jonathan Kempin (K.C. Wizards Juniors), Spencer Richey (Crossfire Premier)

DEFENDERS (13): Michael Ambrose (El Paso, Texas), Julio Arjona (D.C. United Academy), Zachary Herold (Port St. Lucie, Fla.), Perry Kitchen (Chicago Magic), Jordan McCrary (Concorde Fire), Boyd Okwuonu (Edmond, Okla.), Emilio Orozco (Oxnard, Calif.), Shaquille Phillips (D.C. United Academy), Tyler Polak (Lincoln, Neb.), Alberto Rosas (Real So Cal), Alex Shinsky (York, Penn.), Jared Watts (North Meck), Eriq Zavaleta (Westfield, Ind.)

MIDFIELDERS (17): Jonathan Canales (Santa Ana, Calif.), Dustin Corea (Milwaukee, Ore.), Andrew Craven (St. Simons Island, Ga.), Sean Davis (Matchfit Academy), Bryan Duran (Duncanville, Texas), Victor Garza (Edinburg, Texas), Luis Gil (Pateadores), Joseph Gyau (FC DELCO), Donovan Henry (Schulz Academy), George Malki (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Carlos Martinez (Las Vegas, Nev.), Alex Molano (F.C. Dallas Juniors), Joel Nash (Birmingham, Ala.), Victor Pineda (Chicago Fire Academy), Charles Renken (Scott Gallagher), Dominic Sarle (BW Gottschee), Erik Stephenson (Surf)

FORWARDS (6): John Agudelo (N.Y. Red Bulls Academy), Jonathan Brown (Clinton, Miss), Jaime Gutierrez (West Coast FC), Stefan Jerome (Davie, Fla.), Alfred Koroma (Solar Red), Jack McInerney (Alpharetta, Ga.)

Any guesses? I see six kids already associated with MLS clubs. Thanks to the new development rules, it looks like MLS clubs are helping to get the best and brightest young players noticed and into the US Soccer system. Add to that the fact that we already know what MLS club will have first crack at these guys and I'm excited to see US Soccer and MLS growing up. We're finally getting to that international style development system where kids are associated with clubs from a young age and are coached by the top coaches, not just their local soccer parents. Well done MLS and US Soccer, keep it up.

The College Season Is Here....

2008-08-29T09:57:00.000-06:00

Another season of American college soccer is upon us. I know we've been quiet here but sometimes work and a huge convention messing up traffic messes up my schedule. As the young kids are going back to campus and starting to kick a ball around a lot of information is compiled into my 'list'. I'll add adidas ESP players, I'll add pre-season All-Americans, I'll add other pre-season awards winners. This is an exciting time of year for me as it represents the run up to the MLS SuperDraft. Stay tuned as we're also adding a new contributor to the site who has a lot of insight into the US Youth National Teams.

Grant Wahl Says What I Was Thinking...

2008-08-13T12:32:00.000-06:00

...but am not a good enough writer to communicate. Here you go, I suggest checking it out.

He's right you know. Commentator Marcelo Balboa said during the Dutch telecast something to the effect of "get your yellow card suspension over with now before the quarterfinals" I have to respectfully disagree. I agree with Wahl in that because of the taking the yellow card now as opposed to later mindset the US were missing two of their best players. Two players who would have made a difference in this game.

Sometimes the common view in sports are not right. In this case I would rather have seen Bradley and Adu in the final group game as opposed to sitting it out. Balboa's comments made an incorrect assumption that shouldn't be made, that you're going to advance from the group stage when there is one more game to go.

Heartbreak...

2008-08-13T07:34:00.000-06:00

I got up early again to rev up the DVR and watch the US take on Nigeria. The US needed a win or tie against a good Nigerian squad. I'm ready, I'm pumped. What happens next? The worst thing possible, the thing I didn't want to see, heartbreak...

