J
jsbach
Guest
Donovan, Beasley Honored in NewZealand
(Taken from SoccerSpot)
by Corey Holman (27 November 1999)
Are Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley the world's best young players? According to the media
covering the recently-concluded U-17 World Championships, they are.
Donovan, a 17-year old forward with Germany's Bayer Leverkusen, and Beasley, another 17-year old
midfielder who has signed with Los Angeles, were give the "golden" and "silver" balls respectively. Those
awards are given to the top players in the tournament, and highlight a world-class effort by the U.S. team.
As for the team, they lost in the semifinal round to Australia, falling in the eighth round of penalty kicks
despite controlling the final 75 minutes of play. The first 45 minutes killed the US as Australia took a 2-0
lead. The US went on to lose to Ghana in the third-place game as fatigue finally caught up with the young
superstars.
Donovan tallied only three goals in the tournament, but his play carried his teammates to the fourth-place
finish, ahead of traditional youth powers Uruguay and Mexico and some big names like Germany and Spain.
The fourth-place finish is the best of any US National Team since the seniors at the 1930 World Cup.
The only professional on the team to have actually played for his club team, Donovan scored the
game-winning goal against New Zealand in the tournament's opening game, then went on to draw a penalty
late in the game against Poland to give his team the 1-1 draw. He also scored the US' first goal against
Australia to set them on the road for a comeback.
Beasley had one goal in the tournament, a brilliant strike against Mexico in the quarter-finals from 30 yards
out, and two assists. It was his domination of the right wing and his outpacing of opponents with a deft
touch that caught the attention of the media in giving him the silver boot. His lighting runs through the
middle of the field also caused headaches for each of his adversaries.
Oguchi Onyewu also stood out in the defense for the US and it will likely only be a matter of time before
European teams try to lure him away from the college ranks. MLS representatives were also at the
tournament scouting both homegrown talent for the Project-40 system (Beasley and Seth Trembley are
already members of the system) and young foreign talent.
(Taken from SoccerSpot)
by Corey Holman (27 November 1999)
Are Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley the world's best young players? According to the media
covering the recently-concluded U-17 World Championships, they are.
Donovan, a 17-year old forward with Germany's Bayer Leverkusen, and Beasley, another 17-year old
midfielder who has signed with Los Angeles, were give the "golden" and "silver" balls respectively. Those
awards are given to the top players in the tournament, and highlight a world-class effort by the U.S. team.
As for the team, they lost in the semifinal round to Australia, falling in the eighth round of penalty kicks
despite controlling the final 75 minutes of play. The first 45 minutes killed the US as Australia took a 2-0
lead. The US went on to lose to Ghana in the third-place game as fatigue finally caught up with the young
superstars.
Donovan tallied only three goals in the tournament, but his play carried his teammates to the fourth-place
finish, ahead of traditional youth powers Uruguay and Mexico and some big names like Germany and Spain.
The fourth-place finish is the best of any US National Team since the seniors at the 1930 World Cup.
The only professional on the team to have actually played for his club team, Donovan scored the
game-winning goal against New Zealand in the tournament's opening game, then went on to draw a penalty
late in the game against Poland to give his team the 1-1 draw. He also scored the US' first goal against
Australia to set them on the road for a comeback.
Beasley had one goal in the tournament, a brilliant strike against Mexico in the quarter-finals from 30 yards
out, and two assists. It was his domination of the right wing and his outpacing of opponents with a deft
touch that caught the attention of the media in giving him the silver boot. His lighting runs through the
middle of the field also caused headaches for each of his adversaries.
Oguchi Onyewu also stood out in the defense for the US and it will likely only be a matter of time before
European teams try to lure him away from the college ranks. MLS representatives were also at the
tournament scouting both homegrown talent for the Project-40 system (Beasley and Seth Trembley are
already members of the system) and young foreign talent.