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Revs continue youth movement, sign Manzonelli

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Good afternoon all.

So I’m sitting here, looking for stories to post and taking care of some SBI housekeeping when an email pops up from the New England Revolution. The subject line said "New England Revolution Transactions." Seemed harmless enough. Then it dawned on me that these are the Revs we are talking about and there isn’t a more shrewd front office in the league, so I opened the email to see about these transactions.

Sure enough, buried in an otherwise ordinary email was the news that the Revs have signed Brandon Manzonelli to a developmental contract.

The name probably doesn’t ring a bell to the casual soccer fan, but to the American soccer die-hards, the kid is a bit of an internet legend.

You see, Manzonelli went to Spain at the age of 16, signing with the Villarreal youth system. Message boards have sung his praises despite most of the praisers never having seen him play. He was signed by Villarreal so he must be on the fast track to the national team.

After two years in the Villarreal youth system, and eight goals and 10 assists in 25 matches for the youth version of the Yellow Submarine, Manzonelli is returning to the United States as an 18-year old ready to join fellow St. Louis natives Taylor Twellman and Steve Ralston with the Revs.

Is Manzonelli going to be the key to the Revs breaking their MLS Cup jinx? No, but it’s interesting to see the Revs scoop up a prospect like Manzonelli, and at a developmental price tag to boot.

The Revs also signed midfielder Joe Germanese, another St. Louis product, to a developmental product. Germanese won’t draw the same buzz as Manzonelli, but he did show some good flashes at January’s MLS Combine.

When you take these acquisitions, and include word from my sources that the Revs are lining up a move for Honduran prospect George Welcome, you realize that new England is serious about its youth movement. As if the acquisitions of Gambians Sainey Nyassi and Kenny Mansally as well as the signings of Mauricio Castro and Argenis Fernandez weren’t enough.

Nevermind that more than 200 top New England-area youth prospects showed up earlier this week for a presentation on the Revs new player development system.

A club building through youth rather than by signing a boatload of mercinaries? What a concept.

What do you think of New England’s maneuvering? Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. “Tony in Quakeland ”

    It’s not that guy, I know who you’re talking to and I read that thread one boring day at work, it was a freaking astonishingly long 95 pages. That guy had tried to get on with Chicago but injuries derailed his ability. Manzonelli is a different animal, hopefully he keeps up his hard work and succeeds.

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  2. Houston and the Revs have been equal on paper when it comes to player skills… the reason the Revs have no Cups is b/c they CHOKE!!

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  3. it’s GREAT to see they’re signing youth, but in all honesty it’s because KRAFT is a CHEAP SKATE. He won’t spend money on neccessary players. Which is the reason the REVS haven’t won the cup and have lost to the dynamo, they’ve been a player away every year and Kraft won’t splash the money. these moves are to prove that they are at least bringing in someone though it they may not be significant role players

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  4. smith- thats a nice site… most shocking thing on it was when i found out he’s 5’6 O.o… oh well, im guessing he’s pretty quick for being so short 😛

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  5. There are stringent controls on non-EU players in Spain. Manzonelli’s issue may have revolved around him getting an Italian passport. I think he went there with the idea that he was going to get it but perhaps it didn’t pan out and that pushed him to come home.

    I guess we should just be patient on judging the kid until we actually see how he plays on the field.

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  6. Im from Napoli and i live in New York. I spend some parts of the year in Napoli and i love to watch the first team play. I also saw a couple games for Napoli’s youth and Bernardo is known as the “Americano” and he is obviously a gifted player, but he also has his italian citizenship so i wouldnt be surprised if an azzuri call up happenes, thats if USA sleeps on this kid.

    I also saw Manzonelli in a video online. Seems very skillful. Hopefully he can develope more in the MLS.

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  7. I believe to have read something that the contract he signed with Villareal stipulated that he’d be out-of-contract once he turned 18. That being said, I’m unaware as to the circumstances having brought him to New England.

    For the record, the Scott Gallagher alums who have graced the Revolution’s roster of late include Steve Ralston, Taylor Twellman, Pat Noonan, and Joe Germanese.

