From College to the Pros - The US soccer ladder

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

The US starts out the run to the Copa on the wrong foot...

As I'm sure everyone knows by now the US lost 1-0 last night in a hard fought match against a young, hungry Morocco side. Give credit to Morocco. They came to our turf and played their game. This is a team not going to the World Cup and many of the players were wearing their national kit for the first time. Morocco was able to possess the ball, make good passes and put a lot of bodies behind the ball to make it impossible for the US to get close to the goal. The US looked sloppy and uncreative. Their first touch was often poor and close to the goal many of the players wanted to pass instead of shoot. In the end, Morocco was able to pounce on the US, while we were in all out attack mode, with a nice counter attack and a mistake by a typically solid defender.

Let's talk performances. First the starters:
GK - Kasey Keller (University of Portland) - Played well. A miracle save would have been required on the lone goal, so you can't fault him there. Wasn't tested a lot in the first half, but did make 4 saves in the game. He obviously isn't going anywhere unless he picks up an injury.

RB - Steve Cherundolo (University of Portland) - The goal came after his sloppy give away in the back on a Morocco counter attack. However, people learn from their mistakes and I'd rather see him do this now as opposed to against Italy. The rest of the game Steve looked solid and creative. Throughout the game he was getting up the field and helping out in the attack. He can serve a nice cross and as a fullback he will be expected to get forward. He is solid in on defense and I think he has the position wrapped up.

LB - Cory Gibbs (Brown University) - Gibbs had an unremarkable game. I think he is more suited to central defense but he does have experience as left back. He isn't as effective getting forward, like Cherundolo. His pace is nice to have on the flank but he doesn't seem to have the attacking/crossing skills of others. On Friday I expect to see Eddie Lewis in this position, or a three man backline which would bring Gibbs more towards the center and his preferred position. Lewis is a much more attacking minded player and needs to be tested at LB to see where his defensive skills are. If Lewis can defend I think we see him as the starting LB. However, if Bruce is worried about speedy right wings on the other team, Gibbs may stay in there and not push forward much.

CB - Oguchi Onyewu (Clemson University) - How can you not love this guy? Listed at 6' 4", 210 lbs. He is a giant out there. His physical presence combined with tackling skill makes him a perfect center back. I think he has this position locked up and the question is who will play with him. In World Cup qualifying he was able to neutralize the best attackers in CONCACAF and he did it last night as well. The goal wasn't scored while Gooch was on the field.

CB - Eddie Pope (University of North Carolina) - Pope played well last night and should keep this position locked up as well. He is tactically sound and knows what it is like on the biggest stage. Nothing stands out from last night but that is typical of Eddie. He gets his job done quietly, gracefully and consistently. After last night's performance I think it is going to take an injury or some amazing play from the other center backs to move Pope out of this position.

DM - Claudio Reyna (University of Virginia) - Captain America did it again. He managed to get injured 15 minutes into the match. Everyone talks about how Reyna can control the game, set the tempo, make the important last pass, but I never see it. I hope he is able to play in Germany, but if he isn't fully fit he's going to hinder the team as opposed to helping it. His spot in the starting 11 isn't up for grabs. He will either play or be injured, I don't think there is any middle ground.

DM - John O’Brien (Joined Ajax of Amsterdam as a high school player) - John and Claudio could be brothers. They are bothtremendouss soccer talents who have had careers limited by injury. O'Brien grew up in one of the top youth systems in the world at Ajax. He knows how to read the game and can make stunning passes. If he is healthy he is going to be in the starting 11. Last night we saw some of his passing brilliance. There was one ball over the top of the Morocco defense to Donovan that was pure class. I don't think Donovan expected to get a ball like that and he couldn't connect with it. O'Brien played the first half only since he is just coming back to health. It is amazing he is in this squad since he hasn't played club soccer on a regular basis since the last World Cup. I guess that shows how highly Bruce thinks of him.

