Former MLS midfielder and U.S. youth international Andrew Carleton shared his perspective on the debate surrounding youth development in the United States on Twitter.
“THE YOUTH SYSTEM IS NOT THE PROBLEM. Anyone telling you that either doesn’t know what they’re talking about or they’re protecting MLS.
The USMNT will never become an elite national team as long as MLS continues spending millions on young foreign players instead of giving meaningful minutes to young Americans.
Every MLS club has talented academy players who sign Homegrown deals. Fans get excited, then those players spend the next 3–4 years sitting on the bench or in MLS NEXT Pro. By the time they’re 21 or 22, the window to become truly world-class is gone.
There’s a reason the only young Americans who consistently break through in MLS are outside backs and, occasionally, center backs. Those are the positions clubs typically don’t spend big money on. Meanwhile, they invest millions in midfielders and forwards, making it nearly impossible for a 17-, 18-, or 19-year-old American to play over a 20-year-old South American the club paid a $10 million transfer fee and a multi-million-dollar salary to.
Until that changes, you can overhaul the youth system all you want—it won’t matter. If young Americans aren’t actually playing meaningful first-team minutes during their most important development years, the pipeline will never consistently produce world-class players.”
🚨 Pundits and retired players were asked to predict today’s World Cup semifinal between Spain and France:
• Roy Keane: “🇫🇷 2-0 🇪🇸. Football isn’t won by passing triangles. It’s won by killers.”
• Gary Neville: “🇪🇸 2-1 🇫🇷. Lamine Yamal decides it. He’s built for nights like this.”
• Thierry Henry: “🇫🇷 3-2 🇪🇸. Mbappé only needs one moment. Spain will give him two.”
• Rio Ferdinand: “🇫🇷 4-1 🇪🇸. Everyone is falling in love with Spain. France will bring them back to reality.”
• José Mourinho: “🇫🇷 1-0 🇪🇸. Possession doesn’t win semi-finals. Efficiency does.”
• Paul Scholes: “🇪🇸 2-0 🇫🇷. France won’t touch the ball enough to hurt them.”
• Zlatan: “🇪🇸 2-1 🇫🇷. Spain don’t just keep the ball, they suffocate you with it.
• Patrice Evra: “🇫🇷 3-1 🇪🇸. Too much pace, too much power, too much Mbappé.”
• Arsène Wenger: “🇪🇸 2-1 🇫🇷. Technique will overcome athleticism tonight.”
⚽️Aprovechamos que Luis Enrique vuelve a ser tendencia para recordar estas palabras:
➡️"Cojan a entrenadores que sólo quieran formar".
➡️"Los niños tienen que jugar en diferentes posiciones".
➡️"En los partidos tienen que jugar todos".
✅Controlar hacia delante para progresar y superar una línea, no volver hacia atrás.
✅Separarse convenientemente cuando disponemos de balón. ✅Valorar las condiciones del receptor cuando le pasamos el balón.
✅Aprovechar superioridad cualitativa en zona de finalización.
😍 Hace exactamente 2⃣4⃣ horas, @AlvaroMorata ponía de pie y a gritar a toda España.
🙌🏻 Este es el golazo de nuestro delantero desde un punto de vista QUE NO HAS VISTO hasta ahora.
📺 Disfruta de la jugada COMPLETA del gol que nos mete en el Mundial de #Catar2022.
#VamosEspaña