    As for another young, unheralded player Nicol and Mariner have molded: Andy Dorman? He’s recently been linked to both Plymouth and Bolton in England, this after making a solid impact for St. Mirren in Scotland this year.

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  8. AK – i was a bit confused by your post, but figured you were making a statement rather then a response (as i pointed out noone compared the two:D )….

    in 07, Bernardo notched 11 goals and 8 assists (i believe) in 15 games… of course this was with Napoli’s Youth squad, but none-the-less quite impressive…. all the napoli fans who follow the youth team progress are rather high on him…. i wouldnt be shocked to see him getting 1st team min. in another season or 2…

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  9. Manzonelli signed with the Revs because he wanted to sign with a quality coach who was good at developing young players. There probably isn’t anyone better in MLS. Jeff Larentowicz is exhibit A – no talent at all when he first arrived, already a critical player, still continuing to get better every week.

    Why would Angulo want to try out for a dev. spot with RB when he already turned down a senior roster offer?

    Ives, Angulo update?

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  10. Brett, I wasn’t really responding to your post, per se, but I have heard people on other websites claiming that Bernardo is better than Rossi was at his age. I’ve always thought this was nuts, so I was a little trigger-happy here in responding. My apologies, and best of luck to Brandon Manzonelli.

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  11. Eugene- About the U-20 team in Portugal. The reason given for them doing poorly in the portugal tournament was that they met to train 2 days before the tournament started. It was a very talented group, but they were saying they just weren’t used to each other. Whether it is a valid excuse or not, they seemed to do better in May when they all met back up again to take the tour of England.

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  12. Eugene- makes sense, and i dont want to see him pulled for some meaningless friendlies… but when tourny time comes around i hope he gets the call-up….

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  13. AK- lol, i didnt read anyone comparing him to Rossi, unless you were misreading my post… i simply said it was reported he plays similar style as rossi… correct me if im wrong, but i think you have been the only one to compare the two 😛 obviously comparing the two would be folly (currently)… who knows what the future holds and how this kid will develope

    back on subject, as much as i dislike the revs, i hope the kid excells and developes quite nicely…

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  14. Why does New England need a youth club in Boston when they just sign players from St. Louis? e.g., Twellman, Noonan, Manzonelli, Germanese, Ralston…I think most of those guys played for Scott Gallagher. Not sure about Germanese but I think everybody else did.

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  15. I’m not really trying to disparage Bernardo here – perhaps “poor man’s Rossi” is a little harsh. They may be similar types of player, but Rossi (IMO) is simply in another class, and you knew it even when he was 18.

    Remember that by age 19, Rossi had already made his Serie A debut and kept Parma from being relegated in half a season (could have used him this year). Napoli isn’t exactly shy about giving youngsters playing time, and I think the fact that Bernardo’ll be playing in the Primavera next season is pretty telling.

    I’m not saying that Bernardo won’t turn out to be a good to great player, but comparing him to Rossi at any age is kind of a disappointing exercise.

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  16. I hope this kid Manzonielli does well with the revolution and can get a call up for the U20’s, but trying to compare Vincenzo Bernardo at the age of 18 to rossi now is pointless. Ive seen Bernardo play once with Napoli and twice in america. I would say that he plays just like rossi in the way he moves on the pitch and the fact that he is small, fast, technical, and can score at any level.

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  17. I don’t get it. Why is this signing evidence of anything except a kid who didn’t work out in Europe coming home to sign with MLS. Two years in the Villarreal youth system and he had to sign a developmental contract. That indicates he wasn’t highly rated in Spain.

    I like most have never seen him play but I am reluctant to conclude anything because he trained in Spain.

    Ives make the case for this kid. Internet legend is kinda weak.

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  18. Rossi’s preferred position is supporting striker, but Sir Alex Ferguson envisioned him as an attacking midfielder in the Paul Scholes mold.

    He’s very creative with the ball and has great vision but he is also an ice-cold finisher. The only way you can describe this type of player is to call him a fantasista — a playmaker who is in a more advanced position than an attacking midfielder would be and thus as capable of going to goal as setting up the center forward.

