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Americans Abroad: Weekend Rewind

Emerson Hyndman (Getty Images)

By FRANCO PANIZO

Americans are no strangers to finding success at Fulham, and the latest player that appears poised to do so is Emerson Hyndman.

Hyndman made his professional debut with the Cottagers on Saturday, starting and going the distance in a 2-1 loss to Ipswich Town. The performance made the 18-year-old midfielder – who is the grandson of former FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman – the latest American to represent Fulham, joining the likes of Clint Dempsey, Carlos Bocanegra and Brian McBride. The start also seems to bode well for his role with the club this season, and surely injected plenty of confidence into Hyndman despite seeing his side come up short in its season opener.

The weekend also saw two Americans spark comebacks for their respective clubs over in Norway. Mix Diskerud and Michael Stephens each found the back of the net, with Diskerud jumpstarting Rosenborg’s 3-2 comeback win over IK Start and Stephens starting the Stabaek IF rally in a 2-2 draw with Molde FK.

Michael Orozco had far from an enjoyable performance. Orozco endured a nightmare outing for Puebla, scoring an own goal that proved to be the difference and receiving a straight red card in the second half of a 1-0 loss to Cruz Azul. Orozco was ejected from the match in the 58th minute for striking forward Mariano Pavone, handicapping Puebla’s chances of finding an equalizer.

Here is how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:

ENGLAND

Championship

  • Jonathan Spector did not dress in Birmingham City’s 2-0 loss vs. Middlesbrough on Saturday.
  • Will Packwood did not dress for Birmingham City.
  • Tim Ream started and played 90 minutes in Bolton Wanderers’ 3-0 loss vs. Watford on Saturday.
  • Eric Lichaj came off the bench and played three minutes in Nottingham Forest’s 2-0 win vs. Blackpool on Saturday.
  • Danny Williams did not dress in Reading’s 2-2 draw vs. Wigan Athletic on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
  • Duane Holmes did not dress in Huddersfield Town’s 4-0 loss vs. AFC Bournemouth on Saturday.
  • Emerson Hyndman started and played 90 minutes in Fulham’s 2-1 loss vs. Ipswich Town on Saturday.
  • Zak Whitbread started, played 90 minutes and had an ASSIST in Derby County’s 2-0 win vs. Carlisle United in the Capital One Cup on Monday.

GERMANY

2. Bundesliga

  • Alfredo Morales started and played 90 minutes in FC Ingolstadt 04’s 2-2 draw vs. SV Darmstadt 98 on Sunday.
  • Terrence Boyd did not dress in RB Leipzig’s 3-0 win vs. TSV 1860 Munich on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
  • Bobby Wood started and played 90 minutes in TSV 1860 Munich’s 3-0 loss vs. RB Leipzig on Sunday.
  • Andrew Wooten started and played 90 minutes in SV Sandhausen’s 1-1 draw vs. Kaiserslautern on Sunday.

FRANCE

  • Alejandro Bedoya started and played 88 minutes in FC Nantes’ 1-0 win vs. Lens on Saturday.

NETHERLANDS

  • Aron Johannsson did not dress in AZ Alkmaar’s 3-0 win vs. SC Heracles Almelo on Saturday. He is recovering from an ankle injury.

BELGIUM

  • Sacha Kljestan dressed but did not play in RSC Anderlecht’s 1-0 win vs. Royal Charleroi SC on Sunday.

AUSTRIA

  • Conor O’Brien did not dress in FC Magna Wiener Neustadt’s 2-2 draw vs. Austria Vienna on Saturday.

NORWAY

  • Mix Diskerud started, played 90 minutes and scored a GOAL in Rosenborg BK’s 3-2 win vs. IK Start on Sunday.
  • Michael Stephens started, played 90 minutes and scored a GOAL in Stabaek IF’s 2-2 draw vs. Molde FK on Sunday.
  • Andrew Jacobson started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card for Stabaek IF.
  • Ethan Horvath dressed but did not play in Molde FK’s 2-2 draw vs. Stabaek IF on Sunday.
  • Josh Gatt did not dress for Molde FK. He is recovering from a knee injury.
  • Zarek Valentin did not dress in FK Bodo/Glimt’s 1-0 win vs. Sogndal on Sunday. He is recovering from an Achilles injury.

