Jump to content

Recommended Posts

MLS COMBINE: JOAO MOUTINHO IMPRESSES, EMA TWUMASI STRUGGLES ON FIRST DAY

Ives Galarcep

@soccerbyives

 

The former Sporting Lisbon product stood out among the crowd in the first day of MLS combine action, ...

 

...The Generation Adidas class — which features the most highly regarded players in the draft — drew most of the attention, but as a group failed to deliver the performances scouts were hoping for (with one clear exception). ...

 

STOCK RISING

 

joao-moutinho-mls-01132018_1nzcve25cmboc

 

 

JOAO MOUTINHO: Came into the combine as the highest-rated player in the draft and he showed why. His skill, poise, toughness and intelligence have him head and shoulders among the rest as a prospect. He impressed at center back even though the Akron product still projects more as a left back at the pro level, though some teams think he's good enough on the ball to play in midfield. ...

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/6/2018 at 9:51 PM, Zip_ME87 said:

http://isnsoccer.com/news/2018/01/06/akrons-joao-moutinho-named-to-2018-generation-adidas-class/

 

...Developing players for the next level has become commonplace for the Akron staff as 32 Zips have gone on to play professionally either in Major League Soccer, USL or overseas since 2006, including No. 1 overall pick Steve Zakuani in 2009, and No. 2 overall picks Darlington Nagbe in 2011 and Darren Mattocks in 2012 – just to name a few. Nagbe was part of a draft class that set MLS draft day records for most players drafted from a single school in the first round (5) and overall (8).

This is a very important/significant comment for Zips fans to keep in mind (especially to those that get down on JE early in seasons).  We get good players (not necessarily ***** players all the time).  But, when they come to Akron, they are coached and developed by an amazing coaching staff - Moutinho is the most recent example.  Akron soccer is like what Kentucky is to college basketball.  The bad news for us is we have to reload and gel every year.  I realize other teams have players who leave early too but could you imagine if some of the players we've had in the last decade would have stayed for 2,3,4 years!!  We would have won the last 5 College Cups.  JE is the best soccer coach in college soccer PERIOD!!

  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/76368/2018-mls-superdraft-ranking-the-top-23-pre-combin.html

 

another publication raving about Joao...the best technically...and the best tactically

and I love the phrase....Akron's "beautiful game"

 

3. DF/MF Joao Moutinho (Akron, Portugal) FR-GA
The most technically and tactically gifted player in the class. His left foot is so smooth and was a master at starting the attack in Akron's "beautiful game" scheme as a center back. When called upon to challenge for aerial duels and make plays defensively, he was always up to task. Can play anywhere on the field -- literally -- and be very effective. Will fit in well for teams that thrive in possession and switching the point of attack as his ability make creative plays against the grain with pin point pass or savvy dribble is extraordinary.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

updated version of the TDS Big Board, extending to the Top 75 players available.

 

7.   D Joao Moutinho

28. M Manel Cordeiro

33. F Sam Gainford

39. D Nate Shultz

43. F Stuart Holthusen

52. D Niko De Vera

62. M Pau Belana

 

It still makes no sense to me to have not invited Stuart to the Combine to show what he could do.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What coaches, scouts and GMs are saying about top prospects at MLS combine

 

...Joao Moutinho

DF, Akron

“He’s a good player, I don’t think you’ve seen the best of him yet. He’s just a freshman and he still has some growing to do I think, but from all the qualities I’ve seen so far, he’s aggressive, he likes to compete and I think that’s important for a young player. … I don’t know where he plays, he’s got a lot of good qualities as a center back so it’s hard to say that he’s going to be a left back like a lot of people are talking, maybe people are going to bring him into camp and make a decision then based on their needs.”

 

“Really good soccer player, he’s the best player on the ball in the class. It’s just not clear where he plays. … I’d play him at defensive midfield because he lacks the pace and athleticism to play out wide and lacks the size to play center back, so I’d play him there. But that’s the issue, you’re trying him there because of a lack of other good options.”

 

“Think he’ll transition to a left back. He’s got a great left foot, organizes well, but needs to [bulk up]. But he’ll be fine, I think his best position will probably be left back. He played center back in college, but he got forward pretty well in the games here at the Combine. As we saw when he was at Akron, there’s not a lot of players in MLS even right now with a left foot like that, so that’s a huge plus for him."...

