Whitecaps U18 In USSDA Playoffs

[El Hombre]

In an effort to get away from the ridiculousness that are the other threads in this section:

How about those U18 Whitecaps?

They beat the Houston academy 5-2 last night and the Chicago academy 3-0 according to CSN. They play their final group game against PA Classics (whoever that is). Huitema, Bustos and Essa have all scored twice.

Question #1: Just how good is this Huitema kid? He tore it up this year.

Question #2: Why hasn't he been involved in a youth team yet?

[Lord Bob]

Answer #1: Excellent. Better than Clarke was at the same age by quite a bit, in my books. He's a '95 for chrissakes! He'd have another year at that level if he wanted it! Probably not the best attacking prospect on the team though...

Answer #2: Partially bad timing with some injuries, other than that I'm not sure. He was in a U-18 camp a few months back, but I think that's it.

[youllneverwalkalone]

Canada hates the Whitecaps?

[El Hombre]

Canada hates the Whitecaps?

I see. Well, so long as the feeling is mutual then...

[El Hombre]

Answer #1: Excellent. Better than Clarke was at the same age by quite a bit, in my books. He's a '95 for chrissakes! He'd have another year at that level if he wanted it! Probably not the best attacking prospect on the team though...

Who would that be?

Either way this team is lights out, it seems.

[Lord Bob]

Who would that be?

Bustos in my books.

[youllneverwalkalone]

Bustos and, to a lesser extent, Kianz Froese, are already starting to dominate at this level.

Unlike Huitema, they are both smurfs, so I'm not sure MLS is really made for them. Fellow smurf Yassin Essa is also turning a lot of heads. If he had decent grades he'd be heavily recruited by NCAA, I'm sure. Rumour has it, he's not the most dedicated student.

[Lord Bob]

Whitecaps beat PA Classics this morning 3-1. It was the first time all year the PA Classics U-18s conceded as many as three goals in a match. Essa also missed a penalty.

[madmonte]

On to the elite 8 group. Dominating performance so far.

[maccaliam]

Whitecaps beat PA Classics this morning 3-1. It was the first time all year the PA Classics U-18s conceded as many as three goals in a match. Essa also missed a penalty.

http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/content.php?4712-Whitecaps-U18s-clinch-spot-in-Finals-week

[maccaliam]

I would also like to add that I have really enjoyed reading about the 'Caps academy thanks to the website I've posted above (Away From the Numbers). Great stuff there.

[El Hombre]

I would also like to add that I have really enjoyed reading about the 'Caps academy thanks to the website I've posted above (Away From the Numbers). Great stuff there.

+1. It's really hard to find info about these things, so they've done a real good job.

[tmcmurph]

Whitecaps beat PA Classics this morning 3-1. It was the first time all year the PA Classics U-18s conceded as many as three goals in a match. Essa also missed a penalty.

Bustos with a pair to add to his goal total.

[ThiKu]

Yes, CSN appears to be doing an excellent job covering the Whitecaps academy. I think it would be fair for the same to be done by someone in Toronto for the TFC Academy re: their CSL team(s), and how they fit into the reserves. TFCA plays in Dallas Cup as well as MLS showcase cups, so they should get a feature. Hopefully MTL has learned a lot from their first year in USSDA. But it appears their academy is doing well considering the players already into the MLS team.

[masster]

A good point that was brought up in the AFTN podcast regarding the difference between Clarke and Huitema that I really agreed with was that Clarke plays too nice. He is like Bambi out there. That doesn't mean he is soft, just very graceful. Huitema seems more abbrasive. Not sure if he is as good a pure finisher as Clarke, but I think he reads the game better, gets into more effective position, has a better touch and is better in hold up, link up team play.

Bustos has great skills, vision, touch, etc. The comparision used in the podacst of him and Antonio Cassano was one that I brought up. His skills, positioning, smaller and slightly stocky stature are incredibly similar. The fact that he shares Cassano's athleticism is the only thing that really scares me. He isn't the most atheltically gifted player. If he continues developing the technical part of his game though, he should have enough there to make up for it.