A red card in the 4th minute. Michael Orozco makes a stupid mistake and elbows a Nigerian player while tussling for a ball. No, it wasn't a terribly vicious elbow and perhaps the Nigerian player made a small meal of it by going to ground when other players may have played through the "pain" and fought for the ball, but the damage was done and Michael Orozco got sent off...in the 4th minute. How do you recover from that?

The US certainly tried. Unfortunately late in the first half they gave up a goal and now they went from looking good to move on to depending on the Netherlands losing too. In the second half the US was certainly working hard and as Nigeria sent too many players up field, the young Americans had some quality chances. But it wasn't to be, the Nigerians got a second goal and the game was out of reach. The end of the second half certainly got exciting when the US earned and converted a penalty but they were still one goal down and The Dutch won their game, resurrecting their poor Olympic performance. The US threw bodies forward but couldn't get the tying goal they needed, they are out. Over. Kaput.

It is too bad. This was a good team. Freddy Adu missed his chance to make a mark on American sports leading the US to a medal. He was missed today as you could see, even with an extra man, the Nigerian defense wouldn't have been able to handle him running at them. There were a lot of holes to exploit in that defense.

Stuart Holden impressed for me again. As did late sub Charlie Davies. Benny F. showed he needs to find a starting gig as he was missing passes and rusty. Altidore was taken off after the first half. I think he could have made more of an impact in his first start had there not been a red card forcing formation and game plan changes. Edu and Parkhurst played well. Robbie Rogers was nice at times. Sacha looked better in the last two games then he did in the first. Danny S. was unremarkable. Brad Guzan showed why Aston Villa bought him.

Brian McBride never did it for me. He is 36 and it shows. I don't think his inclusion in the team helped all that much. Imagine if Davies and Altidore could have grown a successful partnership with speed and power. Sure, McHead can bring down a nice trap and contest for crosses but he didn't score a goal and that is what his job comes down to.

It always seems to end this way for the US. I know all countries feel heartbreak during big tournaments but as an American fan I think I feel it more. Now we wait for the next World Cup, the next Youth World Cup...the next.

US Men's Soccer Olympic Update...

2008-08-11T15:47:00.000-06:00

I was out of town Sunday morning when the US kicked off their all important Olympic match against Holland. Why do I say 'all important'? Going into the match the US was the only team in the group with three points. Nigeria and Holland had one point based on their draw while Japan had none. Furthermore, this is The Netherlands....the best of the best when it comes to youth national teams. As I clicked on the DVR sunday afternoon I was thinking, "if the US can get a point in this game, they have a chance of qualifying for the next round."

If they can get a point, did you hear me? They almost waltzed out of there with all three points! After the first half I thought to myself, "ok, not too bad. Down one goal. They can tie it up." Freddy Adu was looking more dangerous then he did in the opening match. The Dutch weren't dominating and in fact the US held some decent possession. Meanwhile, the field conditions weren't helping anyone.

As I fast forwarded to the second half I was hoping to see some magic, and I did. In case you missed it, Sacha Kljestan scored one of the nicest goals I've seen from a young Yank. If you catch the highlights, watch where the play starts for Kljestan. Somewhere near midfield if my mind serves. He combines well with Stuart Holden and then again with Freddy Adu when all of a sudden he gets a perfect return pass from Adu and is through to the 18 yard box beating two Dutch defenders. Just when you think the orange shirts will strip the ball from him, Sacha makes a great move and puts a beautiful shot past the helpless Dutch keeper, Kenneth Vermeer.

"Wow!" I'm thinking. That was something not often seen from the Red, White & Blue...that was more on par with the Dutch themselves. At this point it is the 65th minute and I'm on the edge of my couch despite being tired from a weekend camping trip.

