Americans Abroad

[CardiacAndre7]

Reggie Cannon to Boavista which is in a sense a European try-out for Lille.

 

[LIuconn]

Now we need the clubs at the junior level development compensation to keep pumping kids to Europe or at least MLS.
Whether Cannon makes it or not, glad he's taking the challenge

 

[Palatine]

Americans Abroad: Pulisic returns; Reyna's hat trick of assists; Dest debuts

Pulisic returned from injury, Reyna bagged a hat trick of assists and Dest debuted for Barcelona.

soccer.nbcsports.com

 

[LIuconn]

The spine of our midfield for the next 5-10 years now plays for big clubs in the top leagues.

 

[upstater]

Americans Abroad: Pulisic returns; Reyna's hat trick of assists; Dest debuts

Pulisic returned from injury, Reyna bagged a hat trick of assists and Dest debuted for Barcelona.

soccer.nbcsports.com

Somewhere in this thread there are people who took issue with my claim (not you Palatine) that the former DA system by US Soccer was incredibly well run and was starting to yield the success that the USA always dreamed of.

We have evidence now with all these American players at top teams.

& yet, when US Soccer went broke because of Covid, they stopped funding the DA, the DA dissolved, MLS took it over, but the small clubs that were a part of the DA constellation (about 70 of them outside MLS) no longer receive support from US Soccer, and I know for a fact that the top coaches who were beneficiaries of that kind of support are no longer a part of the development system. I know UEFA A licensed coaches who could have coached pro clubs in Europe who are no longer part of the small club training circuit in the USA.

This is going to be the golden age of US Soccer, followed by a deep trough.

 

[djct1999]

Somewhere in this thread there are people who took issue with my claim (not you Palatine) that the former DA system by US Soccer was incredibly well run and was starting to yield the success that the USA always dreamed of.

We have evidence now with all these American players at top teams.

& yet, when US Soccer went broke because of Covid, they stopped funding the DA, the DA dissolved, MLS took it over, but the small clubs that were a part of the DA constellation (about 70 of them outside MLS) no longer receive support from US Soccer, and I know for a fact that the top coaches who were beneficiaries of that kind of support are no longer a part of the development system. I know UEFA A licensed coaches who could have coached pro clubs in Europe who are no longer part of the small club training circuit in the USA.

This is going to be the golden age of US Soccer, followed by a deep trough.

Simply not true. There will always be a select few MLS youth academy players with dual passports that will move to Europe in similar fashion in large part because of the path paved by these fine trailblazers. To suggest that Pulisic and Reyna are successful and where they are because of the DA is comical.

 

[upstater]

Simply not true. There will always be a select few MLS youth academy players with dual passports that will move to Europe in similar fashion in large part because of the path paved by these fine trailblazers. To suggest that Pulisic and Reyna are successful and where they are because of the DA is comical.

You think it's only Pulisic and Reyna?

Do you know where Pulisic was ranked when he was 16? Way down around 100. He was not ticketed for the MNT. He didn't play for an MLS youth academy.

Here are all the Euro 1st division American players who developed with a DA team (i.e. non MLS academy):

Gloster, Richards, Pulisic, Durkin, Soto, Cappis, Steffen, Yedlin, Sargent, Wood, Weah, Gooch, & De La Torre. In MLS, there's Miles Robinson and Morris who were also non-MLS DA.

Then there's the fact that players like Reyna, McKennie and Adams who were MLS DA actually competed against these non-MLS DA teams and developed playing against these teams.

The new MLS system is going to be so watered down when you consider that it's the same exact clubs as the DA, except now they don't have the same support with top coaches, and also the subsidy for non-rich kids.

You act like it's only Pulisic and Reyna making waves. It's actually a bunch of young guys in the top European leagues.

 

[djct1999]

You think it's only Pulisic and Reyna?

Do you know where Pulisic was ranked when he was 16? Way down around 100. He was not ticketed for the MNT. He didn't play for an MLS youth academy.

Here are all the Euro 1st division American players who developed with a DA team (i.e. non MLS academy):

Gloster, Richards, Pulisic, Durkin, Soto, Cappis, Steffen, Yedlin, Sargent, Wood, Weah, Gooch, & De La Torre. In MLS, there's Miles Robinson and Morris who were also non-MLS DA.

Then there's the fact that players like Reyna, McKennie and Adams who were MLS DA actually competed against these non-MLS DA teams and developed playing against these teams.

