NEWS AND NOTES: EXPANSION DRAFT, LEYVA, AND MORE
Here are a few notes for your Friday afternoon.
Expansion Draft Set
The 2009 Expansion Draft will be on Nov 25th, just 3 days after the MLS Cup. Philadelphia Union, led by coach Piotr Nowak, will have the opportunity to select a group of players that will make up the core of his team. Last year the Seattle Sounders made the most of their expansion draft opportunity and picked up guys like James Riley, Brad Evans, Nate Jaqua, and Peter Vagenas. The core of Seattle clearly revolves around guys like Montero, Ljunberg, and Alonso but no one can doubt the impact of a strong expansion draft and being a playoff caliber team. The big question now is “which players will be protected and which won’t?’ There is a lot of talent in the league that is likely to go unprotected and I wouldn’t be surprised if some big names make their way to Philadelphia.
Bryan Leyva signed by FC Dallas
Most people have probably heard that US international defender Heath Pearce has recently signed with Dallas . . . a story I couldn’t care less about. What is exciting in Dallas, is that they have just signed FC Dallas junior’s player Bryan Leyva. Leyva is a 17 year old midfielder from Chihuahua, Mexico but has lived in Irving, Texas since 2000. He is a small but skillful midfielder who first jumped onto the scene when he was called up to train with the Mexican National team at the age of 14. He is currently with the U17 Mexican National team preparing for the U17 World Cup.
This story is interesting to me for two reasons. First, because of this signing I found out that as of July 2009 teams get two extra roster spots for players signed from their developmental academy. That is a major incentive to sign home grown talent and a tip of my hat goes to the individuals who pushed that initiative through. Second, the kid is really good. He is considered a very special talent and MLS is very lucky to have him on the books. These types of signings are going to make the league grow in quality and notoriety.
Free Setanta
If you are a DirecTV subscriber take advantage of the free Setanta Sports preview this weekend. You lucky bastards will get to watch the Manchester United v. Manchester City derby for free.
Real Madrid on ESPN 2
Real Madrid will be playing Xerez this weekend on ESPN 2 at 11am. This will be a great opportunity to see some of the best soccer players in the world whoop on the team that didn’t give Jozy Altidore a second of playing time during his loan spell.
Lee Nguyen with Arsenal
Young American winger Lee Nguyen is training/trialing with Arsenal for the next few weeks. Nguyen was a standout with our youth national team system and left college early, after a very successful freshman year at Indiana, to play for PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch league. Things didn’t go as planned in the Netharlands and Nguyen was soon on his way to Denmark to play for Randers FC. His time with Randers only lasted one season before he signed a deal with Vietnamese side Hoang Anh Gia Lai. Part of the of the deal with Hoang Anh was that Nguyen would get a chance to trial or at least train with Arsenal when the season was over.
Nguyen trained with FC Dallas to keep his fitness up before his trip to London. Most commentators mentioned that Nguyen looked a step above the FC Dallas players in ball skill but a touch slow on pace. If anything the experience with Arsenal will open other doors for the young winger and it never hurts to get a recommendation from Arsene Wenger. So far only positive things have come out of London regarding Nguyen.
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