Sebastian Breza

[jordan]

Heading to Yverdon on loan, Swiss Super League

 https://www.tuttomercatoweb.com/serie-a/tmw-bologna-il-portiere-breza-va-in-prestito-in-serie-a-svizzera-i-dettagli-1851844

[narduch]

Newly promoted club to the Swiss top flight. 

There are now 3 Canadians in this league: Breza, Millar and Corbeanu 

Edited July 11, 2023 by narduch

[toontownman]

Lovely move.

[Vasi]

Lots of goalies to choose from now. 

If he starts and does well, this move has the potential to catapult him near the top of the goalie pool. 

 

 

[Bison44]

^^^  These comments baffle me.  Breza was a part time starter in MLS last year, no one wanted him anywhere near the CMNT. Everyone got to see him, 20+ games, still no love.   Going to what will prob be a bottom Swiss league team (where we dont even now if he'll start) puts him back in the conversation?  Is the swiss league that good?  Does playing in Swiss league outrank playing in MLS?  Has he improved a lot on the Series C?  Not that I am complaining, I would love to see him mature into a top keeper, mb this is the ticket...,maybe?? 

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

29 minutes ago, Bison44 said:

These comments baffle me....no one wanted him anywhere near the CMNT. Everyone got to see him, 20+ games, still no love...

Like others, I don't rate him that highly (below Pantemis and Sirois) but this is undoubtedly an opportunity to prove himself if he can get playing time.

Young Boys will test him more than any Serie C team will.

Edited July 12, 2023 by Olympique_de_Marseille

[narduch]

8 hours ago, Bison44 said:

^^^  These comments baffle me.  Breza was a part time starter in MLS last year, no one wanted him anywhere near the CMNT. Everyone got to see him, 20+ games, still no love.   Going to what will prob be a bottom Swiss league team (where we dont even now if he'll start) puts him back in the conversation?  Is the swiss league that good?  Does playing in Swiss league outrank playing in MLS?  Has he improved a lot on the Series C?  Not that I am complaining, I would love to see him mature into a top keeper, mb this is the ticket...,maybe?? 

We currently only have 3 keepers playing regularly at a high level.

I would argue that yes if Breza becomes the starter here he does shoot up the depth chart.

You are correct though we have no idea if that will even happen. He may be the number 2.

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

Yverdon's starting keeper from last year missed the last game of the season with an injury and is still listed as injured on transfermarket.

His name is Kevin Martin so finding specifics about that Kevin Martin's injury has been difficult so far.

[jordan]

2 hours ago, WestHamCanadianinOxford said:

Yverdon's starting keeper from last year missed the last game of the season with an injury and is still listed as injured on transfermarket.

His name is Kevin Martin so finding specifics about that Kevin Martin's injury has been difficult so far.

Kevin Martin has a right arm tattoo and the guy who played 3 days ago also had one, so I think he’s back but Yverdon hasn’t listed rosters from the games so far, and yesterdays picture gallery only had 6 photos and none were the goalie.

[Shway]

3 hours ago, narduch said:

We currently only have 3 keepers playing regularly at a high level.

I would argue that yes if Breza becomes the starter here he does shoot up the depth chart.

You are correct though we have no idea if that will even happen. He may be the number 2.

He could very well be brought in to legitimately contend for the #1 GK spot. 
Their goalkeeper has been their number one for a long time, and I'm not discriminating his abilities based on his height....but he is 5"11....where as Breza is 6'4. 

If he does get the chance, I do agree that he should get considered as a 3rd option considering we have a mainstay playing in the same league. 

[InglewoodJack]

Breza is very talented and has a very good physical profile, I just think he wasn’t ready for MLS yet. I hope that he doesn’t get called in just for this, but hopefully he can make the jump back to Bologna next season and if that’s the case, I think he deserves consideration. I still have St. Clair, Sirois, and Crepeau ahead of him and depending on where McGill ends up this year, him as well.

[Dominic94]

The Swiss league did wonders for Millar just saying, I think Liam will move on after this season and it will be a good one for him. Hoping the league does the same for Breza and Corbeanu 

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

1 hour ago, jordan said:

Kevin Martin has a right arm tattoo and the guy who played 3 days ago also had one, so I think he’s back but Yverdon hasn’t listed rosters from the games so far, and yesterdays picture gallery only had 6 photos and none were the goalie.

