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USMNT prospect Tanner Tessmann completes transfer to Venezia

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U.S. men’s national team prospect Tanner Tessmann is the latest FC Dallas product to make the jump to Europe.

Serie A side Venezia FC announced on Thursday the acquisition of the 19-year-old, who signed a homegrown deal with Dallas in 2020 and made his USMNT debut against Trinidad and Tobago in January.

“Ever since I came to the academy at 14 years old, FC Dallas was developing me, honing my skills and making me a better young man. I knew an opportunity like this would be possible and it was always in the back of my mind, only because FC Dallas was there,” Tessmann said in a statement released by FC Dallas.

“I’m excited for this new experience. It’s going to be a good journey. This is not a goodbye. It’s an ‘I’ll see you soon’.”

Tessmann made his MLS debut in Feb. 2020 against the Philadelphia Union and ended up making 28 total appearances for the club.

He now joins a Venezia side looking to consolidate its position in Serie A after earning promotion last season.

 

Comments

  1. i will be curious how much he plays but it’s a unique choice with an american owner. i liked the energy difference he brought in the honduras U23 elimination game, but he hasn’t found his club feet yet and this will be closer to tossed in the deep end. considering how many americans play in germany the few who play in italy are strange, maybe it’s their foreign player limits or snobbery or something.

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    • Spezia a team that was promoted last season and stayed up didn’t sign a player for more than 2 million last year or thus far this year. If the 4 million is true he will play. If it was just we want an American there were cheaper options.

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  2. This is great news! What’s more interesting to me is the fact Tessman turned down a college football scholarship from his championship godfather Dabo Sweeney to play as pro for FC Dallas. He would be a sophomore in college had he chose Clemson. Now, he’s going to be in Serie A at age 19. Wonder how many more players will end up in Italy? I’ll Def stay tuned on SBI for more ’Americans in Italy!’

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    • Tanner said the last time he played American football is junior high the only reason he was going to play at Clemson was his godfather. It makes a fun anecdote but it wasn’t like he was an American football player who chose soccer.

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      • You make it seem as if Dabo Sweeney is just some guy?! Dabo has put a lot of players in the NFL. He’s making millions of dollars coaching the sport. Has won multiple championships!! Competes in the College Football Playoff every year! 2nd best college recruiter behind Nick Saban. Dabo is quoted to have said “Tessman could be a D1 basketball player, or played safety for Clemson!” I’ll trust someone, who has track record in college football. Unless you can tell me you understand, what a 4-3 and/or 3-4 defense is? And when did NFL teams adopted these formations? What’s quarter coverage? Why is the pistol so popular in the NFL? What the number of stars means for football recruits? Zenidine Zidane of college football says You’re great athlete! You don’t poo-poo that away! You haven’t a clue about the way southern people in the US view soccer. Crash course-Football is god. Baseball is king. …and in the state of Alabama -Nascar is more popular than soccer! Tessman choosing soccer over football made college football news in the south!! I live in GA. Do you have any idea what the means for athletes raised in the southeast, especially Alabama? You’re either ‘Roll Tide’ or ‘War Eagle‘, when you are born. Hardly anyone cares about soccer in Tanners home state.

    • A 4-3 defense has 4 down linemen and 3 linebackers and generally considered a defense good at stopping the run. A 3-4 defense is used with 3 lineman and 4 linebackers it came to prominence after teams abandoned the 5-2 as more offenses became pass oriented in the late 1980s in college. Aggressive blitzing teams like the Steelers in 90s made the 3-4 popular because you could send pass rushers from anywhere (commonly known as a zone blitz).The pistol gained prominence in 2000s as offenses began to spread the field to punish those 3-4 defenses because the linebackers had trouble covering receivers in space. Originally used primarily in college football because it gives a better angle for run pass option plays than the more traditional shotgun. It really came to prominence from Urban Meyer and Rich Rodriguez teams. NFL began to incorporate the pistol later because it lends itself to the quick passing game but as the NFL has brought in QBs like Lamar Jackson that are viable run pass options it is more common. Quarters coverage is dropping for DBs with each taking a quarter of the field as their zone. I coached HS and MS football for many years so if you need to know the difference between a 3 technique or what is the read on a veer option play I can answer that too.
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      Although Dabo was fully aware of Tanner’s athleticism, and would have had some trick plays for him Tanner was going to be the kicker not catch passes from Trevor Lawrence. His scholarship was also technically from the soccer team but would have counted in the football number too, to prevent big money football teams from stashing linebackers on the tennis team. Like said it makes a good story but as soon as FCD offered him a pro contract and first team time it was a no brainer for a kid who had picked soccer when he was 13 despite growing up in football obsessed Alabama.

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  3. The 3-4 million dollar fee is significantly more than any transfer they’ve done recently. Obviously being in Serie A gives them more cash but their other paid transfer this Summer was 275,000. He’ll be given plenty of opportunity for that price. Not sure I’d want both Busio and Tessmann at a newly promoted club.

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    • team went bankrupt and was basically rebooted as a new team (think Rangers) at the pyramid bottom so they have probably wisely worked their way up on spending. they were only 5th in B and got in on playoffs so they probably have to figure out their mix of spending vs keep it tidy in case they go back down. it’s also an american-owned team signing an american which you never know could have been done for less than sporting purposes. sell some venezia shirts. there have been so few “bradley” type players it’s probably fairly wide open to merchandise.

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  4. Seems like a great spot for a player who has size and athleticism, but is still a bit raw, and could use some seasoning…hoping that he actually gets playing time — or at least training with the first team upon arrival.

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    • if you wanted to tidy up your technique you probably should have gone someplace like holland where they give you time on the ball. if you watched italy in the euros, italian league tends to be more of a mix of tactical discipline and physical play, with hints of technique in the attackers. he’d probably be signed either to loan or because they like his hustle and energy. not because they think they’ll make ronaldo out of him.

      to me you’re running afoul of my 18 year old line. teens may be brought in to run through the youth system and teach. you pay millions for a first team roster number player and you are probably looking for production now, not to teach him much. coach is italian, does he speak a word?

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  5. I think Serie A is a good place for young Americans to go to. It’s a very technical league that also requires tactical smarts and awareness. It doesn’t hurt that almost all of the Italian players who won the European championship play there.

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    • This 100%. Such a great place for a young player to develop the 2 way mental/technical aspects of the game- nothing less is expected/demanded in Serie A!. So glad to see Americans now being considered/having that as a possible option along w/ Bundesliga.

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