The second half saw an improvement from the young Americans and it seemed the Dutch, one of the pre-tournament favorites based on their two recent European U-21 championships, were losing ground and didn't know what to do with the Americans. Within eight minutes I was off the couch as Jozy Altidore put home a Michael Orozco cross for the go ahead goal. Never in my wildest dreams did I think the US would be beating the Dutch 2-1. As the second half dragged on the US kept putting on pressure, forcing the Dutch keeper into some fine saves. By the end of the match the US had put eight shots on goal compared to Holland's four. The US outclassed The Netherlands!

The win wasn't to be as an ugly foul and free kick let the Dutch back into the match, in the 92nd minute....what a truly heart wrenching moment, seeing the ball skip past Brad Guzan on a free kick that went under the wall. The Dutch got lucky and came back to tie it. Had they lost, they would have been embarased beyond belief and facing almost certain elimination from the Olympics as the Americans moved into the Quarterfinals. However, games end when the whistle goes and aren't won on paper. Take pride American soccer fans. The U-23 team fought hard and well in this game, up against one of the top countries in the footballing world. This also shows what the senior national team will grow to expect once these youngsters mature to the full team...and I can't wait.

Young Kyle Davies Progress

2008-08-09T10:08:00.000-06:00

Young American Kyle Davies, who has appeared for the US-17 team, made a move to Southampton a year and half ago. While still not expecting to see much of him this year, he has progressed. He's still 19 and being used as a defender. The club is now listing him with their first team (here).

Boomerang: Nate Jaqua

2008-08-07T16:02:00.000-06:00

Not sure how I missed it, but you can all add Nate Jaqua to the Boomerang list. He got an assist over the weekend and should help the Dynamo retake the lead in the West.

Seems like more and more young Americans think MLS is the place to be.

Whet Your Appetite For American Olympic Soccer...

2008-08-06T11:44:00.000-06:00

I am going to do my best to recreate the "magic" of the 2002 World Cup by waking up early tomorrow morning to catch the US vs. Japan. No, not 3 am early, but maybe 5:30 so I can start up the DVR and see the entire match before heading to work. We'll see if my ambitions match my ability.

Check out today's US Soccer Studio 90 post. In the section with the MNT Preview you get some highlights of US vs. Cameroon from the ING Tournament held recently in Hong Kong as an Olympic warm up. Is anyone else struck by how good the young Americans look passing the ball. There is one sequence where American defense takes the ball and creates a great counter attack with all one touch passes. This is the kind of beautiful soccer many of us have been waiting our entire lives for.

I hope the Olympians can look as polished against Japan tomorrow morning. If they do it will help make my lack of sleep pay off.

US Men's Olympic Television Schedule...

2008-08-05T16:08:00.000-06:00

US Soccer posted the schedules for both Men's and Women's Olympic soccer on NBC. I am happy to report you don't have to get the special NBC Olympic soccer channel to watch all the games, so long as you do have cable.

The US kicks off their Olympic journey Thursday...yes in two days!

Aug. 7 vs. Japan :
- MSNBC 4:55 a.m. ET
- Universal HD 4:55 a.m. ET
- NBC Olympic Soccer Channel 5 a.m. ET

Aug. 10 vs. Netherlands:
- USA Network 7:30 a.m. ET
- NBC Olympic Soccer Channel 7:30 a.m. ET

Aug. 13 vs. Nigeria:
- USA Network 5 a.m. ET
- NBC Olympic Soccer Channel 5 a.m. ET

Let's get ready to rumble!!!

Ohh yeah, Maurice Edu wants to tell you something. It is hot in China. The heat and smog are going to weigh on soccer big time. It is going to be near impossible for these guys to go the full 90 at full strength in these conditions. The games should be interesting.

Introducing: Greg Ricks - Loyola Marymount Lion...

2008-08-04T13:46:00.001-06:00

A couple weeks ago I got a somewhat angry email from an American college soccer player asking why he wasn't on my list. I did my best to be diplomatic explaining that monitoring over 1,000 college soccer players takes time and you need to accomplish something like playing at the adidas ESP camp, winning a player of the month award, a All-American honor, etc. to be added to the list. He seemed to accept that and then he accepted my offer to become a FCTP contributor and to tell us about his senior season as he tries to start a career as a professional soccer player.

