From College to the Pros - The US soccer ladder

Monday, July 10, 2006

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.

posted by Bonji at 10:06 AM

5 Comments:

  • I think you're right in that it's a good experience. I don't follow the youth much but I suspect they're more athletic but kids like the Welsh and the Danes are more tactically aware . So it would seem like a good tournament for them. Plus just getting them out there playing is good.

    By Blogger Allen, at 11:20 AM  

  • Im very interested in the younger players coming up through the ranks and am a college player myself. I have a blog where I recently added a feature in which i get some perspective on certain issues from a college coach. This week's guy was Mike Russo who has coached 14 professional players in his time at Williams College (including Nick Armington who just signed with RSL). Anyway, I thought our interests overlapped so you might want to link up. Let me know if you do.

    Thanks,
    Julian (inswingers.blogspot.com)

    By Blogger jcanzo, at 11:42 AM  

  • Thanks Julian, I will certainly add you to my link list. If you'd ever like to contribute to my blog, let me know.

    By Blogger Bonji, at 4:45 PM  

  • Allen, I saw an interview with Landycakes McDonovan where he said something to the effect, "I've played against many of these guys in youth tournaments, I know I can play with them." While Landy didn't show well in Germany, he certainly has the experience and confidence to go up against anyone. This is important and until all of the national team feels this way, the US isn't going to get much done on the international stage.

    By Blogger Bonji, at 4:51 PM  

  • Hey Bonji,

    I would certainly be interested in writing about playing in college for your blog, maybe during the upcoming season that starts in the fall. My team is going to Brazil in august if you would be interested in that. Also i wanted to let you know that i have changed the address of my site to inswingerssoccerblog.blogspot.com. Wouldn't want you to have a dead link.

    Thanks a lot,

    Julian

    By Blogger jcanzo, at 9:28 PM  

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