Johnny Cardoso’s impressive start to life at Real Betis has reportedly attracted the interest of several other Spanish and European suitors.
Barcelona and Atletico Madrid headline a group of European clubs that are interested in Cardoso’s services, Diario De Sevilla reported Friday. Bundesliga clubs Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig are also interested in Cardoso, according to the report.
Real Betis would seek roughly $32.4 million for Cardoso (€30 million) and the midfielder also has an €80 million release clause. His current contract runs until June 2029.
Cardoso, a New Jersey native, made the move to Real Betis in January from Brazilian Serie A side Internacional. The 22-year-old midfielder has made a smooth transition to Manuel Pellegrini’s squad, scoring one goal and adding two assists in 14 combined appearances.
He made 144 combined appearances for Internacional prior to his move to Spain, scoring seven goals, registering five assists, and logging 8,031 minutes. Cardoso has earned 11 caps with the U.S. men’s national team to date, most recently featuring in the CONCACAF Nations League triumph over Mexico last March.
Barcelona sits second in La Liga while Atletico Madrid are fourth in the table. RB Leipzig are fourth in the Bundesliga while Borussia Dortmund are fifth.
I recall the team going to europe a few times to “test” the team against european competition, but what I think people forget is Covid hampered a lot of those opportunities, so too did Nations League and WCQ for other nations around the globe, so while people can say we didn’t test ourselves against enough quality opponents leading up to the WC I’d just say is not as easy as just insinuating we could have done it but chose not too. The people huffing about Jonny should have gone to the WC instead of Acosta, please tell me how many minutes Acosta got at the WC, as well as the other MLSer that rode the bench in Qatar?
Zimmerman was the only MLSer that got big minutes, and he was one of our starters. This idea that Greg was too late to recognize other, more talented players before the WC, who are those players that should have been there instead? The depth was so bad that we had to take out of form, just coming off of injury players to Qatar. There were no other players that we could have taken that would have helped up any ore than the players we took(except maybe Pepi).
Whoa.
That is…large. I’ve seldom seen a guy rise from near-total obscurity to the peak of the soccer pyramid quite so fast, if he winds up with one of the squads mentioned.
Getting all the quality guys we have now in that midfield on the field is going to be difficult, but that’s kind of the definition of “uptown problems”, too.
Good to see it. Quality 22 year old 6s are not easy to come by! Having quality on the bench is essential to being a top team… injuries and circumstance have a way of making playing time available don’t they? Tyler Adams isn’t going to be 90 min fit by Copa if at all, so Cardosa should get his shot. Hopefully Gregg sees it that way rather than Musah. Certainly his familiarity w/ the So America region/style of play ain’t going to hurt.
Rico: if Berhalter had May ‘24 Johnny in November ‘22 he probably would have made a different decision, but he didn’t. He had to basically integrate the entire roster and taking time away from Musah, Adams, and McKennie who barely had anytime together as it was would have just created other problems.
From the 2021 Olympic qualifying roster, the only players in danger of making the Copa roster are Cordosa (lock unless injured), Tessmen (longshot), and Ferriera (I think he is still injured). Aurojo was also on the team before his one time switch to Mexico.
Tele: Ferreira came off the bench for FCD last week. That being said it feels like Gregg has moved on. He hasn’t been called in since Gregg’s return. Injuries were a couple of those camps but even last fall when he was fit he wasn’t called.
Rico of course as soon as I post this I see rosters for Copa expanded to 26, so who knows.
Wouldn’t really say total obscurity. Playing for Brazilian club Internacional and being a major contributor for that team for 3 years was impressive. Cardoso should have been on the 2022 WC team.
I think that’s a bit revisionist. I mean yes he could have sat on the bench instead of Roldan or Acosta. Johnny had an ankle injury in Sept prior to the final camp that might have cost him. He’s improved a lot in his consistency in the last 18 months. If you are looking for a CM to come in off the bench and give you 10-15 minutes at the end of a WC match most managers would probably go with a vet.
I won’t go down the long list, but while he could have been integrating players with significantly more talent, Gregg wasted an incredible amount of time last cycle shoehorning lesser players into the roster who to many, clearly “weren’t it”. Many of the decisions that could/should have been made much earlier finally became so glaringly clear Berhalter essentially had no choice- the decisions “made themselves”. I would hope to have a manager who was a bit more discerning reading talent/potential but, well…. it is what it is. This is where I insert my Wilfred Nancy in 24 wish.
Not revisionist at all. I thought Jonny should have Been taken over Acosta. Jonny was every game starter for Internacional prior to the WC. I don’t think a lot of Americans understand how good the Brazilian league is.
Cordosa was in the last camp before the WC and played 25+ minutes against Japan and trained with the team the whole time. He was given an opportunity to make the roster but didn’t impress Gregg enough. Because of a winter cup while Europe is in season, coaches didn’t have the luxury of bringing in 35 players for a final camp with cuts like they can do for cups that are in summer. The travel for that camp was much more difficult for Cordosa than anyone else and it could have impacted his performance but that was outside of Gregg’s control. Cordosa was also on the U23 team in 2021 that failed to qualify for the Olympics. I watched most if not all of the games. I remember thinking he was one of the only players that showed promise but also that he had as many bad plays as good plays and a lot of bad giveaways, really bad. He was definately not better than Acosta in the summer of 2021. Yueill looked like the best player on that team by a long shot and Acosta was a significantly better player than Yueill at that point.
