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Rosenlund Heading to Europe


Gaucho

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According to a local Santa Barbara paper, Tyler is leaving UCSB to test the European waters. Toronto apparently wanted Rosenlund very badly, and I suspect he was offered a Generation Adidas contract but rejected it. Some Canadian coaches also apparently told him he may play a role in helping Canada for World Cup qualifying and urged him to turn pro now to help make that happen.

Go Canada!

Go Gauchos!

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I would have liked to see a guy like this start his pro career at TFC and then move to Europe if his talent warrants the move.

TFC needs young, up and coming, canadian talent like Tyler to help create a connection with the Canadian soccer community.

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quote:Originally posted by loyola

Thanks!

Interesting news, if you can get some club names that would be nice.

If the try outs don't work will he loose he's NCAA eligibility?

If he pays his own costs during the trials he will retain his eligibility.

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Main part of the article concerning Roselund's departure:

Rosenlund, a Canadian, was getting interest from the new MLS franchise in Toronto, but he's opted to play in Europe next season.

"Tyler fits into the Canadian National Team's plans, and he's been getting a lot of pressure from their coaches," Vom Steeg pointed out. "They're telling him, 'Listen, if you step up you might get a chance to help us qualify for the next World Cup -- you can get in that mix -- but we need you to get into the professional ranks.'

"Toronto was massively interested in Tyler, but he decided that he'd like to first pursue some things in Europe. He can always come back to the MLS."

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  • 3 weeks later...

Sure, I'll give you my impressions of Rosenlund and hope you tell me a bit about AIK and the Swedish league :)

Rosenlund played for the youth Canadian teams including the U-20 championship in Holland 2 years ago.

For the past 3 years, he played for UC Santa Barbara. He became a starter about half-way thru his freshman year. Btw, he was offered a free ride at the Unvisersity of North Carolina, so he was on people's radar coming out of high school. As a freshman and attacking/holding midfielder, he helped UCSB advance to the NCAA championship match where UCSB fell in PK's to Indiana.

As a sophomore, Rosenlund donned the #10 jersey and was placed on the Hermann Trophy Watch List (MVP of the NCAA, like the Heissman of soccer). He had some kind of nagging leg injury for most of the year and did not have a great sophomore year. UCSB fell in the second round of the playoffs.

This past year, Rosenlund started the year injured again. He missed about the first 7 games and the team struggled to a 7-6 start. Then, the team would lose only once more and win the National Championship over UCLA with a record of 17-7-1. Rosenlund scored a hat trick in the quarterfinal match in a 3-2 win. He was also placed on the All-Tourney team and set up the first goal in a 2-1 victory. He also sprung the play that led to the second goal.

He has left UCSB a year early to persue a pro career. I speculate that he was offered and rejected a Generation Adidas contract in order to test the European market, so he seems to have been desired as one of the best college players. Supposedly, Tyler was contacted by some senior Canadian coaches and was told he could possibly be in the World Cup mix but that he should turn pro as that would increase his chances. He turned pro.

Tyler's strengths are his vision, composure, and passing accuracy. He plays very well in tight spaces, can escape double-teams effectively, and can hold the ball very well.

Tyler's challenges are his inability to stay healthy, his speed, and his conditioning. I think the latter is probably the result of being injured quite a bit the last 2 years. He may have some trouble staying slim and game-fit. Again, his speed, conditioning, and weight may all have been a result of his injuries.

From a personality standpoint, he's a good leader but not the most vocal. He directs other players and will tell them if they are out of position.

I'd be happy to give my opinion if you have any questions.

Go Canada!

Go Gauchos!

