US U-17 Team Announces Roster for Toyota Youth International Tournament...

The next event for the U-17 men is a tournament over in Japan, the Toyota Youth International Tournament. The US won the event last year with a win over the hosts and this year they'll be trying to defend that title. Not to sound like too much of a broken record, but winning these tournaments is giving our future professionals new found confidence the early MLS players didn't have. It is all part of their development into top class soccer players.

First off, it is strange to see a group of players all with birthdays in 1990 and later. I was getting ready for high school when these kids were born. I'm sure this is a feeling I need to get used to as I get older.

This team is a refined group from the team that was at camp in Atlanta recently there are not any players going to Japan who were not in Atlanta. I'm sure coach Hackworth used the time down south to put the best group together. Five of the players are not currently at the residency camp and may be invited to the new fall semester.

This group is even more connected with the recent adidas ESP camp, 72% of the kids on the team were at the camp.

Here is the roster going to Japan:

First Name	Last Name	Pos.	Hometown	Club
Danny	Barerra	D	Thousand Oaks, Calif.	Rampage FC
Lonnie	Carter	D	Fairfax, Va.	MPS McLean FC
Bryan	Dominguez	F	Atlanta, Ga.	Concorde Fire
Greg	Garza	M	Grapevine, Texas	Dallas Texans
Abdusalam	Ibrahim	M	Richfield, Minn.	Wing Nationals
Jared	Jeffrey	M	Dallas, Texas	Dallas Texans
Josh	Lambo	GK	Middleton, Wis.	Chicago Magic
Brandon	Lee	D	Tenafly, N.J.	PFC Raiders
Zac	MacMath	GK	St. Petersburg, Fla.	Clearwater Chargers
Ellis	McLoughlin	F	Seattle, Wash.	Crossfire Premier
Evan	Raynr	M	Calabasas, Calif.	So Cal United
Dane	Shea	D	College Station, Texas	Houston Texans
Howard	Turk	D	Fairfax, Va.	SYA Force
Kirk	Urso	M	Lombard, Ill.	Chicago Sockers
Matthew	Uy	D	New Hyde Park, N.Y.	Blau Weiss Gottschee
Daniel	Wenzel	M	Federarl Way, Wash.	FC United
Sheanon	Williams	D	Boston, Mass.	FC Greater Boston Bolts
Brandon	Zimmerman	M	Pasco, Wash.	Crossfire Premier

The team will open the tournament against current American soccer nemesis; Czech Republic. The next match will be against hosts Japan (who we beat to win the event last year). The final match depends on how the first two go. Based on points they'll be put in either the championship match, the third place match or the fifth place match. The Czech's not only whooped the senior men at the World Cup, but the U-17's lost to them earlier this year at the 2006 Ballymena International Tournament. Many of the kids who lost then will be no doubt looking for redemption this time.

Last year Josmer Altidore scored one of the goals in the win against Japan to claim the trophy. Maybe one of this year's participants will end up a pro come January.

Go luck and GO USA!

US U-20 National Team Names 2006 Milk Cup Roster...

Head coach Thomas Rongen named eighteen young American soccer players to the 2006 Milk Cup roster yesterday. As you read about back on July 10th, the Milk Cup is hosted in Northern Ireland every year and hosts some big names in youth soccer. As defending champions, the US is going to want to win again to show they're not a fluke. Winning these types of competitions builds confidence in the players and will bode well for those who can make the senior roster in the future. Their international experience will also help their game as they return to college and pro teams after the cup is done.

Here's the roster going to Northern Ireland this week:

GOALKEEPERS (2):

Mike Gustavson (South Carolina)

Chris Seitz (Maryland)

DEFENDERS (6):

Tony Beltran (UCLA)

Amaechi Igwe (Santa Clara)

Chance Myers (UCLA)

Ofori Sarkodie (Indiana)

Julian Valentin (Wake Forest)

Blake Wagner (FC Dallas)

MIDFIELDERS (6):

Carlos Borja (Chivas USA)

Rodrigo Lopez (Chivas USA)

Dax McCarty (FC Dallas)

Brad Ring (Indiana)

Robbie Rogers (Maryland)

Jonathan Villanueva (Virginia)

FORWARDS (4):

Josmer Altidore (N.Y. Red Bulls)

Johann Smith (Bolton FC)

Preston Zimmerman (Hamburg SV)

Sal Zizzo (UCLA).

