With the domestic slate clean for the next four months many clubs have taken to travelling to improve upon their situation from last season, spreading the gospel of American soccer, or to give a last hurrah for a soon to be dismantled squad. At this time D.C. United has traveled to El Salvador to get some games in ahead of the CONCACAF Champions Cup competition as well as trying out several new players. A large number of these new players are A-League products and it bears watching to see what happens during this short tour to see what kind of moves will be made by the MLS club. In Europe right now the NY-NJ Metrostars are on tour giving Lord Lothar a send off before he is rather unceremoniously cut from the squad. The experience being gained by the MLS club and its players is by far the most important function of this tour and with Lothar on the field it gives people a reason to come and see this American team. Meanwhile, in the wilds of South America, U.S. Pro-40 is touring Argentina where they will take part in matches against some of the premiere reserve sides in the country. All three of these tours, as well as some travels by other MLS clubs and A-League players to train abroad, during this off-season provide important opportunities for American players to see how the rest of the world plays and vice versa.
D.C. United have headed down to El Salvador to take part in a four team tournament in preparation for the CONCACAF Champions Cup and to take a look at potential additions to the squad which finished a lackluster season with only 8 wins. Currently six A-League players have been given a shot with D.C. United on this trip. These players are Long Island forward Edson Buddle, Boston midfielder Sam Franklin, Richmond goalkeeper Mike McGinty, Hershey forward Greg Simmonds, Richmond forward Dwayne DeRosario, and Toronto defender Adrian Serioux. McGinty has to be a favorite to make the squad which clearly suffered from the mistakes of Tom Presthus and Mark Simpson last season. Simmonds and DeRosario have to like their chances even with the incumbent choices of Moreno and Diaz-Arce. Moreno may make a move to midfield if Etcheverry leaves like he has threatened to at various times in the past 12 months. Buddle looks a long shot for a spot on the D.C. roster considering the possible limitations on foreign slots next season in MLS. At any rate, people should expect to see Serioux get a decent amount of time in El Salvador with Buddle and Simmonds splitting time pairing up with Diaz-Arce. Many D.C. fans are hoping McGinty can prove he's the real deal on this trip and take the job away from an all too often inept Tom Presthus. D.C. will be taking on Luis Angel Firpo, C.D. Aguila, and C.D. Dragon. Firpo are the current Salvadoran champs and all three teams should prove to be a tough test for the D.C. squad who have sat out for nearly a month.
The NY-NJ Metrostars finished up their European tour that served more as an off-season training experience as opposed to an opportunity to bring in a group of entirely new players. Two loan players scored in the Metros 3-0 victory over the 1860 Munich reserves in the second match of the three-match tour. Mike Mucino netted twice and Steve Trittschuh, on loan from the Mutiny, scored the other goal in their victory over the German youngsters. In the first match of their tour they defeated mid-table Austrian club FC Salzburg 2-0 on goals from Steve Jolley and Mark Chung with assists from Tab Ramos. In the closing match of their tour they dropped a 2-1 decision to German Bundesliga club FC Cologne. The Metros scored the opener through an Alex Comas goal but Cologne hit back with strikes from Miroslav Baranek and George Donkov. While the results may not have been the most important part of the trip for the Metros it did play a large part in the overall image of MLS clubs. It is also likely that there were more than just a few interested observers at each of these matches since Matthaus was making an appearance and scouts had an opportunity to look at some talent that might be a bit more affordable than some of the European players on the current market. The biggest mark that may have been made by this trip might possibly be the manner in which people who saw this team play now view American soccer. That may be the biggest thing the Metros may have accomplished on this trip.