SERBIA

  • Freddy Adu did not play in FK Jagodina’s 1-1 draw vs. Mladost Lucani on Saturday.

MEXICO

  • Michael Orozco started, played 58 minutes, scored an OWN GOAL and received a RED CARD in Puebla’s 1-0 loss vs. Cruz Azul on Saturday.
  • Edgar Castillo started and played 90 minutes in Atlas’ 1-0 win vs. Pumas UNAM on Sunday.
  • Jose Torres started and played 90 minutes in Tigres UANL’s 2-0 loss vs. Club America on Saturday.
  • Herculez Gomez did not dress for Tigres UANL.
  • Ventura Alvarado came off the bench and played eight minutes in Club America’s 2-0 win vs. Tigres UANL on Saturday.
  • Jonathan Bornstein did not dress in Queretaro’s 3-2 win vs. Santos Laguna on Saturday.
  • Greg Garza started and played 90 minutes in Club Tijuana’s 0-0 draw vs. Morelia on Friday.
  • Joe Corona came off the bench and played five minutes for Club Tijuana.
  • Paul Arriola did not dress for Club Tijuana.
  • Alejandro Guido did not dress for Club Tijuana.
  • Amando Moreno did not dress for Club Tijuana.
  • Joaquin Alonso Hernandez did not dress in Monterrey’s 2-1 loss vs. Veracruz on Friday.
  • Gabriel Farfan did not dress in Jaguares de Chiapas’ 3-2 win vs. Club Leon on Saturday.

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What do you think of these performances? Do you see Hyndman having a standout debut season with Fulham? Was Orozco’s performance the worst you’ve seen from an American Abroad in some time?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. You forgot Ventura Alvarado who played 10 minutes or so for Club America over the weekend in the win over Tigres. Club America is awesome this year and you’d think people would be excited for a 21 year old central defender from Arizona seeing minutes for them (and yes, he does want to play for the USA).

    Reply
    • yup, i saw that too. i hope he can keep getting playing time. honestly, now i don’t want Omar there because I want Alvarado to emerge lol

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  2. I know I cant be the only one who hadn’t heard of Emerson Hyndman before this article, is there any sort of list or website that tracks american players in youth development systems?

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  3. Anyone know what the apparent drama was re: Sacha K not getting the transfer to the LAGals? I heard that Arena was vocal about it. but never learned of the innuendos.

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      • reading between the lines:

        LAG wanted to pay less than DP (because they have 3)
        MLS said that if it is less than DP, allocation order rules apply
        LAG said “waah, we’re the LAG”
        MLS said “sucks to suck.”

        Alternate, LAG wanted to sign as a DP, with the DP kicking in after LD retired, MLS said allocation order rules still apply.

      • i think you are a bit off on this.

        Kljestan was going to be back on loan for 6 months and 50% of his $750k salary. in other words, no DP ($375k<$387.5k). Arena said leagues forces prevented the deal and Hunt from FC Dallas said straight up the league could not agree on a "long term" deal with Kljestan.

        given Arena would have know LD was retiring, LA would have an open DP spot come next season and Kljestan would have filled it. FC Dallas was also playing this game given they currently have 3 DPs too. both teams knew they could sign him as a non-DP for now and worry about it later.

        so that means whatever salary Kljestan was looking for, which LA and Dallas both appeared ready to pay, was not approved by MLS. he makes $750k now so my guess is he was looking for $500k or so.

        allocation had nothing to do with it. LA knew a player like Kljestan would be allocated and traded DC United for the #3 spot. FC Dallas was #2 and Crew, who were reportedly interested as well, were #1. so it would have been a good ol' battle to see who got him and who was willing to trade what for #1. but none of that mattered because in the end, MLS couldn't agree to terms with Kljestan so he walked away and now no one gets him.

      • The league could have also said yes to the Salary but Kljestan may have not wanted to go to Dallas or the Crew.