The new MLS system is going to be so watered down when you consider that it's the same exact clubs as the DA, except now they don't have the same support with top coaches, and also the subsidy for non-rich kids.

You act like it's only Pulisic and Reyna making waves. It's actually a bunch of young guys in the top European leagues.

I really sympathize with you because its clear this reorganization has impacted you or your region personally. In fact, my son plays for an old DA team/new MLS next team in the greater NYC area, competes against NYCFC, and has a few teammates on "scholarship". So basically most points you make about the new system is false. I will admit that a few of his coaches from last year were let go by the progam as cost saving measures. Furthermore, I strongly feel that the MLS academies do a fairly decent job at scouting talent and the future isn't at all that bleak. Sure, will some kids slip through the cracks. Of course. This isn't perfect. But in today's soccer landscape, if you are elite at a young age, someone will find you. Or you may find them first.

 

[upstater]

I really sympathize with you because its clear this reorganization has impacted you or your region personally. In fact, my son plays for an old DA team/new MLS next team in the greater NYC area, competes against NYCFC, and has a few teammates on "scholarship". So basically most points you make about the new system is false. I will admit that a few of his coaches from last year were let go by the progam as cost saving measures. Furthermore, I strongly feel that the MLS academies do a fairly decent job at scouting talent and the future isn't at all that bleak. Sure, will some kids slip through the cracks. Of course. This isn't perfect. But in today's soccer landscape, if you are elite at a young age, someone will find you. Or you may find them first.

It hasn't impacted just my region. It impacted all of America. Our club is part of the MLS league. It still plays at the highest level. The problem is the highest level is now lesser than what it used to be.

More importantly: there is no more subsidy for lodging/food/transportation nor a subsidy for coaching from US Soccer.

All that is gone.

Nor are the systems in place for uniform play. That's all gone. Years of development.

& no, the MLS academies do not have a magic wand for all of this. They are not the best at developing young talent (which is why you're finding a lot more talent outside of the MLS academies as inside). Many D1 coaches (who dont have travel funds for recruiting) grab kids sight unseen from the MLS academies and they end up feeling they've been sold a bill of goods.

There are too many kids who are now not going to get the support to develop. That's the problem.

Seriously, you're making this personal. I have very little stake in all this, none at all actually. I never wanted my kids to go to the DA anyway. We turned it down every time they were invited. My oldest turned it down when asked to even play up an age level on DA. So that's not my concern, and it's not the point I'm making.

Instead, I witnessed practices that were entirely unlike anything the top premier clubs had been doing, I saw UEFA pro coaches at work, I saw poorer kids hop on team buses and travel to games for free, eat for free, free hotels.

The irony of all this is I elected to pay MORE for tuition & cover our own travel costs because I didn't want my kid to train with the DA and devote themselves to it with all its crazy requirements (2 hours a day+ 5 days a week). No thanks. The non-DA teams at our club were unsubsidized so we paid MORE.

So this isn't personal for me.

My concern is only for the strength of the US Men's soccer team.

 

[djct1999]

It hasn't impacted just my region. It impacted all of America. Our club is part of the MLS league. It still plays at the highest level. The problem is the highest level is now lesser than what it used to be.

More importantly: there is no more subsidy for lodging/food/transportation nor a subsidy for coaching from US Soccer.

All that is gone.

Nor are the systems in place for uniform play. That's all gone. Years of development.

& no, the MLS academies do not have a magic wand for all of this. They are not the best at developing young talent (which is why you're finding a lot more talent outside of the MLS academies as inside). Many D1 coaches (who dont have travel funds for recruiting) grab kids sight unseen from the MLS academies and they end up feeling they've been sold a bill of goods.

There are too many kids who are now not going to get the support to develop. That's the problem.

Seriously, you're making this personal. I have very little stake in all this, none at all actually. I never wanted my kids to go to the DA anyway. We turned it down every time they were invited. My oldest turned it down when asked to even play up an age level on DA. So that's not my concern, and it's not the point I'm making.

Instead, I witnessed practices that were entirely unlike anything the top premier clubs had been doing, I saw UEFA pro coaches at work, I saw poorer kids hop on team buses and travel to games for free, eat for free, free hotels.

The irony of all this is I elected to pay MORE for tuition & cover our own travel costs because I didn't want my kid to train with the DA and devote themselves to it with all its crazy requirements (2 hours a day+ 5 days a week). No thanks. The non-DA teams at our club were unsubsidized so we paid MORE.

So this isn't personal for me.

