Correct me if I'm wrong here, because soccer aficionado I am not, but Donovan is 24 years old and he's already had two cracks in Europe.
If player development in soccer is roughly comparable to player development in baseball, and MLS is the equivalent of AA in the world of international soccer, aren't we already seeing just about the best he's had to offer? How much potential does he have left?
So playing in MLS isn't helping him. Does he have an honest shot at getting better with another tour in Europe?
3 That's what I figured. Kinda like if a guy comes in as a twenty young high-ceiling prospect, but then spends four years in AA with two unsuccessful call-ups, the best he can hope for is occaisional duty as an injury replacement.
So even if Donovan goes back to Europe, he probably winds up on the bench.
Sportswriting must run in your family Bob. Great article by your brother. Does he cover other sports too. Now it makes sense why you have a lot of interest in soccer also. Too bad you don't get paid as much though. :)
8 That's lot of goals (4). We only scored 1 really. Our offense is too weak. We need a top flight striker in order to advance further than prelim. McBride is getting old and Donovan is really a midfielder.
I think one of the major boons to the USA's World Cup dreams is also its greatest drawback. Being one of the two teams in North America with any discernable talent means getting to the World Cup is easy, but being prepared for the level of play once you get their is an entirely different matter. They need to get real competitive matches with perennial cup teams to flesh out the players and the tactics that will work once they get to the big dance. Playing friendlies and Mexico a couple of times in what are essentially meaningless games will not be good enough.
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He must get that a lot.
If player development in soccer is roughly comparable to player development in baseball, and MLS is the equivalent of AA in the world of international soccer, aren't we already seeing just about the best he's had to offer? How much potential does he have left?
So playing in MLS isn't helping him. Does he have an honest shot at getting better with another tour in Europe?
So even if Donovan goes back to Europe, he probably winds up on the bench.
For the USA soccer games in the World Cup he predicted:
USA 2, Czech Republic 1
Italy 2, USA 0
USA 2, Ghana 1
I think one of the major boons to the USA's World Cup dreams is also its greatest drawback. Being one of the two teams in North America with any discernable talent means getting to the World Cup is easy, but being prepared for the level of play once you get their is an entirely different matter. They need to get real competitive matches with perennial cup teams to flesh out the players and the tactics that will work once they get to the big dance. Playing friendlies and Mexico a couple of times in what are essentially meaningless games will not be good enough.
Comment status: comments have been closed. Baseball Toaster is now out of business.