With their 2 choices in the 3rd round and the final one in the 4th it brought their total to 7 selections over 4 rounds, one out of the Alma Mata of Tim Parker and myself, St. John's University, this led to one of their social media platfroms to comment on their rule of always having a pair of players out of the Red Storm, Connor Lade has retired.
From the windy city to warm Bradenton FL, Andre Reynolds II has been tapped to attend camp at the IIMG Academy in Bradenton. Jan & 18 they take on the Mexico U-20's, cannot wait to see that second, grudge match. This is the initial camp for HC Anthony Hudson. Andre is back in the fold following the U-19 MNT training camp in Jan. 2019, he will be age-eligible in the May 20-June 11 2021 U-20 World Cup hosted by Indonesia. This camp is to get ready for the 2020 Concacaf Men's U-20 Championship taking place in Feb., June & July of this year.
Shut out of the Olympics since 2008, WHAT!, it has 12 years now, that is horrible, the US will take on Costa Rica on their road to redemption March 20 from Guadalajara Mex. The U-23's are set to play Mar. 20 - Apr. 1 as the draw was just conducted at Estadio Akron in the city, only one of 2 which will host the games. Game 2 is with the Dominican Republic on Mar. 23 then hosts Mexico on March 26. The top pair out of these Concacaf qualifying games will have their tickets punched for the 2020 games in Tokyo.
Medhi Ballouchy former player, a midfielder for NYCFC is now their first player to join the coaching staff of the team as he steps up to assist HC Deila. He has been with the Academy since 2017, lastly with the U-15 but has been with the U-14's as well and his teams have gone up against the highest level of opposition both foreign and domestic.
A second generation player in the US following his father Pat, a great player, coach & author, Brian McBride will begin his time in this spot with the current Jan. camp at IMG in Bradenton. His 17 year pro career here and in Europe coupled with a trio of World Cup tournies should come in as a great help to him in this new job. With great numbers of 95 caps & 30 goals over his 14 years with the USMNT he will now answer to US Soccer SD Earnie Stewart.
The Peter Vermes side has inked Amadou Dia to a deal that with options runs through 2022. He is a 26 year old left back out of Clemson and the 20th pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft. Over the 2 years there he had 37 games with a Lamar Hunt US Open Cup to his credit and the 2nd season both years, now he is back to the club following a trio of years with USL Championship team Phoenix Rising FC. While in AZ, he was the team's Defender of the Year in 2018 & '19 alike.
USMNT HC Gregg Berhalter has called in the player who last was with the USNT U-20's for their 2019 World Cup, to this camp as prep for the Concacaf Nations League semis Feb. 1. He now puts the number over half a dozen for those in their first senior team camp. A grand total of 26 are now in Bradenton as they get ready to play at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson CA. It will be facing rival Costa Rica who if both advance in the Qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup will meet up there as well, those games commence in Sept.
Gedion, has come east following a 2019 that had him getting time with Sporting KC and Swope Parkk Rangers. In the past he had been with both the German and USA youth National Teams as well as prestigious Arsenal FC , Rangers FC & VVV-Venlo over the years, at just 22 that is quite the resume.
Gedion stated " I'm really excited to be joing New York City FC. It's also a great city to live in, but mostly I'm ready to win a lot of soccer matches in 2020."
Midfielder Ryan Raposo & GK Daniel Gagliardi are now in the fold, the midfielder out of Syracuse is in the CNT program and is a Generation adidas player, #4 overall in the draft, right after Long Islander Dylan Nealis. Gagliardi from FIU and former St. John's Asst. Ben Malue went #32, very high for a 'keeper.
Raposo:
-19 goals and 14 assissts for 38 games, 36 starts in his pair of years with the Orangemen.
-All-ACC First Team as a soph, All-ACC Freshman in 2018.
-U-15 CNT in 2014, MVP of the Canada Games in 2017.
These monies are bound for Member organizations Grassroots Projects, thought to affect over 37,000 soccer enthusiasts over the next trio of years. This effort is of course part and parcel of the USSF goal to make soccer the preeminent sport in the states, via these Innovate to Grow Fund grants to over 2 dozen that have shown their projects have a high level of promise in growing the game at their grassroots level. Not just a marked increase over last year, this is the 3rd year straight that the dollars have gone up over the previous.