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quote:Originally posted by Gaucho

Sure, I'll give you my impressions of Rosenlund and hope you tell me a bit about AIK and the Swedish league :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIK_Fotboll

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allsvenskan

AIK was second last year in the league, one point behind first.

http://www.goalzz.com/main.aspx?c=1868

In the Scandinavian Royal League for 2006/2007 they finished third in Group 3.

http://www.goalzz.com/main.aspx?c=2673&stage=1

James Wadsworth

http://canuckreport.blogspot.com/

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Does anyone know what the last paragraph in this article means? It looks to be talking about Tyler's immigration status.

http://www.svenskafans.com/fotboll/aik/artikel.asp?id=152012

Also, I have been posting some info back on the UCSB Gaucho Locos message board about the trial. Good place to ask questions as I'm probably the only Gaucho that visits this board.

http://p220.ezboard.com/fucsbgauchosfrm2

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Thanks for the information!

Wiki seems to provide the basic information about the club and league, but if you have any follow up questions I'll try to answer them.

He's going to have to impress a lot if he is to offered a contract since central midfield, and the midfield in general, is the position where we are pretty much covered. In central midfield he'd have to compete for a spot with the club captain Daniel Tjernström, Liberian international Dulee Johnson (voted best defensive midfielder last season), recently bought Jamacain international Khari Stephensson and two really promising youngsters. I guess this is why he has been granted such a long trial, so they can make a proper assesment of him.

And the last paragraph in that article states that he has a European passport which is important since we already have three non-Europeans.

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Rosenlund has played on the flanks, too, though in the last few years he's played primarily down the middle. Saw him play as a U-17 in Victoria, and he was on the left-side (Peters on the right), and he impressed me a good deal. he tends to rely on his right foot, and will need to add left foot skill to his repetoire. US college does not demand the same sort of fitness and pace that the Swedish league demands, so this may prove an obstacle. Still, his vision is wonderful, composure quite mature, and his passing succint. I hope he lands a good gig in Europe: he certainly can improve.

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quote:Originally posted by VPjr

I would have liked to see a guy like this start his pro career at TFC and then move to Europe if his talent warrants the move.

TFC needs young, up and coming, canadian talent like Tyler to help create a connection with the Canadian soccer community.

Exactly. Look at Clint Dempsey, he got his feet wet and established himself as a solid pro in the MLS and when he left, he went to Fulham in 4Mll$ deal. Thats what I hope the MLS in canada will do for canadians like Rosenlund. Like Riley Oneil, Rosenlund did not standout in Holland and he could use some devlopment in an environment where someone will value the fact that he is a canadian. Going to play as a foreigner in smaller obscure leagues is not going to achieve that. So what if in the short term, the salaries are better in Europe. He could end up languishing in those places.

Look at where Atiba ended up after excelling in Scandinavia. FC Copenhagen is not bad but isnt Fulham a beter envoronment?

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If the goal is to build soccer in Canada by building clubs in Canada, then I think it makes sense to go after guys like Rosenlund. However, others will argue that to build soccer in Canada, one needs to be successful on the national level in international competitions. I happen to believe more in the latter. For this reason, I think it's generally better for Canada's and the US' players to test themselves in a more competetitive market in Europe. There is more professionalism in Europe and a better soccer environment. It's easier for the cream to rise there as well as the market seems more fluid between leagues. Players from lesser leagues transfer to the top leagues pretty often over there whereas MLS players rarely transfer to Europe.

I have seen what MLS players get paid. It's very bad with quite a few (about the bottom 20%) earning around $11,000 per year. One can literally make more flipping burgers at McDonald's.

Although Friend left UCSB just as Tyler was coming in, I am sure Tyler knows that Friend turned his back on the Chicago Fire, hooked up with a 2nd division Norwgian team and is now making more money than most (maybe all?) the top players in the MLS.

The pull of the MLS is weak. And if you sign with an MLS team, you are under contract and can't just take off to Europe when one chooses, right?

Dempsey is a rare example of an MLS field player signing a big contract in a major European League. He is an exception, and he took the long way to get to Europe.

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quote:Originally posted by Gaucho

Dempsey is a rare example of an MLS field player signing a big contract in a major European League. He is an exception, and he took the long way to get to Europe.

