MLS Atlanta President Darren Eales addressed a number of subjects in a wide-ranging interview, the first he's done, last week with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Here is the first part.
In this installment, Eales discusses the role and plan youth development will play for MLS Atlanta, which will begin play in 2017 in the new stadium downtown:
Q: What is plan on the youth teams and youth development with MLS Atlanta?
A: There’s not a blueprint. But to look at MLS and the way it has developed, its development programs have gotten better and better. Take someone like DeAndre Yedlin, it’s clearly working.
Players are getting in at younger ages. Generally, it’s getting better.
You pointed out in one of your articles that it’s more attractive to go to soccer. You are finding athletes that could be football players or basketball players going to soccer. Again that’s great to have youngsters at 10 or 11 giving soccer a go.
If you look at Georgia, for the new Atlanta franchise, you have a hotbed of soccer with two national champions at two different clubs.
You’ve already got that reservoir of talented players. Clearly, the coaching is working. The important thing that we have to do and I’ve got to do is to have a chat with the key people in youth soccer, GHSA, the leaders of the various clubs, to think how we can work together in everyone’s interests, to get players from the area into MLS Atlanta.
We know we can do it. There are plenty of players here playing elsewhere. If we can get those players to MLS Atlanta that will be one of the big advantages.
My big thing in the next couple of months is to talk to the important people I need to talk to. It will be important to listen. At Tottenham, we had a great program, but that was Tottenham and London. It’s different there. There are certainly things that will carry over, such as the player development philosophy. Until you are in the first team, it’s not about the team it’s about the player.
The great thing is you’ve already got youngsters coming through that are good. You know it’s a hotbed.
Q: So you will start your own academy or affiliate with an existing one?
A: Under MLS, we have to have an under-14, under-16 and under-18 academy. The question will be, talking, chatting, thinking which will be the best model. Will it be an affiliation, will it be with all the clubs? Will we target certain players?
We are all doing it with the goal of improving soccer in the area.
Putting my MLS Atlanta hat on, we want to get players into the first team, but also we want to drive the coaching so it’s better and everyone gains. We want to create win-win scenarios.
How do you get form the academy into the first team?
That’s something where I’ll have to chat with people around here, talk, think, listen. Is it an affiliation; is it our own second team? Where do we have it? Everything is there to look at.
Q: Will you affiliate with a USL Pro side?
A: That’s another question to look at. There are two models: there’s the affiliation with the USL or there’s what Seattle, LA, Salt Lake is doing now where you take a second team and run that. That’s one thing we will look at.
I’m really pleased that MLS has done it as a stepping stone to the first team. At Tottenham, we pulled out of the reserve league about six years ago because we felt it wasn’t’ working. We needed to focus on…it was almost a twilight zone between 18-year-olds who had graduated from the Academy and trying to get into the first team. In the Premier League it was a huge jump to try to get into a potentially top-four side. So we really focused on that area. We set up a development team coach and looked at that transition. It’s great that MLS and clubs are realizing that importance. It’s a lot to ask of an 18-year-old to go to first team. If you have development, it works. You can put coaches into the development team and see how they do. It works on many levels.
Which will be best for Atlanta? There’s nothing set in stone. It may start one way and then down the line might change.
U.S. report: The U.S. men's national team was drubbed by Ireland 4-1 in its 2014 finale.
What a year, one that leaves plenty of questions: notably, is the U.S. any better than it was at the end of 2013, or 2012 or 2011 or 2010?
In short, is the Jurgen Klinsmann regime succeeding?
It’s hard to say.
Yes, the U.S. advanced out of a tough group in the World Cup in Brazil. But it also did that in South Africa and countless other times.
Is the U.S. playing the more attractive style of football Klinsmann promised when hired? Definitely not. The team had good spells against Ireland and then was overrun, which happens game after game against the better teams. To be fair, Klinsmann didn’t field his strongest team, but neither did Ireland.
There were countless sloppy giveaways by the defense whenever the U.S. could retain possession, notably on Ireland’s second goal when Fabian Johnson tried to play out of the corner with two opponents hemming him in.
The U.S. has allowed 11 goals in its last 11 games after the 80th minute, which is the sign of a mentally weak team.
Winners
Greg Garza again. His work up and down the wings gave the U.S. some measure of control in the first half.
Alejandro Bedoya. The man of the match for the U.S. He showed creativity and aggressiveness that Klinsmann wants.
Losers
Mix Diskerud. He did score the first goal for the U.S. but he also couldn't control the tempo for the second consecutive game.
Timothy Chandler. Mostly anonymous yet again with some bad giveaways.
Geoff Cameron and Matt Besler as a pair. A lack of communication or familiarity between Cameron and Besler led to the first goal. Cameron's inability to clear a ball led to the third goal, which also deflected off him. And, the foul committed by Cameron in the 87th minute led to the direct kick that resulted in the fourth goal. Cameron was the only defender capable of passing to a teammate out of the back, but all in all not his best performance.
Fabian Johnson. He started well with some outstanding runs from his fullback spot, but his poor decision-making in not trying to clear the ball from the corner led to Ireland's second goal.
Expansion: MLS officials met with reps from three cities last week interested in being the site of the next expansion franchise: Minneapolis, Sacramento and Las Vegas.
MLS playoffs: New England and Los Angeles grabbed advantages in their home-and-home series with wins over the weekend.
Jermaine Jones scored a goal to led the Revs to a 2-1 win over New York. It was New England’s first win in New York in seven years. The two teams will meet again on Saturday. The Red Bulls must win by a two-goal margin to advance.
The Galaxy trumped Seattle 1-0 on a goal by Marcelo Sarvas. The teams will complete the series in Seattle on Sunday.
The winners will advance to the finals.