It is great to see so many bolded names, meaning they are professional players. Of the 18 man roster, 39% are professional with 28% playing in MLS; Zimmermann and Smith being the only players currently in Europe. Of the college players, UCLA is best represented with three members of the squad playing college soccer in sunny Southern California.

A more interesting fact is that 50% of this team were named to the ESP All*Star team the summer they participated in that camp. 67% of these kids played at the camp. That is a very high percentage and I believe shows the close link between ESP and the National Team. It continues to worry me that you need to be one of a hundred or so kids to have a strong chance of making the National Team. Obviously there are other ways to get noticed for the National Teams, but ESP is the best way, and not enough kids get to play at ESP. For example, Colin Vint didn't play at ESP. He was able to be recognized by the University of Richmond, but since he wasn't in the circle already, when he graduated from college he was held back from MLS and is now over in Ireland. Young American players shouldn't have to go to Ireland to get quality coaching and playing time.

Good luck to the 2006 Milk Cup team. If we keep winning these types of youth tournaments, the praise and recognition from international soccer will continue to build.

Young Americans Going Abroad...

The list of Yanks playing soccer abroad is growing at popular website, Yanks Abroad. As the next European season quickly approaches, young Americans are getting more and more chances to showcase their abilities overseas. This used to be unheard of, however it seems like it is becoming the norm. More and more we are seeing European clubs scouting the American youth national teams for hidden gems.

United States Under-20 defender Neven Subotic was planning on attending the University of South Florida as a freshman this fall. USF by the way quietly assembled a strong recuiting class with a few former U-17 FIFA WC team members. However, the 6' - 3" defender decided a spell in Europe would help his game develop the most. Subotic had been aproached by MLS, but if Europe is going to pay more, what is MLS offering other than home soil? Subotic spent a good amount of his childhood in Germany so he's not going to stay in the US to stay compfortable.

Former University of Richmond Spider Colin Vint flew under the MLS radar after graduating college. Since the league wasn't courting him, he decided to give Ireland a try. Although Ireland is close to England, the Irish league don't compare to the English. Vint will get some good playing time, however it is questionable if the level of competition in Ireland is going to rival MLS. Vint may have been happy to ride the pine and work for a starting role stateside, but there isn't enough pine in MLS to acomidate all college grads. As we've seen, MLS rosters are so tight good players aren't always given the time they need to develop...read a few months back about Mike Ambersley.

University of Virginia recruit Jonathan Villanueva has begun a trial with Young Ajax. Villanueva is this year's Lee Nguyen. He's considered the top prospect going into college this fall and all that praise has the foreign clubs taking a look. This prospect is being stolen from MLS before they even had a chance to look at him.

The above three cases highlight the fact that MLS needs to get a better youth system in place if they want to have the best American players coming up into the league. Colleges are no longer able to draw the best while the money and prospect of a better soccer development program in Europe are dangled out there. If MLS wants these kids, they have to sign them to developmental contracts at 16 years old, before the European clubs can come calling.

The Bruce is Loose...in NYC.

Bruce Arena didn't go unemployed for long. After being told he wouldn't have his contract renewed when it expires Dec. 31st, Bruce Arena went back home (he was born and raised in Brooklyn). Red Bull New York will announce today that Bruce Arena will take over as head coach and Sporting Director.

As a Rapids fan, I could care less about Bruce joining the Red Bulls from a coaching perspective. He was very successful at DC United when the league started, however I'm not sure that success will come too quickly in New York because the roster he inherits is not the caliber of those early DC teams. With some time, I am sure he'll be able to make some changes and start winning some games.

I am excited about what this means for the league. As Sporting Director, Arena will oversee all of the club's soccer operations including; first team, reserve and academy teams and youth development. In the league's brief history, New York has been on the forefront of youth development and Bruce will be able to help grow that. They have many youth teams playing currently in and around the New York area. In fact, the Red Bulls had three kids playing in the recent adidas ESP camp I wrote about. The club was one of the first to see the value of developing young talent.