I'm pleased to introduce you all to Loyola Marymount University senior, Greg Ricks. Greg is going to check in periodically to tell us about being a college soccer player. He's going to tell us the ups and downs of his senior season. He's going to share when he's contacted by a pro scout. He's going to tell us about when they haze the freshman...ohh wait, there is no hazing in college sports.

Everyone, please welcome Greg and say hello. This is a fun addition to FCTP that I have been looking to do since I started the blog. Last year I had a senior player all lined up but it turned out to be too difficult to work writing in with his schedule. I totally understand that. That player in now on the reserve team of one MLS club so hopefully the same will work out for Mr. Ricks. Cheer him on, encourage him to share. Ask him questions. Let's get ready to rumble.

Here is his first piece on what he and the LMU Lions are up to at this point in the pre-season:

***FCTP was notified last night that the NCAA and Loyola Marymount University Soccer Team object to Greg Ricks contributing to FCTP. It is unfortunate that college kids playing a sport can't expand their experiences through participating in a harmless blog. Somehow the NCAA would deem this as me representing Greg and the University feels I have misused Greg's likeness which they own. However, out of respect to those two organizations and Greg's request I am removing the portion of this post that was written by Greg.***

Nyarko Nets His First...

2008-08-02T23:42:00.000-06:00

It must be an amazing feeling to be a rookie and score your first career goal. Amazing. Patrick Nyarko got that feeling tonight while playing in his fifth career match. Prior to tonight he hadn't started a game and he had not played more then 65 minutes of professional soccer. That didn't stop him from scoring for the Fire.

It you take yourself back to January you'll remember that Nyarko was getting a lot of press going into the draft and many observers were surprised when he fell in the first round to the Fire. As a Rapids fan I wish we had taken him and if tonight was any indication I'm going to continue to hold that grudge. Only the future will tell if Chicago got a steal grabbing Nyarko with the 7th overall pick but the future looks bring for this kid. His goal tonight was a shot of class, one that goal scorers know how to make. I believe Nyarko will develop into a great goal scorer in MLS. I think we saw that at Virginia Tech. Will MLS GM's rue the day they didn't draft Patrick Nyarko?

If you haven't seen the video, go to www.mlenet.com and check it out. It is worth your time.

Boomerang: Pat Noonan

2008-07-29T13:52:00.000-06:00

Soccer By Ives is reporting that Pat Noonan is on his way back to MLS. Is this the quickest boomerang to date? I guess European soccer in Norway isn't all it is cracked up to be. I wonder if as the league expands, MLS will be able to use more stories like this one to highlight why young Americans should stay in MLS as opposed to trying out second and third tier European soccer? After all, there will be more playing time available as there are more roster spots to fill.

Noonan's destination is still unknown. With some fresh allocation money in their pockets can the Rapids make a run at him? Colorado needs a proven goal scorer like I want a Porsche.

Boomerang: Robbie Russell

2008-07-24T08:34:00.000-06:00

Just saw on The Original Winger that we have another Boomerang. Robbie Russell is returning to the States after a successful career in Norway. Welcome home, Robbie.

Rapids Win Bruno Guarda Lottery...

2008-07-23T11:29:00.001-06:00

The weighted lottery comes Colorado's way...for once. It almost always looks like MLS favors the local team in these cases, add to that the fact that his college coach is now FC Dallas coach and in my eye's, Bruno was going to FC Dallas. But, things don't always work out the way you expect and the Rapids won the lottery. According to Director of Player Development, John Murphy, Guarda will be joining the Rapids.

We are very happy to have Bruno join us. He is a very skillful player and will join our team at an opportune time. We think very highly of him and expect him to have a bright future in our league.

