NCAA Canadian Prospects 2014 (Weekly Updates)

[Keegan]

It would be amazing for him to play with Kaka or Lampard/Villa and yes he would need to go through the draft but Orlando and NYCFC will have picks 1/2 so that shouldn't be a problem.  Sucks for Montreal, I'm sure they would like to have him at #3.

 

Genk wouldn't be a bad destination at all though.  Very tough call to make because MLS is tempting but at the same time a risk as you have little flexibility. 

[jpg75]

According to Duane Rollins, Larin may have an offer from Genk in Belgium on the table.

Also NYCFC and Orlando have expressed interest.

Decisions decisions.

I've already voiced my opinion that i think he should never have returned to UConn and this reinforces it. I would advise him to get on the next plane to Belgium. Fuck college, you're going places kid.

[Keegan]

I've already voiced my opinion that i think he should never have returned to UConn and this reinforces it. I would advise him to get on the next plane to Belgium. Fuck college, you're going places kid.

 

Exactly.  I don't care how much you love the campus and your teammates.. it can't be about the education and if it is he is undervaluing himself big time. 

[jpg75]

Exactly.  I don't care how much you love the campus and your teammates.. it can't be about the education and if it is he is undervaluing himself big time.

The only thing that makes sense is that he's getting laid big time or fell in love with a girl.

[Lord Bob]

Or he has different priorities than you and me. I mean, Genk isn't exactly "made for life".

[jpg75]

Or he has different priorities than you and me. I mean, Genk isn't exactly "made for life".

But staying for the full 4 years isn't in his plans either. What's the difference between 1 year and 1.5 years of college?

[Keegan]

Or he has different priorities than you and me. I mean, Genk isn't exactly "made for life".

 

Neither is an undergraduate degree these days.

[BrennanFan]

Larin had a trial with Club Brugge in Belgium in 2012 and that obviously did not work out, next thing you know he is in NCAA.  Interesting that another Belgian team is now interested.  

 

Hopefully that experience did not completely sour him on the European route to pro football success.  Europe has to remain the top priority for our bright prospects.    

[DigzTFC]

Well, I am not sure it didn't work out with Larin.  Sigma has an agreement where they send players to Genk for training. Mike Matic, Johnny Grant and a few other Sigma players have gone over to Genk specifically.  Sigma's plan for their best players is to have them in NCAA for two years to get ready for the pros by being away from home.  Don't be surprised if Mike Matic is the next big prospect out of sigma.

[rob.notenboom]

The only thing that makes sense is that he's getting laid big time or fell in love with a girl.

Take her (them) with you lad!

[youllneverwalkalone]

Personally I think Larin is under a lot more pressure to perform staying at UConn. He seems to be the consensus #1 pick and there's a lot of scrutiny that goes along with it. So far he's rising to the occasion. If he's going to go to Belgium and start 30 games that's one thing. Being a squad player on middling side in a middling league seems less attractive than joining NYCFC to me. Particularly as he would get that 30 games given that they will still be an expansion side with horrible depth.

[Keegan]

Personally I think Larin is under a lot more pressure to perform staying at UConn. He seems to be the consensus #1 pick and there's a lot of scrutiny that goes along with it. So far he's rising to the occasion. If he's going to go to Belgium and start 30 games that's one thing. Being a squad player on middling side in a middling league seems less attractive than joining NYCFC to me. Particularly as he would get that 30 games given that they will still be an expansion side with horrible depth.

 

I mean sure there's pressure just as with anything but he is playing for UConn Soccer not Basketball against opponents inferior to him, if he isn't able to handle and perform with that pressure then he's in trouble.

 

I doubt NYCFC has horrible depth at all.  A team that has already signed Lampard and Villa is going to make sure the rest of the roster is stocked (relative to MLS at least).

 

I'd actually prefer he goes to Montreal and plays with MNT teammates and links up with Piatti.  He'd be sure to get time in Montreal.

 

Or better yet when TFC crashes and burns and Defoe leaves they can trade for #1 and make him their next marketing campaign.

[Dub Narcotic]

'Scrutiny' = one or two articles on mlssoccer and topdrawersoccer. I wouldn't call that crushing pressure. He's a top player on a good team in a familiar culture at a big sports school, he'll probably never have a more comfortable environment.

[Obinna]

 

 

I doubt NYCFC has horrible depth at all.  A team that has already signed Lampard and Villa is going to make sure the rest of the roster is stocked (relative to MLS at least).

 

Plus it is likely that Nigerian wonder kid Kelechi Iheanacho will likely join on loan from Man City. Right off the bat he'd probably be at least number 3 on the depth chart...

 

http://www.empireofsoccer.com/manchester-kelechi-iheanacho-27994/

 

 

I'd like to see Larin at MTL though.

[Duane Rollins1555362254]

There is almost zero chance he drops to No 3. From what I was told NYCFC will take him if he's there (and lowest they can pick, unless they trade the spot, is No 2).

I would suggest that the only way he ends up in Canada is if Orlando gets No 1 and TFC packages their four first round picks for the No 1 pick.

If he wants to play for TFC that is. Not sure he does.

