US Soccer Going Abroad To Find Talent http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/soccer/columns/story?id=5385338
Caught a bit of DCU vs. LA. That Najar kid is legit. Supposedly his uncle said he's leaning towards playing for the US.
Roster for the Milk Cup (not an official FIFA tourney btw), which takes place on the July 26th vs. China, 28th vs. Denmark, and 30th TBD. It's no surprise that kids getting playing time in MLS weren't released (with the exception of Ibrahim), Lletget is still getting back into game fitness after missing a lot of time with an illness, and it looks like Zahavi will be sold to Maccabi Haifa and they want him in preseason training. GK Samir Badr - FC Porto Zac MacMath - U. of Maryland Defense Gale Agbossoumonde - Sporting Braga Bryan de la Fuente - Chivas USA Greg Garza - Estoril Praia (on loan from Sporting Lisbon) Sacir Holt - Boston College Perry Kitchen - U. of Akron Zarek Valentin - U. of Akron Ethan White - U. of Maryland Midfielders Fuad Ibrahim - Toronto FC (can also play forward) Francisco Navas Cobo - Houston Dynamo Alex Molano - Dinamo Zagreb Ernest Nungaray - Monarcos Morelia Dillon Powers - Notre Dame Conor Shanosky - DC United Forwards Juan Agudelo - New York Red Bull Adrian Ruelas - Santos Laguna Omar Salgado - Unattached
I could definitely fap to Agudelo and Salgado up top, really wanted Zahavi to be there though has anyone made a guess at a lineup yet?
so the US is finding his family jobs, helping his little bro get into the country, setting him up at DC united SEC style recruiting I like it
With the games being condensed, they'll probably all see some time, but if I were to predict a first team in this group, it'd be (if it's a 4-4-2): GK - Badr RB - White? CB - Agbossoumonde CB - Valentin LB - Garza LM - Ibrahim CM - Powers CM - Molano RM - Navas Cobo FW - Agudelo FW - Salgado/Ruelas (no clue really)
I have read that the reason he is so highly thought of is because his uncle is a pretty high up soccer agent and the reason he has been at so many clubs is because he really isn't that great.
So is Hoyos as good as gone and is he that good that he looks like sure first team player in Argentina? Hopefully we are giving him the playing time pitch.
From what it sounds like, Rongen has worked on Hoyos quite a bit, but it's hard to turn down Argentina. Whether Hoyos develops to be good enough for the full Argentine NT remains to be seen. Just look at the '07 U-20 WC champion team, the only players that have played for the full NT are Aguero and Di Maria, and we have a few guys around Hoyos's age that could develop to be as good, but would still be nice to have him in the fold, and he also has a really good younger brother too.
Really liked what I saw of Bowen playing out wide last night. He is one of those kids that looks the part and it only took seeing his first few touches to know he could play at the highest levels one day.
MLS has added its second foreign-based U.S. under-20 player inside of a week, capturing the signature of former Chivas Guadalajara youth player Omar Salgado, according to a league source. Unlike last week's addition of Sal Zizzo, Salgado has signed a Generation adidas contract and thus will not go into a weighted lottery. Instead, the 16-year-old forward will be available to be selected in January's MLS SuperDraft. It was uncertain why Salgado will wait until next season to join the league. Salgado, a forward from El Paso, Texas, was a highly touted prospect with Chivas until he chose to represent the U.S. at the U-20 level. This put Salgado at odds with the club's policy of fielding only players eligible to represent Mexico internationally. At a recent U.S. U-20 training camp, Salgado was singled out for praise by manager Thomas Rongen, who included the forward on his roster for the Milk Cup, a youth tournament held in Northern Ireland.
Not sure the exact rules on GA contracts, but pretty sure they cover costs of future college education (if they flame out), have a higher then normal base salary and will not count against the salary cap. Also, I don't think I have ever heard of a kid that young signing a non GA contract.
Can someone shed some light on three of our young strikers in the U20 pool Ruelas, Salgado, and Agudelo? Any information about ability, size, possible comparisons in style would help?
I don't think many know about Ruelas and Salgado, but Mexico both wanted them (Ruelas has played with Mexico's U-20). Agudelo is a strong and fast player and along with Salgado, the youngest on the team.
On Salgado - http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/us-youth-striker-salgado-signs-mls Lanky and standing 6'4", Salgado is a powerful presence in front of goal, but also has the footskills to handle the ball. The predominantly left-footed player is being used as a high forward by the US U-20s. “He’s skillful with a good nose for the goal,” US U-20 coach Thomas Rongen told MLSsoccer.com in an email. “He’s fairly strong for a 16-year-old and already possesses a decent soccer IQ. He’s got a great upside.”
U.S. beat China 1-0 on a goal from Salgado. We play Demark on Wednesday, they beat Japan 4-1 today, and thankfully that game will be streamed on the net.
Here's the starting lineup from today from this pic: http://tweetphoto.com/35096694 Top (L-R): Shanonsky, Salgado, Agudelo, MacMath, Ibrahim, Agbossoumonde Bottom (L-R): Molano, Navas-Cobo, Garza, Kitchen, Valentin My guess is: -------------MacMath------------ Valentin - Boss - Kitchen - Garza ------------Shanosky--------------- Navas-------Molano--------Ibrahim -----Agudelo--------Salgado------
Omar Salgado scored the game-winning goal to help the U.S. Under-20 national team score a 1-0 victory against China in the Milk Cup opener for both teams. Salgado, who has signed a Generation adidas contract with Major League Soccer and will be available in the 2011 MLS Draft, scored a first-half goal to give the Americans a victory in its first match in the Northern Ireland-based tournament. A 16-year-old native of El Paso, Texas, Salgado made headlines when he gave up his place with Mexican club Chivas de Guadalajara in order to pursue a youth national team career with the United States, a decision that went against Guadalajara's policy of playing only players who play for the Mexican national team. A source close to Salgado has confirmed to SBI that Salgado has signed a contract with Major League Soccer and will be available in the 2011 MLS Draft. Salgado is expected to spend the remainder of the year training with the MLS club of his choosing before heading on loan to an as-yet-undetermined team in the USSF Division 2.
I assume the USSF D2 club could be either Portland or Vancouver since they'll have the top 2 picks in the MLS SuperDraft.
Depends on which of the college guys sign with MLS, but Dillon Powers, Kofi Sarkodie, Brian Ownby, Zarek Valentin, Zac MacMath would all be in that mix. Mwanga was 18, Salgado will be 17 but will have played better competition than Mwanga had when entering the draft.
Starting at 3ET http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/schools/11_16/blastni/media_sub_milkcup_2010_live.shtml
U.S. lineup: ---------------Badr------------------- Valentin - White - Boss - De La Fuente --------Powers------Shanosky-------- Agudelo-------Nungary--------Salgado ---------------Ruelas-----------------
U.S. ties it up 1-1 on a Ruelas goal. Kind of lucky as it was just really a ball sent into the box, but Denmark let it bounce and it snuck in the net.