OT: M Soccer loses (other) top player
The Daily is reporting that Soony is turning pro...going to be tough to match this year's performance.
http://www.michigandaily.com/content/soony-saad-has-left-michigan-europe
January 27th, 2011 at 6:19 PM ^
This isn't off topic, just fyi. And ouch.
January 27th, 2011 at 6:20 PM ^
How is this OT?
January 27th, 2011 at 6:24 PM ^
and the FAQs were slightly vague on the point...so I opted for the conservative approach of claiming "OT" for a non-"major" sport star leaving school early; especially given the board's current focus on the CC, FB recruiting and M-BB team.
January 27th, 2011 at 6:29 PM ^
I'm really not trying to be a dick. Just for future reference:
ONTOPIC
- Anything Michigan sports related
- Anything related to other Big Ten teams or upcoming opponents
- Stuff about the blog itself
- University of Michigan topics that don't relate to sports
Again, good topic and post, just not OT.
January 27th, 2011 at 6:21 PM ^
Ugh, not entirely surprising, but disappointing nevertheless.
January 27th, 2011 at 6:27 PM ^
Add this to losing Snape (Who mainly dealt with the forwards and attacking roles) and Meram and there's a ton of work to do up front for next year.
January 27th, 2011 at 6:29 PM ^
Saad.
January 27th, 2011 at 6:40 PM ^
It stinks but there's not much to say. A soccer player must seize the opportunity to go to Europe when it's there. Think of internationals getting the chance to go to the NBA.....
they say 1 kid in 1000 will have the shot to play pro ball in the NFL. Same for the NBA. Perhaps even more, I don't know
But it's something like 1 in 1,000,000 will have the chance to play in the European leagues. Every kid's effing dream.
January 27th, 2011 at 6:50 PM ^
Long term I think this is good for the program because it will encourage in-state talent to play for Michigan instead of stocking teams with less in-state talent such as Indiana.
January 27th, 2011 at 6:56 PM ^
I don't blame Saad for opting to go to oversea to play soccer professionally. If he can find PT, good for him because the competition will be much better than at MLS.
January 27th, 2011 at 9:19 PM ^
I hope that he eventually gets more playing time. That is the debate when it comes to US players going overseas. I would say in most cases it is beneficial for player development to go overseas. For players like Adu it might be better for him to come to the MLS, or he might just be a lost cause.
January 27th, 2011 at 11:38 PM ^
Attempting to contrast ourselves with Indiana might not be the best debating position here. They have been a model of consistency for some time...I'm not sure it much matters where their players are coming from if you are always good.
January 27th, 2011 at 7:40 PM ^
Anderlecht has a good academy system so he should have a good chance to make it big.
January 27th, 2011 at 8:49 PM ^
Tough loss, but hopefully the recent success will help to bring more kids into the program. Akron had an amazing team but certainly are not nationally known, so perhaps UM can gain a foothold in the midwest along with teams like Indiana.
January 27th, 2011 at 8:50 PM ^
This news had been going around a few weeks ago. But at that point it was reported that he was joining a second division German club. Anderlecht is a step up in class from that. He'll be missed - the rest of the team will have to solve some problems next season. But the career of a professional soccer player is pretty short, so he should take the chance when it's offered.
January 27th, 2011 at 9:14 PM ^
For those that follow the USMNT, Sacha Kljestan is also on the Anderlecht team.
January 27th, 2011 at 9:17 PM ^
Best of luck.
January 27th, 2011 at 9:30 PM ^
I prefer the US players to go to Europe because of the higher level of play. He's got a chance to play at a European, a very exciting Belgian club (They have one of the best young talents in Europe, Romelu Lukaku). If he plays well there, he could play at a high level there, he could get to a bigger club. If he had gone to the MLS, I think he would have had a harder level making the leap to a big club because I don't see many players making that jump. If he does well at Anderlecht, he could move to a bigger club in a few years.
January 28th, 2011 at 12:26 AM ^
we hardly knew ye.
January 31st, 2011 at 10:30 AM ^
For those engaging in the MLS vs. Europe debate, I would think a move to Europe might be better in Soony's case, not because MLS is worse than the Belgian League (which is debatable), but because MLS is such a physical league. Soony isn't the biggest kid in the world and he might be able to have more freedom on the field in another league.
That being said, I always though Soony reminded me a little bit of Taylor Twellman, who was undersized but turned out to be a pretty good MLS goalscorer.