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Zip_ME87

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  1. Zip_ME87
  2. Zip_ME87
    So happy for Joao and Niko. Such a great day for Akron! Chills, smile, and tears! Love our guys and our program!!!
  3. Zip_ME87
    https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018/01/19/how-joao-moutinhos-american-dream-began-love-john-cena ...That early exposure to American culture (including his favorite wrestler, John Cena) honed his language skills and helped plant a seed of fascination with the country that would become his adopted home when the University of Akron came calling after the close of his youth tenure at Sporting CP’s revered academy. Moutinho went to Ohio knowing the Zips program has become a conveyor belt to the professional level over the past decade. “That was something that I was aware of,” he said of Akron’s history of grooming MLS talent, “and something I wanted to do, play [in] MLS … And now, after just one NCAA season in Ohio, he’s about to embark on his pro adventure with one of the splashiest expansion sides in MLS history. ... Asked if it was a long-running dream to make his way in America, Moutinho wagged his head in the affirmative. “Oh yeah, definitely, definitely. It’s the country of opportunity,” said the versatile left-footer. ...
  4. Zip_ME87
    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.
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    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.
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    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.
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    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. ...
  8. Zip_ME87
    2018 MLS SuperDraft: List of players eligible for selection (All 220 players who are eligible)
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    Manel Cordeiro with the assist to John Bakero in the 36th minute!
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    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
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    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
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    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. ...
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    How have MAC Hermann Trophy winners fared in the pros? ...2010 – Darlington Nagbe, Akron The No. 2 selection in the 2011 SuperDraft, Darlington Nagbe has turned into an MLS star and US national team regular. After regular starter from his rookie season on, Nagbe after scoring 27 goals and posting 30 assists in seven seasons with the Portland Timbers, Nagbe proved worthy of a big money move for Atlanta United earlier this offseason. 2009 – Teal Bunbury, Akron Selected by Kansas City with the fourth pick in the 2010 draft, Teal Bunbury spent four years with SKC before moving to New England ahead of the 2014 campaign. The Revs regular hit 200 career MLS appearances in 2017 and is returning to Foxborough for the 2018 campaign. 2008 – Marcus Tracy, Wake Forest A star at Wake Forest, Marcus Tracy headed to Europe after his college career, signing with Danish club Aalborg in January 2009. His career got off to a promising start, but was unfortunately derailed by knee injuries, keeping him out of professional soccer since a brief stint with the San Jose Earthquakes in 2012 and 2013. ... The reason I included Marcus Tracy here is that Steve Zakuani was a Hermann Trophy finalist in 2008 but didn't win. He should have.
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    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."...
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    https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018/01/16/bobby-warshaw-ranks-top-5-no-1-overall-picks-mls-superdraft?autoplay=true Steve Zakuani at #5 in this piece.
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    Here it is...
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    Joao at ~ 0:41 in https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018/01/16/top-5-mls-superdraft-prospects-potential-make-immediate-impact?autoplay=true
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    From Steve’s Instagram story
  20. Zip_ME87
    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.
  21. Zip_ME87
    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: 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. ...
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    Ives had a followup tweet...
  23. Zip_ME87
    Niko is having a very nice match today.
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    Sigi Schmid just mentioned the last time he got to draft this high was back in 2009 with Seattle (took Steve Zakuani overall #1) Sigi on Perry Kitchen...Perry is a #6; holding mid. I like his ability to organize. "If you put scotch tape over Perry's mouth, he couldn't play." (smiling) No, that's what I like about him.
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