Going Full Soccer/Academy Nerd...

Kante

PREMIER
Every now and again, come across items that are super solid but there's not a venue to share so figured to start a new thread. First item is an 83 minute podcast from Scuffed with Bobby Warshaw and David Gass, the two guys who announced this year's GA cup games. There's a sense of humor, genuine insight and learned about 14 different new things not known before. Enjoy. https://scuffed.simplecast.com/episodes/episode-69-ga-cup-mls-academies-breakdo

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One of the best articles written to date on Mexico recruiting younger Latino players in Southern California for its national team. Names like Jonathan Gonzalez and Efrain Alvarez are recent examples of US-born players now playing for the Mexico youth national team. Obviously, there's some ambivalence about this, but it's probably good that US Soccer has some competition, and thus accountability.
https://www.theringer.com/soccer/20...ual-national-jonathan-gonzalez-efrain-alvarez

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As the season winds down, clubs make decisions about which players to keep and families decide if they want to continue with the same club or switch. Ran across this article by SoccerAmerica from back in the day. Seems the USSDA used to publish report cards on DA clubs. Here's the article: https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/43960/top-us-boys-clubs-get-report-cards.html

Here's the link to the archived 2011 evals (the original USSDA web page is no longer available).
https://web.archive.org/web/2011111...~/media/F6AFF980EC804D5980011C71E16FC2D4.ashx


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As the season winds down, clubs make decisions about which players to keep and families decide if they want to continue with the same club or switch. Ran across this article by SoccerAmerica from back in the day. Seems the USSDA used to publish report cards on DA clubs. Here's the article: https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/43960/top-us-boys-clubs-get-report-cards.html

Here's the link to the archived 2011 evals (the original USSDA web page is no longer available).
https://web.archive.org/web/2011111...~/media/F6AFF980EC804D5980011C71E16FC2D4.ashx


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What's with the font tricks?
 
As Biden would say, "this is a big f*&^ing deal." Crossfire obtained and has released the FIFA DRC ruling on their request for solidarity payment from Tottenham for Yedlin. According to ESPNFC, FIFA ruled in favor of Crossfire's claim but said that since Tottenham had already paid the full transfer fee (including solidarity payments) to MLS and USSF, that Crossfire would have to seek compensation from MLS/USSF, not Tottenham. Evidently, MLS/USSF gave assurances to Tottenham that solidarity payments would be forwarded to the appropriate parties, which did not happen. Will be fascinating to hear MLS/USSF response although (as of 2:01pm pst) they do not appear to be returning phone calls.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/story/3875322/fifa-panel-releases-detailed-ruling-in-yedlin-case
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In a little followed item, US Soccer is currently looking to hire a new CEO. Current CEO Dan Flynn is stepping down, and, per reports, strongly recommending Jay Berhalter, current US soccer chief commercial and chief strategy officer. (and yes, Jay Berhalter is the brother of current US Men’s team coach Gregg Berhalter). Here's link to recent article on the search - https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2019/0...s-of-hiring-new-ceo-jay-berhalter-in-running/

In the Twitterverse, two key bits of news have bubbled up. One, reports have both current US president Carlos Cordeiro and current Vice President Cindy Cone opposing J. Berhalter’s elevation. (by way of background, the US Soccer President and VP positions are elected while the CEO and CCSO positions are hired staff positions. The elected positions oversee the staff positions.) Two, multiple reports have surfaced citing the CCSO’s less than ideal management style. The most striking of which are employee reviews of US Soccer on Glassdoor which can be found here - https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/U-S-Soccer-Federation-Reviews-E9884.htm

Given Cordeiro’s operating style to date, the new CEO will likely become the face of US Soccer, and have significant influence over what happens with US Soccer over the next decade or so. Here's the link to the Twitter references re: the US Soccer CEO search and US Soccer employee reviews - https://twitter.com/search?q=glassdoor soccer&src=typd


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Also, if you get a chance, can you take this poll asking what would be interesting/engaging for next year? gracias!http://www.socalsoccer.com/threads/...r-the-new-season-please-pick-the-top-3.17573/
 
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Great podcast from Scuffed w/ solid insight and discussion re: US Soccer new org w/ Earnie Stewart as the one soccer guy in charge, and and how it may affect the US YNT program on both the men's and women's sides.

short version is that the new regime's organizational house cleaning is wrapping up, and Cordeiro will then present the proposed new org to the board in September.

it would make sense then for US Soccer to more publicly talk what the org looks like and where they're going by October but that doesn't mean that they will.

it's also reasonable to assume that the new men's org will mirror what US Soccer has talked about for the women's org (i.e. gm will manage the sr team coach, the ynt coaches and the ussda and scouting)

https://scuffed.simplecast.com/epis...4-young-players-berhalter-should-call-up-soon
 