I make you right. 

Their Instagram pictures from the Sion friendly on Wednesday have a keeper wearing #22 which is Martin's number.  It is the same keeper you mention against Thun on Saturday.  Though he does look a fair bit older (and heavier) than his official pictures.😄

(One coincidence, the last three teams they have played all have a primarily red kit, which complicated things slightly) 

 

They did bring in an 18 year-old Basel keeper on loan last year.  He played their cups games and that last game of the season when Martin was injured. Here's hoping Breza can win some more opportunities. 

 

 

[InglewoodJack]

I would have to assume he’s going to be their starter because it seems like Bologna are really taking his loans seriously. Send him to Montreal, it didn’t work so well, so they called him back to Série C to keep him close to them. Now he’s moving up a level, and there were those rumours that some Série B teams were very interested, so I’d have to think that for them to ship him off internationally (I guess Switzerland is right next door) instead of developing him through the Italian system, it means that they expect him to actually play.

[costarg]

13 hours ago, Bison44 said:

^^^  These comments baffle me.  Breza was a part time starter in MLS last year, no one wanted him anywhere near the CMNT. Everyone got to see him, 20+ games, still no love.   Going to what will prob be a bottom Swiss league team (where we dont even now if he'll start) puts him back in the conversation?  Is the swiss league that good?  Does playing in Swiss league outrank playing in MLS?  Has he improved a lot on the Series C?  Not that I am complaining, I would love to see him mature into a top keeper, mb this is the ticket...,maybe?? 

Creapeau only became an MLS starter at 25.  Breza just turned 25 and is already ahead of where Crepeau was at the same age.  Personally I feel Breza was better than he showed in Montreal, he got worse as the year passed.  Seemed like it wasn't a good fit coaching or development wise.  I still felt he was better in most categories than Pantemis.  Pretty confident he gets himself back into CANMNT discussion at some point. 

[jordan]

53 minutes ago, WestHamCanadianinOxford said:

I make you right. 

Their Instagram pictures from the Sion friendly on Wednesday have a keeper wearing #22 which is Martin's number.  It is the same keeper you mention against Thun on Saturday.  Though he does look a fair bit older (and heavier) than his official pictures.😄

(One coincidence, the last three teams they have played all have a primarily red kit, which complicated things slightly) 

 

They did bring in an 18 year-old Basel keeper on loan last year.  He played their cups games and that last game of the season when Martin was injured. Here's hoping Breza can win some more opportunities. 

 

 

It was the hair that had me confused, also thought he looked older. 

[Ansem]

14 hours ago, Bison44 said:

Does playing in Swiss league outrank playing in MLS?

Yes

[Obinna]

16 minutes ago, Ansem said:

Yes

I feel like this is your stock answer for any half-decent European league. Would you say this for the Swedish and Norwegian leagus as well? What about the SPL? If you look at TM values all of these leagues are inferior top to bottom. 

I guess the argument one could make in favour of these particular euro leagues is that relegation and European places adds more pressure. I have heard this argument before and it's a valid one. In MLS there are still too many games where you have nothing to play for. 

But if you give credence to TM (do you?) then MLS would outrank these leagues based on player values.  

[Obinna]

14 hours ago, Bison44 said:

^^^  These comments baffle me.  Breza was a part time starter in MLS last year, no one wanted him anywhere near the CMNT. Everyone got to see him, 20+ games, still no love.   Going to what will prob be a bottom Swiss league team (where we dont even now if he'll start) puts him back in the conversation?  Is the swiss league that good?  Does playing in Swiss league outrank playing in MLS?  Has he improved a lot on the Series C?  Not that I am complaining, I would love to see him mature into a top keeper, mb this is the ticket...,maybe?? 

Good questions....

For me it's just exciting having another guy in a top flight. I am not convinced it's a better league than MLS, but if he's a locked down starter it's a better situation than Serie C or his stint in MLS where he split duties.

[Ansem]

7 minutes ago, Obinna said:

I feel like this is your stock answer for any half-decent European league. Would you say this for the Swedish and Norwegian leagus as well? What about the SPL? If you look at TM values all of these leagues are inferior top to bottom. 

I guess the argument one could make in favour of these particular euro leagues is that relegation and European places adds more pressure. I have heard this argument before and it's a valid one. In MLS there are still too many games where you have nothing to play for. 