However, the league is not yet set up to allow the teams to capitalize on their youth development efforts. The story of Johnny Exantus (aka "Johnny X") has been told many times to highlight this problem. Johnny X plays for the Red Bull's youth academy. He is sixteen years old. He's getting to the point where in Europe he'd be able to sign a contract and start playing with the club's youth and reserve team while trying to crack into the first team. However, in MLS the youth teams are unofficial and the rosters do not directly connect. For the Red Bulls to sign him to a contract they would have to sign him as a "discovery". The problem is, discovery picks have to clear every other team in the league. If other teams are interested, there has to be a random draft or a trade. Why on earth would the Red Bulls want to trade for Johnny X? He is a product of their youth system. He shouldn't have to go through the MLS SuperDraft or any other kind of lottery.

Bruce Arena is now in charge of Johnny X's development as a player and rise inside the club. I believe Bruce carries enough weight with the league to press this issue to a point where they decide to act. I know the league has been trying to figure out a solution for youth clubs in MLS, but their priorities have been elsewhere. With Bruce Arena scouting new talent and seeing a young star like Johnny X, he will figure out a way to keep him in NYC.

When the league figures out how to keep local talent in the market where it was raised it will be a watershed event for MLS. Team's will finally see the value in having a youth team. Young players will connect with their local clubs and dream of one day taking the field for them. This is something you don't see in other American sports and I believe it will really help the league take hold. MLS can't get this figured out fast enough and I think Bruce will help them find the answer.

As an aside, last year the New York Red Bulls U-17 team that competes in the USL Super Y-League won the league championship, led by one Johnny X. This year Johnny is again leading the team to glory. After 11 games the team has 30 points from winning 10 games and losing 1. The second place team has 20 points from 10 games played. The team is dominant in their Super Y-League division. I suspect it has something to do with the fact they're associated with a professional club and they are able to draw the best kids in the area. Then those highly talented kids get coached by professional level coaches. Imagine when every MLS club has this kind of set up at multiple age levels. The sky is the limit folks.

Italians Win the World Cup, Then Scatter Like Roaches in Sun Light...

I know this has little to do with American Soccer and the youth ranks. However, on of the best parts of the beautiful game is the worldwide nature. If MLS is boring you, look abroad and learn more about the history of the sport. I include this because it is the result of one of the worst match fixing scandals of all time. Will there ever be another time when four clubs are penalized for agregous violations like this? Add to it the fact that these are the biggest names in Italian, European and World Football. Juventus won the championship last season and was bound for the Champions League. They're down to the second division and stripped of their previous two championships and they start the season with -30 points. Fiorentina was qualified for the Champions League because of their top four finish. They're down to the second division. Lazio was going to play in the UEFA Cup because of their sixth place finish. They're down to the second division. AC Milan was headed to the Champions League, they don't get to participate this season after almost winning two years ago. They start the season with -15 points so it will be tough to get back to the Champions League.

Whoop there it is. The Italian court has decided that the 4 Italian clubs were guilty of match fixing. Three clubs go to Serie B and one stays in A but looses 15 points before the season starts.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/5164194.stm

To make things worse all teams are bared from playing in any 2006/07 European competitions.

Juve was stripped of their past two Serie A championships and will start the season with -30 points. Many think it will be impossible for the club to gain promotion back to Serie A next year because of the deficit.

Lazio were penalized seven league points while Fiorentina suffered a 12-point penalty.

There is little doubt the clubs will appeal the decision within the three day limited appeal window.

An amazing turn of events in Italian football within a week of winning the World Cup. What Italian and foreign superstars will probably be changing clubs?
Try the following on for size:
Gianluigi Buffon - World Cup winning keeper
Lilian Thuram
Fabio Cannavaro - World Cup captain
Patrick Vieira
Pavel Nedved
Fereira da Rosa Emerson
Mauro German Camoranesi
Gianluca Zambrotta
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Alessandro Del Piero
David Trezeguet
Adrian Mutu
Marcelo Zalayeta
Sebastian Frey
Luca Toni
Valeri Bojinov
Stefano Fiore
Simone Inzaghi
Paolo Di Canio

Lucky AC Milan should stay intact as they're not getting relegated, just handicapped for the start of the season.

