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American Soccer |OT2| Party Like It's 1999.

While people were getting on the Jordan Morris hype-train, I had been pumping Pulisic for the past couple of years, so it's not only great that I picked the right prospect, we finally have a young American player who is the real deal. He actually has the potential to be a world class international player, not just "good for an American".

But more importantly, I'm hoping Pulisic is the leading edge of an on-coming wave of young talent over the next 5-7 years. MLS started their academy system in 2007, ten years ago. The results have been slow, but it's possible we might finally start seeing the dividends.

Yes Pulisic has been training at Dortmund and he's made substantial improvement over there, but he's only been at Dortmund for a little over a year and a half. Before that he was with the US residency program in Florida. Before that, he played for an academy team in Philly. So the majority of his development actually was in the US.

And actually a lot of European clubs have shown interest in the top US prospects. The problem is very few have a Euro-passport so they can't train or get signed for a European club until they're 18 or if ever. Pulisic was fortunate enough to be able to get a Euro-passport so he could train in Dortmund while he was under 18. This has allowed him to keep pace with other international players.

One of the reasons we actually had more strong young players on the national team in the late 90s is because it was easier for young American players to get signed by English and other European clubs. There were far less top American prospects back then but the ones we had were able to play in Europe easier. But in the 2000s, FIFA cracked down on European clubs signing foreign players (it was getting out of hand especially the exploitation of African players), so I think this partly explains the doldrums of American talent we've had over the past 5-8 years.

MLS academies have gotten better where they can develop decent soccer players. But it's the equivalent to a high school education. Europe is still the equivalent of a college education and an advanced degree. One way we can start seeing more players on the level of Pulisic is to lobby to FIFA and the various FAs to relax the restrictions against American players. It's between the ages of 15-20 where we lose so much ground to international players. If we can reduce that black space of development, we can actually have a proper youth wave of talent. [/soapbox]

My question on this would then be, how can we get MLS academies to become college and graduate degree equivalent? We certainly don't want to end our young player development at "HS level" so how do we improve it? It certainly has come a long way because 10 years ago there was nothing, so we gotta give them props for that, but how do we get to the next level and become equivalent to Germany to develop talent? Does it come with time or is there still things need to be done (i.e. more academies)? Or maybe it's just not feasible as it's a cultural thing.
 
LA Galaxy midfielder Sebastian Lletget to undergo foot surgery
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http://www.lagalaxy.com/post/2017/03/28/la-galaxy-midfielder-sebastian-lletget-undergo-foot-surgery

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Tuesday, March 28, 2017) – After additional tests Monday, it has been determined that LA Galaxy midfielder Sebastian Lletget sustained a Lisfranc injury during U.S. Men’s National Team World Cup Qualifier against Honduras Friday, March 24 at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif.

It was originally thought that the injury was a left foot strain, however, the medical team of U.S. Soccer and LA Galaxy, headed by foot and ankle specialist Dr. Rachel Triche, determined that Lletget will require surgery next week when the swelling comes down.

Lletget will be sidelined for the next 4-6 months.

The LA Galaxy will face Vancouver Whitecaps FC on the road at BC Place this Saturday, April 1 at 7 p.m. PT live on Spectrum SportsNet and Spectrum Deportes.

Lletget out 4-6 months -- needs foot surgery. Big blow for the US and LA.. LA especially.

Yeah, another big injury for the LA Galaxy. At this point they just need to survive the first half of the season and hopefully get everyone back together for a strong end of the season finish. If previous seasons, especially the last two, have shown us anything it's that the standings isn't as important as playing well at the end of the season.



Dan Gargan used to be part of the broadcast team for the LA Galaxy pregame and postgame show. I don't know if he was part time or full time. He was a pretty good analyst, he's pretty funny as well. Wish him the best of luck. Now we have Clint Mathis and I really like him.

If I'm not wrong Gargan came to the LA Galaxy in the 2014 season as a back up defender, but James Riley(had to look him up) got injured and Gargan played most of the season. He came out of nowhere, having a really low salary yet, he was starting almost every game and playing well. The 2014 LA Galaxy roster was something else, good times.
 

Icolin

Banned
Jay Demerit doing the colour commentary on Bein, nice.

Also, shameless plug: the Jay Demerit documentary "Rise and Shine" is required viewing for any US soccer, or soccer in general, fans.
 

Chris R

Member
So, it's fucking hot there now.

Has me remembering the snow game.

Was there a more recent snow game than the one against Costa Rica four years ago, or am I just getting REALLY old to where that game doesn't feel that long ago ;_;
 

Meier

Member
Pulisic's patience and ability to hold off a defender so much bigger than him is really something else. He plays so far beyond his years it isn't even funny.
 
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