      • yup, for sure. that was a scenario i laid out in another thread.

        the only reason i doubt that is the case is because i don’t see the Crew or FCD fighting to sign a player who doesn’t want to play for them. even if that means Kljestan falling to LA or LA trading up to get him. for example, lets say Dallas is the other club who reallllly wanted him but Kljestan had no interest (Crew i think were interested but going for Mix). if i was Dallas, i’d say fine, we don’t want to force a guy here who doesn’t even want to be here. so either they pass or they tell LA to trade up from #3 to #2. that would be great business because they would get something from LA for that #2 spot yet would only fall down to #3. and of course, when LA exercise the allocation, putting Dallas right back at #2.

        if Kljestan refused to come to Dallas or the Crew for the same money MLS came to agreement on, then it goes to show the allocation order has to go. Kljestan in the league is better than him not in the league. and to be honest, if the #1 and #2 teams don’t want a player, for whatever reason (in my scenario them not wanting a player who doesn’t want to be on their team), i believe they effectively “pass” and the player falls to #3 who then can either sign, trade, or pass.

        if MLS had actually agreed on the salary, which Hunt said they didn’t, then LA or Dallas would have him, one way or the other. in any event, it’s MLS so who really knows?!

    • This is not how the league wants to get to a market-clearing result. All of the sudden, there are multiple DP spots to be filled in major markets and perhaps more to come. And there are players in a holding pattern (Jones, Sacha, Ronaldinho? who knows what the list really looks like).

      MLS took one look at the Galaxy’s weird fly-by-night attempt to secure Sacha friggn Kliejstan and saw red. Righfully so, and the LD retirement made the whole thing seem that much more clear that they were obviously trying to circumvent an uncertain outcome they might not like. No dice. I don’t think you’ll see a single DP signed until these guys have a meeting and agree who gets what. Too many marquee parties for MLS to let it all go down organically. I don’t disagree. If anything the Kliejstan move raises questions about AEG’s competence in managing he brand without the vision of Leiweke.

      Reply
  4. So is there any update on Yedlin. Last I heard, he was in London for a physical and then nothing since. Has he signed? Is he still a Sounder? I guess they’ll give an update tonight during the game

    Reply
    • I get the sense that the deal is considerably more complicated than the basic transaction that was initially reported. The number seemed very low, and I’d have to think Seatlle is getting some redisual or retained rights to the player, such as the reported immediate loan-back to finish out the season and perhaps refusual rights on any future loans. And really Seattle should be looking to retain a percentage of follow-on proceeds, even if only triggered by a massive sale amount. That transfer fee looks small enough as it is… at least get yourself a face-saving excuse if Yedlin overperforms and makes you look really bad.

      These things seem easy until it comes time to document them and people have to decide who is responsible for what in a breakdown case such as an injury during the initial loan-back. I suspect this is why Roma got cold feet (we will assume that they are not involved in this and are a totally unrelated party…. I know) But it’s just a bit irrational to do these overstructured deals when the transaction cost alone seems to suggest that “wait and see” is more sensible. Ay some point these teams really do have to ask themselves what the urgency of doing this right now really is. Won’t be the lawyers who suggests it though.

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    • 5 years ago I said the same thing. However, the standard of MLS has drastically improved over the years. Sure, the poorest teams are not watchable. However, the top tier of Seattle, Portland, LA, Toronto, and KC are all playing very good football and have strong fan bases creating great stadium atmospheres. Outside of that group, the New England Revolution play some entertaining football at times, and Real Salt Lake are a good side to watch as well. Plus, it never hurts to watch Cahill and Henry for New York.

      Give the MLS a chance. Tune in for the next Seattle v. Portland match. Excellent standard and excellent atmosphere. The league has changed.

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      • As a neutral, I find Vancouver entertaining. They aren’t quite sure what they are doing yet, but they have a lot of young, fast talent and Morales is a top 5 player in the league.

      • Turn on a game and see for yourself. I’ve said for the past 5 years or so that MLS is pure crap, but I can’t say it anymore, because its not true. The quality has gone way up, and continues to trend upwards.

      • It’s sooo much better than it was in 2009 or so.

        Needs to be careful about making sure Homegrown players stay a important. There are gunna be a lot of cheap talent Argentinians fleeing that league.(Notice how many are already here.)

        I don’t mind a foreigners but its always more fun to see homegrown players from your club than say bought at the age of 29 off River Plate. It’s one reason everyone loves Fagundez so much.

    • I’m not even sure this is a serious comment (in my experience, true simpletons rarely use words like “simpleton”).

      But if this is a genuine statement of your consumption patterns and reasoning, then you are the stone-cold walking definition of the target MLS customer right now and you might want to check your attic for Don Garber. It sounds like you don’t have the resources available (time, TV availability) to consume the games you want to be watching, and do not have faith in the quality of MLS games, even thugh you could perhaps do so logistically (Do you watch any soccer currently on a regular basis, or does life/scheduling make regular viewership of any league or competition difficult? Are there factors outside of on-field quality that deter you?) .