Italy can't go a few years without having this kind of scandal. Who knows what'll be next!

The U.S. Under-17 National Team Will Travel to Hotlanta...

Thirty chosen kids born in 1990 are practicing in the latest U-17 camp. Coach John Hackworth assembled eighteen current Residency players and twelve who could be added to the 40-man Residency program. These players are looking forward to the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup being held in South Korea.

Since the adidas ESP camp just ended, I thought it'd be interesting to see how many ESP kids are now training with the national program in Atlanta. Turns out 60% of the current camp roster participated in Atlanta. You can see all of these top level events are closely tied together. While it is good these kids are getting to know each other to help them play as a team, I always think it is too bad more kids can't be exposed to this high level of coaching and training.

Here is the roster for the current camp going on in Atlanta:

Position	First Name	Last Name	State	2006 ESP
F	Danny	Barerra	Calif	y
D	Brice	Carr	Wis	y
D	Alonzo	Carter	Va
F	Bryan	Dominguez	Ga	y
D	Gregory	Garza	TX	y
D	Christian	Ibeagha	Okla	y
F	Abdusalam	Ibrahim	Minn
F	Paul	Islas	Calif
M	Tevin	Jackson	Md	y
M	Jared	Jeffrey	TX	y
F	Archie	Karpeh	Minn
M	Brendan	King	Ill
GK	Josh	Lambo	Wis	y
D	Brandon	Lee	NJ	y
M	Axel	Levry	Md	y
GK	Zac	MacMath	Fla
F	Ellis	McLoughlin	Wash
GK	David	Meves	Ill
D	TJ	Nelson	Texas
M	Amobi	Okugo	Calif
M	Jesse	Paredes	Calif	y
D	Evan	Raynr	Calif	y
F	Israel	Sesay	Md
M	Dane	Shea	TX	y
D	Howard	Turk	Va
M	Kirk	Urso	Ill	y
M	Matthew	Uy	NY	y
M	Daniel	Wenzel	Wash	y
F	Sheanon	Williams	Mass	y
M	Brandon	Zimmerman	Wash	y

In the last U-17 World Cup tournament, held last summer, the US lost to The Neatherlands in the Quarterfinals, 2-0. The US was impressive in the tournament, winning their group with wins over Italy, North Korea and a draw against The Ivory Coast. Kids from the 2005 tournament are already playing in MLS and other professional leagues abroad, showing theFIFA U-17 World Cup is the way to launch your career. On the other hand, many of these players are just starting their freshman year of college. Here is the 2005 roster and where they are now. Is there is a dash under current club, I don't know:

First Name	Last Name	Pos	Club in 2005	Club (School) Currently
Bryant	Rueckner	GK	PSG California	UCSB
Amaechi	Igwe	DF	Santa Clara Sporting	Santa Clara
Kevin	Alston	DF	Potomac Cougars	Indiana
Josmer	Altidore	FW	Boca Juniors	NY Red Bulls
Ofori	Sarkodie	DF	Chicago Magic	Indiana
Quavas	Kirk	FW	Chicago Magic	LA Galaxy
Omar	Gonzalez	FW	Dallas Texans	Maryland
Kyle	Nakazawa	MF	ISC Strikers	UCLA
Preston	Zimmerman	FW	Crossfire Premier	Hamburg SV (Germany)
David	Arvizu	FW	Pateadores	NY Red Bulls
Ryan	Soroka	MF	Delco	St. John's
Gabe	Farfan	MF	La Jolla Nomads	-
Blake	Wagner	DF	HC United	FC Dallas
Neven	Subotic	DF	Manatee Magic	University of South Florida
Dan	Kelly	MF	Tennessee Futbol Club	-
Nik	Besagno	MF	Real Salt Lake	Real Salt Lake
Jeremy	Hall	MF	HC United	Maryland
Diego	Restrepo	GK	Team Boca	University of South Florida
Mike	Farfan	MF	La Jolla Nomads	-
Brian	Perk	GK	Pateadores	-

We'll keep a close eye on their freshman seasons coming up this fall.

