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Rongen releases roster for U-20 camp

Jack McInerney 1 (ISIphotos)

photo by ISIphotos.com

by FRANCO PANIZO

Jack McInerney, Stefan Jerome and Luis Gil headline the U-20 national team roster released by head coach Thomas Rongen for the first U-20 camp of the 2011 cycle.

The roster also includes defender Gale Agbossomounde and midfielder Dillon Powers, both of whom played in the U-20 World Cup in Egypt earlier this year. Midfielder Sebastian Lletget, who missed out on the U-17 World Cup in Nigeria back in the fall, was also called up.

The camp will be held in Chula Vista, California and will run from Dec. 16 to Dec. 23.

Here is the full roster:

GOALKEEPERS: Earl Edwards (Nomads SC), Justin Luthy (Boston College), Spencer Richey (Crossfire Premier)

DEFENDERS: Gale Agbossoumonde (Miami FC), Paolo Del Piccolo (Louisville), Moises Hernandez (FC Dallas Juniors), Zachary Herold (West Pines United), Perry Kitchen (Chicago Magic), Tyler Polak (CSA Legacy), Kofi Sarkodie (Akron), Zarek Valentin (Akron), Jared Watts (North Meck SC; Statesville, N.C.), Ethan White (Maryland), Cesar Zamora (Chivas USA), Eriq Zavaleta (FC Pride)

MIDFIELDERS: Jose Altamirano (San Diego State), Christian Castaneda (Hertha Berlin), Marlon Duran (Latino Americana), Luis Gil (Pateadores), Sebastian Lletget (West Ham United), Andrew Lubahn (Wake Forest), Carlos Martinez (Wilmington Jrs.), Colin Murphy (Boston College), Amobi Okugo (UCLA), Will Packwood (Birmingham City), Nicholas Palodichuk (Washington Premier FC), Fabrice Picault (Cagliari Calcio), Dillon Powers (Notre Dame)

FORWARDS: Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls), Will Bates (Virginia), Tristan Bowen (Los Angeles Galaxy), Victor Chavez (Real So Cal), Ryan Finley (Duke), Stefan Jerome (West Pines United), Jack McInerney (Cobb SC), Dominick Sarle (BW Gottschee)

What do you think of this roster? Surprised by anyone's inclusion? Anyone else you would have like to seen called up?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I have seen Picault play many times and I’m actually good friends with him. I believe he will surprise a lot of people at this camp. i’m waiting anxiously for the reviews of this camp!

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  2. Like I mentioned above. There is no scrutiny by the American press when it comes to soccer. And much like the college game, there is no accountability for results.

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  3. Give them time? They already have and continue to represent the US internationally. The vast majority of the guys on the list are not on that level. They are not the best the US has to offer.

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  4. I’m sorry Mike, but you could not be more wrong …
    All college players are NOT very good! There is a tremendous amount of junk on the field!

    I already know Gil has quality, Gale is ok, and I’ll be able to assess Lletget when I make the trek to Chula Vista.

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  5. better at scouting talent or in hot beds for soccer- North Jersey has been a feeder for years and Dallas Texas is loaded with kids with soccer backgrounds. It is no surprise that these two teams have produced such quality talent- it will be the Revs, Columbus Crew, Kansas City and other teams in smaller population markets as well as less diverse that struggle to produce from their academy.

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  6. Now I want you to ask yourself how many people thought the same thing but never made it to the youth team.

    The USSF doesn’t just pick players only out of Ohio. He could be the best player at his position in Ohio but possibly ten other guys across the nation even better at the same position. Just trying to put things into perspective.

    I wish nothing but the best for Justin and hope he does make it.

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  7. these FCD kids keep popping up out of no where. FCD is clearly doing something well with their academy, b/c each camp U15-U20 we see FCD kids, and a lot of the time they are completely new names.

    hopefully the rest of MLS take note and focus heavily on youth training

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  8. Damn — That photo is just crying out for a “You Write the Caption” —

    Thierry H’s got nuttin’ on me. I actually had a soccer ball grafted to my hand. Now I’ll never get called for a hand ball — wouldn’t be P.C.