RAM - Josh Wolff (University of South Carolina) - Despite having a last name similar to Josh's, I am never impressed with his play and I continue to wonder how he makes the starting 11. Last night he was playing as a withdrawn forward on the right side. He made some decent runs and decent passes but he didn't create a goal and he didn't have any great scoring chances. Last time I checked that is his job. This right midfield position is a big question mark right now. Personally I think Dempsey should get a chance there because his creativity and skill make him dangerous.

LAM - DaMarcus Beasley (U-17 residency to MLS) - DaMarcus, or as I like to call him, RUN DMB is my favorite player on the team, so I am biased. He is fast as anyone, takes on players all day long, he can finish in front of goal, he can set up goals with the last pass...as an attacker he can do it all. His pace last night gave Morocco some problems but he wasn't able to make the killer move or killer strike. His position is sealed on that left side but he'll need to improve to help the team out of the WC group.

CAM - Landon Donovan (U-17 residency to Bayer Leverkusen) - Short of an injury, there is no way Landon isn't in the starting 11 in Germany. He is the face of this team and has the ability to change a game. In 2002 he used the World Cup to show the world he was for real. In 2006 he needs to prove that staying in MLS hasn't hurt his ability to win. He is probably our most able attacker who can create the play and finish it. Last night we saw a couple glimmers but as with everyone else, the finer points weren't totally tuned up. John O'Brien gave him a great ball behind the Morocco defense but he couldn't handle it. In the Cup those chances must be finished and Landon knows that.

ST - Brian McBride (St. Louis University) - Brian didn't score any goals last night so you know he isn't happy today. He's the best target forward on the team and with this kind of 4-2-3-1 formation you need McBride getting in there and mixing it up in the air. Morocco did a nice job of keeping him away from goal and making sure he didn't see the ball in a position he liked. I think there is a chance that Eddie Johnson could take this starting position from Brian, but he hasn't done it yet.

Onto the reserves.

DM - Pablo Mastroeni (North Carolina State) - Pablo came on for the injured Reyna in the 16th minute and played very well. He is a good tackler and starts the play in the other direction well. If either Reyna or JOB are not fit, Mastro will be in there. As he showed in 2002 he is not afraid of famous competition. He may be a better option against someone like Pavel Nedved or Francesco Totti.

M - Bobby Convey (U-17 residency to MLS) - Bobby came on for JOB at the half. I don't think he was playing in the same role as JOB. Bobby is more of a winger and he showed it with some dangerous crosses. He also had a nice free kick go into the side netting, just wide of the goal. His performance last night didn't win him a starting spot and he has a lot of competition on the left side with DMB and Eddie Lewis. I figure Bobby will be a sub to bring on fresh legs in the last 15 minutes of matches.

F - Eddie Johnson (U-17 residency to MLS) - Johnson came on for Josh Wolff in the 60th minute. Eddie knows how to score goals at the international level. He virtually carried the US through 2004 WC qualifying. He now has 16 caps and 9 goals. All signs point to a strong national team career. Last night he showed some ability to run off the ball and he connected on a nice corner from Convey, but he didn't do as all coaches teach and the ball sailed over the net. Personally I think Eddie should start at least one of the group games, maybe Ghana (because I'm going to be there). We'll see what happens.

M - Clint Dempsey (Furman University) - Clint came on for Gooch in the 74th minute. Bruce recognized that he needed more people who could take on defenders and create something. Clint can certainly do that although he didn't last night. I like Clint playing out wide on the right and coming in towards goal. He is not afraid of trying a Brazilian move to get around a guy, and he can do it. He's got some room to grow and hopefully he can do it in the coming weeks because he could be a difference maker over in Germany. Ohh yeah, check out his rap video that Nike made. In true hip-hop credibility making style, his rap partner, Hawk, was recently murdered. So far as we know it was not connected to the Don't Tread song and video.

F - Brian Ching (Gonzaga University) - Ching came on for McHead in the 83rd minute. Ching's inclusion in the squad was a mystery to me. Brian has shown he can light up MLS but that he can't light up the international stage. In 18 games he has 3 goals for the national team. In my opinion Bruce is better off bringing Taylor Twellman because he can come on as a sub and create some havoc. Ching is better suited to heading and holding and without strong wings you don't want to play to that kind of forward. Last night Ching had another uninspired performance, even though he was only on the field for 7 minutes.