    As far as Vincenzo Bernardo goes, he’s a poor man’s Rossi IMO.

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  19. SayervilleFC — I always find that kind of logic backwards. The assumption is that the Revs are always good judges of talent and there weren’t any extenuating circumstances, therefore the conclusion they reached implies that Angulo was bad. But if the Revs aren’t always good judges of talent or there were some extenuating circumstances, the conclusion they reached doesn’t imply anything.

    I’m inclined to think in Angulo’s case that it was the latter, not the former. Angulo nearly signed with Lazio but stayed in the US because he’s a greencard holder and wants to get citizenship. Angulo was sought after by 3 MLS teams (NE, Columbus and NY), even though 2 of those passed on him. If anything, it appears that Angulo’s story is unclear rather than decisively bad.

    I for one think Osorio should call in Angulo and take a look at him for a developmental contract. For one, Angulo was a top prospect in the NY/NJ area, for another Angulo is Colombian so perhaps that connection would help. I would think Angulo can’t be too picky about money at this point because its better to be playing pro ball than sitting at home.

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  20. Awesome for the Revs, but I wonder why he came back. I was hoping he’d at least spend a year or two at Villareal trying to break into the first team, not to mention training every day at such a high level.

    Realistically, they’ll probably be challenging for the La Liga title again next season. Internal drama in play maybe?

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  21. Brett,

    Rongen already called Bernardo up and I wouldn’t be surprised to hear him get called up again. I think it was for the Portugal tournament where the whole team tanked, despite being some of our best prospects in that age group. I guess they just had a bad week, because a number of those guys then went with the U-20s to England and played well against the Bolton and ManU reserves.

    Just a guess, but perhaps the situation with Bernardo is that its hard to get him away from Napoli. If he goes with Rongen, the missed time at Napoli likely moves him down the pecking order there. I think how those situations play out is that Rongen calls in the player, gets a good look at him and then will only call him up again sparingly but will call him in for the tournament next year. Although Michael Bradley is a lot better known than Bernardo and Bradley was in the first team at Heerenveen, the situations were similar in that Rongen really wasn’t able to call Bradley in very often due to Bradley’s club committments.

    I guess there is confusion on Bernardo because I was under the impression that he’s an attacking mid and playmaker, but also good at finishing. Rossi is more liked a 2nd forward (deeper lying) than a playmaker. Someone correct me if I’m wrong on Rossi or if you have better knowledge of Bernardo.

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  22. What’s it matter, we’ll keep him on the bench for a year, start to play him the next, and after his contract is up, he’ll go on a free. Thus the Revolution’s cycling of youth continues 🙁

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  23. Just looked at an old topic and it seems that Angulo could not come to terms with MLS. I guess they offered 34K and he felt he was worth more

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  24. That the Revs are commited to this youth movement and are considered good judges of talent and still didn’t sign your boy Jose Angulo doesn’t exactly speak well for Angulo, does it?

    Curious to see how Manzonelli does, though I won’t expect him to play much this year. Sounds like a prospect for next season and beyond.

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  25. @Seth ‘why would any sane youth sign with them’

    The Revs refusal to sell Taylor and Shalrie shouldn’t be seen as a red flag that prospects with big potential should stay away. These players weren’t smart about the contracts they signed and have to live with it. The lesson here is to make sure you have a buyout clause in your contract, like Eddie Johnson did with the Wizards.

    Through the Steve Nicol era, the Revs have developed a good number of highly regarded players. Dempsey, Shalrie, Taylor, Parkhurst, all these guys have honed their game with the Revs and are now sought after in Europe.

    As long as kids are smart about their contracts, and don’t let themselves get boxed into a deal that they cant get out of if a european opportunity arises, then I don’t think theres a better team in the league to develop with as a youngster.

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  26. kpugs- of course its good for the team… he’s coming in as a DEV player, cheap labor… probably a 3 yr contract… develope him into the team this season, sub/starter if he pans out next season and then you have a potential transfer that brings in the $$ or you have to renegotiate his contract at which point you have a young prospect with a season contract with them…

    if he doesnt pan out (which i dont see happening with his resume) then they can just cut him….