Dempsey is not a rare example. How about Mathis, McBride, Bocanegra, Beasley, Reyna just to name a few. You can also count Donovan if you want but he just didn't want to stay at Bayer Leverkusen. How many MLS players have left the league to play in Sweden and Norway? Other than the $$$, there are no guarantees for a player like Rosenlund. How much better can you do than what Hutchinson did while in Sweden? yet where did he end up? Sure FC Copenhagen isn't bad, but its not a G16 team either. Nor do they play in one of the top five league.

Getting back to Dempsey. I dont have his profile in front of me, But i think that he is a relatively young player. Therefore I do not see what you are getting at when you say that: "he took the long way to get to Europe.".

Edit: I just looked it up, Clint Dempsey's DOB is: March 09, 1983. Atiba Hutchinson's DOB is: February 8, 1983. Dempsey is one month younger. Given that Atiba was a U 20 All star at the WYC. Again, I would ask, who " took the long way to get to Europe." ?

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quote:Originally posted by Gaucho

There is more professionalism in Europe and a better soccer environment. It's easier for the cream to rise there as well as the market seems more fluid between leagues. Players from lesser leagues transfer to the top leagues pretty often over there whereas MLS players rarely transfer to Europe.

I

But I thought that that was the whole point about MLS. We wanted a more professional environment. There are 11000 seasons tickets sold for TFC . They are playing in a brand new stadium. They have a coached who played in the WC and was a star for his national side. two other coaches plus a front officce staff of 60-70. You have an ownership with sports properties that are valued at approximately $500 Million to a Billion dollars. Are you going to try and tell me that you will find wealthier owners and a more professional environment in Scandinavia? Do they get more than 11K for your typical game in scandinavia? Or what about the rest of europe? I recall a post from a former regular poster here who is a regular at USL games and lived in europe last year. While sampling a first divison game in Hungary, he remarked that he failed to see the difference between that calibre and what he saw in the USL.

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quote:Originally posted by Gaucho

However, others will argue that to build soccer in Canada, one needs to be successful on the national level in international competitions. I happen to believe more in the latter.

But so far, I would argue that you can achieve that through MLS much more than most of the Euro clubs. In the last WCQ we relied on shipping jetlagged players back and forth from Europe whereas our rivals in the group counted almost entirely on North american based players. Who performed better? MLS players like Guevarra and the Guatemalan whose name escapes me looked pretty good as well. So what prepares you better for International play: Domestic based players who are acclimatized here or players shipped over from secondary leagues in Europe.

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quote:Originally posted by Gaucho

I have seen what MLS players get paid. It's very bad with quite a few (about the bottom 20%) earning around $11,000 per year. One can literally make more flipping burgers at McDonald's.

Well you have a point there. That is something that I hope MLS will address soon. Because it is apparently a problem.

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quote:Originally posted by Free kick

But so far, I would argue that you can achieve that through MLS much more than most of the Euro clubs. In the last WCQ we relied on shipping jetlagged players back and forth from Europe whereas our rivals in the group counted almost entirely on North american based players. Who performed better? MLS players like Guevarra and the Guatemalan whose name escapes me looked pretty good as well. So what prepares you better for International play: Domestic based players who are acclimatized here or players shipped over from secondary leagues in Europe.

I don't think you can draw too many conclusions about the correct strategy from the last WCQ. First of all whatever jetlag problems we will naturally have were compounded by making the players travel to Vancouver and Edmonton. Secondly the selection process was very poor with second rate Euro players and second/third rate North American players being selected instead of first rate Euro players. Thirdly we had one of the largest numbers of North American based players in recent memory in the last qualifying and this did not prove to be very successful.

I do agree it will be good to have a good number of at least 2nd rate and depth players based in North America and the higher quality the better even though I think our best players should still be in Europe. I also think we should choose the best players available regardless of where they play. However, if the choice is between a player in Scandanavia and one in MLS of similar abilities the North American one should probably be chosen.