My concern is only for the strength of the US Men's soccer team.

I. I believe. I believe that. I believe that we will win. Have faith Upstater. I apologize for any misinterpretation. Things sometimes gets lost over a message board.

 

[djct1999]

From onegoal.us : Barcelona reportedly stepping up scouting efforts in America and MLS is just good common sense at this point.

Expect to see an increasing amount of big European clubs doing the same to identify American talent earlier after seeing the success of our USMNT prospects abroad.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Not a marquee European Club, though they do have a solid rep in developing players, so I see this as a good move, and Jersey is repping.

Aaronson joins Salzburg for record-breaking fee

Midfielder Brenden Aaronson has been transferred from the Philadelphia Union to FC Salzburg, the clubs announced on Friday.

www.espn.com

 

[Mots010]

It hasn't impacted just my region. It impacted all of America. Our club is part of the MLS league. It still plays at the highest level. The problem is the highest level is now lesser than what it used to be.

More importantly: there is no more subsidy for lodging/food/transportation nor a subsidy for coaching from US Soccer.

All that is gone.

Nor are the systems in place for uniform play. That's all gone. Years of development.

& no, the MLS academies do not have a magic wand for all of this. They are not the best at developing young talent (which is why you're finding a lot more talent outside of the MLS academies as inside). Many D1 coaches (who dont have travel funds for recruiting) grab kids sight unseen from the MLS academies and they end up feeling they've been sold a bill of goods.

There are too many kids who are now not going to get the support to develop. That's the problem.

Seriously, you're making this personal. I have very little stake in all this, none at all actually. I never wanted my kids to go to the DA anyway. We turned it down every time they were invited. My oldest turned it down when asked to even play up an age level on DA. So that's not my concern, and it's not the point I'm making.

Instead, I witnessed practices that were entirely unlike anything the top premier clubs had been doing, I saw UEFA pro coaches at work, I saw poorer kids hop on team buses and travel to games for free, eat for free, free hotels.

The irony of all this is I elected to pay MORE for tuition & cover our own travel costs because I didn't want my kid to train with the DA and devote themselves to it with all its crazy requirements (2 hours a day+ 5 days a week). No thanks. The non-DA teams at our club were unsubsidized so we paid MORE.

So this isn't personal for me.

My concern is only for the strength of the US Men's soccer team.

You’ve probably said this at some point, but who is responsible for starting the programs that lead to the wealth of youth talent in Europe right now?

 

[upstater]

You’ve probably said this at some point, but who is responsible for starting the programs that lead to the wealth of youth talent in Europe right now?

I'd say it's US Soccer Federation. Here's a bit of the history and of the people responsible like Dan Flynn and Tony Lepore. U.S. Soccer Development Academy

The Development Academy started in 2007 and included the MLS team academies, but now it is dead: U.S. Soccer Development Academy

US Soccer subsidized players, subsidized coaches salaries, subsidized team travel, etc.

It lasted for 12 years before Covid killed it.

Almost all of the young Americans in Europe went through the DA with the exception of a few like Sergino Dest, who was brought up in Holland.

Having seen what the DA did up close (and by this I mean my child trained with them, but never joined), I was a big believer. My children are right now at a club that used to be part of the DA, and which is still part of the new MLS league, but they are coached by D1 head coaches. They have good training. But it pales in comparison to the training the DA kids used to get. It was intense, they ramped up time devoted to soccer, and they even had developed a common system-wide style of play (i.e. every DA club received instructions from US Soccer, even down to what they would be working on in any given week). Many of the coaches had licenses at the highest level.

Any time you have 10-20 young players in Europe doing well out of the 5000 who were in the DA, it's hard to say precisely that it was the DA that created it. However, the competition was surely the strongest it ever was, and there can be no doubt that helped. The better coaching helped a lot too. And lastly, this was all possible because of the subsidy for players from US Soccer.

You have to draw your own conclusions.

90% of those young players doing well in Europe came from DA clubs not affiliated with MLS clubs. Claudio Reyna and Tyler Adams are the outliers (i.e. both of them were at MLS academies). Most of the Americans in Europe are like Christian Pulisic, who played for an independent DA club. All in all, there were about 90 of these clubs nationwide.

