photo by Gary A. Vasquez/USA Today Sports
By FRANCO PANIZO
HANOVER, N.J. — The national spotlight has started to shift in the direction of Bradford Jamieson for what he has done with the LA Galaxy these last two weeks, but the teenage prospect with so much potential has been excelling for much longer than that.
From helping the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team qualify for this summer’s World Cup back in February to serving as one of the better starters on LA Galaxy II for a brief time before making the jump to the first team, Jamieson is off to quite the start in 2015. The 18-year-old forward has been building off each of his accomplishments, all while trying to stay grounded and make strides in his game.
Still, the success that Jamieson has enjoyed thus far is in no small part due to what he learned back in February. Playing for the U.S. U-20s during the World Cup qualifying campaign in Jamaica, Jamieson gained confidence by starting in five of the Americans’ six matches and scoring a pair of goals. One of those was a clutch late winner in a narrow victory against Trinidad & Tobago in a group stage finale that would’ve seen the U.S. eliminated had it lost.
While Jamieson enjoyed individual success in the competition and gained confidence, it was not all smooth sailing for him. He, like many of his teammates, went through difficult stretches in unideal conditions down in Jamaica, but it hardened him for the better.
“It was a lot of growing up,” Jamieson told SBI over the weekend. “(We were) playing teams that are not as good as us player by player, but know how to play as a team and know how to be gritty and things like that. As a group, we ended up adapting to that and being gritty as well.”
If Jamieson’s time in Jamaica gave him a foundation for which to add to – he called scoring goals “essential” to being in good form coming into the MLS season – then he wasted no time in doing so. He returned to the Galaxy after missing a chunk of their preseason due to his U.S. U-20 commitments, but was not able to immediately crack into the club’s rotation.
Rather than waste time on the sidelines, Jamieson was still able to develop with the Galaxy’s USL team. The 6-foot-1 forward started three matches for Galaxy II, and scored one goal before being summoned to play for the first team by head coach Bruce Arena.
Earning first-team minutes with the Galaxy could not come at a better time for Jamieson. Apart from being able to further progress by playing in competitive matches at a high level, the Los Angeles native is also strengthening his case for U-20 World Cup inclusion.
U.S. head coach Tab Ramos has a bevy of options from which to choose from, especially in the attack, and could very well go with players that are in form and playing regularly when he makes his 21-man roster announcement next month.
“We have a very strong U-20 side, so I think getting minutes with the first team is definitely something that makes Tab look at you a lot more than another guy,” said Jamieson. “That you’re playing well is very important to him. People that are getting minutes are not only getting minutes, but getting minutes with a good team is really important to him.”
Jamieson is doing just that right now. He took all the confidence he gained in the opening months of the year and applied it to his first start with the Galaxy in a 2-1 home victory over Sporting Kansas City on April 18. He drew positive reviews from fans and media alike, which instilled him with more confidence before playing in this past weekend’s 1-1 draw vs. the New York Red Bulls.
He scored an impressive opener in that game at Red Bull Arena, instinctually turning right back Chris Duvall inside out in the ninth minute before firing a low shot to the bottom corner to record his first goal for LA’s first team. He also kept New York’s back line on its toes, constantly testing them with his speed and willingness to go at defenders.
That outing had the Jamieson hype train ready to leave the station after the game, but Arena did his best to delay it, knowing full well how young players are commonly glamorized in the public eye despite doing very little.
“Let’s wait a while. Let’s not get crazy like everybody does every time a young player does something right,” said Arena after the game. “It’s a long haul in becoming a player. He’s many years away from being where we would like him to be and where he’s going to be. Let’s just be patient and see what happens down the road.”
Jamieson agrees. He’s having fun and is happy with where he is right now, but is far from content. He wants more than just one goal and a couple of solid performances. He wants a U-20 World Cup appearance, more games with the Galaxy, and more consistency.
“I want to play, the highlights of my game, I want to be able to do that more thoroughly for 90-plus minutes,” said Jamieson. “Obviously, to die out less in the end of the game. I think that’s a big thing that happens to young players. At the end, sometimes offensively you lose a lot of spark as far as hitting the 80th minute goes.
“I want to be a lot more consistent throughout the match so I can be a lot more dependable when it comes to the end of the year.”
Gerrard has lost it! yes the MLs may not be as competitive as the EPL but then again, it is still a strong league, the level of play has improved.
If this lethargic Stevie G shows up come June then LAG fans should know that their midfield woes won’t come to an end.
Stevie G won’t light up MLS, he might draw the fans to stubhub center but they won’t the player they’d hoped for…
he lacks pace, a fall in passing accuracy, slow in making tackles, surely, this is not what the galaxy need right now
A fall in passing accuracy? His passing accuracy is 2014/2015 is 86%, which is the BEST OF HIS CAREER. In fact, it has been improving year-upon-year in each year since 2009. His tackling numbers are similarly among the best of his career.
True, anybody who expects Steven Gerrard circa 2005 to show up is delusional…… but most Galaxy fans who know the game aren’t really looking for this at all. The Galaxy don’t need him to play at an MVP level, or be the rampaging box-to-box menace he was in his best days. I have watched most of Liverpool’s games this year and as far as I’m concerned his biggest problem is exactly what you said originally– he just isn’t as fast anymore– everybody including Gerrard knows this. But he is still a competent MF who can win balls, play intelligently, and control games against non-elite opposition.