I don't have any problem with Rosenlund choosing to play in Scandanavia as it is a similar playing level to MLS and will probably pay much better and give him more exposure to other Euro clubs. I hope TFC and future Canadian MLS teams will do a lot for our player development but it should not be considered the only path a player can choose.

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Guest Jeffery S.

MLS might be equivalent to Scandinavia, or Belgium, or Austria. But you cannot compare it on a competitive level.

Nor for the money you can make, especially as a mid-level player.

Nor for the potential opportunities.

First the competition is stronger. You play a league, like in MLS, but it is not mostly lame duck as there are no playoffs. Every game counts. You can't coast. If you do you can be relegated; even if you are in a safe position you play weaker teams threatened with going down and they play hard, you can't relax. Your fans will pressure you for results, they'll can your coach, they'll hire in new players if you are not performing. The rewards are better too. If you have a good year you can see yourself playing in UEFA, maybe get a trip to play Bordeaux or Atletico de Madrid or Panatinaikos. No such opportunities for a player in MLS. There's the Cup, you have that other chance to win a trophy, plus the fact that you are playing more competitive games between Cup and League than the average MLS team, the season in fact lasts longer, you are in form for a greater part of the year (MLS has three months of vacations, while in Europe it is maybe 6 weeks).

Ignore the fact that you may get more fans in MLS, as the sponsors are better in Europe, and the transfer payments they can pull in are too. There is more money, and a better chance to be picked up by a stronger team, be offered a stronger contract, playing in Sweden than in MLS.

A good player will be able to move more easily and will rise in accord with his ability, while in MLS they stall, they coast, they have to make this huge leap to Europe which is difficult as the whole system of transfers is screwy. Just look at the way Friend or Hutch have moved, or McKenna, or Nsaliwa, Hume shifting up a division, up, or lateral, but with tons of options.

I think there is no comparison.

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There can be plenty of meaningless games for clubs over in Europe when a league title or European place is out of reach and there is no danger of relegation. In contrast, the playoff race at the end of last summer's MLS regular season and the league's competitive balance kept things interesting for most teams almost all the way to the end. Players in MLS seem to me to be waived much more easily than European players so there is plenty of pressure to perform. The $US 120k which is about the average now for the senior roster players given the ca. $US 2.1 million salary cap is definitely competitive with most SPL clubs in Scotland in salary terms.

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quote:Originally posted by Gaucho

I have seen what MLS players get paid. It's very bad with quite a few (about the bottom 20%) earning around $11,000 per year. One can literally make more flipping burgers at McDonald's.

Those players are not part of the senior roster and are making that amount while being given a chance to prove their worth as part of a 10 man development squad. European clubs pay burger flipping money to fringe players like that as well. The only difference is they are usually younger and don't go through anything equivalent to the NCAA scholarship system so if they don't make the grade (and bear in mind most don't) they have no qualifications to fall back on.

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Couldn't find number 1 pick Marvel Wynne on the 2006 MLS salaries list, but picks number 2, 3 and 4 made $45,000, $45,000 and $40,000 respectively...I didn't go any lower because the thought of possibly finding the 8th pick overall making less than my son does pumping gas was too disheartening. Just thought a reality check was in order...

Good luck to Tyler in Europe.

Edit note: Found Wynne...he did pretty well, base of $45K but total of $150,000 according to Washington Post

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quote:Originally posted by Gordon

Couldn't find number 1 pick Marvel Wynne on the 2006 MLS salaries list, but picks number 2, 3 and 4 made $45,000, $45,000 and $40,000 respectively...I didn't go any lower because the thought of possibly finding the 8th pick overall making less than my son does pumping gas was too disheartening. Just thought a reality check was in order...

Good luck to Tyler in Europe.

Edit note: Found Wynne...he did pretty well, base of $47K but total of $150,000 according to Washington Post. The other picks came in around 60K in overall package as well. Still, other than Wynne, much less than friend made going to Norway ($100K, apartment and Car)

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