Another tour that has been mounted involves the now lame-duck U.S. Pro-40 squad who have just left for a trip around Argentina. After all, what better way for Pro-40 to go out than to go on a road trip and face overwhelming odds in what are essentially reserve matches? Hmmm… wait a minute, that kind of sounds like their entire existence now doesn't it? Either way P-40 have now hit that long road down to Argentina for their swan song as a team and if they get lucky they may play well enough together to win, if not a couple of matches, at least some respect. Once in Argentina they'll prepare to play squads such as River Plate, Estudiantes de la Plata, Huracan, and one of either Independiente or San Lorenzo. All of these clubs are expected to play largely reserve sides in the matches but Alfonso Modelo is fairly sure that his boys will see some of the big guns that these clubs bring into battle. The biggest names on this squad will be Bocanegra, Garcia, and Beckerman but this will be the big chance for players like Marvin Quijano and Steve Shak to step up and prove that they deserve a shot. Shak was largely forgettable yet surprisingly solid for the Metros this year while Quijano toiled with P-40 throughout the season scoring 10 goals in what was best described as a dismal year for Mondelo's squad. Since this is going to be thought of as one of the last official trips by P-40 this squad will be looking to impress and lay claim to a spot on either an A-League or MLS roster spot.
Each of these three trips puts a focus on what American players and clubs are doing with the off-season and all signs seem to point towards a self-motivated attitude for improvement. In the end this is the biggest gain that we've seen during this off-season. The clubs are spending the money to get their teams in better shape and to keep them there throughout what is beginning to seem like a year-round soccer schedule. These are the kinds of developments we need to see here in the U.S. if we want to find ourselves in a position to contend with the rest of the world on their stage. During the next few months some teams will be busier than others as will some players and in the end one has to wonder which way the teams and players on each side will go? My bet is the players who step it up during the off-season will be the ones that are there at the end next year because unlike some players and clubs they know that next year started right after the final whistle blew at Frontier Field last month.
How Crazy Can Things Get?
I ask this question with all due respect to both the Hampton Roads Mariners and Charlotte Eagles. The Mariners had a terrific season this year but are apparently going to let a terrible stadium situation do them in. The A-League apparently wants Charlotte to take their place should something not come through for Hampton Roads. In all likelihood the situation looks untenable for the Mariners considering their stance right now but promoting Charlotte is not the answer. With all due respect to the current D-3 champs they are just not ready yet for the responsibilities of having an A-League franchise. The Eagles simply put are in Charlotte which anyone who's worth their salt knows isn't much of a soccer town. In fact, the real soccer hot bed in North Carolina is in Raleigh and we saw what happened there. Charlotte is possibly the perfect fit for D-3 but not for the A-League at least not until they start consistently drawing 2,500-3,000 people a match. I know that currently there aren't many teams in the league that average those kinds of numbers but that might be a determining factor in why so many clubs have trouble staying afloat. We don't need to add clubs in those kinds of situations. Charlotte will hopefully prove me wrong if they are promoted as the scenario continues to play out in that direction but it's going to be a shame to see Hampton Roads near the brink of being a success only to falter at the last hurdle.
NC Double Who?
It's nearing that time of year again when college soccer begins to wind down and Fox begins to show regional college soccer telecasts more frequently. The NCAA tournament will be coming around in the very near future and I'm sure there will be plenty of scouts who will be watching. Here's my tip to the scouts down South. Make sure you get to Clemson, SC and Columbia, SC before the end of the season. The Tigers and Gamecocks respectively have been turning out top notch teams for a long time now and they haven't stopped with this season's crop. A couple of USC players to look out for include Jordan Quinn and Henry Ring. The Tigers are loaded once again but faced a stern test from ACC rival North Carolina. UNC is another place the scouts should stop by while making the rounds down here because it looks like the guys there are finally stepping out of the shadow of their women's program. With the NCAA Soccer Final Four being held in Charlotte again this year we could very well see any one or all three of these schools vying for the national title. Either way, it's time to get geared up for another post-season tournament and it should be exciting considering the talent that's cropped up across the country this season. So take some time out of your weekend and get out to a college soccer game this weekend if you can. I know I will. That's it for this week, so as always, that's the view from here. Thanks for reading.
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