Ok, I'm sure that is more about last night's match against Morocco then you wanted to hear from me. To bring it back to the theme of this blog, look at the make up of these national teamers. 11 played college ball and the rest took the soccer only path. Not much to say there I guess.

Friday the US will face Venezuela in the second of the send off series. Tune into the match on ESPN2 live. If you're in Denver make sure you head to the British Bulldog at Broadway and Stout Street, downtown. You'll be able to buy this blogger a drink if you do.

Friday, May 19, 2006

Scandal Rocks Italian Football!

Ok, so this story has been out for awhile but I haven't had the time to really pay attention. However, I found a page on the bbc's website with a good overview of the scandal.

I'm sure you're asking what this has to do with American college soccer players getting to the pros. Well, it obviously doesn't have any link. I'm just putting this up here so that all my loyal readers can keep up with something that is certainly going to adversely affect the play of the Italians in the first round of the World Cup. As an American fan who is going to watch my team play the Italians, I am happy for any thing that will take them out of their groove. The fact that their national team manager,
Marcello Lippi, is now being questioned about his son's involvement in the sports agency at the middle of all this makes me more excited that Italy will be negatively affected by all this.

Add the scandal to the Totti injury and I have to say the US' chances of getting out of the group stage is getting better and better every day.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Indiana University Continues to Bring in the Big Names...

Last year at this time we were reading about IU signing Lee Nguyen. At the time Lee was a highly rated high school player in Texas. He turned down the low paying MLS for a scholarship at IU. That in itself shows that MLS needs to do a better job of recuiting young talent. Nguyen went on to be named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, before impressing the world renowned head coach of PSV Eindhoven, Guus Hiddink. After one season at IU, Nguyen moved to Holland to start his pro career. Nguyen has played at many levels for the US Youth National program.

So, when you read about the incoming class at IU, you know you have to remember the names. One day they can be a high school standout, the next an IU freshman, the next a pro in Europe. A new addition to the already strong incoming class is Daniel Kelly. Daniel has showed his versatility with the U-17s and can play in the back, midfield and forward positions. He spent a year at the U.S. Soccer Under-17 Residency Program in Florida with two of his other IU teammates, Kevin Alston and Ofori Sarkodie. All three of the incoming players are sure to see a some good playing time this upcoming season at IU. They have great training after the residency program and head coach Mike Freitag will surely continue to build on their strong foundations.

All three players were in MLS' sights before the January SuperDraft. The low potential salary and uncertain playing time were no doubt factors in their choice to attend IU. As previous years have shown, attending IU is a good step in the development of young soccer players. MLS has a ways to go before they trump this college program.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

A New Man Between the Pipes...

As is often seen in MLS, one player's misfortune is another's gain. Saturday night in the 10th minute of play, Colorado Rapids keeper, Joe Cannon, went down on the wet pitch with a strained groin. Every Rapids fan watching the game held their breath as he was taken off the field. Step in Bouna Coundoul, a former All-New York City Goalkeeper of the Year. Bouna has been impressive in reserve matches and people who have seen him call him Spiderman. However, Joe Cannon is arguably the best keeper in MLS and has saved this team more times then I care to count. No one wants to see a player of Cannon's quality injured, but there is a side of me excited to see the reserve keeper get a chance.

If Coundoul lives up to the hype he will be a strong replacement for Cannon. Bouna's name isn't on everyone's lips around the league. He didn't get drafted, he hasn't played for a youth national team and he isn't getting training time with any national team. That hasn't stopped him from working hard knowing that last Saturday's chance would come. Now we have to wait and see how many chances he'll get this season. Did he perform well enough to get the start this weekend assuming Cannon can't make it back?

The Rapids do have a third keeper on the roster, Matt Jordan, however he is also injured. There is a good chance we'll see former Rapid, Byron Foss backing up Coundoul this weekend since the Rapids still hold his rights.

Coundoul is originally from Dakar, Senegal but he is now a U.S. Permanent Resident. He played for the University of Albany before joining the Rapids as a developmental player. As his career continues to grow he'll prove that not all of MLS must come up through the top programs and youth national teams.

