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Ngwenya begins three-week trial with Bayern Munich

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                                                  Photo by ISIphotos.com

Ex-Houston Dynamo striker Joseph Ngwenya’s name has popped up in the news recently after the 27-year-old began a trial three-week spell with German superpower Bayern Munich. If you’ll direct your attention to Texas you’ll see a collective mouth-watering from the Dynamo faithful.

After being drafted 3rd overall by the Los Angeles Galaxy in the 2004 SuperDraft, Ngwenya eventually made his way to Houston after three unspectacular seasons in Los Angeles and Columbus. The Zimbabwean international found his stride in Houston, scoring eight goals and playing a role in the Dynamo’s MLS Cup repeat of yesterseason.

Ngwenya, who went on trial with La Liga club Getafe in 2006, parlayed his performance into another shot at European soccer. After he failed to latch on to German 2nd Bundesliga club Alemania Aachen, Ngwenya joined Austrian club SK Austria Kärnten, but after making just one appearance he was not kept on.

So why exactly would Bayern be interested? Search me, but Sports Network makes a valid point when they note that Bayern don’t have strike options in abundance, with just Miroslav Klose, Luca Toni, Lukas Podolski and Daniel Sikorski on the roster. Podolski has also been rumored to be on the move this summer. (SBI note- you can a pretty penny this is the work of current Bayern Munich assistant Martin Vasquez, who happened to be an LA Galaxy assistant in 2004, the year Ngwenya was drafted by LA).

Do I think Ngwenya will catch on? I have serious doubts that his is any more than a flyer on a player with some talent, but I think Ngwenya could eventually make his way onto the roster of a middling team in one of the better leagues in Europe (see: German Bundesliga, French Ligue 1, Dutch Eredivisie). Having said that, I wish Ngwenya good luck on his stint with Bayern because, if nothing else, it would show that MLS is capable of developing their players.

What do you guys think? Is this ultimately a good thing for MLS? Is Ngwenya in over his head right now? Or can he capitalize on a once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity and stick? Share your thoughts below…

Comments

  1. JoJo has a tremendous work ethic, and ties with Kingslman in LA where he trained him as a rookie. Having him on trial lets you know where he stands in Jurgen’s eyes and he has a legitimate shot at getting picked up by the club.

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  2. It’s funny that Joseph just scored 2 goals in Bayern’s opening pre-season friendly! Any doubters may think twice before commenting. Yes they were playing a weak team, but he was playing in the same team as a cetain Van Bommel and Van Buyten!

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  3. There is also the very realistic possibility that they want him to play for their reserve team, where they wan’t a mix of talents and older players. What does Ngwenya get of it? a nice salary and the possibility of first team action if the injurybug bites the München attack.

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  4. @Posted by: HomeyBoehme | July 03, 2008 at 02:59 PM

    Podki was whining but he owes his career to Klinsmann and Klinsy LOVES him. I would be shocked if he left the club.

    I have no doubt they like Ngwenya’s skills. I know it’s fashionable to hate on any player who was once in MLS, but realistically, if he was signed he would pretty much never figure into the team other than DFB matches early on. He isn’t on par with Podki, Klose or Toni and Bayern is talking about bringing in ANOTHER striker.

    Realistically, Bayern is one of the top 5 clubs in Europe and has boatloads of money and a good youth system to get many of the best players on earth. Ngwenya faces a huge hurdle to make it. If he does, good on him.

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  5. Donovan would never get playing time at Bayern and would complain about how he should start over Klose and Toni.

    Joseph would be a great fit for a Bundesliga II side.

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  6. What other MLS players does Klinsmann have in his sights? It would be cool to see Donovan go there, but I bet he is too happy in LA to change things. Let’s see. Bobby Rhine? 🙂

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  7. I think it’s interesting because of Vasquez, you hear more and more stories like this, where front office MLS folks are popping up elsewhere, and have respect for the league.

    And congrats to Ngwenya, I didn’t know he was ever a top 3 draft pick, but I always thought he had talent. Hou knows they haven’t replaced it.

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  8. Jurgen y Martin have always thought the world of him .. .. Didn’t see it when he was here with the LAG, or with HOU either .. ..

