4:22 PM
Top Drawer Soccer is reporting that LA Galaxy academy player Mario Rodriguez has left to further his career in Europe. The 18 year old forward from North Hollywood has signed a contract with Germany's FC Kaiserslautern. Rodriguez is just one of a recent string of Galaxy academy players who have left the club to pursue opportunities abroad, as midfielder Irvin Parra joined German Regionaliga club FC Homburg and defender Oscar Sorto is currently training with Sweden's Hammarby. Crosstown rival Chivas USA have suffered equally, losing U17 National Team player Esteban Rodriguez to Mexico's Club Tijuana, where many young Americans are now playing.
The chance to move abroad, once few and far between for young American players, is now seemingly an everyday occurrence. The increased quality of American soccer players - and in particular those in California - has foreign scouts watering at the mouth. Young American players are not signed to contracts with their clubs, so they are available to European clubs without a transfer fee. Given the ludicrous rise in European transfer fees, the American option is growing increasingly attractive, and we can expect even more young talents to leave.
Add on Marc Pelosi's move to Liverpool (one of Europe's wealthiest clubs) instead of taking a scholarship to UCLA, and it becomes painfully clear that US Soccer needs to implement some form of training compensation and solidarity mechanism to protect the clubs who develop young players. MLS' Homegrown Player mechanism severely limits which players the club may protect, and is too weak an effort to protect the numerous soccer clubs in America - youth AND professional - who are developing the players European clubs are poaching.
FIFA mandates that foreign clubs who sign American players must pay set training compensation and solidarity fees to youth clubs who have invested resources in the players training and education. The money must go back to paying for similar training for other young American players, which is quite a noble goal given how expensive elite youth soccer in America can be. However US Soccer appears not to be following these regulations at present, and until they do the Galaxy, Chivas USA and every other MLS club will watch young local players whose training they have subsidized run off to European for absolutely nothing.
What do you think? What measures do US Soccer, MLS and youth soccer clubs need to take to protect their investment in the development of talented young players?
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