One to Watch...

The US Men's National Team training camp is in full swing. While the 23-man World Cup roster trains in Cary, North Carolina, so do some special guests. The USMNT can't call on alternates to leave their professional clubs during the camp but they can call in some youngsters to help out as additional foes during training.

Michael Bradley, formerly of the Metrostars, who now plays for Heerenveen in Holland is in camp. His professional season is over so how better to kick off the summer than training with the World Cup squad. Michael is a Bradenton alumni ('02 - '04) and was drafted by his father, Bob Bradley, who at the time was the head coach of the Metros. He was 16 when he signed his MLS contract in 2004. Now only 18 he is playing abroad and continuing to impress the national team staff. I guess having a great coach as a dad helps. Michael will be playing with his club team in the UEFA Cup next season. His career is off to a strong start and I'm sure he'll be in the pool for the next World Cup. Getting this level of experience at 18 is invaluable.

Another youngster training with the Cup team is goal keeper Justin Hughes, from UNC. Justin has played for the US U-20 squad and was described by Columbus Crew coach Sigi Schmid as an ‘octopus’ with his long arms and legs. He's going into his senior season and will graduate in December, a month before the MLS SuperDraft where you can bet he'll get some serious attention.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Want to see the MLS stars of tomorrow, find your local PDL team...

The United Soccer Leagues compete on a few levels with USL 1, USL 2, PDL, and Super Y for the men. This summer, check out the local PDL team if you want to see some future MLS stars.

The first 2006 PDL team of the week has an Englishman who scored a hat trick and assisted on two more goals, a youngster who has played for the US U-20 & U-18 national teams and a host of other up and comers. MLS coaches know to keep an eye on the PDL season and you will see some of these names at the MLS combine next year.

Charlie Davies is playing for Westchester, just north of New York City in New Rochelle. His name is already flying around as going to Europe or coming out of school early for MLS. He completed his sophomore season at Boston College and continues to win praise. He's played for the US U-20 & U-18 teams. Additionally he was a high school all-American his senior season.

unfortunately at this time the PDL website does not have a good list of players and where they're playing this summer. Check back and I'll keep an eye on the league and who is playing well and where. For now, if you live in the Westchester area, get out to a game to see Davies. He's a future pro for sure.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

The World Cup roster is HERE!!!

Fans of US Soccer marked May 2nd, 2006, in their calendars months ago. The Bruce, on ESPN SportsCenter, announcing the US World Cup roster. Soccer doesn't get a lot of play on the nation's biggest daily sports show, so it is a big deal. Any sign that ESPN is thawing to the beautiful game sends bigsoccer posters into a twitter.

So the roster is out there. We know who, baring injury over the next month, will be flying to Germany to participate in the biggest sporting event in the world. Side note, I'll be there too. Yes!

Let's take a look at it through my blog colored glasses. Who went to an American college before entering the pros?








US College
DaMarcus Beasley , Ft. Wayne, Ind. - PSV Eindhoven (Holland) -
Carlos Bocanegra , Alto Loma, Calif. - Fulham FC (England) - UCLA
Steve Cherundolo , San Diego, Calif. - Hannover 96 (Germany) - Portland
Brian Ching , Haleiwa, Hawaii - Houston Dynamo (MLS) - Gonzaga
Jimmy Conrad , Temple City, Calif. - Kansas City Wizards (MLS) - UCLA
Bobby Convey , Philadelphia, Pa. - Reading FC (England) -
Clint Dempsey , Nacogdoches, Texas - New England Revolution (MLS) - Furman
Landon Donovan , Redlands, Calif. - Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) -
Cory Gibbs , Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. - ADO Den Haag (Holland) - Brown
Marcus Hahnemann , Seattle, Wash. - Reading FC (England) - Seattle Pacific
Frankie Hejduk , Cardiff, Calif. - Columbus Crew (MLS) - UCLA
Tim Howard , North Brunswick, N.J. - Manchester United (England) -
Eddie Johnson , Palm Coast, Fla. - Kansas City Wizards(MLS) -
Kasey Keller , Lacey, Wash. - Bor. M'gladbach (Germany) - Portland
Eddie Lewis , Cerritos, Calif. - Leeds United (England) - UCLA
Pablo Mastroeni , Phoenix, Ariz. - Colorado Rapids (MLS) - NC State
Brian McBride , Arlington Heights, Ill. - Fulham FC (England) - St. Louis University
John O'Brien , Playa del Rey, Calif. - Chivas USA (MLS) -
Ben Olsen , Middletown, Pa. - D.C. United (MLS) - Virginia
Oguchi Onyewu , Olney, Md. - Standard de Liege (Belgium) - Clemson
Eddie Pope , High Point, N.C. - Real Salt Lake (MLS) - North Carolina
Claudio Reyna , Springfield, N.J. - Manchester City (England) - Virginia
Josh Wolff , Stone Mountain, Ga. - Kansas City Wizards (MLS) - South Carolina