Rico: how about David Ochoa, was the brightest light of the qualifying debacle. Immediately got bumped to the NT for the NL run. Became the #1 for RSL. By August switches to Mexico. Plays 1 YT game for them. Makes a couple camps for Tata in 2022, loses job in RSL, gets traded to DC and struggles. Finally gets his move to Liga Mx only gets on the field once, then goes without a club for 9 months, and now is with LAFC II in MLS Next Pro.
Rico po,
“I won’t go down the long list, but while he could have been integrating players with significantly more talent, Gregg wasted an incredible amount of time last cycle shoehorning lesser players into the roster who to many, clearly “weren’t it”. “
Gregg had the unbelievable luxury of having the bar set for so low for him that it was in the basement. Pre Qatar he could fool around as much as he wanted to. It didn’t really matter since the only thing worth thinking about was qualifying for Qatar.
And every team in the World would have traded their qualifying process with the USMNT’s process for a shot at Qatar.
The downside is that Gregg never had his team tested by a decent opponent so they arrived in Qatar largely untested. It showed mostly in their lack of depth.
You know who was really being developed pre-Qatar? Gregg and his staff. They were learning on the job and it showed.
Those “shoehorned lesser players” ? They were just teaching placeholders while Gregg and his staff figured it out. Gregg met all his minimum requirements, just barely. Which gives the USSF their excuse for hanging on to him. The USSF is too cheap or too lazy (or both) to find that > than 10 million per year better manager than Greg that I’m sure is out there. On the positive side, at least it won’t be Jesse.
“I would hope to have a manager who was a bit more discerning reading talent/potential but, well…. it is what it is. This is where I insert my Wilfred Nancy in 24 wish.”
I get the sentiment. My attitude about Gregg is well known but there is no way to prove that what you are saying about him is right.
You can thank IV for pushing the half/lie that club form means shit. He’s only partly right,
If he already has a proven track record it’s easier to select someone who hasn’t been playing that much for his club.
There are many examples thru USMNT history. A recent one is Matt Turner. He had four very good performances in Qatar when he was barely playing for Arsenal. But I was not worried about him because it was always clear he was the best we had. His USMNT track record was mostly current and up to date.
But for guys breaking in, with much less of a track record, it is different. They have to force their way onto the team and the most likely way to do that is by impressing with your club AND by impressing with whatever kind of shot Gregg gives you when he calls you in. Like Pepi did.
“Many of the decisions that could/should have been made much earlier finally became so glaringly clear Berhalter essentially had no choice- the decisions “made themselves”.”
As long as those decisions are made before the tournament you care about starts, that’s not a problem.
For the newbies like Johnny, his club form/situation is impossible to ignore because it is most of what they have.
Pre-Qatar the “pre-Qatar Johhny” you are referring to wasn’t “Real Betis Johnny(linked to Barca et. al.)”.
He was the not yet hot shit version of Johnny who was not being courted by Barca et.al.
Johnny being hot shit today does not mean he was hot shit in the fall of 2022. And even if you think he was, it’s better to cap new guys later rather than sooner. A little maturity never hurts when transitioning to the international game.
Did Johnny get his move to Real Betis because Gregg talked him up and gave him a few caps?
Or does Real Betis have scouts or people in Brazil? Just because quozzel thinks Internacional and/or Betis is obscure doesn’t mean European scouts agree with him. It is said that you can find good soccer players in Brazil.
On SBI we are focused on leagues where English is the dominant language, so we tend not to rate those “other “ leagues.
Adams may be done as a full time player so Gregg benefits from Johnny’s timely rise from “obscurity”. Is Gregg just lucky or did he plan it out this way? Unknown, probably a bit of both.
Gregg gets credit for recognizing Johnny’s potential but Johnny and his people did all the rest. I give credit to Gregg for giving our South Americans a look see and for not hyping Johnny too early. Mostly It seems like Johnny’s timing is just really good. Gregg had to cap Flo and Musah maybe a little too early but that’s just how it is when you are the USMNT. They have always been a team where the lineup selected itself. We aren’t England or France where you could reasonably field 2 or even 3 starting elevens w/o too much criticism.
Unlike those teams , we can’t always field starting 11’s where they all are in good club form.
rico po,
“I won’t go down the long list, but while he could have been integrating players with significantly more talent, Gregg wasted an incredible amount of time last cycle shoehorning lesser players into the roster who to many, clearly “weren’t it”. “
Gregg had the luxury of having the bar set for him so low that it was in the basement.
Pre Qatar he could fool around as much as he wanted to. It didn’t really matter since the only thing worth thinking about was qualifying for Qatar and in all of FIFA, the USMNT’s path to the World Cup is always heavily weighted in their favor. Every team in the World would have traded their qualifying process with the USMNT’s process for a shot at Qatar. Couva was a pretty high order anomaly and tells you a great deal about Arena.
