Reply to DA rosters: internal promotion or new blood?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My only prior post in this thread was the one from last night that listed the US players in the top 5 leagues in Europe, and I appreciate that it was off topic.  I was just trying to respond to the posters that were going back and forth about whether DA has achieved one of its primary purposes of developing players for a professional career.

To finish a point before the thread gets back to the topic of whether DA rosters should internally promote or bring in outside talent ( :roll: ), I think it is still a little early to judge DA's success in this area.  I get the good points made my some poster(s) about the fact that perhaps a higher percentage of the 2008 US players were significant contributors to their teams (e.g., Dempsey, Friedel, Howard, Keller, McBride, Cherundolo, etc.), compared to the current US players in Europe that spent some developmental years with DA teams.  However, to be fair to the other poster(s) defending DA's development, DA has only been around for 10 years or so (for the boys).  As a result, the boys that have had an opportunity to play DA beginning in their early years (e.g., U13, U14) are just now turning 22-23 years old.  And anyone who follows the top 5 leagues in Europe knows how hard it is for a player at that young age to get significant first team minutes.  That is a large reason why I tried to show all of the younger players (18-22 years old) with EPL and Bundesliga teams, even if they are playing out on loan or with the reserve teams.

Because so many of these US players are so young, the jury is still out on whether they will ever become significant contributors for their teams (e.g., Sargent, Weah, etc.).  With that said, it is a HUGE feather in DA's cap that two of their players, Pulisic and McKennie (both of whom spent 7 years with DA clubs, PA Classics and FC Dallas, respectively), have already played over 21 Champions League games so far in their young careers.  Not only have Pulisic and McKennie played significant roles for their teams, but they have also scored game winning goals, and assisted others, in these Champions League games.  And they are only 20 years old.  As best my memory serves, Pulisic and McKennie have already played more Champions League games than Dempsey, Friedel, Howard, Keller, McBride, Cherundolo, Donovan, etc. played in their entire careers while playing in top 5 leagues in Europe.  We'll see if those players, and the other young, former DA players in the EPL and Bundesliga, reach their full potential and become significant contributors for several years for their respective clubs, but the early returns are promising compared to prior generations of US players overseas. 
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I don't disagree that jury is still out tp a degree on the young guys, like Pulisic and McKinnie, but in Europe top players start breaking into the first team at the age 16-18.  Mbappe, Ronaldo, Neymar, Modric  made his debut for Monaco at the age of 17.  Messi got his first start for Barcelona at 16.  By the time they turn 22-23 years old they are seasoned pros.  I think Pulisic and McKinnie will turn out to be solid pros, contributors on the Champion's league teams, but they won't really be among top ten players in the world, which is fine.   [/quote]

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