I'm sure if FC Dallas really wanted Guarda, the Rapids will listen to offers. As a Rapids fan I'm excited to know they have another young, skillful midfielder in the ranks. They certainly are creating the best stable of midfielders with potential in MLS.

**Edit**

The Rapids have officially announced the signing and will not have to cut anyone as young goal keeper Justin Hughes has been put on the season ending injury list.

Bruno Guarda Joining MLS...Late...

2008-07-22T09:05:00.000-06:00

Bruno Guarda has decided to forgo his senior season at SMU and join MLS, in late July. He's been on my watch list since a solid freshman year earned him 2nd team All-Freshman honors in 2005. For the past two seasons he has been a semi-finalist for the Herman Trophy at the end of the fall seasons. He was on my short list for Generation Adidas.

Why all of a sudden has he decided to go pro when he could have signed a Generation Adidas contract back in January? Speculation here at FCTP is that former SMU coach and head man in Dallas, Schellas Hyndman, had something to do with it. However, MLS has said that Guarda will be put in a special weighted lottery to determine who will be able to sign him. If Hyndman did approach Guarda about signing with FC Dallas, I wonder, and if I were a full time journalist I would try to find out, if Coach Hyndman knew how MLS would allocate the player when he first made contact.

This is one of those arcane processes MLS still holds onto when they should probably just get rid of it. I know, I know...if MLS allowed teams to just sign players out of college the whole draft would be worthless. But isn't the draft going by the wayside as teams develop their own youth academy?

Climbing The Ladder has a nice look back at previous "special" weighted lottery draft allocation processes. Here is my question for readers...what do you think of this process. If Guarda was convinced to join MLS by Hyndman, should he be able to sign with FCD? On the other hand, do you think it is important to give other MLS teams a crack at signing the youngster?

Furthermore, Dallas recently traded for two additional international spots. There are lots of rumors about FCD signing two South American players, but could Guarda be one of them? He is of Brazilian birth. I'm not sure how MLS will classify him.

The weighted lottery is later today. Based on Climbing The Ladders work it looks like FCD is second in line to sign Guarda. Will they get their man? Is he joining MLS because of his former coach leaving SMU? Time will tell.

Olympics Bound...

2008-07-21T12:41:00.000-06:00

Not too long ago the US Olympic team was made up of exclusively college players. 1996 was the first year of MLS and MLS players did make that team. Since 1996 the Olympics have been a goal of American MLS based players looking to move up to the first team if they haven't already made a spot for themselves. Last Thursday coach Nowak named his roster for the upcoming games. The roster is exclusively professional players and features some of the bigger names in American soccer. Freddy Adu, Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore lead the European contingent while Sacha Kljestan, Maurice Edu and Michael Parkhurst represent some of the bigger names in MLS.

The US will face Japan, The Netherlands and Nigeria in what could be called a group of death. The first match kicks off August 7th and by August 13th we'll know if the team has made it out of the group stage. Cross your fingers.

On paper this is probably the strongest team every taken to the Olympics by the US. Meanwhile other countries are having players retracted because clubs don't want to over play their best players and open them to possible injury. Put that together and we could be in for a pleasant surprise this summer. Last year Freddy Adu showed why he's been so hyped during the U-20 World Cup. This summer I hope to see him listed amongst the best players in the tournament.

Set your DVR folks, the Olympics are just a couple weeks away!

Colorado Rapids To Sign Greg Dalby…Finally…

2008-06-27T12:18:00.003-06:00

We’ve written about Greg Dalby’s path to the pros a few times here at FCTP. Take a look for yourself. Here are just a few examples.

His name is probably one of the most used on this blog due to him being a hot prospect going into the 2007 SuperDraft, being drafted by my team and then his going AWOL and ending up in Europe. Dalby was a consensus top 10 pick going into the draft before the word trickled down that he was headed to Europe.

