Andy Craven begins to count the number of people who will be with him in Philadelphia for Thursday’s MLS SuperDraft.
He gets to five and starts to slow down. Then he remembers his brothers. He gets to 10 and slows down. Then he remembers his high school soccer coach.
Finally, he guesstimates around 15.
It should be a worthwhile experience.
Craven, a native of Saint Simons, is projected by various mock draft authors to be a mid-to-late first round pick.
Craven is a goal-scorer, self-modeled on past Manchester United great Dwight Yorke.
“I’m a flashing forward,” he said of his ability to find space and run onto through balls.
Craven used that skill to tie for the national lead with 15 goals scored as a senior at North Carolina during the fall, including eight game winners. His best goal exhibited that skills. Trailing UCLA 3-2 in the playoffs, Craven ran into space between three converging defenders and one-timed a shot over the Bruins goalkeeper.
Craven is trying to show that same skills during the MLS Combine in Lauderhill, Fla. He didn’t score during Sunday’s exhibition game and will have one more chance on Tuesday.
The combine is an interesting experience for the players, who are playing mostly with new teammates and trying to win, while at the same time showing scouts they are worthy of being drafted.
“You want to showcase yourself but you want to show you can make the right decisions,” Craven said. “It’s a delicate balance.”
Craven said it doesn’t matter when he goes and where he goes in the draft. Some mocks have him going to Los Angeles at No. 21.
The Galaxy would seem to be a good fit because Craven said he would most like to play alongside Robbie Keane, the Los Angeles forward who was named MLS MVP last year.
“So much to learn from that guy,” Craven said. “Even playing against him you can see how he is and how he carries himself.”
Transfer season: The window transfer window is open and Goal.com reported that MLS tried to sign Mexico star Javier Hernandez. He turned down the offer.
Hernandez, 26, is an interesting player because he plays very well for the national team, and used to play well in limited minutes at his club team, Manchester United, until he fell mostly out of the rotation there. They loaned him to Real Madrid where he has appeared in just eight games, scoring three goals.
To be fair, supplanting Robin Van Persie at Old Trafford or Karim Benzema at Bernabeu isn’t easy.
So why mention Hernandez?
Because he is the type of player that every MLS team would love to have. Would MLS make a run at him in two years and would Atlanta be interested in trying to secure his rights?
He would seem to check a lot of boxes:
He’s young, polite and handsome, which means he’s likely marketable.
He’s loved by Mexico, which means he will bring and fans.
He’s good, which will help the team.
However, this recent offer wasn’t the first, but perhaps Hernandez may grow disenchanted with his European experience, just like U.S. forward Jozy Altidore, and wish to play in a league where he should get a lot more minutes.
MLS schedule: MLS released its schedule last week. The biggest news was the expansion of the playoffs to six teams from each conference.
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