      I would echo the views above that you should open your mind to a revisit — MLS familiarity is going to be part of the syllabus for the USMNT fan for the indefinite future… to know one without the other leaves you with a pretty thin idea of where we are at any level. Nobody expects you to get a face tattoo… just a test drive and some feedback… people who shared your view for many years (myself included as well) have seen a genuine and comprehensive imrpovement. More importantly, while people vary in their evaluative standards, the consistent feedback is that the look at this juncture. even if you decide it’s not up to a standard that would make you a regular just yet., As mentioned Seattle-Portland is a great choice if you really want to be “sold” by the time commitment

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    • His Twitter feed said “First competitive game in awhile. It’s good to be back” or something to that effect. Seems weird he didn’t play.

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      • Yeah, I think Freddy expected to play.

        Considering he started in their friendly the week before and was the player picked to do the pregame press conference, I would have expected to play as well.

        He did start and play (w/the Reserves) in a friendly against a second division team on Sunday.

    • I suppose that “did not play” means that he did at least dress. I would consider that a complete revival of his career. Give him the Captain’s armband now and declare him our lynchpin for the Copa.

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    • lol, starting central bench – his preferred position.. although sometimes he can hold down that ‘with out a club’ position pretty well.

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  5. Anyone know why the Mexican/Americans got so little in the way of minutes this week?
    The players at Tijuana in usually get some minutes, but this week most DND.
    Was it due to their involvement with youth US matches?

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      • Well, I don’t agree really. The coach they had when they were promoted and played used the american players more.(Not Garza though I think)

        The new coach is decidedly mediocre at best and never uses them.

        I’m not saying the new coach is bad because he uses americans but he doesn’t get the best out of anyone. This includes the american players.

    • the bottom 5 guys are prospects more or less.. usually don’t see minutes very often yet.

      bornstein and gomez are no longer starters… idk how bornstein is still employed there?

      torres, castillo, orozco (bad game!), garza and corona are major contributors to their clubs

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  6. I seem to recall 4 or 5 years back, Ives was asked on a few occasions which very young kid he saw as a future American star on a big stage. His answer: Emerson Hyndman. Looks like Emerson is still on the right track, even tho he’s not there yet (he’s only 18 after all.) kudos, Ives!

    Reply
    • With all the US injuries he’ll probably earn a call up next month if he keeps starting. Seeing him and Mix in the middle might be interesting.

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      • Fulham is the one European team that consistently identifies and benefits from American talent. I think this is the beginning of a great career for Hyndman!

      • Apparently, Hyndman has a Portugese passport. Which is how he got to play for Fulham as an EU player.

        I wonder if he is cap tied to the US yet.

      • No he isnt cap tied. He was called up for US youth teams if im not mistaken while in the FC Dallas youth system.

      • yup, his grandfather Schellas Hyndman, former coach of FC Dallas and SMU “was born in Macau to a Russian-French mother and a Portuguese father, but after the communist revolution in China his family fled the country in the cargo hold of a ship in 1957. They moved to Springfield, Ohio” – from wiki – doesn’t get more American than that!

        Emerson is third generation American and certainly someone on the horizon for Jurgen’s team

      • Geez, called up already? He has one league appearance and already he’s USMNT material? I know that’s one more than Green had but still.

      • About 85 minutes more but still. I agree let the man establish a spot on the team instead of pull him out 1 month into the season.

      • Green had zero league appearances. The two minute appearance was in a dead rubber champions league game at the end of the group stage.

      • You forget that some of the best talent evaluators in the world were singing his praises, saying he was holding his own, etc…. Those guys get paid alot of money to judge talent, and have been pretty successful at it. Maybe they are right. At least it is a possibility to consider. Suffice it to say Our American friend will play and play a lot for the USMNT this year barring injury.

      • hopefully you are correct, but last year Fulham had him listed as 5’3″ as a 17 yo. Boys/Men can grow after 17 but generally not much.