We’ll folks, he’s boomeranging back home and we expect him here in Denver after the July 15th transfer window opens.

In actuality he’s already here training with the club and the Rapids organization is thrilled to have him back.

"Everyone is thrilled with Greg joining us. We took a chance drafting him at #17 in the 2007 MLS Super Draft, and even received some criticism for the move. However, it was a calculated risk that has paid dividends despite the year and a half long wait. Greg should be able to make a contribution with our team in 2008 and prove to be another talented young player with a bright future for our organization."
- John Murphy, Rapids Director of Player Development

Between the 2007 SuperDraft, rejecting MLS’ original contract offer and today Dalby has spent time bouncing around Europe trying out for teams from Italy’s Serie A to Germany’s Bundesliga and Scotland’s Premier League. After many trials Dalby found his way to Belgium and second division R. Charleroi S.C. After not catching on with the Flemish side, Dalby is returning back to the States. The Colorado Rapids still hold his rights and they’re releasing Brazilian Rafael Gomes to make room. After the window the signing will be made official by the league and club.

Dalby will join a stable of other promising American midfielders. Over the past few drafts the Rapids have stockpiled young players who can compete in MLS. Early in the season the Rapids found their best success while captain Pablo Mastroeni was injured. Rapids fans got their first taste of Nick LaBrocca and John DiRaimondo and enjoyed what they saw. Dalby’s addition packs the house and could make one of the other young, up and coming midfielders surplus to the Rapids’ needs.

To be frank, I was one who was critical of the Rapids drafting Dalby. At the time I felt like it was a waste to take a player who had openly made it clear he was going to Europe. Additionally, I was critical of Dalby for going on trials around the world instead of working on his game in a professional environment. Here we are today with him coming back to MLS as another young American boomerang. He's 22 years old and could be behind the curve compared to his teammates who stepped right into MLS following college. Nick LaBrocca and John DiRaimondo aren't going to give up their positions in the club too easily after working hard while Dalby traveled around Europe.

It will certainly be interesting to see how Dalby fits into the team. The Rapids are currently floundering in league play and are out of the US Open Cup after not qualifying. The coaching staff is seemingly in transition or turmoil, depending on who you talk to, and Dalby is just now stepping into this. Should he play well and keep his mouth shut, coach Clavijo will have a new weapon in his arsenal of young American midfielders.

Another aspect to consider is the Olympics. Will playing on American soil help his chances of making the team? I'm sure he hopes so.

*Edit: After publishing this post Rapids GM Jeff Plush added the following:

We are very excited about Greg. He brings us ability and versatility,
but as important he has a strong record as a leader as captain at both Notre Dame and the US u-20 squad. We look forward to seeing him develop with our club.

Forward Ricardo Pierre-Louis Resurfaces....

2008-06-17T16:34:00.000-06:00

Ricardo Pierre-Louis was high on my list of small school players who should get a chance in MLS. He was drafted in the 2008 SuperDraft by Columbus and then I lost track of him. Turns out he was finishing his studies at Lee University and now that he's done, and Adam Moffat was placed on season ending injury, the Crew have room to sign him to a developmental contract according to a Crew press release I just received.

Pierre-Louis' college stats are impressive to say the least. Pierre-Louis scored 101 goals, with 33 assists, in 63 career games at Lee. Yeah, that is a lot of goals in a college career. The question now becomes, how well will he adapt to the pro game's speed and physical nature? His six foot one, 180 pound frame should hold up well to the beating MLS defenders will undoubtedly give him but that doesn't mean he'll become a solid professional in MLS. He's going to have to work hard and learn how to avoid that beating. I believe someone like Pierre-Louis, who seems to score goals with the same ease the rest of us walk and talk, will be able to become a good MLS goal scorer. Hopefully Columbus is the right place for him to grow. At 23 years old he is a little behind the curve in terms of transitioning to the pros but only time will tell how he adapts.