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Latest Mock Draft from Ives...

 

http://sbisoccer.com/2018/01/sbi-mls-mock-draft-version-2-0

 

... There are some serious changes in the latest SBI MLS Draft Big Board. Some have been driven by players either seriously boosting, or seriously hurting, their draft stock at the combine. The shift in player values is also a product of the growing sentiment that teams will be putting a heavy premium on landing American players in the draft due to the limitations of international player slots. ...

 

... (*=Generation Adidas Player)

1. LAFC – *Joao Moutinho, Akron, Defender (Bio)

Bob Bradley takes the young Portuguese left back, who will need time to develop, but boasts an impressive skill set at a position of scarcity. LAFC could also choose to trade down, and stockpile picks and allocation money from the teams currently holding multiple first-round picks and cash to spend. ...

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 DRAFT SELECTIONS BY SCHOOL

Schools listed by number of players selected all-time

(through 2016; all drafts – Inaugural, College,

Supplemental and SuperDraft – included):

74 UCLA

48 North Carolina

46 Maryland

45 Indiana

40 Virginia

39 Wake Forest

37 Creighton

33 Connecticut

32 Notre Dame

31 California

31 Washington

30 California-Santa Barbara

30 Clemson

29 Stanford

29 Southern Methodist

26 St. Louis

25 Duke

25 South Florida

24 Santa Clara

23 Akron

22 New Mexico

20 Louisville

18 Georgetown

17 Ohio State

17 Portland

16 Syracuse

15 Penn State

15 Rutgers

15 St. John's (N.Y.)

15 San Francisco

14 Cal State-Northridge

14 California-Irvine

13 Princeton

13 Brown

13 San Diego State

13 North Carolina-Charlotte

13 Old Dominion

13 Tulsa

12 North Carolina State

11 Michigan State

11 Alabama-Birmingham

11 Seton Hall

11 Southern Connecticut State

11 Fresno State

11 Denver

11 San Diego

11 South Carolina

11 Coastal Carolina

10 Michigan

10 West Virginia

 

 Top 10 schools (since 2013) by players selected in

SuperDraft and Supplemental Draft:

13 UCLA

12 Georgetown

11 Louisville

11 Washington

11 North Carolina

11 Wake Forest

10 Connecticut

9 Akron

9 Notre Dame

9 Syracuse

9 New Mexico

9 Maryland

9 South Florida

9 Creighton

9 Saint Louis

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 COLLEGE PROVIDERS TO MLS

Top 10 schools all-time by MLS players attended:

66 UCLA

46 Virginia

45 Maryland

39 North Carolina

37 Indiana

32 Wake Forest

29 Clemson

26 Connecticut

25 Akron

24 California

24 Washington

 

 Top 10 schools (since 2013) by MLS players

attended:

24 UCLA

22 Akron

22 Maryland

20 North Carolina

19 Wake Forest

16 Indiana

14 Notre Dame

14 California

11 California-Santa Barbara

10 Connecticut

* limited to those who played at least one MLS

regular-season game during that time

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WHY MANY TALENTED INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS WON'T BE DRAFTED BY MLS TEAMS

 

Ives Galarcep

@soccerbyives

 

...The 2018 MLS draft talent pool is loaded with international players, a product of the growing internationalization of college soccer. With more and more top young Americans reaching the professional ranks via MLS homegrown deals and moves to foreign leagues, college soccer has suffered a drain of top-level local talent and has helped fill that void with an ever-improving caliber of foreign players.

 

International players are nothing new to the college game, having been a part of the landscape for decades, but the caliber of those players is growing. The 2018 MLS draft pool bears that out, with six of the seven Generation Adidas signings — the draft's top underclassmen — being foreign players, while several of the draft's top seniors are also internationals. For MLS teams, which have a set number of international player slots (eight per team, with variations due to trading of slots), this could be a problem.

 

"The better [foreign players] will be taken, but to be totally honest there will be some really good players who aren't drafted simply because they're internationals," New York City FC sporting director Claudio Reyna told Goal. "There are some players who could find a spot in the league, but teams aren't ready to use an international slot on them because they're not ready. It certainly puts all the clubs in a tricky situation, and I don't think that's going to go away because more and more kids are coming here from foreign countries like Spain and Germany, and they're good." ...

