TFC2017

I'd like to order 10 of those please.

I wanted to watch Napoli-Juve but couldn't in the end.
What strikes me is a couple of things: ball to foot, sloppy controls, loose passing; positioning, correcting late so passes are "dirtier" and just thrown in a general area; support in attack, not just being in your pre-established position but interpreting as you go. In Italy when it is a defensive standoff, which is frequent, it is true that there is merit for the team able to break the other down. But that whole premise is based on extreme defensive rigour, which takes precedent over what I just mentioned. And basically saves teams from having to excel in those skills that great top flight clubs and players should have.

you must mean Maxime Blanchard. It's unclear if has been the backup but he hasn't been starting.

They made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Capiche?

To be fair Serie D girone I is usually one of the toughest girone's due to travel, and fans (as they're more behind their teams in the south) and by behind their teams I mean if the team does good the away team is gonna have a tough atmosphere, if they're not doing well the home team is gonna have a tough atmosphere. This season is difficult because there were 5 teams built to go to Serie C, Cavese, Nocerina, Vibonese, Gela and Messina. Gela and Messina are underperforming big time, Messina started the season horrifically but seem to have picked up lately as they've picked up 11 points from the past 5 games . 
I think we have 2 Canadians in this girone, 1 on Cavese who is a goalie (idk if he is playing) and the 2nd just got picked up by Isola Capo Rizzuto.

Preston Popp (17 year old forward) is with NY Red Bulls U18/U19.  He as played in 4 matches so far this season.  He is a Canadian citizen from Mooresville, North Carolina.
http://chrl.ussoccerda.com/sam/teams/index.php?team=1647718&player=73890115

Corey Williams (17 year old) is with the Colorado Rapids U18/U19 side.  He is from Westminister, Colorado but has Canadian citizenship. 
http://rapd.ussoccerda.com/sam/teams/index.php?team=3933820&player=263569657

No, I was just totally bullshitting, making it up, you understood it as well as anyone else. But we had fun while it lasted. Sorry.

There are a lot of Canadian players listing Chile as a second nationality lately, as a way of getting an EU passport. This is related to a recent WHO ruling on acquired genetic traits, what is called soft inheritance. If you can get your Chile nationality recognized as a Canadian, you can fast track your EU status and even pass it on to your children, so we can get multiple generations of Canadians under the Chile flag, also known as La Roja, like Canada, Reds, playing in European lower tiers. If we don't have a thread on this on the board you should probably start one.

I'm confused. If he has no connection to Chile then why is it listed as his second nationality?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mfyBdTWcz7Jk9i7IFim-6XLLLAuPPm8TGLqZNNKkfaQ/pubhtml#
 
Just 2 corrections that Pancho Fernandez who plays in Chile for La Serena is a 1998 (not sure what month or day) and is only of Filipino descent not Chilean. Also David Romano who plays for FC Murese in Italy has only an Italian passport not a Chilean passport, both of are not of Chilean descent.

This eve I went to a 4th tier league match, Horta, a Barcelona suburb, vs the Espanyol B team, played at a very high technical level, very fast, huge pressure on the ball, strong tactical and positional play, with some real technical talent (and a massive brawl at the end, punches and all). Of course a B team of a Liga side is going to have that kind of player, and they won handily. This game was higher quality than the Whitecaps USL I saw this year. But this was exceptional. For a kid from Spain to be in 4th tier means little, for a Canadian to be exposed to it, might mean a lot for development. 

Portuguese teams are great at developing players

Austin Coelho is now with Braga U19 in Portugal.  
https://t.co/tL8GlDULss

Facts

Higher salary in this case doesn't necessarily mean higher level of play of the league when it comes to comparing with d4 spain or italy. There are many reasons why the salary is higher. 360+ teams in d4 spain with 122 teams above… Saying those usl players are of higher level means they are at least d3. First, even if 5-10 players on half of the teams are of higher level it doesn't mean that the league is of higher level. There could be plenty of players in d4 spain who could play higher. Then, take a team and identify those 5 players. Take Louisville City who are currently first in the east and have no affiliation with an mls team. Which 5 players would be starters in a d3 out there… Del Piccolo was a d4 sub in germany, Craig played d6 in england, Lancaster a d4 and d6 sub england before coming and has 6 usl goals this season…Unfortunately a lot of overestimating pro leagues here and not understanding that the level of training and development is much much higher there which means that even lower leagues are of high quality

Fernandez signed a first team contract with La Serena in the spring of 2017.  

Okay I take it back lol

Cavese is a strong team, they're going to be pushing for Serie C this year. Last year they came 2nd and lost in the playoffs. Hopefully Blanchard can get some minutes and push to be a starter. 

There's a player in the youth setup of Deportes La Serena in Chile's 2nd division. 1998 boy, Pancho Fernandez. Can't seem to find the link.