By DAN KARELL
Tim Cahill will be keeping busy during the MLS offseason.
The veteran midfielder unsurprisingly made the final 23-man squad with the Australian national team for the AFC Asian Cup, which Australia is hosting from January 9-31. Cahill joins the likes of Mile Jedinak, Tommy Oar, and Mark Bresciano from Ange Postecoglou’s squad that competed at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
“In the end, I’m pretty pleased with the 23 we’ve ended up with,” Postecoglou said in a statement. “There’s a good combination of the core of the group that went to the FIFA World Cup, there’s some experience there, but also a sprinkling of guys who will enhance the squad we took to the FIFA World Cup.”
Cahill, who admitted that he was focused on country over club over the course of the 2014 MLS season, found himself outside of the Red Bulls lineup late in the season, and finished the year with just three goals and two assists in 28 matches, a far cry from his 12-goal, six-assist effort in 2013.
The Australia squad will meet up as a group on Dec. 27 for a tournament training camp. Australia is set to face Kuwait, Oman, and South Korea in their three group stage matches. Cahill, who captained the Socceroos in Brazil, is expected to wear the armband again in his native country.
Here are some more notes from around MLS:
FIRE SIGN FORMER INDIANA STANDOUT
The Chicago Fire hope that they’ve found their left back of the future.
On Monday afternoon, the Fire announced that they’ve signed defender Patrick Doody to a Homegrown player deal. Doody, who starred for four seasons with the Indiana Hoosiers, could be a replacement for long-time Fire left back Gonzalo Segares, whose option was declined at the end of the 2014 season.
“Patrick is a talented, young player and another local product who understands what wearing the Fire badge represents,” Fire head coach Frank Yallop said in a statement. “It speaks highly of the work our player development system has been doing to produce another player who can make the transition to the first team.”
Doody played 83 times for the Hoosiers, scoring six goals and dishing out 12 assists. The 22-year-old famously delivered an assist that Nikita Kotlov eventually tapped home for the game-winning-goal in the 2012 NCAA Tournament final. Doody has also been part of the Chicago Fire academy since he was 15 years old, and played with the Fire’s PDL team during the summers while in college.
DYNAMO ANNOUNCE USL PRO PARTNERSHIP WITH BATTERY
The Dynamo have found their new USL Pro partner, and it’s a club with plenty of history in the league.
The Dynamo announced on Monday afternoon that they’ve partnered with the Charleston Battery for the 2015 USL Pro season. The Dynamo can send “approximately four” players on loan to the Battery during the season. Last season, the Dynamo sent five players over the course of the season to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, though that affiliation lasted just one season.
“We are pleased to announce our affiliation with the Charleston Battery for the 2015 season. They are one of the most respected clubs in USL with a proven track record of success and professionalism,” Dynamo vice president/general manager Matt Jordan said in a statement. “We feel this affiliation will provide our players the opportunity to grow in a quality environment with a staff that is very dedicated. This partnership will be a positive step forward for both clubs.”
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What do you think of this news? Do you see Cahill leading Australia to a title? Do you see Doody taking Segares place in the Fire’s lineup? What do you think of the Dynamo’s partnership with the Battery?
Share your thoughts below.
hopefully Patrick doesnt play like his last name
“It speaks highly of the work our player development system has been doing to produce another player who can make the transition to the First Team.”
Huh? Did the Chicago Fire set up an academy in Indiana?
Does the NCAA know that the Chicago Fire are “developing players” through their system?
Or does Chicago far think that the public are stupid enough to believe that NCAA development is Chicago Fire “development” for MLS?
Hopefully, MLS will continue their expand their academy so that soon talented young players won’t waste four years playing college soccer and will instead develop in a professional environment.
You’re just not going to find players developed exclusively in a single academy in the US. We aren’t Barca.
“Doody has also been part of the Chicago Fire academy since he was 15-years old, and played with the Fire’s PDL team during the summers while in college.”
In order to maintain Homegrown status, players have to spend time with the club while in college. I don’t think playing for the PDL teams counts. I think it has to be time with the first team or reserves; i.e., practices, pre-season, etc. (Not certain of that though.)
btw, he also played for his high school team. So he’s developed a lot of places: high school, Fire Academy, Fire’s PDL, NCAA, and some amount of time with Fire’s first team. I won’t begrudge the Fire taking credit after working with him for the past 7 years.
To me the homegrown rules haven’t been clear to me nor does it make sense. Basically if you don’t have a PDL team for your college prospects to play during the summer or if they are not training with the 30-man first team roster then they will lose their “HG eligibility”…its stupid.
“or if they are not training with the 30-man first team roster”
I don’t see what’s so stupid about that. MLS wants the player and club to maintain commitment and interaction, but recognizes that (sadly) NCAA soccer is the only option right now for player development—at at least for certain players, that is.
This will change when MLS-affiliated USL Pro teams get going, although not every MLS team has one. My guess is that MLS will change the HG rules to encourage-force teams to invest in PDL teams at the very least.
I may be wrong but there use to be a certain amount of “time” spent with a mls organization to be classified as a HG product. I was not under the impression that they must play with a mls team’s PDL team to hold said status because not every team has a PDL team.
Saying that I am sure that a HG product’s “time” can start with the academy and end with PDL if they don’t hit that level prior to college
+1
Are you suggesting that because Patrick played in college that the fire had no hand in developing him? Geez I guess that means that if u are not signed by 18 that you are no longer HG candidate. Forget his time with the fire academy and usl team, Indiana product thru and thru