NEW Mother of all Canucks Abroad (and domestic)

[Toje]

"Okello und Zakaria: Der VfL blickt nach Kanada

WOLFSBURG  Zwei Testspieler aus Übersee sind derzeit im Probetraining der Wolfsburger A-Junioren-Mannschaft."

https://www.wolfsburger-nachrichten.de/sport/vfl-wolfsburg/article213094193/Okello-und-Zakaria-Der-VfL-blickt-nach-Kanada.html

Two Toronto FC Academy players are on trial with Wolfsburg U19's.

[Toje]

 Yesli Rayane (1999- GK - ex Montreal Impact) has signed with Vibonese in Italy (Serie C).

http://www.zoom24.it/2018/01/12/altro-colpo-della-vibonese-tesserato-giovane-portiere-canadese-yesli-63472/

Edited January 15, 2018 by Toje

[Toje]

Amer Halilic will go on loan from Korona to Polish 4th tier side Stal Rzeszów.  The move will be for 6 months.

http://www.cksport.pl/pokazWiadomosc/15473_19-latek_podpisal_kontrakt_z_korona_ale_na_swoja_szanse_jeszcze_musi_zaczekac.html

Edited January 15, 2018 by Toje

[Vince193]

8 hours ago, Toje said:

Amer Halilic will go on loan from Korona to Polish 4th tier side Stal Rzeszów.  The move will be for 6 months.

http://www.cksport.pl/pokazWiadomosc/15473_19-latek_podpisal_kontrakt_z_korona_ale_na_swoja_szanse_jeszcze_musi_zaczekac.html

What is his connection to Canada?

[Toje]

He moved to Canada when he was 3 years old.

http://www.fcedmonton.com/news/2016/08/16/fc-edmonton-academy-graduate-amer-halilic-signs-first-professional-contract

[CNMNTPERUELIGIBLE]

16 hours ago, Toje said:

"Okello und Zakaria: Der VfL blickt nach Kanada

WOLFSBURG  Zwei Testspieler aus Übersee sind derzeit im Probetraining der Wolfsburger A-Junioren-Mannschaft."

https://www.wolfsburger-nachrichten.de/sport/vfl-wolfsburg/article213094193/Okello-und-Zakaria-Der-VfL-blickt-nach-Kanada.html

Two Toronto FC Academy players are on trial with Wolfsburg U19's.

Yes!!!... Hopefully they do well and can move on to that team's system in the not too distant future.... That's is great news to hear, to say the least... Maybe that's why they were not invited to this Olympic Camp I'm guessing.... From what I'm concerned, Okello's got some pretty good upside... This is how Wikipedia, in fact describes him :

Style of play[edit]

Because of his height, technical ability and range of passing Okello has been likened to Paul Pogba.^[8]

Not to say he is the next Paul Pogba, but must have some upside to say the least... Hopefully he can continue developing at a good pace and can make the senior squad of TFC in the next couple of years or better yet, VfL Wolfsburg should he be successful in his trial and finishes his development stages with them...  I'm guessing Zakaria's got some upside too, in order to have been invited as well... 

[CNMNTPERUELIGIBLE]

16 hours ago, Toje said:

 Yesli Rayane (1999- GK - ex Montreal Impact) has signed with Vibonese in Italy (Serie C).

http://www.zoom24.it/2018/01/12/altro-colpo-della-vibonese-tesserato-giovane-portiere-canadese-yesli-63472/

Good!!!... This s great to see, lmfao... Hopefully more news like this keep on happening throughout the year for our youngsters, lmfao... 

[BradMack]

19 hours ago, Toje said:

Andrew Barsalona was recently on trial for a few week with Spanish 4th tier club Real Aviles.  Despite the trial not working out, it is good to see that he is trying to make a go out of it.  He was released by VPS in Finland back in January 2015.

http://realaviles.elcomercio.es/meta-giffard-regresa-20180104001448-ntvo.html

This was posted in the old thread, moving it over here. Hasn't played since 2015 so I assume he's trying to make a comeback because the CPL is on its way, hopefully more players like himself attempt it. There's multiple generations of lost talent from the TFC academy who could possibly help a CPL club.

[shamrock]

Then again, he might NOT have the level needed to play Pro ball. Sorry but I'm getting a bit tired of talking about cut players who, thank God can go play in the CanPL. If so, the level will be a lot lower than USL, considering most of the players can't get a job there...

[BradMack]

1 hour ago, shamrock said:

Then again, he might NOT have the level needed to play Pro ball. Sorry but I'm getting a bit tired of talking about cut players who, thank God can go play in the CanPL. If so, the level will be a lot lower than USL, considering most of the players can't get a job there...

the players need to come from somewhere, I imagine the bottom roster spots will be below USL level, but its all about giving guys a shot. He was once on the books in the Finnish top flight so he's got some sort of talent. 

