This summer did not live up to the expectations of Minnesota Kings FC owner Tim Haselberger.
Both the men's team and the first-year women's team struggled during the season with player
attendance and missed the play-offs. However, despite the on-field disappointment the Minnesota
Kings FC organization has been taking large steps forward and is wasting no time improving the
quality and size of their youth academy and adding to their training resources and
facilities.
This summer did not live up to the expectations of Minnesota Kings FC owner Tim Haselberger.
Both the men's team and the first-year women's team struggled during the season with player
attendance and missed the play-offs. However, despite the on-field disappointment, the Minnesota
Kings FC organization has been taking large steps forward and is wasting no time improving the
quality and size of their youth academy and adding to their training resources and
facilities.
Well, good luck making any sense of Group D. The US beat the Czech Republic 3-0, New Zealand
beat Uzbekistan 4-1, then Uzbekistan beat the US 2-1, and the Czech Republic beat New Zealand 1-0.
Huh? What that means is all teams in Group D are on 3 points, and the US is tied for first with New
Zealand, with 4 goals scored and 2 goals allowed each.
The U-17s got off to a flying start on Sunday, routing the Czech Republic 3-0 in their World Cup
opener. Goals came from Alejandro Guido, Esteban Rodriguez, and
Alfred Koroma, respectively. (Captain Marc Pelosi came close,
seeing a great shot from distance go off the crossbar.
The US U-17 National Team winners of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament have been drawn into
Group D for this summer's World Cup in Mexico. Their group includes Uzbekistan, New Zealand, and
the Czech Republic.
The strength of U-17s doesn't always hold up to Senior National Team logic, but I think it's
safe to say failure to advance from this group would be a shocker, especially when you consider
four out of six third-place finishers go through.
A friend of P2010 forwarded us an article a while back a Q&A with his former youth coach, which
you can (and should) read here.
You may not know Tom Howe I didn't before I read that article but you really
should. For many years he coached at the famed St.
MatchFit USA reported in late April that Ben Lederman, a 10-year-old American, recently joined
Barecelona's fabled La Masia academy. My reaction to this? CAP. HIM. NOW. Seriously. We've seen it
happen repeatedly with players like Giuseppe Rossi and Nevin Subotic choosing European national
teams over the red, white, and blue.
According to a report from Soccer By Ives, Thomas Rongen is no longer the coach of the U-20
National Team. We've been calling for this for years, and it appears that his failure to take one
of our best U-20 teams to the World Cup was the final nail in the coffin. Or was it...
From SBI:
"The U.