[The Beaver]

Bustos and, to a lesser extent, Kianz Froese, are already starting to dominate at this level.

Unlike Huitema, they are both smurfs, so I'm not sure MLS is really made for them. Fellow smurf Yassin Essa is also turning a lot of heads. If he had decent grades he'd be heavily recruited by NCAA, I'm sure. Rumour has it, he's not the most dedicated student.

Yeah, but keep in mind that the best team in international football at the moment is bursting with smurfs. I could put several Spaniards in my pocket and nobody would even notice. Bustos, Boakai, Essa, et al., will be just fine if they display the amazing skill that Xavi, Silva, Iniesta, Navas, Mata, etc. etc. display. yeah, you sort of hope your back line, especially the CBs, are as tall (and as talented) as Pique, but a midfield dominated by skilled guys like Tiebert and this young lot: bring it on.

[madmonte]

Yeah, but keep in mind that the best team in international football at the moment is bursting with smurfs. I could put several Spaniards in my pocket and nobody would even notice. Bustos, Boakai, Essa, et al., will be just fine if they display the amazing skill that Xavi, Silva, Iniesta, Navas, Mata, etc. etc. display. yeah, you sort of hope your back line, especially the CBs, are as tall (and as talented) as Pique, but a midfield dominated by skilled guys like Tiebert and this young lot: bring it on.

But his point is that MLS is not really made for them. Different style of play over here that is a lot more physical at times. Some leagues are more built for the talented and small player, and those leagues are usually across the pond. Not to say it can't work! But it just depends on one factor. Toughness. You can be small and tough and still kick butt...but if you are just small and talented and no tough, MLS can beat the crap out of you.

[youllneverwalkalone]

One point made in the AFTN podcast about Bustos is that when he first came to the Caps he had a huge reputation but really dogged it in training and even in matches. The coaches have been on him and he's improved his work rate massively, to the point where he's cruising all over the pitch, as we saw in Panama. This is likely good side of the heavy Scottish influence and perhaps will overcome some of the physical deficiencies he has.

[The Beaver]

But his point is that MLS is not really made for them. Different style of play over here that is a lot more physical at times. Some leagues are more built for the talented and small player, and those leagues are usually across the pond. Not to say it can't work! But it just depends on one factor. Toughness. You can be small and tough and still kick butt...but if you are just small and talented and no tough, MLS can beat the crap out of you.

True, but I watch Spain and wonder the same thing when they play more traditionally tough and physical teams, and they do just fine. Hell, they've even won a few major championships in the last several years. And guys like Camilo and Tiebert are doing just fine in MLS so far, so maybe guys like Bustos et al. can do well too. And keep in mind that they are now playing against very physical North American sides, so the leap to MLS is not going to be a huge surprise in terms of physicality. I am sure they are getting knocked around plenty at their current level.

[Grizzly]

If Felipe can play in MLS anyone can. He is very generously listed at 5'7'' and 150 lbs on the Impact website but looks smaller and lighter. You need to be highly skilled and to have some speed to survive in MLS but if you are you can have a lot of success. Felipe's success is partly due to his size because many MLS defenders have trouble taking the ball from him due to his ball control but if they rely on their physicality against a small guy like that and try to muscle him off the ball they just draw fouls.

[youllneverwalkalone]

But Felipe, like Camilo, come from a culture where most successful footballers are physically imposing. The vast majority of the Brasilian squad we'll see today are over 180cm. As much as I agree that skill will be the determining factor, there's also a psychological hurdle for smaller players who are not used to larger men trying to boss them off the ball. We've seen this in Vancouver with Teibert, who's taken a lot of inspiration and profit from Reo-Coker's physical game -a guy who is significantly under 180cm's, but very physically imposing. Bustos doesn't have the same physical aptitude as Russell, though he probably is a little bit more skilled overall -particularly when it comes to finding ways to score.

[madmonte]

If Felipe can play in MLS anyone can. He is very generously listed at 5'7'' and 150 lbs on the Impact website but looks smaller and lighter. You need to be highly skilled and to have some speed to survive in MLS but if you are you can have a lot of success. Felipe's success is partly due to his size because many MLS defenders have trouble taking the ball from him due to his ball control but if they rely on their physicality against a small guy like that and try to muscle him off the ball they just draw fouls.