 

...Foreign players in the MLS draft not only have to compete with the other players in the draft, they must also compete with worldwide talent for one of the league's precious 184 international roster spots, many of which are filled with high-priced talent. ...

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Comparing 2018 MLS SuperDraft prospects to their tactical doppelgangers

 

...Joao Moutinho (Tim Ream)

A great passer and skilled defender, the questions about 1v1 defending as well as true position are similar for both the Akron product and Fulham man. Another Moutinho comparison is Michael Parkhurst, who has built a great career on reading the game and positioning at center back, rather than relying on physical gifts. ...

 

 

EDIT: I like Parkhurst. Good player, good guy. I met him at a Zips game when he and Wil Trapp came up to watch Akron v WF a few years back.

 

Edited by Zip_ME87
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Armchair Analyst: 2018 Mock SuperDraft v2.0

 

1 LAFC

Joao Moutinho

CB/MF - AKRON (GA)

The "'tweener" concerns about Moutinho are overstated – I think he'll be fine as a "push up and support" left back, a la Tony Beltran. He won't be an endline-to-endline guy, but that's fine. It's also a bonus that he can probably play two other spots (LCB in a 3-5-2; d-mid in just about any set-up) credibly. I do worry about his 1v1 defensive ability, but not enough to pass on him here. For an expansion team, depth at multiple spots is crucial. That's why Moutinho's the pick.

 

Edited by Zip_ME87
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Zip_ME87 said:

Armchair Analyst: 2018 Mock SuperDraft v2.0

 

1 LAFC

Joao Moutinho

CB/MF - AKRON (GA)

The "'tweener" concerns about Moutinho are overstated – I think he'll be fine as a "push up and support" left back, a la Tony Beltran. He won't be an endline-to-endline guy, but that's fine. It's also a bonus that he can probably play two other spots (LCB in a 3-5-2; d-mid in just about any set-up) credibly. I do worry about his 1v1 defensive ability, but not enough to pass on him here. For an expansion team, depth at multiple spots is crucial. That's why Moutinho's the pick.

 

I must disagree with Matthew Doyle.  Joao is a terrific 1 v 1 defender.  Without Moutinho's 1 v1 tackling, Zips would have lost many key matches on the way to 2017 College Cup.  Zips could have lost vs. Wisconsin.  Zips most likely would have lost in Louisville without Joao's 1 v 1 defending.  Watch the recordings, Matthew.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not Zips related per se, but the previously unknown player (to me) that has impressed during the 2018 MLS Combine is:

 

Wyatt Omsberg

CB - Dartmouth

"Nobody helped their stock more this week, though it wasn't because of what he did on the field. Omsberg wasn't an unknown – he's been the best player in the Ivy League for a couple of years, and he was heavily scouted in the PDL. People knew he could play. What folks didn't know was the extent of his athleticism. He was literally the fastest player over 10 meters at this Combine, and the quickest defender in the 5-10-5 agility test. Seeing that from a 6-foot-4 left-footer is rare.

He's pretty much exactly what Montreal need. They've gotten beat up in the air and out-physicaled on the ground for years."

 

I had read about him.  It was cool to finally see him in the combine.  He looks like a can't miss prospect to me.  USMNT?

 

https://www.mlssoccer.com/players/wyatt-omsberg

 

Edited by fknbuflobo
format
Link to comment
Share on other sites

MLS SUPERDRAFT: GOAL'S 2018 FIRST-ROUND MOCK DRAFT

 

1. LAFC - Francis Atuahene, Left Winger (Michigan)

After entertaining some trade talk, LAFC stays put and takes a potential difference-making winger in Atuahene, who has blazing speed and could take advantage of the space created by the likes of Diego Rossi and Carlos Vela.

 

2. LA Galaxy - Joao Moutinho, Left Back (Akron)

The Galaxy have shaken up their roster quite a bit and are looking to spend big to become a contender again, so adding a Generation Adidas player who provides some cap relief, while also giving the team a very talented prospect who could develop into a left back or central defender makes sense for Sigi Schmid's squad.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...