[Toje]

23 hours ago, Toje said:

 Yesli Rayane (1999- GK - ex Montreal Impact) has signed with Vibonese in Italy (Serie C).

http://www.zoom24.it/2018/01/12/altro-colpo-della-vibonese-tesserato-giovane-portiere-canadese-yesli-63472/

Sorry, that should be Serie D.

[Oranje]

8 hours ago, shamrock said:

Then again, he might NOT have the level needed to play Pro ball. Sorry but I'm getting a bit tired of talking about cut players who, thank God can go play in the CanPL. If so, the level will be a lot lower than USL, considering most of the players can't get a job there...

You'd be super naive to assume that the CanPL is going to start at a higher or equal level to USL. Like you said most of these players can't get a job in the USL, yet CanPL is being started to create a development channel for this exact type of player so they don't have to go to Slovakian 5th division to play. 

Edited January 16, 2018 by Oranje

[shamrock]

My point was a lot of these players probably won't be able to make it to the CanPL, cause they don't have the level that's needed. There's no shame in that, there should be standards! Players will be cut also, which is good, level should go up over the years. 

@Oranje, don't you worry the whole "D1" idea will blow out the window if the fans see level is less than USL? Level should be at least at par. 

[BuzzAndSting]

Just now, shamrock said:

My point was a lot of these players probably won't be able to make it to the CanPL, cause they don't have the level that's needed. There's no shame in that, there should be standards! Players will be cut also, which is good, level should go up over the years. 

@Oranje, don't you worry the whole "D1" idea will blow out the window if the fans see level is less than USL? Level should be at least at par. 

If you use Ottawa as an example, 90% of people who attend have no idea what the level is.

[Oranje]

1 hour ago, shamrock said:

My point was a lot of these players probably won't be able to make it to the CanPL, cause they don't have the level that's needed. There's no shame in that, there should be standards! Players will be cut also, which is good, level should go up over the years. 

@Oranje, don't you worry the whole "D1" idea will blow out the window if the fans see level is less than USL? Level should be at least at par. 

Man, I think you're giving this whole division 1 idea way too much emphasis. Sao Tome e Principe has a Div 1 and I'd take a confident guess that it's not USL quality. D1 doesn't mean it isn't developmental league where local players (and coaches) can continue to grow in hopes to make it to a larger leagues. Div 1 just means the top of that countries pyramid.

 

@Cheeta summed it up nicely on another board (sorry I donno how to do cross-board quoting)

"If there are 100 paying jobs as Canadian footballers available out there in the CPL that's 100 jobs ambitious youth players can spend a few years chasing their dream.  They have a reason to stick with this playing footie at the best level they can without setting their lives back a decade by chasing a pipe dream in foreign lands.  And I'd bet for every one of those 100 jobs there will be 100 elite youth players willing to put off "growing up" for a bit longer because that opportunity exists.  

We all know the league is going to be a stepping stone to better things, or a place to re-invigorate a stalled career but that doesn't make it a bad thing.  Quite the opposite.  It's going to be a real fun place, you can just feel it.  "

Edited January 16, 2018 by Oranje

[shamrock]

Yeah except Canadians can watch MLS, or USL and won't take the CanPL seriously when the difference is too big. 

[Toje]

Miguel Antonio Mendoza (ex Calgary Foothills) is currently playing in the German 6th tier with SW Bornreihe.  He is 19 years old and was previously with the Bremerhaven U19 side.

https://www.fupa.net/spieler/miguel-antonio-mendoza-1373347.html

http://www.pacificsoccerinstitute.com/news/miguel-mendonza-signs-with-jfv-bremerhaven

Edited January 17, 2018 by Toje

[Grizzly]

3 hours ago, shamrock said:

Yeah except Canadians can watch MLS, or USL and won't take the CanPL seriously when the difference is too big. 

