Winnipeg 14-year old to go on trial at Liverpool

[jonovision]

I posted about this on my blog, but it's probably also worth sharing here:

Liverpool beckons ’Pegger

Bustos, 14, gets tryout with famed club

http://www.winnipegsun.com/sports/soccer/2010/11/17/16194306.html

A young Winnipeg soccer player will get the chance of a lifetime later this month.

Marco Bustos, 14, has earned a 10-day tryout with the Liverpool Football Club Academy. Yes, that Liverpool Football Club.

“Not everyone gets this opportunity,” said Bustos, who will try out for the organization’s under-16 team. “I’m very proud of myself and happy for everything. I just thank all my coaches, especially my dad.”

Marco’s father, Alex, is an accomplished soccer player himself who once suited up for the Winnipeg Fury. He used his contacts in the sport to eventually get his son’s highlight reel in the hands of the Liverpool brass.

“I had a good idea that my son had something special,” Alex said. “So how did I take him to the next level and give him the opportunity to take his talent to a team that would take him to that next level?”

The Reds liked what they saw on the DVD, and now Bustos will get his shot.

“It feels really good,” Marco said. “It’s something I’ve been waiting for for a long time.”

In early 2009, at age 12, Bustos became the youngest Canadian named to a National Training Centre. He has been a provincial team member and was on the squad that captured silver at the Canadian under-16 club championship last month.

If Bustos impresses during his 10-day tryout and the Blues want to keep him, he will remain in England and go to school while practising with other young Liverpool hopefuls.

Bustos, who plays forward, has certainly put in the time to get this far. While most 14-year-olds are sawing logs, Bustos and his dad hit the Seven Oaks Soccer-Plex at 7 a.m. each weekday for a 75-minute workout.

“I guess my passion for soccer’s pretty big,” he said.

Bustos has also been improving his strength and endurance with a personal trainer recently, and he feels he is ready for the opportunity that he has been pining for since he started watching professional soccer at age six.

“I always said to my dad that’s what I wanted to be,” said Bustos, who started playing mini-soccer when he was three.

Bustos leaves for England next Wednesday, and he will hit the ground running as soon as he lands.

“I’ll be practising, and then they’ll put me in a game situation,” he said. “They’ll also do a fitness test on me.”

Liverpool doesn’t pay for Bustos to travel overseas, so a fundraising exhibition soccer game will be played on Sunday to help pay for his costs.

Alex started the Bustos Academy soccer program this year, and its senior team, for which Marco plays, will take on the Winnipeg Alliance at the Seven Oaks Soccer-Plex.

The game begins at 7:30 p.m., and admission is $5.

[Jeremy]

That is amazing! I wish him the best of luck and hopefully he stays there...

[gator]

Great opportunity, best of luck to him! Ayone notice this: "If Bustos impresses during his 10-day tryout and the BLUES want to keep him, he will remain in England and go to school while practising with other young Liverpool hopefuls." Not many LFC fans would be to impressed with their team being referred to as the "Blues"!

[TFCRegina]

Good.

[redhat]

Great opportunity, best of luck to him! Ayone notice this: "If Bustos impresses during his 10-day tryout and the BLUES want to keep him, he will remain in England and go to school while practising with other young Liverpool hopefuls." Not many LFC fans would be to impressed with their team being referred to as the "Blues"!

LOL. Nor do I think ManCity (or France) has some input in the process ... But good on him, also for being ID'd by the NTC.

[Saviola7]

meh, just wait until he chooses to play for England.

[Tuscan]

meh, just wait until he chooses to play for England.

Hopefully he'll have no reason to turn his back. This parade just got a bit rainy.

[Danny Boy]

Great opportunity, best of luck to him! Ayone notice this: "If Bustos impresses during his 10-day tryout and the BLUES want to keep him, he will remain in England and go to school while practising with other young Liverpool hopefuls." Not many LFC fans would be to impressed with their team being referred to as the "Blues"!

Especially lol when they wrote REDS a paragraph prior.