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  9. If you watched the U-17 CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying, you would know that Lletget and Gil are two of the best players in the U.S. pool right now.

    All the games are on CONCACAF’s Youtube channel. I would recommend you watch that. They’re vision, creativity, and touches are just amazing. I’ve never seen that from a U.S. Youth Team before. I think these kids will be the first true world class players the U.S. has ever produced.

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  10. for the boys in europe (picault, Packwood and Lletget) Bigsoccer.com follows alot of them either on game day reports, articles, coaches quotes, fan of the team, etc…

    very few people have seen these kids play on a regular basis. A lot of the talk is simply their hype or fans eagerness to latch onto the next big player.

    Then you have accounts from people who actually go to brandenton to watch all the friendlies. Again, few have actually seen these kids play regularly.

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  11. Is Mixie (Diskerud) at Stabaak in Norway too old now or is there another reason he’s not on the list? I’m worried since he said last summer he’d join whatever country called him up first and Norway has Euro qualifiers next year.

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  12. only spoken to him via msg once and got the same idea of the guy. Hopefully he continues to do well with Cagliari’s Primavera team and with the U20’s.

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  13. How do you follow Youth Yanks not in college? I’m very impressed with a few of you who happen to know the u-17 boys beyond what we’ve seen on FSC.

    Saw that team play a few times recently. Right winger by the name of Oliver stuck out for me the most although he easily falls out of the game too often.

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  14. He plays club at Cleveland United SC (not scouted by USSF right?)
    The coach there is the one who said he is a top 3 player in the state for his age range.

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  15. There is no way this kid could ever be called into any youth camp. The WCAL is a bad league. The only way he can make it as a pro is through college. I’ll have to come watch him play sometime next year though.

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  16. Of course, everyone is entitled to an opinion. For me — based on what little I have seen of these guys — Gil and Polak are the top players on the team. Duran looked good, too. As for “helping internationally” — they are 17 and 18 year old kids. Give ’em time.

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  17. What about Joseph Gyau and Charles Renken? Do we know if they are not interested in playing for the US or had a falling out with US Soccer after moving to Hoffenheim?

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  18. Uhh, Sebastian Lletget is probably the BEST player in this camp. He was offered a place in the West Ham Academy when he was 13 years old. The guy is like a Zidane clone in the midfield.

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  19. There are only 4 players on this list that I know have quality.
    1) Amobi Okugo
    2) Marlon Duran (probably 2nd string D-mid to Okugo)
    3) Luis Gil
    4) Jose Altamirano (Although his game seems to be stagnating)

    Everyone else on the list can not help internationally.

    Players that have not been in “the system” and should without a doubt be on the squad …

    1) Carlos Alvarez (UCONN)
    – He is an absolute baller! Tremendous Soccer IQ and Technical Quality. Can play striker or midfielder. Was the Big East rookie of the year & selected National Rookie 1st team (top drawer soccer).

    2) Jonathan Prieto (UCI)
    – Offensive creative midfielder (left footed). I have not seen another 91 who comes close to his vision, creativity, elusiveness, and overall understanding of the game. This is what our National Teams need – A True Number 10. Selected National Rookie 2nd team (top drawer soccer).

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  20. Actually these lists say a lot about who will be in the U-20 World Cup.

    If you look at National Team camp participants over the years, it’s predominantly the same guys over and over again.

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  21. There are plenty that are better!

    Unfortunately the US mentality of what is an elite player is severely flawed. We have really bad judgement when it comes to assessing Soccer IQ and Technical Ability – usually allocating too large a focus on size, speed, and strength.

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  22. Although the Columbians and the US haven’t had great success in international competitions … Columbia has produced world class players!
    The US is yet to produce a single one.

    In addition, Columbia’s style of play (one of possession), is what the US desperately needs to incorporate.

    If we aspire to get to the next level, we cannot continue with the same flawed philosophy of “GO FORWARD, GO FORWARD, GO FORWARD”.

    This mentality permeates at all levels from our youth clubs, to college, MLS, and the National Team.

    Reply

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