Decent list - Nyarko will go #1 and the UCSB boys will go shortly thereafter

I coached O'Brien when he was 13 at an ODP tryout.

The kid was a stud then...probably still is. He scored off a corner kick in heavy rain...by executing a perfect bicycle kick.

Too bad he didn't wait to join the Seattle Sounders and have a chance to play with his older brother.

What an underwhelming group. Sorry to see Tracy from Wake not out there either. Why isn't Valentino going to the combine?

Where is Ofori Sarkodie?

Steve,

Just to clarify, is Valentino going to be in the MLS Superdraft or will there be a separate lottery for him?

How good is this Alex Nimo? Where is he projected to go?

Valentino is probably not 100% healed from a knee injury which wiped out his 2007 season which is why he will miss the Combine but be in the SuperDraft.

So does this mean that Nyarko won the Hermann trophy?

Valentino played for U of San Francisco not South Florida.

SuperLiga 2008

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_North_American_SuperLiga

Curious find on Wikipedia

All games in Mexico this year

Atlante, Pumas, Chivas, and Santos are the qualifiers from FMF

Goff!?!? Real? English Langue Broadcasts at least?

Where does it say that. Box at the top right says venues TBD.

I can't even find a 2008 Superliga site. My guess is that contributors to wikipedia got ahead of the curve on this one regarding venues.

I hope Coach Weiss got another kid from Ghana.

I thought Valentino was a senior...at University of San Francisco.

http://usfdons.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/valentino_rob00.html

Somebody probably made the jump from "USF" to Univ. of South Florida, instead of Univ. of San Francisco.

on completely unrelated note the Quakes just got Joe Cannon. WOO HOO

http://blog.soccersiliconvalley.com/

Short article from mlsnet: "For United, stability reigns in MLS draft
Second-year coach, front office seek quality among picks"

http://www.mlsnet.com/mls/events/superdraft/2008/article.jsp?ymd=20080110&content_id=134928&vkey=draft2008&fext=.jsp

SeahawkDad -

Right under the main article in Venues

How good is this Alex Nimo? Where is he projected to go?

*****************************************

Very small. Technically gifted. He'll go very early to a team that is willing to wait 2 or 3 years on him.

Could wash out, could be the next big thing.

Hope the Cannon rumor is proven true. Good to have a local guy come home. If remember right, he's from Los Gatos, or Los Altos, or Palo Alto. (all sound the same, and all crazy expensive).

Goff what are you hearing about this ??

http://www.fannation.com/blogs/post/108336

Excuse my ignorance, but what is Generation Adidas? Can someone clue me in?

Why couldn't MLS follow a page out of the NFL's playbook and hold the SuperDraft on a Saturday?

Because nobody would televise it during the weekend when there are loads of live sporting events people would much rather watch.

RE: Cannon to SJ. Freedman might be right about Cannon's move, but he makes no sense by saying that Cannon is too expensive for LA, but they might use his roster spot to sign Figo. LA would have to sign Figo as a DP and they don't have a 2nd DP slot and then Figo would count twice as much as Cannon did towards the salary cap. There are times, many of them, when I think that Freedman has not a clue about what he writes.

Ryan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Adidas

Hopefully, Portland Timbers sign Nemo. He would get more quality play and probably a higher salary if he did, and he'd be a hit obviously in his hometown. ANYONE READING in Timbers Corporate Offices?

Is Patrick Nyarko eligible to play for the USA? I know he was born in Ghana (so was Adu, right) but I don't think he's been invited to play for the African Nations Cup or has any senior caps.

Ummm, the Timbers aren't part of MLS and thus, can't sign a player from the Superdraft. Now if he were to go unsigned (extremely unlikely) he'd be free to pursue a USL contract, but then he wouldn't get that sweet GA money.

I predict he'll land in Cow-town and be eaten shortly after arrival by Sigi the Hutt.

Is Patrick Nyarko eligible to play for the USA?
------------------------------------------

He's presumably been on a student visa. He would have to get a green card and then wait five years (three if he gets married to a Yank). If Ghana came calling during this period, from Nyarko's point of view, it would be a case of a bird in the hand versus the USMNT's two in a bush. In Adu's case, his mother had taken care of things by the time he was 14 or so.

Bristol,

Have you seen the collection of talent Ghana has amassed lately? Nyarko is decent in college ball (or so I hear), dunno that he's up to that level.

I would like to see Chicago get Lambo or Nimo. We are going to need depth in both places considering Pickens is going overseas sooner or later.
Barrett is an awful forward and Nimo could fit our less bruising system well at his size.

@Posted by: 22201 | January 10, 2008 05:32 PM
If we REALLY wanted him on the USMT, they would fast track his green card. The US gives preferential treatment to artists and athletes. I work in entertainment and routinely get work visas and then green cards in less than a year for actors who have no credits whatsoever.
That's assuming he doesn't already have family of some kind here 'anchoring' him to the US.

That's assuming he doesn't already have family of some kind here 'anchoring' him to the US.
-----------------------------------------

He appears to have arrived in Blacksburg by himself. I've never seen any mention of other persons in this country who are connected to him by blood or marriage:

http://www.hokiesports.com/msoccer/players/2007/nyarko.html

In any event, the other artists and athletes to whom you refer are presumably primarily interested in the green card per se. In the football world, it is citizenship that counts, and that is still three to five years away.

I wonder what this means for Mike Grella. He's stated that he was looking to go pro after this year so I guess this means that he's going to head over to europe. Perhaps he didn't like his chances this year and decided to stick around Dook for one more year.

New York Immigration Lawyer Marina Shepelsky, located in Brooklyn, assists clients from the New York metro area and across the United States in all immigration and naturalization matters http://www.e-us-visa.com