[Avram Grant]

I don't know, leaving Canada for Europe at 14? Seems a like prime candidate for defection. That's about how cynical I've become. Maybe the fact his dad played for the Winnipeg Fury will engender some loyalty to Canada, but I wouldn't count on it. Anyone know where his dad's from? The name sounds Italian or Portuguese.

[kodiakTFC]

I'm glad someone gets to live my childhood dream! In all seriousness, good luck to him and should the decision ever come, I hope he remembers he's Canadian.

[deschamp86]

I don't know, leaving Canada for Europe at 14? Seems a like prime candidate for defection. That's about how cynical I've become. Maybe the fact his dad played for the Winnipeg Fury will engender some loyalty to Canada, but I wouldn't count on it. Anyone know where his dad's from? The name sounds Italian or Portuguese.

Didn't stop Teal

[finchster]

I don't know, leaving Canada for Europe at 14? Seems a like prime candidate for defection. That's about how cynical I've become. Maybe the fact his dad played for the Winnipeg Fury will engender some loyalty to Canada, but I wouldn't count on it. Anyone know where his dad's from? The name sounds Italian or Portuguese.

Hope for the best, expect the worst is my advice for all youth players.

[Lord Bob]

The Winnipeg Fury folded because Canada abandoned them disgracefully. His son will get revenge on the country!

[jpg75]

If his trial is successful FIFA mandates that the family move to England, are they willing to do so? Or is his mother British (which would enable him to move there by himself)?

[bettermirror]

Good luck, son!

[TheKottonmouthed1555362307]

I'm sorta flabbergasted by people already calling this kid a traitor if he picks England over us years down the road. The only way to prevent that is to grow these kids here at home and try and deter them from going overseas to develop there game.

Gimme a break if we want to get this kid then we need to get them now, like England does. South American teams do it with there young kids for the very reason that teams like Liverpool don't come and capture all the raw young talent of there country.

We need to somehow make so kids that age can be put into a system and held on to by us instead of being able to bolt to English academies. We do it with Hockey players, why can't we start to do it with Soccer. It's pretty piss poor that we can let a 'prodigy from canada' leave at 14.

This would of never happened if it was a Canadian hockey prodigy, no way American college's would be able to get to him, it would be Junior teams all over him.

We have Bantam drafts into the CHL, why can't Canada set up some sorta of equivlent draft for the few Canadian soccer teams, purely for the academies, around the age of 14-16.

The only way I see the defection numbers drop is too pro-activley combat against it. Am I wrong? or is it just unfeasable for Canadian soccer?

[deschamp86]

We should call him up for the Gold Cup. Cap tie him early

[BuzzAndSting]

I'm sorta flabbergasted by people already calling this kid a traitor if he picks England over us years down the road. The only way to prevent that is to grow these kids here at home and try and deter them from going overseas to develop there game.

Gimme a break if we want to get this kid then we need to get them now, like England does. South American teams do it with there young kids for the very reason that teams like Liverpool don't come and capture all the raw young talent of there country.

We need to somehow make so kids that age can be put into a system and held on to by us instead of being able to bolt to English academies. We do it with Hockey players, why can't we start to do it with Soccer. It's pretty piss poor that we can let a 'prodigy from canada' leave at 14.

This would of never happened if it was a Canadian hockey prodigy, no way American college's would be able to get to him, it would be Junior teams all over him.

We have Bantam drafts into the CHL, why can't Canada set up some sorta of equivlent draft for the few Canadian soccer teams, purely for the academies, around the age of 14-16.

The only way I see the defection numbers drop is too pro-activley combat against it. Am I wrong? or is it just unfeasable for Canadian soccer?

What if we built an isolated training academy up north where we could send all promising young youth players, build it so there's no way they could escape/leave the country. Sorta like a soccer academy/jail?

Or do what deschamp86 said...

[TheKottonmouthed1555362307]

Classic cyncialism, yeah you think it would take a jail up north, but see I'm a optimist, I like to beleieve the 3 'big' Academies that should be starting to pick up momentum across the board could make a move at players like this in general. Especially once we begin to see better development opportunities for some of these Canadian kids to stay in canada and play, instead of always looking Overseas for this treatment.