[jpg75]

Between now and next March Larin can either play 20+ college games plus training camp or spend 6 months as a pro in Belgium.

[ray]

^ Selfishly, I'd like to see him stick around on this side of the Atlantic so he could play in the CONCACAF U20s in January.  But yeah, as far as his development as a professional and a future MNT player is concerned, the last year is like treading water for him.

[lazlo_80]

I get the impression, with no real true knowledge whatsoever, is he went back to school to buy time. He had MLS offers last year but perhaps european sniffs were starting to happen without any hard commits. You go with MLS and you're stuck. You continue to impress in college and maybe some of those sniffs become offers.

 

Truthfully this kid is in a rare position where if he gets that offer from Europe but decides he wants to come back to MLS they'd probably gladly take him in anyways.

[Levi Oakey]

I think you guys are crazy for thinking that he should be leaving UConn right now. End of the season, sure, but now? We have so many examples of guys who needed to stick with it for longer. Daniel Haber? Tosaint Ricketts? Josh Wagenaar? He made the right decision. European Leagues are looking at the NCAA and staying an extra year he has gotten more games then going to Jupiler Pro League, getting loaned out somewhere (or just not being played) and now he is starting to have options.

 

Also, he would have went to UConn with a full scholarship and probably a ton of bonuses, meaning he gets to live a college life (think about that) and challenge himself against the best in America. He is now the consensus number one pick in all of America. That's big, and at a time when American soccer is getting more attention than ever before.

 

I think Sigma is doing an amazing job, they are smart about their player movement.

 

I figure there is two ways a kid can become a professional here in NA right now.

 

1) Scouted at a young age by a European club and brought into that club. The investment levels of the club ensure that a U15 playing in a foreign academy has a solid chance to make the bench of a Euro club at the least, plus if the club decides to move on and you are a big enough name, you have a good chance of moving to a club a few leagues lower.

 

2) You go the NCAA route. Euro clubs are scouting the NCAA system now and your fall back can always be MLS. The NCAA, I would say is equivalent to playing for the Toronto Lynx in the USL A-League days. It's a solid stepping stone. MLS with all their arbitrary rules still isn't great for moving to Europe after, but the NCAA has a lot of players that end up in Europe. And that isn't just Americans, look at someone like Vedad Ibisevic.

 

Larin has done very well for himself and this year has cemented him as an exceptional talent for the NCAA. I think you can guarentee he will leave at the end of this year and potentially as the top scorer in DIV 1 NCAA. That's a big deal.

[Keegan]

I'm a huge advocate for NCAA footy and the pathway splitting time between NCAA and Academy play.  But when I'm looking at a top level talent like Larin it's a waste of time for a second year, this kid is a full Canadian international and in Floro's top 18 - Canadian internationals don't play college ball, period. 

 

Another year of college isn't a horrible thing but he could have experienced his first professional preseason and competed for a spot at 19 years old in Europe, go for it.  It's cool that he gets to live "the College life" for one more year but that's not going to maximize your potential.

 

The guys around the world who are going to be lifting the World Cup in 8-12 years time aren't living the college lifestyle right now at 19.

[Levi Oakey]

Ahh, Raheem Sterling has how many kids? Pretty postive he is living the college life.

I don't think he could be competing in Europe and I think you are over-valuing the kid. He is good, but so was Daniel Haber. Daniel had was the Points and Goals leader for Div 1 Cornell. He left Uni for Maccabi Haifa. He still has time to develop, but he went to Maccabi and played 4 games. He is now at Apollon Limassol.

 

For Larin (Just like for Haber) you might consider him a top level talent now, but 7 years ago a number of european clubs did not think he was.

[RS]

Seven years ago, Cyle Larin was 12 years old. 

[jpg75]

Larin doesn't have a EU passport so he couldn't have signed in Europe prior to his 18th bday. He did have a trial in Germany in 2011 at age 16 though (he and Chris Nanco went together i believe)

Let's say Larin picks up a season ending injury in the next game, then he probably ends up having to settle for MLS. Is "the college life" worth it?

[Levi Oakey]

Wouldn't have been the first 12 year old to go to a European Academy.

 

To settle for MLS? What if he, like countless other Canadian trailists over the years, got injured during his trial at said European club. Tough life having to sign a Generation Adidas contract and being the concensus number one pick for MLS. Not like we have countless examples of people leaving MLS now and finding a career elsewhere.

 

MLS has it's issues, but it is still a growing league and a STEADY paycheck. How many teams did Ricketts go to, and how many contract disputes did he end up having?

 

Haber signed a 1+1 year contract at both Maccabi and Apollon Limasol. If he couldn't have played for that year, they would not have attempted to renew him. What happens then? That is the contract that most guys like Larin can expect to get, one and done.

[red card]

As Klinsmann has said, you should be challenging yourself rather than settling for the comfortable "soccer" life in North America. And he's also said along with USSoccer that NCAA will not get US to the next level.

 

For average joe blow soccer player or late bloomer, NCAA is a nice option. For someone with good upside potential like Larin, spending more time in NCAA isn't going to advance him too much more. And you believe so, then I would question his upside in terms of national team calibre player.