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  27. Eugene- i hope with Bernardo’s upgrade to reserves this next season that he’ll start getting some looks by the U20’s… the guy in BS who has a friend who follows Napoli and their youth squad reported Bernardo to playing similar style forward as that of the Italian prospect Rossi… but i havent seen him play so i cant verify..

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  28. I have no idea if this is a good move for the Revs or not. It has to be a good move for the kid though. European youth team experience, a few years developing in MLS…if he’s actually any good he could head back to Europe in 4 years or so and be playing first team football for a decent club.

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  29. I love the youth movement, but the the Revs need to sign a star. Someone that is DP level is needed to elevate the Revs from a good team to a great team. This player would also serve to bring some more fans to Gillete. Unfortunately, the youth movement does neither of these.

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  30. Dominghosa, great question. Maybe the US Youth National team doesn’t have as good of a scouting group as Villareal does 🙂

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  31. Dominghosa,

    Manzonelli was called into the U-18s, but that team is like a black box with the call-ups often only being publicized a week after the camp. I think Vincenzo Bernardo at Napoli was in a similar situation until his skills were somewhat validated by a call-up to the U-20s.

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  32. It would be an interesting story to hear what happened at Villarreal and why he came back home (also why he ended up with the Revs and not a team closer to St. Louis).

    However, signing with the Revs would be a good move for him if he works really hard and does well. If he’s successful, he can get into Rongen’s U-20s pool, after which a lot of doors can potentially open again.

    I just want to see the kid play, but hearing that he’s a right wing and knowing the Revs have Nyassi ahead of him, I don’t know how much playing time he’s going to get this year with senior team.

    Manzonelli is also interesting because he has focused his development on technical skills and beating opponents 1v1. There are not a whole lot of kids in this country that have gotten this far focusing on those skills.

    As far as I know, Villarreal liked him… so I for one would love to hear the full story

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  33. So why hasn’t this kid been talked about for youth national teams? Maybe he is and I just wasn’t paying attention?

    Help?

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  34. Revs = Arsenal of Recent Years?

    Constantly bringing in young talent, but not bringing home any silverware…

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  35. Should be interesting as to what happens with his development. Either he was a flop over with Villareal (despite his stats) or he was just homesick. Either way, its good to see someone with that type of background come back to MLS.

    Robbie Rogers is a player that has done well with a roughly similar tale, so let’s hope for the best – him developing into a very good SR international while getting some care and feeding at NE.

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  36. This is just another example of what happens when you have a consistent coaching and front office presence at a club. Good for the Revs and MLS in general.

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  37. isnt this the kid that did that dvd with some EPL team about development?? didnt he do the juggling drill where you go from right foot to right thigh to r.shoulder to head to the left side in opposite order??

    6point juggling?? i dunno, but i remember reading up on him in bigsoccer quite a bit last year….

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  38. Given the Revs treatment of Shalrie and Twellman (and Dempsey come to think of it), why would any sane youth sign with them?

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  39. I think seeing Dempsey go woke up the Revs. Bringing in terrific young players has never been an issue for Nicol and Mariner. Replacing them has been the problem. Its pretty clear that Parkhurst is gone sooner than later and there have already been offers on Joseph and Twellman, in addition to the losses of Dorman and Noonan. Ralston and Heaps are on the backstretch of their careers as well.

    Now is the right time for the Revs to be snapping up as many young players as they can get their hands on.

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  40. The Manzonelli things has been rumored for weeks. I am one of the ones who had never heard of him, but sound pretty awesome. Yeah, we’re definitely striking it rich right now with Igwe, Sainey, and Mansally. Argenis should be pretty awesome too eventually. It’s very nice to see after a couple of lesser draft years (by Steve Nicol’s standards).

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  41. This is the kid from the legendary, massive and gemerally amazing A Yank Kid In Parma thread from Bigsoccer? That the one? He’s had more comments then Landon Donovan! (Well, not quite…)

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