23 American men, going to do battle with the world's best soccer players. What could be better?

I ran some numbers on this team, let's go through them.

-74% of the American World Cup squad played college ball in the U.S. You can't argue with this fact. I believe this is solid evidence that the American college game is not doing harm to our young players. Many fans will argue and say that the young guys need to go abroad or sign with MLS to become a top player, but I don't think that is true, The Bruce doesn't think that is true, and this shows it.

-70% of the American World Cup squad played for the U-20 Nats at some time. This is another number you can't argue with. If you want to make it on the world stage, you had better be getting in front of the US Nats coaches at a young age.
-35% of the squad played both at College and on the U-20 team. This shows there may be two roads to the big time. While the U-20 guys are often spotted coming out of high school and snapped up by European clubs of MLS before making it to college, the college guys are developing a little slower but still learning the skills they need. It should also be said that the country's scouting system is more developed now then when Eddie Lewis and Kasey Keller were that age.

-35% of the team played for the U-17 team. So I guess the U-17 roster isn't always the place to find the future star. A lot of development happens between 16 and 19 so it stands to reason that the coaches picking the U-17 team have a harder time finding real skills as compared to the U-20 team where players have had more time to develop. However, the U-17 players are the big names in the group of under 26 year old players. Beasley, Donovan, Johnson, Convey, Howard...they all played for the U-17 team. So when you find the gems at that age, they're going to be great.

17% of the team came from the U-17 residency program. This is a little misleading as the first class to leave the school includes Donovan, Beasley, Onyewu & Convey. They're still considered the young guys on this team, so the residency program is going to continue to put guys into the World Cup and in 2010 I predict this number will grow to include names like Adu, Altidore, Bradley, etc. This will be even more true in the future since the class size doubled from 20 to 40.

48% of the US World Cup team currently plays in MLS. Currently being the key word. If you look at the MLS alumni added to the current players the percentage balloons to 83%. MLS has clearly done what its founders expected; it has brought professionalism and skill to the American soccer player. Without MLS we wouldn't have seen the US lose to Germany in the quarter-final in 2002. We wouldn't have heard Rob Stone yelling "Shock the World" when the US was up 3-0 against Portugal's golden generation. The American soccer landscape would be nothing like it is today without MLS, plain and simple.

17% of this team went to UCLA. Anyone following college soccer in the 90's knew UCLA was good, but 4 guys on this squad played there. That isn't a crazy number but it is something to look at. UVA put two guys on the team. I'm sure it helped Benny Olsen to have his college coach picking the roster as well. Those are two of the biggest college programs for sure. A little surprising that Indiana didn't get anyone on the team. Then there is the University of Portland. I bet their athletic department is excited to know two of their alumni are going to Germany.

Those are all the fun and exciting statistics I can conjure up for you. As always, the author can make statistics to prove whatever point he wants. I'm obviously using the data to show my interest. It's all in good fun. This is not to say any of this data is false, you can check my math. I just pointed out the numbers that make the most interest to me.

In summary, the World Cup is just over a month away. The first US match is in 17 days. I will be leaving for Germany on June 17th. I can't wait for this all to kick off!