    • Everything seems to be in the right place with Hyndman… his intuitions suggested by his bio and scouting profile havethus far connected well with his performance record and development curve since joining Fulham’s setup. The kid does not seem to have any glaring weaknesses in his game and Fulham’s willingness to send him out 90 min senior debut on opening day shows the confidence they have in his maturity on all fronts. He has extremely high potential, with physical size being the only yet-to-betermined quality that has raised any eyebrows. And for an 18 year old who is 5-6″ and may add a smidge still, this isn’t really a knock so much as an indication of how he might be challenged and improved by these first team reps in a place lke the Championship.

      Places in the USMNT CM do not come cheap, and you don’t want to be limited by perceptions that there are things you can’t or don’t do. Mix is having a tough time finding where and when his looks will come and it’s not going to change until he can do something about the perception that he creates a defensive burden that then needs to be accounted for. An unpleasant situation and difficult to reverse… but first team reps starting as a teen are as good as it gets when it comes to preventative maintenance. And the Championship might not always be the sexiest place to showcase upside qualities such as the kid’s apparently exceptional passing vision, the diagnotics are quite reliable in identifying weaknesses. Stay smart and remained disciplined… kid should continue to have a good experience if he remains on the current path.

      (Nice to be able to say that about at least somebody from time to time… and in England!)

      Reply
      • Emerson Hydnman is listed at 5” 7″ which puts him in Donovan, DMB, Messi, Xavi,etc. territory.

        This list of outstanding players of that size is too long to put here.

        Americans are the only soccer fans I can think of who so regularly obsess about player height and size, ironic since one of the main attractions of the sport is that people do not need to be a mesomorph to excel in it unlike many other US sports.

        If Hyndman was too puny or Adu-like to take care of himself on the field a guy like Magath would certainly not play him.

      • You can add Maradona and Pele in that group. Skill and Tactical Awareness makes players great. Not height and strength. Keep in mind the shorter guys usually have more pace and a low center of gravity; so they become a real headache for your 6’4 defender.

        Definitely not saying Emerson will be the next Messi or whatever. Im just sayin lets not discredit or prematurely label him as not a viable option due to his height. This iznt basketball folks.

      • I certainly agree with you that there is absolutely nothing to preventa player of 5’6″ or 5’7″ from become an elite performer of the highest order… might even be close to the average for godlike CM’s historically. It would be absurd to call this a ceiling– just an early point of reference in what the finished product might look like…. kid’s potential seems to be undefinable otherwise and so the frame appears to have become the focus for those trying to quantify his potential or perhaps find comps.

        Having said that, I think it’s very incomplete analysis to only look at what he can achieve assuming he does indeed became a truly elite talent. If he’s a transcendent player and becomes a no-brainer, automatic selection, then we are done and everybody wins. But there are plenty of international players on WC teams who do not meet this lofty standard, including most of our current and past USMNT pool. For these guys, a seat on the plane or a spot in the starting XI is anchored by perception. It would be nice if we could find all the answers in track record data, but it doesn’t always exist yet and in some cases it cannot differentiate players. A fringe player may very will find that his fate comes down to his physical characteristics and what they imply for his potential.

        As an example, I would be very comfortable suggesting that Jose Torres did not feel particularly good about his already limited selection chances once the draw come through. Ghana and Germany have midfielders with a remarkable combination physicality, athleticism,and technical skill… whatever differentiation he might have offered was no match for the intuition that “he’ll get shoved off ball”. Indeed, probably a fair thought– even MB got bullied pretty badly against Ghana’s freakish MF. Conversely, it was a perfect opportunity for Jones to at last show why a player with his physical qualities was so important. What was sometimes perceived as clumsy in CONCACAF suddenly made sense… the opposition was tailor made. But both are valid data points.

        The point for Hyndman is that he now has an opportunity to make sure he doesn’t fall prey to these perceptions. He is not so sleight as Torres anyway, but he should see what Jones was able to add through his physicality and say “Why can’t I add this to my game?” He should look at a player like Mix and ask why this player with such supposedly similar strengths is not seeing more of the field by now. He will be targeted this year because he a young CM in a league with its fair share of goons. Addressing your perceived weaknesses before they become real is as much a part of becoming an elite player as showcasing strengths. Not groundbreaking, I know… but you hate to see opportunity ignored because its ugly.

      • Ali Dia,

        JF Torres is 5”7″ tall.

        Philip Lahm, who you may have heard of is 5′ 7″. Do you see him getting knocked off the ball often?