We’ll see, I guess. You may be right. I don’t think he’ll be great “value for money”, but since I’m not footing the bill, all I care about is whether he makes the team better. And there is plenty of room for improvement in that CM.
zosef,
Your criticisms are valid but they are also pretty much the same ones that were made of any of these older stars from abroad, Beckham and Keane to name two examples.
Those two seemed to work out okay for the Galaxy.
I suppose you could argue that the money would be better spent developing younger homegrowns. The thing is Gerrard matters beyond what he does on the field. While he can’t replace Landon, MLS seems to feel LA is a team that needs to have x amount of star power, especially internationally.
And homegrowns won’t give you that, unless LA has a Jordan Morris we haven’t heard of yet.
Bummer they couldn’t get Haji Wright in the fold, they get a ton of help from a recruiting standpoint, but the Galaxy academy is top notch by MLS standards
Go Galaxy!
They are both very young and have a chance to learn from both Keane and Gerrard who don’t have a lot of years left. If they are patient, their time will come in a couple of years while they are still in their early 20’s.
Problem is we are only seeing him because of the Keane injury. Once Keane returns, Jamieson will probably be back on the bench.
Both Jamieson and probably Villareal (even though he was starting pre-injury) will always be in a precarious situation with regards to playing-time when everyone is healthy.
I don’t know about that. Alan Gordon has played well at times, but I think Jamieson might be a better partner upfront for Keane.
You are forgetting about Zardes. Since Donovan retired, Bruce Arena now prefers Zardes as a forward. So its Zardes, Jamieson and Gordon competing for that other striker spot (Buddle too).
I’d play Zardes in midfield. Arena deserves credit, he’s definitely taking the time to try combinations, feels like he’s going to discover the right players in the right spots.
The goal is getting all the hype obviously, but he had so many dangerous and fantastic runs and dribbles throughout the game. Really exciting to watch, and one of the most impressive looking Galaxy players since Zardes highlights last year I think. Hopefully the hype train doesn’t run him over. Zardes seems to rely too much on Keane to create for him, so an adjustment back to the wing with BJ4 and Keane playing up top could make for another lethal trifecta post-Donovan. Add in Gerard and they could be scary good come playoff time.
Agreed, once Gerrard comes in and gets adjusted, he could really be the central creator that is sorely lacking in the side. Our midfield is very mediocre this year, and Bruce seems like he can’t make up his mind concerning his preferred pairing.
One of the good things about Zardes is that he is aiming to be a complete player. He has made several good crosses while pairing with Jamieson, has shown he can be a very good passer, and is very willing to track back and play hard on defense. He has been developing a knack for doing some of those little things that often get overlooked but coaches appreciate. He is showing that he doesn’t need to score to be valuable.
To many observers, it seems that the LA Galaxy are unearthing footballing gems right and left. as good as the scouting can be , there are just too many players out there who still need to be found. Jordan Morris was discovered by Klinsmann when the USMNT having a camp at Stanford, and was scrimmaging against the US men’s team.
As big a market as the LA suburban area is, it supports several football academies. remember the Chivas academy? It is still in operation with more than a few talented individuals.But most of the top notch young footballers want to get into the Galaxy academy. I think Bruce Arena and the Galaxy management were spot on in creating a second team, the USL “Los Dos” Galaxy II team. This allows player transitioning from an academy to sign a pro contract and get pro experience before jumping to the MLS.
I actually think the Galaxy should align itself with a PDL team, which are mostly college players, keeping sharp outside their college soccer season, as another bridge between the academy and Pro Leagues. While not as intense or talented as some USL teams, It would help some players who are either going to play college ball or turn pro, delay a decision without hurting their chances, either of getting a degree or signing a pro contract.
There are other players out there besides Jordan Morris, who are great players but have chosen to stay in school. A PDL outlet for these players will keep them in training and playing for a lot longer than what a college season allows.
Generally agree but Morris wasn’t “discovered” by the genius JK. He was already at Stanford as you say.
And played in Sounders development academy for a year or two and then their PDL team as well I believe. And his dad works for Sounders. So he was very much “discovered” by the Sounders.
Aren’t the Sounder’s managed by Sigi Schmid?
Aren’t he and JK real close?
Don’t you suppose Sigi had more than a little to do with JK knowing as much as he did about Yedlin and Morris?
Before the Mexico game there were a lot of posters who didn’t understand why he kept getting called up and thought it was a stupid move to do so. According to the poster UCLA Bruin Great, Morris wasn’t even an outstanding college player, claiming to have seen him play in the PAC 12 several times. So, he was “discovered” in the sense that Klinsmann recognized his quality more than a number of other people. There have been a lot of excellent college soccer players, but he’s the only one to start for the national team in 22 years, so I think that qualifies as discovery as in recognizing talent that others may have overlooked. Or, to put it another way, how many people would have predicted that Morris would be picked for the Olympic team, as now seems likely, just 6 months ago?
PDL team seems like a good idea as well, a few teams already field PDL teams I think. Could fill a development hole.
I like the college scholarship + LAG2 pattern even better, like they did with Fuji. Higher level of competition and same effect of giving college players best of both worlds. It would be great if Galaxy can expand that idea and partner with some other LA area schools same as they’ve done with cal sate dom hills. Give college players a reason to stay around LA and train with LAG2 instead of college teams.
He had an excellent game against RBNY and scored a nice individual goal. Definitely a promising prospect. He’s actually 18 though, not 19 – born November 1996.