Is it really hard to believe that some 14 year old kid and his family couldn't be talked into staying in Canada in a city like say Vancouver or Montreal which are world class cities, and developing there childs game in the countyr he calls home. Why wouldn't that be so un-realistic to think of. Liverpool's doing it, and really they aren't the best place to live, yeah great academy for football I'm sure, but don't you think if we could offer the development side of the game a city like Vancouver and Montreal could easily out compete them for suitable living scenerio's?.

I'm trying to just throw out ideas, you can stay pessimistic like most, but the only way the culutral in Canada changes towards soccer is if people's attitude's towards our own game changes for the positive.

[finchster]

I'm sorta flabbergasted by people already calling this kid a traitor if he picks England over us years down the road. The only way to prevent that is to grow these kids here at home and try and deter them from going overseas to develop there game.

Even if Canada develops something like you ask for, top players will always go to Europe because that’s where the money and opportunity is. It is like Europeans coming to play in the CHL or the NHL for hockey, all the opportunity and money is here not there. Even with academies in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, if I was 14 now and I had the choice of going to TFC or Liverpool, I am taking Liverpool all the way. Also, these children and parents never think they will fail, they always believe their little Dougie or Jimmy will make it big and become a star. So why would they want to stay getting second rate coaching and training when they have an opportunity to go for the best?

The way the eligibility rules are set up, Canada will always lose top end players in my opinion regardless of what we do. The soccer culture doesn’t exist and the eligibility rules are set up to benefit European nations, they are the biggest market for soccer and no one gives a **** about small soccer nations like Canada not benefiting.

No doubt development in this nation has to change, but it won’t stop a kid like this going to Liverpool

[TheKottonmouthed1555362307]

No your right they will eventually, go but if you stay here through there development, before leaving they might be more inclined to play for Canada.

Thats sorta my thinking. Cause I don't fault players who trade sides after they've spent the impressionable parts of there life in another country, they may honestly feel more closer to that countries heritage.

[finchster]

No your right they will eventually, go but if you stay here through there development, before leaving they might be more inclined to play for Canada.

I have no doubt more depth players will play for us, but again, why would any young player want to go to TFC or Whitecaps Academy if they could go to Liverpool or some other big European Club? The answer is they wouldn’t, they will go to Europe every time because the money and potential is exponentially higher there even if Canada had a good development model. Smaller nations will always lose their top players for development.

Thats sorta my thinking. Cause I don't fault players who trade sides after they've spent the impressionable parts of there life in another country, they may honestly feel more closer to that countries heritage.

I don’t think playing international football has anything to do with how a person feels; it is all about money, there is no money to be made from playing for Canada. If there is a chance someone could play for another nation other than Canada and that nation will give them the opportunity to play in bigger games, seen on TV more, make more money etc, the vast majority will take that chance. We have seen it unfold in front of our eyes, it is impossible to ignore.

I think we have to accept we will always have players born here and raised here defect from our program because we don’t have the soccer culture or the professional opportunities to interest anyone. Getting a better development system will help us to have a much larger and better pool to choose from, but top end players will always go.

[Canuck in Boston]

This would of never happened if it was a Canadian hockey prodigy, no way American college's would be able to get to him, it would be Junior teams all over him.

Wrong. This used to happen all the time. Much less so now, but it still happens. A recent example is Jonathan Toews. He moved south to play high school (Shattuck-St. Mary's) and college (University Of North Dakota) hockey.

Even the most celebrated "prodigy", in the last 10 years, Sidney Crosby spent time south of the border at Shattuck-St. Mary's, eventually returning to the QMJHL.

Who cares where someone trains as long as they are getting the best level of instruction and competition. If he wants to play for Canada (should he be skilled enough) then he will, if not he wont. It is that simple.

[jpg75]

Let's not forget that Bustos was selected to train at the NTC when he was 12, he has spent the last 2 years there so it's not like he hasn't been in our system. And i'd bet one of my nuts that either or both of the Caps and TFC have spoken to him and his father about joining their Academies. The Canadian system has probably done everything it can to help this kid develop.

[Keegan]

So why wasn't he invited to the U15 camp?