        Javier Mascherano, the great Argentine destroyer is 5′ 9″ ( wow two whole inches taller!) but weighs 170 pounds. I don’t see him getting knocked off the ball a lot either: same with Messi.

        The great Claude Makelele who was so integral to Real Madrid’s success that Zidane once said he was their most important player was 5′ 7″ 147 pounds.

        You really don’t need to be built like an NFL linebacker or tight end to be a great defender. I really don’t understand why American soccer fans seem to think that size and speed automatically translate to being a great defender.

        JF Torres was seen as defensively soft for the USMNT because his club team did not play defense the same way, not because JFT is some sort of puny Freddy Adu-like weakling.

        Good players, particularly small ones learn how to protect the ball using angles, leverage and quickness,the infamous low center of gravity.

        Where big guys really have the advantage is not so much height, which can be somewhat negated by keeping the ball on the ground but in their length. A guy like Crouch is 6’7″ but the big thing with him is he is all arms and legs and elbows and all that length makes it difficult to get the ball off him because it turns out he is quite skilled on the ball and takes advantage of his length. I notice Gonzo for example, is famous for his “emergency defending” which owes a lot to his length, not just his height

      • Ali wasn’t dissing the kid or saying that he needed to be anything other than what he was. I actually thought he was explaining (rather well) the “logic” behind such assumptions or misconceptions.

        Whatever he may or may not be in the future is completely unknown. What we can know today is this:

        He has a soccer brain
        He has excellent touch
        He looked to control the ball quite well whether dribbling, passing or trapping
        He is getting some ticks of the clock with an American owned team (Kahn of the NFL Jaguars not the Khan Noonien Singh of Star Trek fame)
        He could possibly be a bright prospect and future contributor for the next 3 World cups

        or

        HE COULD BE A BUST

      • Are we confirmed on Khan Noonien Singh? It would go along way with me if you or somebody had seen them in the same room together. I’m not sure we can afford to be wrong here.

      • Then I think we are not so far apart. The issue I raise has much more to do with perception than reality. I have no interest in seeing Hyndman hit an early ceiling and I don’t take any joy in being the frst person to declare a prospect to be a flameout or overrated. Which is why I would love to see him get in front of any such noise before it gets in front of him. Being able to say “I have done that” is a lot better than saying “I could do that I just haven’t had to”

        The examples your bring up are excellent really. If Torres is truly 5’7″ (indeed his listed number even if it doesn’t pass the red face test w me) then he should ask himself why he is thought of in this way (I assure you it is not just me, though it’s not a big chore if you should like some links/backup). Look through his best performances and you’ll see terms like “pint sized maestro” plenty… a nice compliment if you’re Xavi-level elite but for most players it is dangerously backhanded flattery. You won’t see expressions like “terrier like”, and you won’t hear much about him imposing his physical will and bossing the MF. As you have said, he has never put himself in situations where this ability was as necessary and prized as it is elsewhere. Perception becomes reality quickly if you don’t give people a reason to think otherwise.

        It isn’t easy. Even an established world-class player like Lahm has to deal with perception. Lahm did not move into CM on a lark… Germany may not have even looked at this option had not Pep Guardiola proven out its viability (also in the face of considerable criticism).

        I just want to see Hyndman take advantage of the situation… what he has earned is a very rare opportunity, almost a freeroll in England. Be Stu Holden. Be a ball-winner who can pass. Get this BS out of your scouting reports. Now while you can.

      • Ali Dia :

        “Then I think we are not so far apart. The issue I raise has much more to do with perception than reality. I have no interest in seeing Hyndman hit an early ceiling and I don’t take any joy in being the frst person to declare a prospect to be a flameout or overrated. Which is why I would love to see him get in front of any such noise before it gets in front of him. Being able to say “I have done that” is a lot better than saying “I could do that I just haven’t had to””

        I think you are overstating the case. The unrealistic perceptions you refer to about Hyndman, as best as I can tell are confined to SBI which is prone to judging players based on a few minutes out of an entire career, or because they don’t sing the national anthem or because they aren’t totally perfect.

        If Messi was an American, people on SBI would criticize him for not being good in the air and not tracking back enough. The US in fact had an excellent 5’6” pint size defender for years by the name of Steve Cherundolo but most people on SBI had no idea how good he was until his injury in the 2011 Gold Cup Final showed you how important he really was.