The US Open Cup Produces the Biggest Upset Ever...

Ok, the above statement is a large, vague, overly assuming one. However, have you ever heard of an amateur side beating a top division pro team? Last night Roma FC, an amateur soccer team from Dallas, TX, beat Chivas USA, the MLS club, in penalties after a 0-0 draw through extra time. Yes, an amateur side beat a professional side from the top division of American soccer.

The US Open Cup website is saying this is akin to a #16 seed winning the NCAA spring basketball tournament. Maybe, but I think that is a stretch. The difference being that Roma FC was playing their heart out, they wanted any recognition possible out of this one. Chivas USA was playing the game out of obligation. They didn't want to get embarrassed and they didn't want any of their starters to get injured.

There isn't too much information out there about Roma FC. Their website is under construction, although they do have a really cool logo. The Dallas club is part of the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA). USASA is the overall organization of adult soccer players. After that Roma FC is part of The North Texas Premier Soccer Association (NTPSA). If you'll look at their website you'll see this is a small budget organization. To me this looks like the Wednesday night league your Uncle Rico, with all his college buddies who were starters on their college team in 1988, plays in.

To me it is amazing that this group of amateur players could defeat a team of professionals. This is what the US Open Cup is all about. Let the best team win and move on, and let the side that doesn't take the competition seriously fall by the wayside. I hope Chivas USA are embarrassed over this loss.

In their next match Roma FC will have a chance to play against Landon Donovan and the other LA team, the Galaxy. Somehow, I don't think the Galaxy are going to let this one sneak up on them. They're having a tough time in MLS, even as defending champions, and won't want to miss out on another piece of hardware in their reach. If by some stroke of luck Roma FC does win their next match, they'll be in the Quarter-finals of the yearly tournament. Ohh yeah, the Gals have added incentive, they're the defending champs of the Open Cup.

If you don't know much about the Open Cup, check out their website linked above. It is a really cool knockout tournament that starts with a lot of amateur and low level pro clubs. PDL team participate in it with their college kids on summer break rosters. USL division 1 and 2 play in it. MLS joins in during the third and fourth round. To get a spot in the fourth round, you've got to make the previous year's playoffs. The four MLS clubs that didn't make the playoffs joined in the third round. Columbus, Kansas City and Salt Lake were all able to find their way into the fourth round by beating lower level opponents. However, no other MLS club played a club as low as Roma FC.

Check out the Open Cup's bracket. In the fourth round we have 11 MLS teams. There are two USL 1 clubs (Charleston and Rochester), One USL 2 club (Wilmington), one PDL club (Carolina), and one USASA club (Roma FC). I bet one of those lower clubs will make it into the quarter-finals. We'll have to wait until August 2nd to find out. If you live in one of the cities hosting the next round, make sure you get out to support the event.

Adidas ESP Update

Adidas ESP wrapped up yesterday and we have our first update to the website showing a list of participants. They have also posted their All*Star award list. These are the kids who really got the attention of the coaching staffs.

