It’s been about a week now since the US lost to Mexico in the final of the U17 CONCACAF championship game. I’ve listened to recap podcasts about the tournament, read summaries, etc. I’m not attempting to do one of those “3 Takeaways” type deals. A few guys made me think some weird thoughts. I’m going to share them with you.
Brief take on the tournament as whole – it was encouraging that the team got better as the tourney went along (reminded me of the U20 qualifying tournament). The 1st half against Mexico was legitimately sexy. Encouraging stuff.
With a little time to digest what happened I have some thoughts on a few of the players – five to be specific. My mind works a little differently than most soccer writers you are going to see stuff from, so if you like this great, if not…*shrug*
I have come up with a comparison for each of these five players – only one of those comparisons is to another soccer player. I hope this makes some sense.
Gio Reyna: Cristiano Ronaldo
Don’t flip out or anything. I’m not saying Reyna is or will be anywhere near Ronaldo (and I don’t think Gio is nearly that giant a douche), but he reminds me of Cristiano in a couple ways. One, he’s a big winger that is faster/better than everyone else. Travis Clark called him “an unplayable man-child” during the Top Drawer Soccer Show podcast recap with Adam Belz and that is entirely accurate. It’ll be interesting to see if Reyna is still a superior athlete when he joins Dortmund next season.
Second, he plays with a sneer. He knows the other guy can’t check him and it’s almost an insult to him that they are trying. I love this. Ronaldo ends up being super unlikable because of this (and many other reasons), but so far I’m enjoying it from Gio.
Gianluca Busio: Miguel Cabrera
I used to watch baseball before I realized it was horrifyingly boring (honestly I blame DVR), but there are some guys who just hit the ball hard. They make pure contact and the ball goes. Busio seems to do this with a soccer ball. He doesn’t seem to have a great eye for a pass, he doesn’t beat people off the dribble, but he scores goals and hits the ball hard. (I almost went with a Chris Carter – all he does is catch touchdown passes comp here) Remember this Tim Cahill World Cup goal from 2014?
I don’t think there’s a single player on the senior national team that can hit that ball. I think Busio could.
Daniel Leyva: Will Hunting (from Good Will Hunting)
I’m not sure how to sum up Leyva other than with this quote (btw – Good Will Hunting is still great – in my top 5 for sure). He doesn’t look like he has the otherworldly athleticism that Tyler Adams possesses that lets him cover crazy amounts of ground, but he’s always involved. He’s in the right spot, making key passes, cutting out opposition attacks. He can just play. I really hope we get to see him with Seattle in the very near future.
Kobe Hernandez-Foster: Stefan Urquelle
At some point during Family Matters’ magical nine season run Steve Urkel invented a potion that turned nerdy Steve Urkel into suave Stefan Urquelle. KHF is suave on the ball. I wish he had been able to play his normal left back position, but he did very well at center back and formed a nice partnership with Tayvon Gray by the end of the tournament. He also had one strike (the first Canada game?) that almost had me make the Cabrera reference for him. Anyone else ready for the Julian Araujo, Kobe Hernandez-Foster RB/LB pairing for LA? Yes, please.
Griffin Yow: a Terrier
I hope this doesn’t sound insulting, because I certainly don’t mean it that way. Yow looks like the next in a long line of hardworking US wingers. He’ll kill himself for the team and he’s going to annoy the crap out of the opposing left back. I know everyone in the world has made the Paul Arriola comp, but it’s apt. It looks like he might have a little more upside than Arriola too. My main complaint with Arriola has been his lack of pace and end product with the NT. I’m not sure how fast Yow actually is, but a faster Paul Arriola that finishes would be a nice piece.
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