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Woke this morning, almost did a spit take and had to get another cup of coffee. Couldn't believe it. Reportedly, because US Soccer failed to forward paperwork from FIFA, US girls youth clubs where women's world cup players came up may not be receiving $375k from FIFA for players that played in the WWC. Excellent reporting by SoccerAmerica.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgxwDrHqVpqrvNlkGwnBMNtzZcCJG

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Just to follow-up on this, it turns out that they've extended the deadline or otherwise permitted US girls youth clubs to apply/participate.

https://twitter.com/JeffreyCarlisle/status/1173673152804573191

Re: FIFA WWC Club Benefits Program, & how US youth clubs didn't know about it until after July deadline had passed. FIFA spokesperson tells ESPN, "All eligible clubs will be given the opportunity to apply." So it looks like original deadline won't be enforced. #uswnt
 
if twitter says it, it must be true... Word is Asher Mendelsohn is out as Chief Soccer Officer at US Soccer. Mendelsohn came into US Soccer from an administrative role working with Berhalter at the Columbus Crew.

have no inside knowledge but Mendelsohn's arrival seemed to synch with an increase in dysfunctionality at US Soccer, particularly on the USSDA and the YNT side eg, requiring coaches to be in chicago, coaching roles being vacated and then left unfilled and the death of the YNT Futures Camp etc.

May be unfair to assert causality but there certainly seemed to be correlation.

here's the espn story by Jeff Carlisle:
https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-...352/sources-ussf-chief-soccer-officer-resigns


here's background articles:

https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/80810/crews-asher-mendelsohn-returns-to-us-soccer-as.html
https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/81313/the-troubling-case-of-us-soccer-coaching-vacanci.html

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here's another very good article from SoccerAmerica with more context about the recent resignation of Asher Mendelsohn as chief soccer officer from US Soccer.

https://www.socceramerica.com/publi...occer-officer-asher-mendelsohn-leaves-us.html


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Key context around Mendelsohn's resignation from the article is:

1. DA and YNT were among Mendelsohn's responsibilities
2. There is no director of the DA program or Youth National Teams Director overall (boys and girls), Jared Miklos resigned this last August
3. There has been no director of boys' USSDA since the previous director - Aloys Wijnker - resigned in Nov 2018, just ahead of Mendelsohn coming in
4. There has been no girls YNT director since April Heinrich left in October 2018, again just ahead of Mendelsohn coming in
5. There are currently five boys YNT coaching vacancies and at least five girls YNT coaching vacancies

* another important item that also happened under Mendelsohn's watch/purview is a shift/downsizing that occurred with scouting, away from US Soccer scouts to relying heavily on clubs and then the showcase tournament and play-offs (both one time events). *

In the big picture/longer term, all this may be adequately resolved (and Earnie Stewart seems to be on the right path, finally) but the kids who are in the DA system right now have a limited window. And the recent lack of stability created by the "adults" in charge is having an impact on these kids.

By most standards, the DA system has been a successful idea (even if lacking some times from an exceution pov), with rise of new generation of quality ynt/mnt team players being evidence of this success.

The adults in charge over the last year seem to be have been determined to allow their "stuff" to get in the way of putting the kids first. Which, at least IMHO, is never OK.

Would appreciate US Soccer resolving these USSDA and YNT issues - given the limited window for the kids and time sensitive nature - as their #1 near term priority.
 

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Woke this morning, almost did a spit take and had to get another cup of coffee. Couldn't believe it. Reportedly, because US Soccer failed to forward paperwork from FIFA, US girls youth clubs where women's world cup players came up may not be receiving $375k from FIFA for players that played in the WWC. Excellent reporting by SoccerAmerica.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgxwDrHqVpqrvNlkGwnBMNtzZcCJG

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So give credit where is due. US Soccer seems to be on their way to fixing this issue (thanks in no small part to SoccerAmerica bringing light to the issue...)

here's link to SoccerAmerica's follow-up article: https://www.socceramerica.com/publi...er-follows-through-on-womens-world-cup-b.html

And here's link to subscribe to SoccerAmerica - it's less than $5 per month (<two Starbucks Lattes) - to support this kind of quality journalism covering an important part of American sports: https://www.socceramerica.com/join/

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Oi. No words really after last evening w/ the USA vs Canada match. Best podcast discussion so far on what happened... youtube.com/watch?v=UhsG7EVKvog

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it's been a bit. there's been plenty of news but no truly insightful bit of info that's not easily available somewhere else. But then this piece came out from Will Parchman in The Athletic.

It's a tidy little synopsis of the current situation w/ the boys side of the YNT and how that directly led to the u17 USA fiasco at the u17 World Cup in Brazil where the USA ynt - despite the u17s being one of the first ynt sides to be have benefitted from full exposure to the DA system - gave one of the worst performances of any u17 team in recent history.

there's some reasonable questions that still need to be asked and answered (eg, does the stylistic similarity btw how the u17s played and lost at the u17 world cup, and how the USMNT played and lost to Canada recently, represent enough evidence to indict Berthalter's system and fire everybody?) but Parchman's piece is a good way to get all caught up.


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