First Name	Last Name	Grad Year	Position	Home Town,
Steven	Amaya	2007	AMF	New York, NY
Matt	Armstrong	2007	DMF	Phoenix, AZ
Edgar	Barajas	2007	WF	Pacoima, CA	2005/06 US U-17 Residency
Daniel	Barrera	2008	AMF	Thousand Oakes, CA	2005/06 US U-17 Residency
Ryan	Brode	2007	DMF	Setauket, NY
Brandyn	Bumpas	2007	GK	Denver, CO	2005/06 US U-17 Residency
Teal	Bunbury	2008	CF	Prior Lake, MN
Kristopher	Byrd	2007	LB	Huntersville, NC
Christian	Camacho	2007	DMF	Woodside, NY
Eric	Cava	2007	CF	Clarks Summit, PA
Victor	Cortez	2007	RB	El Sobrante, CA
Alex	Dixon	2008	CF	Humble, TX	2006 US U-17 Residency
Douglas	Ferner	2007	CB	Bloomfield Hills, MI
Kaoru	Forbess	2008	CMF	Benton, AR
Gregory	Garza	2009	LMF	Grapevine, TX
Jose	Gonzalez	2008	LMF	Soquel, CA
Cole	Grossman	2007	CMF	St. Louis, MO
Austin	Guerrero	2007	GK	Chula Vista, CA
Kevin	Huang	2007	CB	Potomac, MD
Christian	Ibeagha	2007	CB	Edmond, OK
Clint	Irwin	2007	GK	Charlotte, NC
Matthew	Kassel	2008	CMF	Bridgewater, NJ
Josh	Lambo	2008	GK	Middleton, WI	2005/06 US U-17 Residency
Jeffrey	Leach	2007	RB	New Canaan, CT
David	Mac Vane	2008	DMF	Middle Grove, NY	2005/06 US U-17 Residency
Thomas	Meyer	2008	CB	St. Louis, MO	2005/06 US U-17 Residency
Alex	Nimo	2007	CF	Portland, OR
Luke	Norman	2008	LMF	Rochester, MI
Vincent	Ocampo	2007	CMF	San Diego, CA
Jesse	Paredes	2008	CMF	Los Angeles, CA	2006 US U-17 Residency
Davis	Paul	2007	CF	Upland, CA
Samuel	Redmond	2008	DMF	Arden, NC
Nicholas	Sih	2007	CF	Horsham, PA
John	Tardy	2007	LB	Staten Island, NY
Casey	Townsend	2008	CF	Traverse City, MI
Kenneth	Walker	2007	CMF	Wickliffe, OH
Bobby	Warshaw	2007	CMF	Mechanicsburg, PA
Victor	Yanez	2008	LB	Riverside, CA	2006 US U-17 Residency

You'll notice that most of the players (23 to be exact) are headed into their senior year of high school. They'll be very excited to hear from top college coaches once the recuiting season gets under way. No doubt these kids will be amongst the top rated prospects entering college next year. For the 14 juniors and 1 sophomore I'm sure this All*Star award will help get their names on some US National Coaches lists for future camps. Who knows, maybe Chelsea will call on one or two of these All*Stars.

All told the group featured 87 Seniors, 45 Juniors and 5 Sophomores. Once again I will use the "e" word. The experience those younger kids get at an event like this must be unmatched. Again, the US must find a way to host more events like adidas ESP. 137 kids getting this kind of teaching/experience is great, but not enough.

Back when I started this blog I posted the top 20 Club teams from around the country. I thought it'd be interesting to look at which of those clubs sent players to this event. So here's the list in order of how many kids they sent:

Chicago Magic	5
FC Delco	4
Dallas Texans	4
Arsenal FC	4
CASL Elite	4
Sockers FC	2
Gallagher	2
Casa Mia Bays	2
Sereno SC	2
Solar	2
So Cal United	1
FC Greater Boston	1
Washington FC Premier	1
Crossfire Premier	1
Irvine Strikers	1
Concorde Fire	1
Colorado Rush Nike	1
Pateadores	1
Nomads	0
HC United	0
Potomac SA	0
Total	39

One interesting thing to note in the above list is that only 39 kids came from the top 20 clubs in the country. Only 28% of the ESP kids play for the clubs that get all the press.

We'll keep an eye on these kids as the U-17's play more matches and as the college recuiting season heats up next year.

U-20's win one, tie one...

The U-20 team had a successful trip up north, taking four points from the matches against Canada. The US won the first match 2-1 and drew the second, one goal each. With only four pro's left on the squad, the college guys filled out the line-up. Robbie Rogers & Josmer Altidore both scored to win the first match while Amaechi Igwe got one in the second game. There are already rumors of Rogers leaving college early after this season, so he is one to watch for sure.

These matches were basically warm-up games for the upcoming Northern Ireland Milk Cup. The Milk Cup is a large youth tournament held in Northern Ireland since 1983. Last year the US beat the hosts 4-1 to win the Elite Division. This year the US will defend their title against Wales on July 31st and Denmark on August 2nd. Depending on the first two results they may be in the final on August 4th.