        The articles from the UK that I‘ve read on Hyndman all seem pretty positive but level headed, no comparisons yet to the David Silva, 5’8”, Juan Mata 5’ 7”, Shinji Kagawa , 5’ 8” ,Xavi 5’7”, Iniesta, 5’7” , Paul Scholes, 5’7”, Franck Ribery, 5, 7” or even the Tab Ramos, 5’7 ” who is the player this kid reminds of the most.

        “The examples your bring up are excellent really. If Torres is truly 5’7″ (indeed his listed number even if it doesn’t pass the red face test w me) then he should ask himself why he is thought of in this way (I assure you it is not just me, though it’s not a big chore if you should like some links/backup). Look through his best performances and you’ll see terms like “pint sized maestro” plenty… a nice compliment if you’re Xavi-level elite but for most players it is dangerously backhanded flattery. You won’t see expressions like “terrier like”, and you won’t hear much about him imposing his physical will and bossing the MF. As you have said, he has never put himself in situations where this ability was as necessary and prized as it is elsewhere. Perception becomes reality quickly if you don’t give people a reason to think otherwise.”

        Why should JFT care about the perceptions you refer to?.

        Those labels and perceptions were placed on him for the most part by US fans who saw a player who was, of Latin heritage, great on the ball, and small in stature,

        There is a racial stereotype that all players with Latin heritage have some kind of magic ball skills allied with attacking flair just because they have Latin blood. So because JFT has the right heritage and looks a little like Xavi, he must be used in that way, right?

        USMNT fans assumed that JFT would provide killer passes in the final third and because he is so good on the ball would just naturally, all by his little 5’7” lonesome, increase the time of possession for the USMNT.

        The only problem was I don’t remember seeing him impersonating Pirlo ( 5’10”) for Pachuca. I saw a lot of JFT with Pachuca (7 seasons) , not so much with UANL(2 seasons). He’s been a pro for 9 seasons and has about 193 games. He has had a total of 5 goals and 12 assists in that time. That doesn’t sound like the creative attacking force SBI fans thought he was does it?

        I remember him as more of an all around holding midfield type The expression attacking flair, never came to mind when I saw him play. He should have switched to left back full time before DMB did.
        This is not to say he could not be that “maestro” someday ; undoubtedly JK thought that idea had some merit but I guess it never worked out. This is too bad for his USMNT career but you seem to be forgetting that 9 seasons as a pro in the Mexican top flight and 26 caps for the US is not chicken s++t. He’ll be 27 in October so he still has a chance to hit a good run of form.

        “It isn’t easy. Even an established world-class player like Lahm has to deal with perception. Lahm did not move into CM on a lark… Germany may not have even looked at this option had not Pep Guardiola proven out its viability (also in the face of considerable criticism).”

        Versatility is a prerequisite for a good World Cup roster.
        Lowe moved Lahm to midfield because he felt he was the best guy to replace an ailing Khedira. Lowe felt that Lahm was his most intelligent footballer and would do the best job. The main criticism I saw on the matter was that the move took Lahm away from his best position, full back, which was something that Germany missed. Germany is better with Lahm on the flank and Khedira centrally but I don’t recall anyone beating Germany with Lahm in midfield.

        I’m a long time fan of the famous Dutch Clock Work Orange total football side that had players playing wherever they were needed . I’m of the opinion that a really good, fundamentally sound player should be able to handle any position on the field, except for keeper. And I’ve seen more than a few examples of that. For example, Wayne Rooney, who in spite of his hair transplant, is as fundamentally sound a player as you could ask for, could probably play any outfield position for Man U nearly as well, if not better, than the starter. Same with Pele, Cruyff, George Best, Alfredo Di Stefano, Paulo Maldini, Zidane, Landn Donovan ( when he was younger), etc.

        “I just want to see Hyndman take advantage of the situation…”

        Hyndman needs to be who he is. If that is the new Stu Holden fine. Be the new Tab Ramos. If he is the next Javier Mascherano that is fine too. Whoever he turns out to be, if he is good enough they will play him, if not they won’t.
        He’s come pretty far without our input and I suspect he will do just fine going forward without it.

      • This is getting very hard to read. I actually copied it into Word so I could deal with the formatting.

        But I hear you GW. I think we’ve beaten it to death. I hope he does great. I’m sure you do too. We can resume this discussion next time there is a Zelalem article.

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