The downside is that Gregg never had his team tested by a decent opponent so they arrived in Qatar largely untested. It showed mostly in their lack of depth.
You know who was really being developed pre-Qatar? Gregg and his staff. They were learning on the job and it showed. Those “shoehorned lesser players” ? They were just teaching placeholders/cannon fodder while Gregg and his staff figured it out. Gregg met all his minimum requirements, just barely. Which gives the USSF their excuse for hanging on to him. The USSF is too cheap or too lazy (or both) to find that > than 10 million per year better manager than Greg that I’m sure is out there.
“I would hope to have a manager who was a bit more discerning reading talent/potential but, well…. it is what it is. This is where I insert my Wilfred Nancy in 24 wish.”
I get the sentiment. My attitude about Gregg is well known but there is no way to prove that what you are saying about him is right.
You can thank IV for pushing the half/lie, half truth that club form means shit. He’s only partly right,
If a player already has a proven track record it’s easier to select someone who hasn’t been playing that much for his club. Often playing for the USMNT can revive someone’s form at least for a game or two or three. If you’ll notice most of our starters during the Reign of Gregg The First had problems breaking into their club lineups and staying there, most notably Pulisic.
For the USMNT Pulisic is always CP90. Is it any wonder that these guys look favorably on Gregg? Can’t get arrested at Lille? Gregg will start you in the World Cup. That’s a pretty powerful thing.
Throughout USMNT history there are many examples of players not getting a lot of first team time showing well for the Nats. A recent one is Matt Turner. He had four very good performances in Qatar when he was barely playing for Arsenal. But I was not worried about him because it was always clear he was the best we had. His USMNT track record is
is mostly current and up to date. We don’t have to go back to 2014 to look for justification.
But for guys breaking in, with much less of a track record, it is different. They have to force their way onto the team and the most likely way to do that is by impressing with your club AND by impressing with whatever kind of shot Gregg gives you when he calls you in. Like Pepi did. Like Wright is doing.
“Many of the decisions that could/should have been made much earlier finally became so glaringly clear Berhalter essentially had no choice- the decisions “made themselves”.”
As long as those decisions are made before the tournament you care about starts, that’s not a problem.
For the newbies like Johnny where his USMNT track record is sparse, his club form/situation is impossible to ignore.
Before Qatar the “pre-Qatar Johhny” you are referring to wasn’t “Real Betis Johnny(linked to Barca et. al.)”.
He was the not yet the hot shit version of Johnny who was being courted by Barca et.al. Johnny being hot shit today does not mean he was hot shit in the fall of 2022.
And even if you think he was, it’s better to cap new guys later rather than sooner. A little maturity never hurt when transitioning to the international game.
Did Johnny get his move to Real Betis because Gregg talked him up and gave him a few caps?
Or maybe Real Betis have scouts or people in Brazil? Just because quozzel thinks Internacional is obscure doesn’t mean European scouts agree with him. Maybe like me they probably have figured out that Brazil is a good place to look for soccer players. On SBI we are focused on leagues where English is the dominant language, so we tend not to rate those “other “ leagues.
Adams may be done as a full time player so Gregg benefits from Johnny’s timely rise from “obscurity”. Is Gregg just lucky or did he plan it out this way? Unknown, probably a bit of both.
Gregg gets credit for recognizing Johnny’s potential but Johnny and his people did all the rest. I give credit to Gregg for giving our South Americans a look see and for not hyping Johnny too early.
Mostly it seems like Johnny’s timing is just really good. Gregg had to cap Flo and Musah maybe a little too early but that’s just how it is when you are the USMNT.
The USMNT has always been a team where the lineup mostly selected itself. We aren’t England or France where you could reasonably field 2 or even 3 starting elevens w/o too much criticism. Unlike those teams , we can’t always field starting 11’s where they all are in good club form.
In terms of the world game, USMNT managers are generally bottom of the barrel types. We don’t get the hot shit miracle workers like Bielsa ( through we did have Bora briefly), or the shiny new object, Nancy. So we have to rely on the synergy of an inspired combination of the manager and his players( frankly, mostly the players) catching lighting in a bottle. The manager just has to figure out how to stay out of the way and support the team.
This is what happened in 2002, 2010, and 2014, All three teams were that fabled “whole that was greater than the sum of their parts” and punched above their weight and were maybe a little unlucky to not get further than they did.
The Qatar team were a notch below. They met minimum standards on paper . But unlike the other three teams, Gregg was never in danger of beating the Netherlands and advancing. That would have put him in another category.
Gregg got just about as much out of this particular player pool as HE could have. But I’m pretty sure someone else could have gotten just a little bit more out of the the same player pool.
If we believe that Gregg The Second has learned from his past fuck ups then he should be a better manager. And he has a more accomplished, more settled team, with more help possibly on the way. Maybe. Together they should be better, key word being “should”.
Do I have faith in Gregg II?
No, but it doesn’t matter. As an American being a USMNT fan is the only game in town.
But I am also a realist and betting on them to get it right is usually an iffy proposition. They have a shit track record. So you have to have realistic expectations.