These kinds of events are great for the youth national team because they gain experience against some of their best peers in the world. Granted, Wales, Paraguay, Northern Ireland, Turkey and Denmark aren't producing the best of the best right now, but high level competition gives these kids skills and confidence not currently found on American soil.

Correction to yesterday's post...

It looks like four of the pros were not about to travel with the US U-20 team.

Forward Quavas Kirk, midfielder Dax McCarty and defenders Nathan Sturgis and Tim Ward were removed from the once 20-man roster.

Kirk and Sturgis were both recalled by the L.A. Galaxy after initially being released for the national team trip due to injuries at the club that required head coach Frank Yallop to use both players for upcoming matches. The Columbus Crew also requested Ward for their upcoming match against D.C. United this Saturday. McCarty was unable to make the trip after suffering an injury to his right groin.

So the team will have to make due with 16 players for the two match series. The games are two days apart so you've got to assume that most of these guys will have a chance to play against the Chanuks.

US U-20's heading up north, eh...

The US U-20 squad has invaded Canada for a two match series against the young Canadians. The squad is made up of eight professionals, all playing in MLS. The rest of the players are playing college ball and could be auditioning for MLS in the near future. After all, head coach Thomas Rongen has a lot of MLS ties after coaching in the league for many years. Past and present coaches have a tight connection and the current coaches lean on those in the national program to help evaluate players. So there is no doubt that a spot on this U-20 squad is the best way to get to MLS.

Here is the squad, starting with the pros:
Nathan Sturgis, D - LA
Blake Wagner, D - FCD
Tim Ward, D - CLB
Rodrigo Lopez, M - CHV
Dax McCarty, M - FCD
Josmer Altidore, F - NY
Quavas Kirk, F - LA
Estuardo Sanchez, F - CHV

Now the college & high school kids:
Mike Gustavson, GK - University of South Carolina
Marcus Rein, GK - University of Central Florida
Tony Beltran, D - UCLA (incoming transfer)
Kyle Davies, D - Pleasanton, CA
Amaechi Igwe, D - Santa Clara University
Julian Valentin, D - Wake Forest
Bryan Arguez, M - Miami, FL
Corben Bone, M - Plano, TX
Cameron Brown, M - Garland, TX
Brad Ring, M - Indiana University
Robbie Rogers, M - University of Maryland
Omar Gonzalez, F - University of Maryland

The above players without links are either not yet in college, are just entering college or are transferring schools.

Keep an eye on these guys as they go up through the ranks. Some of them may do one year in school and jump to MLS, others will finish the four years. Omar Gonzalez had a good career at the Bradenton residency program and has grown into a monster at 6' - 5", 200 lbs. His size should help him against some still growing college defenders.

Mid-season update, featuring Bonji...

Ok, lame Saturday Night Live reference for the title, sorry. This time I want to get back to the original focus of this blog; how are the recent college grads getting along in MLS? The Rookie of the Year race is still wide open as no one has put a solid claim on the prize yet, however it seems that one team could have a couple of candidates.

I looked back at the draft list and found that 38% of the 95 man draft class has been waived. That seems like a high number to me. I would like to see a day where 100% of the draft class makes it through one season of MLS soccer, either on the senior squad or a reserve/minor league squad. These kids dream about making the pros and too many are tossed aside without adequate time to develop to the pro game. I realize that not all of these kids are not equipped mentally or physically to play a full career at the pro level, but they should be given a chance to show what they've got. Getting cut four months, or earlier, into the season isn't enough time.

Before the season started I was excited to see where Jeff Rowland would end up. He made a lot of noise while leading New Mexico through the College Cup in his senior season. Well, he got drafted, got hurt and got waived. Doing a little web research proved successful and I've learned that Jeff is rehabing his ACL tear and he wants another shot at the pros. However, next season there will be another crop of eager kids willing to play for peanuts in the pros. Will there be room for Jeff in MLS? Only time will tell.