Watch out, MLS may have another Haitian Sensation.

MLS Reaches New Heights With Altidore Transfer...

2008-06-05T13:45:00.001-06:00

$10 million. Freddy Adu wasn't worth that much to Benfica when he left MLS. $10 million. That is a real number. That much bought you a franchise way back when the league was forming. That is what you see flying across the newswire when European clubs buy and sell players.

Way to go Jozy, you're a man now. Make sure you work hard and convince your new club that you were worth it. Work hard, learn something and bring it to the US National team. When you're getting too old for European football bring your skills back to MLS to teach the next generation. We're proud of you.

For those who want to learn about Jozy's new club, check out their Wiki page. The club just finished a great La Liga season where they finished second. If Jozy suits up for El Submarino Amarillo in 2008/09 he could have a chance at playing in Europe. However, there are rumors of him going on loan for the upcoming season to continue to gain experience before joining the big boys.

Villarreal looks like a beautiful location on the Spanish Mediterranean coast, just north of Valencia. Enjoy the new life of a professional footballer, Jozy, you've earned it. Pretty soon we'll be reading about Jozy and a Spanish WAG.

So how did he get here you ask? He was drafted in the second round (17th overall) of the 2006 MLS SuperDraft. Yeah, two short years ago New York picked up their meal ticket in the second round of the draft. With this $10 million transfer New York earns two-thirds of the revenue. $6.6 million will go to New York to invest in players and youth development, training facilities, etc. That is great for MLS and the Red Bulls. Hopefully they spend their money wisely.

Take a look at Jozy's stats in three MLS seasons. 25 goals in 37 regular season games with another 4 goals in 4 playoff games. Those are serious numbers for an 18 year old. He came straight to MLS from US Soccer Residency.

As an aside, go Red Wings!

US U-23 Men Drop First Game Of Toulon International Tournament...

2008-05-21T10:28:00.000-06:00

This morning I watched as the US U-23 men were outworked, outplayed and outscored. It is a good thing this was the "B" U-23 team because they were unimpressive, slow on the ball, made poor passes and didn't play well as a team. It was obvious many of the players didn't have significant playing time together.

On the other side of the field Turkey fielded their U-21 "A" team and it showed. Play was fluid, passes were incisive and players showed skill on the ball.

Let's look at some highlights/lowlights.

Dominic Cervi started in goal and was ok. You can see why people are excited about him, he's huge. 6' 6" I think. He does look impressive in goal, but then he makes little mistakes that could cost the team in an important match. On one play in the first half he bobbled an easy shot and almost gave away a rebound that would have led to an easy goal. He recovered with the help of his defense.

Eric Brunner got a goal off a nice corner kick in the second half. You might imagine the big center back heading the ball home but the corner was driven low and he deftly put it away off his foot. It was a nice play and a nice goal. In other stretches of play he was unremarkable. He needs to get under contract somewhere soon if he wants to make the Olympics. I don't think he will as I bet one of the over aged players selected is a defender making the position more competitive.

Kamani Hill came on in the second half and helped settle the midfield. Benny Feilhaber and Greg Dalby were paired together to start the match and the pair were unable to control the pace of the game or direct traffic. Benny Feilhaber has gone from Senior national prospect to a big question mark. I don't know if his season in England was bad for him personally, although I'm sure relegation in such terrible fashion doesn't help self confidence, but this isn't the same player we were all so excited about last summer. In my opinion Feilhaber should come back home and play in MLS to regain his confidence. It worked for Landycakes.

Corey Ashe showed some nice speed on the left flank, and an ability to switch to the right without losing a beat. However, he disappeared for long stretches of the match. His speed could be nice coming off the bench but he didn't look like a starter today.

Gabe Ferrari and Sammy Ochoa worked hard but didn't inspire me to write positive comments. Ochoa did score a stunner in the second half to get the US back into the match but when he missed a great opportunity created by pressure and a Turkish mistake I was left scratching my head. Would Jozy have missed that opportunity? At this point neither forward makes my China squad.