Yeah, I mean it's not the size of dog in the fight right...but you do have to be able to take some knocks in the MLS or you simply won't survive here. Felipe obviously survives the roughhousing...not every small OR big guy can. It'll wear on the skinny guys a little faster, but they are fine if they have a little mental toughness.

I'm trying to remember the name of the guy on TFC that drove me nuts a couple years ago for being the exact opposite of tough. The guy that kept practically passing out from the heat...what was his name???

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Toronto_FC_players Okay this is killing me.

Oh YEAH Fuad Ibrahim. That guy drove me NUTS. That's the type of guy I'm referring to. But I mean I don't think a guy like him survives anywhere not just MLS.

[Grizzly]

But Felipe, like Camilo, come from a culture where most successful footballers are physically imposing. The vast majority of the Brasilian squad we'll see today are over 180cm. As much as I agree that skill will be the determining factor, there's also a psychological hurdle for smaller players who are not used to larger men trying to boss them off the ball. We've seen this in Vancouver with Teibert, who's taken a lot of inspiration and profit from Reo-Coker's physical game -a guy who is significantly under 180cm's, but very physically imposing. Bustos doesn't have the same physical aptitude as Russell, though he probably is a little bit more skilled overall -particularly when it comes to finding ways to score.

Not really sure about this. Regardless of the size of the current national team I don't recall either their national team or more importantly their league being full of large players. By South American standards I would agree the Brazilian players are large but not by world standards. And even if that were true your argument that small Brazilian players are successful in MLS because they are used to playing against large players as opposed to North American players doesn't really make sense. Since MLS is a large physical league, shouldn't small MLS players be equally capable of success since they are also always playing against large players and are constantly getting bossed off the ball?

The reason small Brazilian players are successful both in their own league and abroad is they are playing in a highly technical league which negates some of the advantages of size. Small technical players will have difficulty in a league that is not technical and very physical. In order for them to succeed they also need at least some similarly skilled players to play with. 5 years ago I think both Camillo and Felipe would have struggled in MLS as they would have been isolated and there is a limit to how much one sole technically gifted player can defeat physical defending on his own. The reason they are succeeding now is that while MLS is still fairly physical it is also rapidly getting a lot more technical. When I watch Felipe he is not succeeding merely because of his own technical ability but also because he has skilled teammates he can play give and go with so when he does have the ball he is often in open space and any physical play by a defender results in a foul. One can see now how many of the traditional MLS physical defenders who relied on their size are struggling. In the next decade they will become a dying breed and those larger players who want to succeed will also have to develop better ball skills. If Brustos, Froese and Essa are technically good enough they will succeed in MLS especially in the MLS that will exist by the time they break into the first team.

[Grizzly]

Yeah, I mean it's not the size of dog in the fight right...but you do have to be able to take some knocks in the MLS or you simply won't survive here. Felipe obviously survives the roughhousing...not every small OR big guy can. It'll wear on the skinny guys a little faster, but they are fine if they have a little mental toughness.

I'm trying to remember the name of the guy on TFC that drove me nuts a couple years ago for being the exact opposite of tough. The guy that kept practically passing out from the heat...what was his name???

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Toronto_FC_players Okay this is killing me.

Oh YEAH Fuad Ibrahim. That guy drove me NUTS. That's the type of guy I'm referring to. But I mean I don't think a guy like him survives anywhere not just MLS.

Here is an article about that guy whose career was almost over but he is now playing for the surprisingly successful Ethiopian national team who have qualified for the final knock out round of African World Cup qualification finishing ahead of group favourites South Africa: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/18/sport/football/football-africa-cup-nations-ethiopia-fuad-ibrahim

[madmonte]

^Yeah I knew that would send at least one person searching to prove me wrong lol. It always does. But he was a wimp in MLS...could be a sign he worked hard and improved. He would have had to...do you remember watching him limp around the pitch game after game and begging to come off? Horrible fitness.