Mls Superdraft
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Duke?s Andrew Wenger was the No. 1 pick over all, taken by Montreal, in Thursday?s M.L.S. draft.It does not quite reach the heights of Orwellian Newspeak, hyperbole is probably good enough, but what exactly is so super about Major League Soccer?s so-called SuperDraft? (This from the outfit that has given us ?soccer-specific stadiums? that are anything but specific to soccer.)
Perhaps it is easy to forget that this is the United States, where every major league, but especially the N.B.A. and the N.F.L., relies to a large degree on an infusion of talent from the college ranks ? talent that the leagues do not pay to develop. Of course, no such draft system exists anywhere else in the world except in the good old U.S.A. In fact, the notion of an elite soccer player?s attending college is pretty alien around the world. Either you play soccer or you go to school. That has led to an infusion of players from abroad into the college ranks, guys who are interested in playing ball and getting an education. Nothing wrong with that.
The Red Bulls made a trade, drafted a goalkeeper, announced a signing and discussed their plans for Juan Agudelo (probably staying) and Tim Ream (probably going). More after the jump.
Yet, viewed from Europe and other places, the notion that a player who has completed four years of college (ideally) and is 20 years old, or older, joining a top-level professional team would be laughable. Most clubs either develop players in their academy systems or go and buy them in places like South America, Africa and (believe it or not) the United States.
Using only the Red Bulls as an example, you could surmise that the club (and many others) have little use for the SuperDraft. In fact, the Red Bulls had only one pick on Thursday, No. 31 over all. That said, the club did have success a few years ago in drafting Tim Ream, who is probably headed to England for a nice little transfer fee. But for those of a certain age ? remember when the MetroStars had the No. 1 selection over all and took Steve Shak? How did that work out?
One can massage the numbers to show how many college players have succeeded in M.L.S., or how they have not. After the top few picks, it is really a roll of the dice.
Each year M.L.S. hosts a player combine in Florida that brings together the top college players who are available. But rather than try to emulate the other North American leagues, why not simply host the draft and let league clubs go after the guys they are interested in? That would certainly give the top players a better chance of making some decent money as they play teams against one another. Oh, but then again that is the whole point of having a draft ? telling young men where they can play, and where they can only play. And for how much.
Though Red Bulls General Manager Erik Soler has been diplomatic when he speaks about the SuperDraft, one can see that the guy is pretty well mystified by the system, as it is.
?There was good quality at the combine this year,? he told a conference call with reporters Wednesday. ?That?s my impression after watching all the games. There?s a number of players that we like. It?s just as unlikely as a month ago that someone will come out and do what Tim [Ream] did, you know, go straight into the team and play and strengthen us. But if you look a year ahead, maybe someone can come in and develop. And the quality was better this year, in my opinion, than in the other two years when I watched it.?
Do you think that the SuperDraft has a place in American soccer long-term? Or will teams soon begin to reap more benefits from their academies?
With only one selection in the M.L.S. draft, the club selected the 6-foot-4 goalkeeper Ryan Meara, 21, from Fordham University in the Bronx. Before picking Meara on Thursday, with the 31st pick over all, the Red Bulls sent their 2013 first-round pick and money to Portland for the 6-3 striker Kenny Cooper, 27. Meara will be the understudy of Frank Rost, the veteran German goalkeeper who initially was not expected to return to New Jersey, but now is, but probably at less than designated player money. Rost and Meara are currently the only two goalkeepers on the Red Bulls? roster.
?We have a situation where we have Juan Agudelo who will play for the Olympic team,? the club?s General Manager Erik Soler said in a statement from Kansas City, Mo., where the draft was held. ?He?s going to be playing in qualifiers, he?s going to be away with the first national team as it looks, and also play for the Olympic team. So, he?s going to be away for a long time. We simply need to ensure that we don?t get in a situation where we have injuries and have no one to put up top. Kenny Cooper is a player that I tried to move out of the U.S. five years ago, to Rosenborg in Norway, when he went to 1860 Munich. I think he?s a good player that will suit us. He?s big; he?s not really a target man, but he?s good with his feet, he can move around, and he can score goals. We scored a lot of goals last year and we?re going to try to score more goals this year.?
Soler rebutted reports that the club is planning to sell Agudelo, the 19-year-old striker who was signed from the club?s academy but whose playing time dwindled late last season.
Asked if the team planned to move Agudelo, Soler said: ?No, we?re not. We have to be open with the fact that Luke Rodgers had a one-year visa. That visa isn?t renewed at this very moment. We think it will be, but that?s not for sure. With that risk, in addition, we simply had to make this move and make sure that we didn?t come into the summer, and Juan goes to the Olympics, and we don?t have any attackers. There?s been interest in Juan ever since I came. Even before we signed him up two years ago, there?s a lot of interest for him, a lot of clubs that want him. At some stage he?ll probably go abroad, but I think the time isn?t there yet. ?
As possible cover for Ream?s impending departure (for a transfer fee that could approach $4 million), the club on Thursday made the announcement that it had signed the Swedish defender Markus Holgersson.
The Red Bulls will open training camp on Monday as they prepare for the season opener on March 11 at Dallas. After a week of training in New Jersey, the team will depart and set up camp in Mexico.
MLS 269 UNITED STATES 266 RED BULLS 254 MANCHESTER UNITED 198 WORLD CUP 197 ENGLAND 142 2010 WORLD CUP 127 BARCELONA 125 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 119 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING 108 M.L.S. 106 MEXICO 105 FIFA 105 BOB BRADLEY 100 MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER 97 U.S.
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