Right now, MLS has taken over the old DA league. Almost all the old 90+ clubs have signed on to participate. But the MLS is not subsidizing this league the way US Soccer did. So you're going to have fewer scholarship players competing for the Independent teams. They will likely play for the MLS instead, though it's highly probable some of them will fall through the cracks. As well, I know first hand that some UEFA Pro licensed coaches did not return to the Indy clubs because their salaries were no longer subsidized. For them, it's the difference between making $15k-$20k a year (which is what a coach at a MLS league club now makes) and $30-$35k a year (which is what they used to make with subsidy).

 

[djct1999]

I'd say it's US Soccer Federation. Here's a bit of the history and of the people responsible like Dan Flynn and Tony Lepore. U.S. Soccer Development Academy

The Development Academy started in 2007 and included the MLS team academies, but now it is dead: U.S. Soccer Development Academy

US Soccer subsidized players, subsidized coaches salaries, subsidized team travel, etc.

It lasted for 12 years before Covid killed it.

Almost all of the young Americans in Europe went through the DA with the exception of a few like Sergino Dest, who was brought up in Holland.

Having seen what the DA did up close (and by this I mean my child trained with them, but never joined), I was a big believer. My children are right now at a club that used to be part of the DA, and which is still part of the new MLS league, but they are coached by D1 head coaches. They have good training. But it pales in comparison to the training the DA kids used to get. It was intense, they ramped up time devoted to soccer, and they even had developed a common system-wide style of play (i.e. every DA club received instructions from US Soccer, even down to what they would be working on in any given week). Many of the coaches had licenses at the highest level.

Any time you have 10-20 young players in Europe doing well out of the 5000 who were in the DA, it's hard to say precisely that it was the DA that created it. However, the competition was surely the strongest it ever was, and there can be no doubt that helped. The better coaching helped a lot too. And lastly, this was all possible because of the subsidy for players from US Soccer.

You have to draw your own conclusions.

90% of those young players doing well in Europe came from DA clubs not affiliated with MLS clubs. Claudio Reyna and Tyler Adams are the outliers (i.e. both of them were at MLS academies). Most of the Americans in Europe are like Christian Pulisic, who played for an independent DA club. All in all, there were about 90 of these clubs nationwide.

Right now, MLS has taken over the old DA league. Almost all the old 90+ clubs have signed on to participate. But the MLS is not subsidizing this league the way US Soccer did. So you're going to have fewer scholarship players competing for the Independent teams. They will likely play for the MLS instead, though it's highly probable some of them will fall through the cracks. As well, I know first hand that some UEFA Pro licensed coaches did not return to the Indy clubs because their salaries were no longer subsidized. For them, it's the difference between making $15k-$20k a year (which is what a coach at a MLS league club now makes) and $30-$35k a year (which is what they used to make with subsidy).

One thing we can certainly agree on is the pulled subsidy impacted the coaches and level of coaching. I have seen this firsthand as well. I know of a few good coaches that simply weren’t asked back at all because of lack of resources.

 

[LIuconn]

Pulisic opens scoring in the CL final 4.
tied 1-1 at half. His 4th goal in last 6 starts

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Pulisic opens scoring in the CL final 4.
tied 1-1 at half. His 4th goal in last 6 starts

By far the most dangerous player on the pitch, in an otherwise pretty damn boring game.

 

[Mots010]

Pulisic should have had an assist if Werner didn’t kick it right at Courtois from 6 feet in front of the goal. Credit to Courtois on a nice save but that should be a goal 99/100 times.

 

[Palatine]

Dike continues to impress.

 

[upstater]

Dike continues to impress.

Where'd this guy come from? And how was he missed by so many?

 

[ZooCougar]

By far the most dangerous player on the pitch, in an otherwise pretty damn boring game.

God it was so boring. And the announcers sounded like the were falling asleep.

 

[LIuconn]

How much is MLS holding him hostage for?

 

[ZooCougar]

How much is MLS holding him hostage for?

$20M option to buy.

 

[UCFBfan]

Barnsley is in the Championship playoffs. As a Swans fan I'm hoping they lose in the playoffs and my Swans move up. If that doesn't end up working out and Barnsley does, can you imagine being Dike and having to have to return back to MLS after helping bring your club to the Prem?? I can't even imagine the let down....

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Barnsley is in the Championship playoffs. As a Swans fan I'm hoping they lose in the playoffs and my Swans move up. If that doesn't end up working out and Barnsley does, can you imagine being Dike and having to have to return back to MLS after helping bring your club to the Prem?? I can't even imagine the let down....

If Barnsley pull of the miracle and go up there’s no way Dike isn’t in the PL next season, with Barnsley or with someone else.