Friday the US will face the Ivory Coast. Tune in to see the action live on FSC at 12:30 PM ET. I certainly hope to see a better team performance.

Catch The US U-23's Live From France...

2008-05-20T14:14:00.000-06:00

The US U-23 Men are taking part in a tournament in Toulon, France that will serve as the final warm up before heading to China for the Summer Olympics. Most of the guys with the team are fringe players trying to get noticed for the biggest youth event of the summer. Ten of the guys are MLS players and the rest are either European based or out of contract after not agreeing to terms with MLS. The later being Dominic Cervi and Eric Brunner. You know they're hoping for a good performance to land them with a professional deal over there in Europe.

Somehow, I just realized the games will be shown live on FSC this week. Here is the schedule for the young Yanks:
May 21 vs. Turkey at 9:30 a.m. ET on Fox Soccer Channel (live)
May 23 vs. Ivory Coast at 12:30 p.m. ET on Fox Soccer Channel (live)
May 25 vs. Italy at 12 p.m. ET on Fox Soccer Channel (live)

I can't wait to watch!

Robbie Rogers Wants To Go To China...

2008-05-12T10:00:00.000-06:00

Columbus Crew left midfielder, Robbie Rogers, is leading his team to the top of MLS and wants to prove a point. He didn't get to help the US qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics but his early season form should help punch a ticket to China this summer. U-23 coach Nowak can not afford to ignore 5 goals in his first 7 starts, especially when wing play was one of the poorest parts of the team that qualified.

For those who didn't realize, Robbie Rogers is an American college product. He spent his freshman season with the Maryland Terrapins and won the 2005 NCAA championship. As a freshman he started 20 games, played 1,400 minutes, scored 7 goals and made 5 assists. Those are some solid numbers for a freshman on the best team in the country. For fun, take a look at who else was on that championship team. Yeah, Maryland knows how to produce pros.

Rogers decided to go to Holland in 2006 before his Sophomore season and signed a professional deal with SC Heerenveen. He signed the same year Michael Bradley joined the Dutch club. Fortunately for the Crew and MLS Rogers decided to boomerang back to The States and signed with the league in early 2007. The Crew got his rights through a special draft.

The 2007 season was tough for the Crew and Rogers. In 10 appearances he scored 3 goals and made 1 assist. A lot of American soccer fans asked the question, what makes this kid so special? Robbie is showing what makes him so special. Did you see his goal from this weekend's match that is nominated for Goal Of The Week? It was pure clinical finishing expected from a late twenties marksman, not a 21 year old kid. (By the way, Happy Birthday to Robbie! Today happens to be his 21st birthday. No, I didn't plan that.) By the way, to celebrate the big occasion Robbie decided to score two goals over the weekend, one of which tied the game and one that put his team ahead.

Rogers didn't find European success but he's back to prove skeptics wrong. He's winning games for the Crew, will undoubtedly feature in the American quest for Olympic gold and will probably get another chance to play abroad if he wants to. Who knows, maybe he'll develop a Landon Donovan Been There, Done That kind of attitude and will dominate MLS instead. I look forward to watching this young American develop.

New England Join The Youth Development Pool...

2008-05-07T14:48:00.000-06:00

I received a press release today stating the following:

New England Revolution Unveils Full Youth-Development Program Details
The Revs’ fully-funded youth system will begin this summer with tryout dates for U16s and U18s in June

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution today unveiled complete details about its new, fully-funded youth development program, including tryout information for its boys Under-16 and Under-18 teams that will begin play this summer and which will compete in the prestigious U.S. Soccer Development Academy.

I like the part that says "fully-funded." I hope that means no kids have to pay to play. It is a positive step forward that another MLS team is becoming a more vertically integrated soccer club.

New England is one of the last MLS clubs to take this step.