    Just average first-touch and good technical abilities, but the Bundesliga??

    Perhaps JyM know he has to play at a higher level to bring the best out of him .. .. If that’s the case, then Jurgen is the great coach he is proving himself to be .. ..

    I’d bet JN plays like hell, proves he is better than your avergae MLS player and hooks on with BMII .. ..

    GOOD LUCK JOSEPH!!

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  9. Jurgen y Martin have always thought the world of him .. .. Didn’t see it when he was here with the LAG, or with HOU either .. ..

    Just average first-touch and good technical abilities, but the Bundesliga??

    Perhaps JyM know he has to play at a higher level to bring the best out of him .. .. If that’s the case, then Jurgen is the great coach he is proving himself to be .. ..

    I’d bet JN plays like hell, proves he is better than your avergae MLS player and hooks on with BMII .. ..

    GOOD LUCK JOSEPH!!

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  10. I believe either just before his first cap or just after his cap for Karnten they got a new coach, and from the sound of it he was the new coach’s example for motivating the others.

    And the coach’s strategy didn’t work.

    So he benched Ngwenya for being “lazy” (which he was not in Houston under Dom) to get the other players to work harder, and the team didn’t get any better despite having a quality player in the clubhouse.

    Nate Jaqua, on the other hand, had a great season and was a big reason that his team climbed up in the rankings. And the Dynamo have made an offer to his agent to get him for the rest of the season with a clause that he will be traded to the Sounders for their inaugural season.

    … Which as far as I’m concerned is just a move to have a player to cover for when Ching is away, because they still need to find a speedy forward to help stretch the game out.

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  11. Also, isn’t Podolski whining about wanting a trade. Given that Klinsmann’s like of Ngwenya has already been proven, I would also offer this could be an attempt to cover if Podolski decides to bolt. Plus, Ngwenya would be a pretty cheap pickup.

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  12. I remember when we (Houston) first picked him up, and were wondering what the hell Kinnear was thinking, that someone pointed us to a Klinsmann quote where he said Ngwenya had the skills to be a great player (or something like that). Jurgen was definitely a fan of JN at one point. Probably just seeing if he still has potential.

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  13. He didn’t exactly demonstrate that he was a reliable contributor in MLS, but that goal he scored against Chicago while playing for Houston last year was the classiest goal MLS has ever seen.

    Ngwenya looked like Pele on that goal. They don’t get better than that.

    Of course, the usual mob mentality/blind club loyalty won out in the Goal of the Year voting, so it didn’t get the recognition it deserved. Then again, Wolyniec’s winner against Columbus, as exciting, unstoppable, and well-taken a goal as has ever been scored, lost goal of the year to a run-of-the-mill overhead kick.

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  14. theres talks of Pizzaro coming back to Bayern (or Bremen) too, he was amazing but didnt seem to translate to the EPL game which doesnt differ that much fromthe style in the bundesliga…

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  15. He’s only there because one of the assistant coaches for Bayern Munich used to be at Columbus Crew. It’s more a courtesy to Ngwenya.

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  16. This is more of a favor than a trial. The Bayern coaching staff have links with Ngwenya, as you’ve said, and are merely trying to get him fit for another club to make an offer. There was an article on AllAfrica not too long ago about the potential of seeing Ngwenya trialing with the club.

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  17. CP, here’s the thing, in club soccer it can sometimes really just come down to one coach believing in you and giving you a chance. If Vasquez believes in him, and clearly he does, then you shouldn’t just write this off as a super long-shot. It wouldn’t exactly cost the team anything to sign him on a free and stick him in the reserves to see how he does.

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  18. This would explain the lack of scoring for Houston which many people had discounted Jacqua and Ngwenya as replaceable at the beginning of the season. If the Dynamo had both of their forwards, they might be at the top the western conference. Good Luck Ngwenya! I hope that you do well in Europe and make us proud. 🙂

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  19. The guy couldn’t stick with a middling Austrian club. He’s not a prospect anymore. This can’t be anything more than a flyer, because a club like Bayern can dig up a more established striker or a more talented prospect from somewhere if they need to.

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