But if you give credence to TM (do you?) then MLS would outrank these leagues based on player values.  

I like to judge league based on how I've seen some of their games and club's performances including games in Europe to get an idea. Most importantly, with regards to MLS as I view as pretty unique due to its roster rules - you're as strong as your weakest link. While I totally agree that the best MLS clubs best XI are good to very good in some cases, it's not news that the drop off is quite noticeable the deeper on the bench you go. If you take MLS clubs in a full Euro calendar, no I don't think they have the "depth" to do as well as some people think if you take into account injuries and other imponderable but I totally agree that their best XI would be a match against most leagues.

As for TM, I think it's very subjective and not necessarily reflects the true strength of a league vs. another. MLS tends to pay more for talents coming into the league who wouldn't necessarily get the same offers in Europe.

Also, there's the "competitive environment" argument that many Euro players raised over the years. "As long as you make the playoffs" - and 9 per conferences is way too much and that criticism is also valid for CPL. On the other hand, every game counts in Europe and the leash tends to be shorter after bad performances and spots are more competitive from my observation - something TM can't quantify.

All that to say, Breza doing well in Switzerland and winning the starter spot wouldn't go unnoticed for the NT. First things first though - he needs to win the starter spot and keep it, this on itself will be very hard to accomplish, so we'll see

[Obinna]

Just now, Ansem said:

I like to judge league based on how I've seen some of their games and club's performances including games in Europe to get an idea. Most importantly, with regards to MLS as I view as pretty unique due to its roster rules - you're as strong as your weakest link. While I totally agree that the best MLS clubs best XI are good to very good in some cases, it's not news that the drop off is quite noticeable the deeper on the bench you go. If you take MLS clubs in a full Euro calendar, no I don't think they have the "depth" to do as well as some people think if you take into account injuries and other imponderable but I totally agree that their best XI would be a match against most leagues.

As for TM, I think it's very subjective and not necessarily reflects the true strength of a league vs. another. MLS tends to pay more for talents coming into the league who wouldn't necessarily get the same offers in Europe.

Also, there's the "competitive environment" argument that many Euro players raised over the years. "As long as you make the playoffs" - and 9 per conferences is way too much and that criticism is also valid for CPL. On the other hand, every game counts in Europe and the leash tends to be shorter after bad performances and spots are more competitive from my observation - something TM can't quantify.

All that to say, Breza doing well in Switzerland and winning the starter spot wouldn't go unnoticed for the NT. First things first though - he needs to win the starter spot and keep it, this on itself will be very hard to accomplish, so we'll see

Good post. Can't really argue. Thanks for that!

Either way, I am happy for Breza getting this move. 

[InglewoodJack]

I think MLS is a better league than Switzerland, especially for keepers. The roster limitations also mean that you're probably playing with a leaky backline, meaning you're facing more frequent and more difficult shots. Look at all the great saves Sirois has made over the last several games- great saves always start with a defensive breakdown. I don't think he'd be tested this well if he was playing in a European league where the floor is much higher. I also think this is why MLS keepers are always the ones who get the best transfers.

As well, MLS has so many professional veterans who are passed their prime, but still have a very developed understanding of how to play- they know how to score goals and how to pick their spots. Because of the roster parity, you're also playing at least one of these guys every week. Switzerland has many good players, absolutely, but in MLS, your keeper faces Hany Mukhtar one week, Romell Quioto the next, Bouanga the week after, Giakoumakis, Zeleriyan, etc. Maybe they aren't "europe quality" at this point in their careers (Mukhtar is at least), but if it's you vs. the keeper, the only thing the player needs to do is shoot the ball- one of the last skills that fades as you get older, so I think most MLS teams have at least one great scoring option who is a threat any time the ball is on his foot. Most, not all.

I do agree with the competitive advantage of european leagues, pro/rel, european tournaments and so on, and I think Switzerland is a great league for Breza, but I think MLS challenges keepers more because of the scoring threats and because you're way more exposed to tough shots given that your backline probably isn't elite.

If he does get that starting job though, I do think it's enough to consider him. I currently have him 6th on my list, but a good season in Switzerland might make me bump him up to 3rd.

[jordan]

Official Announcement 

 

 

[InglewoodJack]

He’ll be teammates with fellow Canadian Fabio Morelli of IMFC Academy fame.

 

[Big_M]

morelli was most recently playing d3 ball with fc bavois