Development at DCU

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[Post New]10/29/2023 14:04
quote
Anonymous
Does DCU youth academy have a history of developing and helping dual-nationality kids transfer to reputable academies in Europe or South America?

I know some ppl on this forum don’t think they’re very good at developing players. But I’m thinking of Philadelphia Union and Cavan Sullivan and how he has a German passport and there are already many clubs looking to sign him once he can at 16. NY did this with Reyna as well I think. Obviously those clubs would prefer for those players to stay but I know they will also benefit from the training compensation and/or transfer fees and I wonder if DCU does this or thinks abt it.

I don’t think so tho as I haven’t really heard of any DCU Academy kid moving to a European academy once theyre old enough. Or have there been?
[Post New]10/29/2023 16:27
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Nova2Euro
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Several DCU academy alumni have signed contracts with European teams in the past few years. Info available via google.

Bottom line for any academy, worldwide, is that most of the kids won't make the first team.
[Post New]10/29/2023 17:10
quote
Anonymous
Nova2Euro wrote:Several DCU academy alumni have signed contracts with European teams in the past few years. Info available via google.

Bottom line for any academy, worldwide, is that most of the kids won't make the first team.


I meant at U16, whether any DCU kids with dual nationalities have moved to Europe or South American academies. I’m aware that a few dcu alum have moved on to euro clubs after a stint on dcu first team.
[Post New]10/29/2023 22:00
quote
Nova2Euro
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Yes, there's been at least one who moved to NLD with his family and, after playing on a local team and getting noticed/recommended, ended up at AZ Alkmaar academy.
[Post New]10/30/2023 08:56
quote
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Nova2Euro wrote:Several DCU academy alumni have signed contracts with European teams in the past few years. Info available via google.

Bottom line for any academy, worldwide, is that most of the kids won't make the first team.


I meant at U16, whether any DCU kids with dual nationalities have moved to Europe or South American academies. I’m aware that a few dcu alum have moved on to euro clubs after a stint on dcu first team.


Philly Union isn't grooming him to go to Germany at 16
They are developing him to reach the heights of his potential.
It's his family's and his personal choice to go to Europe if he so chooses.

That will be the same for every academy.
[Post New]10/30/2023 09:42
quote
Anonymous
Nova2Euro wrote:Yes, there's been at least one who moved to NLD with his family and, after playing on a local team and getting noticed/recommended, ended up at AZ Alkmaar academy.


AZ Alkmaar had a write up in the Athletic. Very high praise for that program.
[Post New]10/30/2023 10:48
quote
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Nova2Euro wrote:Several DCU academy alumni have signed contracts with European teams in the past few years. Info available via google.

Bottom line for any academy, worldwide, is that most of the kids won't make the first team.


I meant at U16, whether any DCU kids with dual nationalities have moved to Europe or South American academies. I’m aware that a few dcu alum have moved on to euro clubs after a stint on dcu first team.


Philly Union isn't grooming him to go to Germany at 16
They are developing him to reach the heights of his potential.
It's his family's and his personal choice to go to Europe if he so chooses.

That will be the same for every academy.

+1 And it’s not the case that the club will provide any assistance to a youth player who wants to go overseas. The groundwork will be done by the family and agent they hire.
[Post New]10/30/2023 11:30
quote
Nova2Euro
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Right. That's the thing. A player with a dual passport can move any time they choose. But why pull a kid out of an environment where they are thriving and progressing towards a pro? It's tough to move as a teenager.

Especially if they're not comfortable with the language (passport notwithstanding), they'll miss out on valuable coaching in the formative mid-teen years. That's why 99% of the time players will stay where they are thriving until they are ready to sign a first-team contract.

Even with a first-team contract, they will probably still go out on loan or play on a lower-level team within the club.

btw, the DCU academy player who went to AZ Alkmaar is now back in the US on a college team. That's not where AZ hopes to send its players.
[Post New]10/30/2023 11:44
quote
Anonymous
Nova2Euro wrote:Right. That's the thing. A player with a dual passport can move any time they choose. But why pull a kid out of an environment where they are thriving and progressing towards a pro? It's tough to move as a teenager.

Especially if they're not comfortable with the language (passport notwithstanding), they'll miss out on valuable coaching in the formative mid-teen years. That's why 99% of the time players will stay where they are thriving until they are ready to sign a first-team contract.

Even with a first-team contract, they will probably still go out on loan or play on a lower-level team within the club.

btw, the DCU academy player who went to AZ Alkmaar is now back in the US on a college team. That's not where AZ hopes to send its players.


If you're serious with goals of being a soccer professional, there is no way you stay at Philadelphia Union over the clubs it's rumored Cavan Sullivan is looking at in Europe.
Young Kids in Europe cross borders to different countries/languages all the time for development opportunities.
[Post New]10/30/2023 13:16
quote
Nova2Euro
Member Offline
Anonymous wrote:

If you're serious with goals of being a soccer professional, there is no way you stay at Philadelphia Union over the clubs it's rumored Cavan Sullivan is looking at in Europe.
Young Kids in Europe cross borders to different countries/languages all the time for development opportunities.


I don't think the bolded part is true. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it doesn't happen all the time. It happens if an opportunity at their local professional academy or at one in their country is not available. And I think it's vanishingly rare for 16-year-olds. Cristiano Ronaldo, Erling Haaland, Gio Reyna, and 99% of players come up to the first team in their club. I'm willing to be corrected on this if you have data or examples, but I've seen lots of kids move to professional academies in-country. A few trials out of country, but no one actually moved.





