First goal for the US Mens National Team. Still disappointed that his 2019 UVA team lost in the NCAA finals in a shootout 7-6. Most talented UVA men’s soccer team since the Bruce Arena era.Goal!!!
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that was one of the more entertaining national title games (or soccer games, in general) i’ve ever watched… so many goals and lead changes. Ending was rough but what a match.
excited for Daryl to become a US soccer household name
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by extension 2 UVa guys with gols, I see Gio (Claudios son) scored as well
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Awesome. Wish he was able to play in the Nations League games that were before this friendly. The U.S. - Mexico game was awesome aside from the bad apples in Mexican fan base yelling homophobic slurs and throwing cans and cups onto the field including hitting Gio in the face with a full cup of Coke…
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What worked against Daryl making the cut for the Nations League game is that Barnsley, the team he was on loan with recently, played anti-soccer. They try to play the game in the air as much as possible, and so despite doing well in his role there, he didn’t get a chance to show off the wider set of skills he would need to use in his role with the national team.
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That’s great analysis. The only full game I watched Barnsley play was their playoff loss and would definitely agree.
Now the question is where does Dike go next?
As an aside, I think he would be great for a pod. Fresh seems to know enough soccer to drive that convo. I mean the dude went from being a role player his first year at UVA to less than three years later scoring for the national team. What a story.
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There were rumors that one of the top English Premier League teams was ready to empty the Brinks truck to the tune of 20-25 million as a transfer fee and Orlando City turned it down because they think they can get more in a bidding war. Hopefully they are right and we see Dike playing for a major club whether in England or elsewhere. As long as he’s getting constant minutes, it’ll be great for him, the transfer fee is great for OC/MLS….and im sure those headlines won’t hurt when it comes to our soccer recruiting.
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No doubt. Considering how many soccer aficionados turn theirs noses up at the college game wrt to player development, an American star being produced from the college ranks would be great not just for UVa, but for college soccer in general. Just because the academy system works in Europe doesn’t mean we have to do it that way here.
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He would be. I can ask some of my old school soccer Hoos to see if they have the contact. Didnt realise he wasnt used much as a first year and that whole story. Dude has a nose for the gol for sure
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Well I wouldn’t post this on twitter lol unless you want a bunch of angry USMNT fans in your mentions. The U.S.'s academies are getting better year after year and we absolutely need them to keep improving if we want to compete on a global stage. Can’t afford to wait till a player is 21 and out of college for them to start their professional career. Yes it works here and there but it’s just not the best path forward.
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I could argue big deterrent for soccer and development in USA is cost. Lots of kids get lost there cause is nothing cheap to get IN
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Oh 100%, that’s the biggest issue for the USA right now. Most of the MLS clubs’ academies are free now but that only represents like 20 or so of the youth clubs in the country. Big issue that needs to be sorted out in the future (and I’m not sure it will)
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Agree with lots of what has been said above. I think there’s a place for both the academy system (which has really started to payoff with guys like Adams, McKennie using it as a launchpad to bigger clubs), as well as the college game, where guys who slip through the talent identification cracks can be caught. The premium talent though will probably come through the academy system, and either go straight to Europe (Pulisic, Reyna, McKennie), or play young in MLS and then make a bigger move (Adams, Aaronson).
Back to the Daryl subject, I wouldn’t hate if he got another full season at Orlando City, as their coach is good and has historically developed young talent. If he does go abroad again, I hope it is a good developmental environment.
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Yeah I don’t have a problem with the academy system, I just think it’s not the only way to produce talent, but there’s lot of folks who disagree. Dike is quickly becoming an example of the college system working.
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Could talk all day on this but academies are “free” once you make it make it. the feeder stuff is all youth soccer players paying Academy trained staff in the area for training your young kids etc. pay now or pay later
I think Claudio was the orginator of pushing for Academies over HS etc when he was head of youth soccer. He has incredible knowledge on all this stuff including running an MLS team
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Yes and more and more even college coaches wont look at a kid thats not in the Academy system cause they dont trust the athletecism and competition some players look great in.
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He actually played more than I thought now that I looked back at it. But did missed a few games with injuries.
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Are there any thoughts on ways to make soccer less expensive in the US? It should theoretically be the cheapest sport in the world. All you need is a ball and some open space.
Agree with that. Somehow need to have the culture of pick up sports come back. When I lived in Brasil every open piece of land/ grass was full of kids playing soccer with no adults anywhere to be found
Kyle Martino has a big initiative where he is trying to get kids using all kinds of space to play. Like basketball courts in more urban areas
So many Club teamd and travel now are dictated by tournaments and showcases and trainers that have a real cost of entry. The inflation is real
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