Looking at the list of draftees the word waived shows up more towards the bottom of the list, as you'd expect. Leandro de Oliveira has the dubious distinction of being the only first round selection waived. Otherwise, the first round players are doing well for their teams. Half of the top picks have played in over ten games this season. It is always impressive when rookies can step right in and contribute, but in this case I think it is amazing that six guys have played in a large majority of matches to this point. Soccer is a sport where the athletes take time to develop, this shows that many guys are ready to make the jump right from college, and their coaches agree.

I mentioned above that one team may have a few rookie of the year (ROY) candidates. Drum-roll please...Chivas USA did a great job selecting talented young players in the 2006 drafts. Out in LA four out of five draftees made the team and two have played in all sixteen of the Goats' matches. Sacha Kljestan is one of the front runners for the ROY. He has slotted into a midfield that needed a ton of help after last season, and he has adapted to the pros well. Jonathan Bornstein has also played in all sixteen of the teams' games. Amazingly, this rookie defender out of UCLA has played in all but one minute of Chivas' games. Equally impressive is Lawson Vaughn. This defender has played in twelve matches after being selected in the third round of the supplemental draft. Drew Helm is fighting for minutes but that is to be expected when you're behind Mexican star Juan Francisco Palencia and American iron man Ante Razov on the depth chart. These four Chivas rookie has played in 62% of the minutes available to them. I find that impressive. Additionally, Chivas USA isn't the push over they were last season. These kids are adding the winning spark a previously flailing expansion club needed. Credit to Bob Bradley and staff for putting this group together. I'll also point out the American names posted above. Those who were concerned with Chivas USA being a Mexican invasion destined to take over MLS can go back to bed now. The World is safe.

Other 2006 draftees of note:
- Marvell Wynne has not been the revelation many thought he would be. Reading Big Soccer before the draft some people expected Wynne to catch the attention of Bruce Arena and the national team before leaving for Germany, "fixing" the Nats' right back issues. That has obviously not happened and Wynne has shown that athleticism is not enough in MLS. He's learning the defensive end of things and in a couple years I think he could be a star flying up and down the right flank for New York, or another MLS team. But development takes time and Marvell will need time working on his soccer skills.

-I don't know how many people expected Mehdi Ballouchy to go second in the draft but it seems like he deserved the spot. He has played well on a bad team. He is too young to know how to command an offense from the center of the field but he is trying. Sometimes he'll play out on the wing, but I think the creative/attacking (the illusive #10) midfielder is more his role. He's just got to grow into it. This team isn't bad because of his involvement, so that is good for his future. Hopefully a better coach will be brought to SLC so Mehdi can continue growing into an exciting attacking force.

-If you were surprised by Ballouchy at number two then you were shocked when Kei Kamara was drafted in the first round by Columbus. Kei played for Cal State - Dominguez Hills in college and many can't figure out where Dominguez Hills is, let alone tell you anything about their soccer program. However, Kei has come into an aggressive and physical league with some grace and skill. His speed helps him leave defenders in the dust and he is tricky enough to create a few goals. I'm hoping to see him grow into the physical game so he can flourish in the coming years.

-Jacob Peterson fell into the second round when many expected this youth national team star to go in the first round. Jacob has fought his way into the super-sub role for the Colorado Rapids. His speed and work rate gives defenses fits late in the match. He has the wheels to get on the end of a long ball and he can get his eyes up long enough to pick out team mates streaking towards goal. He's proving an effective sub, registering a goal and two assists in limited minutes. Having Clint Mathis and Jovan Kirovski as mentors may be just what this kid needs. We know he has the pedigree, now we just need to see some maturity in his game. He could be a regular starter for the Rapids by the end of the season given their issues finding the back of the net.

-Devon McTavish has the honor of being the last kid drafted who is still on a team. DC United seem to like pulling the rabbit out of the hat at the end of the draft and this midfielder may be the right fit. Devon has a great teacher in Nowak and should be able to improve his game over the remainder of the season. It'll be interesting to see if this late rounder can keep his spot next season when the new crop joins the league.

That's it for today. Until next time, remember to go check out your local MLS matches and reserve matches to keep your eyes on the up and coming American stars.