The CPL level may not be that high or a real first division but I don't think it will be all that hard to reach USL level. There are a lot of Canadian players who aren't currently playing USL for a lot of reasons other than they are not good enough. The major reason is the low salaries and it is not really worth it moving to a different city and in most cases a different country to play for $25 to $35 k often on a non guaranteed contract unless you are either a strong MLS prospect or really determined to keep your career going. There is no real pyramid either except for young talented players, ie. a 23 or 24 year old player going to German 4th division could conceivably move up to 3rd division if he does well while very very few players that age or older will have a chance at MLS because the gap in levels is too big. Plus there are tons of USL players in the US already so you have to be better than them to get a spot on a team and also a work permit in which case there are probably better places for you to go career wise. I think in Quebec if we took the 7 PLSQ teams and made 2 all star teams from their best players we could put out 2 USL level teams. To have USL level teams the CPL will just have to offer salaries that are equal or slightly better than the low salaries USL offers and if they can not reach that budget minimum level then the league is not adequately financed to have a chance of survival. However, that level is still going to be way below the MLS level though so the challenge is not getting people to take it seriously because it is not USL level the challenge is to get people to take it seriously because it is not MLS level or the level of leagues they are watching in Europe.

[Unnamed Trialist]

5 hours ago, shamrock said:

Yeah except Canadians can watch MLS, or USL and won't take the CanPL seriously when the difference is too big. 

Which is why Torontonians did not take TFC seriously after seeing what a big step there is between MLS and the top European leagues?

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

28 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Which is why Torontonians did not take TFC seriously after seeing what a big step there is between MLS and the top European leagues?

Enough did to fill BMO Field, because they were a major upgrade from the Lynx, but many still don't. TFC are still only scratching at the surface of what soccer could be in the GTA, if one of the best teams globally played in the city as is the case with the Blue Jays and Maple Leafs.

Edited January 17, 2018 by BringBackTheBlizzard

[shamrock]

20 hours ago, Grizzly said:

The CPL level may not be that high or a real first division but I don't think it will be all that hard to reach USL level. There are a lot of Canadian players who aren't currently playing USL for a lot of reasons other than they are not good enough. The major reason is the low salaries and it is not really worth it moving to a different city and in most cases a different country to play for $25 to $35 k often on a non guaranteed contract unless you are either a strong MLS prospect or really determined to keep your career going. There is no real pyramid either except for young talented players, ie. a 23 or 24 year old player going to German 4th division could conceivably move up to 3rd division if he does well while very very few players that age or older will have a chance at MLS because the gap in levels is too big. 

All of these reasons apply to the CanPL as well.

Look, I'm for a Canadian league like the rest of you. However I'm skeptical it will be a succes. Because:

1. Level of play

2. Minor cities

3. MLS

I'm afraid if it doesn't catch on fast (within 3 years) it will crash. And then it's probably over for at least another decade (and maybe forever). 

[Toje]

Jordan Dunstan (1993) has signed with Nashville SC in the USL.  He spent the past few years with Chattanooga in the NPSL.

http://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/876361?referrer_id=2427467

[Unnamed Trialist]

22 hours ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said:

Enough did to fill BMO Field, because they were a major upgrade from the Lynx, but many still don't. TFC are still only scratching at the surface of what soccer could be in the GTA, if one of the best teams globally played in the city as is the case with the Blue Jays and Maple Leafs.

If it's any comfort attendance for Barça is down this year, in fact most of the Liga is. In a year that is competitive and high quality.    Your argument for me doesn't work, in North America millions follow inferior quality for reasons of sentiment: NCAA. You have to tap into the experience and ambience and the need to counter the general boredom of contemporary life.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

The way I see it is that soccer's core demographic in Canada has tended to be the recent immigrant more than the mainstream North American sports fan that follow the bowl games over the holiday season and March madness. TFC attract 25,000 from a wider catchment of 8,000,000 or so that has huge recent immigrant populations from soccer loving countries that still go crazy about the sport every four years when the World Cup is on. 25,000 is a big step forward but I strongly suspect 100,000+ would be doable if English Premiership level soccer were being played and players like Messi saw Toronto rather than Barcelona as the place to be. The eurosnob thing that anything that happens in soccer in North America is second rate and to be treated as a joke and ignored hasn't completely gone away.

[Unnamed Trialist]

2 hours ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said:

The way I see it is that soccer's core demographic in Canada has tended to be the recent immigrant more than the mainstream North American sports fan that follow the bowl games over the holiday season and March madness. TFC attract 25,000 from a wider catchment of 8,000,000 or so that has huge recent immigrant populations from soccer loving countries that still go crazy about the sport every four years when the World Cup is on. 25,000 is a big step forward but I strongly suspect 100,000+ would be doable if English Premiership level soccer were being played and players like Messi saw Toronto rather than Barcelona as the place to be. The eurosnob thing that anything that happens in soccer in North America is second rate and to be treated as a joke and ignored hasn't completely gone away.

How could 100k+ be doable if the world max avg is around 80k!! ...that's just being silly. ..arguing TO has stronger following than Dortmund or Madrid...or any team in England?

Anyways Canada is not a strong football nation just look at our TV audiences for it.