[Post New]10/30/2023 13:43
quote
Anonymous
Nova2Euro wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

If you're serious with goals of being a soccer professional, there is no way you stay at Philadelphia Union over the clubs it's rumored Cavan Sullivan is looking at in Europe.
Young Kids in Europe cross borders to different countries/languages all the time for development opportunities.


I don't think the bolded part is true. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it doesn't happen all the time. It happens if an opportunity at their local professional academy or at one in their country is not available. And I think it's vanishingly rare for 16-year-olds. Cristiano Ronaldo, Erling Haaland, Gio Reyna, and 99% of players come up to the first team in their club. I'm willing to be corrected on this if you have data or examples, but I've seen lots of kids move to professional academies in-country. A few trials out of country, but no one actually moved.






Real quick, Xavi Simmons was at Barca Academy with others from outside Spain.
[Post New]10/30/2023 16:03
quote
Nova2Euro
Member Offline
Barcelona IS a bit of an exception, but Xavi Simons joined La Masia at 7 or 8 from Club Deportivo Thader in Spain, IIRC. So he was both a) not a teenager coming from another academy, and b) not recruited from out of the country. Maybe his moving to PSG Academy would be an actual example of a teenager moving academies, but PSG paid him $1 million/year, so probably not an academy contract.

Alphone Davies moved as a teenager, but signed a first-team contract before moving and then signed a first-team contract with Bayern.

Bottom line is that it's always better to have an organization pursue you than to try to push your way in. So this young man from PU isn't "looking at" clubs in Europe. They're looking at him, and they're not looking at him for an academy. He'll prove himself as a USL or MLS player and then make a move. I wish him the best!
[Post New]10/30/2023 16:10
quote
Anonymous
Nova2Euro wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

If you're serious with goals of being a soccer professional, there is no way you stay at Philadelphia Union over the clubs it's rumored Cavan Sullivan is looking at in Europe.
Young Kids in Europe cross borders to different countries/languages all the time for development opportunities.


I don't think the bolded part is true. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it doesn't happen all the time. It happens if an opportunity at their local professional academy or at one in their country is not available. And I think it's vanishingly rare for 16-year-olds. Cristiano Ronaldo, Erling Haaland, Gio Reyna, and 99% of players come up to the first team in their club. I'm willing to be corrected on this if you have data or examples, but I've seen lots of kids move to professional academies in-country. A few trials out of country, but no one actually moved.




I don’t disagree with this. It make sense for kids to move in-country to an academy where the competition is lighter perhaps.

For a dual passport holder, there would seem to be more opportunities in Europe, for example, than the USA where so many more kids around the country are vying for spots on just about two dozen MLS academies.
[Post New]10/30/2023 16:47
quote
Anonymous
Nova2Euro wrote:Barcelona IS a bit of an exception, but Xavi Simons joined La Masia at 7 or 8 from Club Deportivo Thader in Spain, IIRC. So he was both a) not a teenager coming from another academy, and b) not recruited from out of the country. Maybe his moving to PSG Academy would be an actual example of a teenager moving academies, but PSG paid him $1 million/year, so probably not an academy contract.

Alphone Davies moved as a teenager, but signed a first-team contract before moving and then signed a first-team contract with Bayern.

Bottom line is that it's always better to have an organization pursue you than to try to push your way in. So this young man from PU isn't "looking at" clubs in Europe. They're looking at him, and they're not looking at him for an academy. He'll prove himself as a USL or MLS player and then make a move. I wish him the best!


Realistically, unless we have access to UEFA Youth player card transfer data, we can't state for or against as knowledgeable verifiable fact.
Outside of personal intimate knowledge of players, the only ones we hear about are the 1%ers superstars.

Yes, kids come from everywhere in Belgium, Holland, Germany, Spain etc to the biggest academies in those countries.
But they also all have access to academies in other EU countries.
[Post New]10/30/2023 21:19
quote
Nova2Euro
Member Offline
Anonymous wrote:
Nova2Euro wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

If you're serious with goals of being a soccer professional, there is no way you stay at Philadelphia Union over the clubs it's rumored Cavan Sullivan is looking at in Europe.
Young Kids in Europe cross borders to different countries/languages all the time for development opportunities.


I don't think the bolded part is true. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it doesn't happen all the time. It happens if an opportunity at their local professional academy or at one in their country is not available. And I think it's vanishingly rare for 16-year-olds. Cristiano Ronaldo, Erling Haaland, Gio Reyna, and 99% of players come up to the first team in their club. I'm willing to be corrected on this if you have data or examples, but I've seen lots of kids move to professional academies in-country. A few trials out of country, but no one actually moved.




I don’t disagree with this. It make sense for kids to move in-country to an academy where the competition is lighter perhaps.

For a dual passport holder, there would seem to be more opportunities in Europe, for example, than the USA where so many more kids around the country are vying for spots on just about two dozen MLS academies.


No doubt there's more opportunity in Europe. But it's not about the competition being lighter--it's about there not being as many stupid gatekeepers as in the US. 2 dozen MLS academies. How does a kid get into those? Their coach knows a coach, etc. Hah, even the MLS academies try to protect themselves from playing non-MLS academy clubs. Ridiculous. Just play the games!

Around U12 professional academy teams are set. They challenge kids by moving them up the ranks until they arrive at the inevitable decision: 1st team contract (5%-ish, or 1 per academy team), loan (45%-ish, 8 or 9 per team), or release (50%).
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