Just 18 years old, Kekuta Manneh is one of the most exciting prospects to enter the MLS in quite some time and has the possibly the highest upside and potential of any soccer player in the 2013 MLS Draft.  Hailing from the African nation of Gambia, Manneh is both quick and highly composed in front of goal.  Since his arrival to America playing for Texas semi-pro developmental teams like the Texas Rush, Lonestar SC, and the Austin Aztex, Manneh has scored tons of goals.

At just age 18 with so much skill, Manneh has actually trained with the Chelsea youth team and has also been scouted by Arsenal. These are two of the top teams in the English Premier League and typically only recruit the best players in the world.  However, Manneh enlisted in the MLS draft and was selected 4^th overall by the Vancouver Whitecaps.

At Vancouver, Kekuta Manneh will team up with an exciting batch of young forwards that includes Jamaican speedster Darren Mattocks and Mexican American, Omar Salgado.  Forming a young trio with burning speed, the Whitecaps should be one of the most exciting teams to watch in the MLS this year, and they could surprise the league with a strong offensive unit.

The Vancouver Whitecaps just squeaked into the MLS Cup Playoffs last season but were ousted by eventual champions, the Los Angeles Galaxy.  However, with David Beckham’s departure, the Galaxy may suffer a bit of a setback leaving the Western Conference of the league wide open for a newcomer.

Perhaps suggestions of a dominating year for Kekuta Manneh may be a bit premature considering the forward is just 18 years old and entering his first serious play at the professional level, but one must suspect that Manneh’s ability to take over the MLS is more a matter of when than if.  Manneh is one of the most composed youngsters around in front of goal.

Don Gemmel, the technical director of the Rush Soccer club described Manneh as “the best pure finisher I have ever coached”.  Simply said, this is the type of player that takes his chances and creates many as well with his impressive speed.  Perhaps it is too early to make the comparison, but he sounds like a young Thierry Henry.  The Whitecaps won’t be facing Henry and the New York Red Bulls until June, but by that time perhaps Kekuta Manneh will be an integral part of the lineup.

Overall the Whitecaps will need to start scoring some more goals.  Defensively, they have a great veteran leader in Jay DeMerit, but players like Mattocks, Salgado, and now Manneh will need to take the next step for a team that only scored 35 goals last season.

The MLS will need to be a bit patient with Kekuta Manneh as the striker is just 18 years old, and might take a few years to become a world-class striker, but if he can develop and learn at the Vancouver Whitecaps, Manneh may become a premier striker that puts American soccer development on the map.

Premier League Week in Review (February 24^th-February 26^th)

Tottenham vs West Ham

In front of 35,000 supporters at Upton Park, Gareth Bale continued his path into stardom as the 23-year old had another performance for the ages for Tottenham. He scored a brace with an ever-so-important 90^th minute game-winning strike that is sure to break into the top goals of the year chart.

Bale opened the scoring against the Hammers in the 13^th minute before the relatively forgotten Andy Carroll leveled from the penalty spot in the 25^th minute. West Ham would eventually take the lead through a Joe Cole goal, but the Spurs substitute, Gylfi Sigurdsson, equalized in the 76^th minute after a Gareth Bale free kick saw the ball being scrambled inside the box.

Jussi Jaaskelainen was in top gear for West Ham despite the 3-goal outburst as he had plenty of top class saves, but there was no denying Gareth Bale’s 90^th minute screamer. Bale found himself on the ground after being flattened by a tackle before getting the ball back and taking a shot towards the far post upper 90 from 25 yards out to seal the 3 points for Tottenham in this London derby.

Why this Game was Important?

The best player in the Premier League this season has been Gareth Bale and he has continued to show his superiority with a rare blend of strength, skill and speed that can only be matched by Cristiano Ronaldo. In terms of the Premier League standings, Tottenham have now passed Chelsea to solely take 3^rd place in the crucial fight for Champions League football. On the other end of the table, West Ham continues to plummet and now finds themselves only  2 games above the relegation zone.

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Arsenal vs Aston Villa

After being humiliated by Bayern Munich in the Champions League and by Blackburn in Cup play, Arsenal could not afford to lose again. They were playing 18^th placed Aston Villa and came up with a 2-1 win with a brace from their Spanish hero, Santi Cazorla in front of 60,000 supporters at the Emirates. The first of Cazorla’s two strikes came in the 6^th minute after his initial shot was blocked. He was fortunate to have a second crack at goal and took full advantage with a lovely curling effort past American keeper Brad Guzan (who came up with many crucial saves).

Arsenal had several more chances that they did not capitalize on and they were made to pay for it in the 68^th minute. Guzan punted the ball long and Carl Jenkinson was unable to control the ball before Weimann took matters into his own hands by dribbling nearly half the field before a week shot found its way past Szczesny. Arsenal, continuing to throw numbers forward in search of a winner, were lucky not to go behind throughout the game, but the gamble paid off in the 85^th minute as Cazorla latched onto a Nacho Monreal cross to give Arsenal all 3 points.

Why this Game was Important?

Arsenal is a club who has lost their top-dog status in recent seasons. They continually sell their top players to rival clubs every season and in doing so, have not won a trophy for 8 years. If they fail to make the Champions League and all the money that comes with it, Arsenal may be in big trouble so the race for 4^th place is huge. Similarly, with Aston Villa, they were once a club fighting for Europa League spots but have now seen their stock dramatically fall to the point that they are favored to be relegated and every game now becomes a massive one.

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The big news in the MLS offseason was clearly that David Beckham has moved on to Paris.  However, life will go on and there are tons of other exceptional players still residing in the league, though I fear none are quite as handsome as the former England captain.  Oh well.  After Beckham capped a glorious exit with a MLS Cup victory with the Los Angeles Galaxy, what do we have in store for us in 2013 in America’s favorite soccer league?

Look out for D.C. United.  After finishing last year in 3^rd place overall in the MLS standings, D.C. United reached the Conference Finals before succumbing to the powerful defence of the Houston Dynamo.  D.C. United has a great balance of promising youth and veteran leaders on their team.  The main star and creative force is Canadian Dwayne De Rosario.  At 34 years old, he has shown the wisdom to make smart plays and still has enough in the tank to lead this team to greatness.  But what excites me most is this team’s promising young crop of players highlighted by MLS Rookie of the Year runner-up Nick DeLeon.  The 7^th choice in last year’s MLS draft had a fantastic season in midfield capped off by a glorious last gasp goal against the New York Red Bulls in the last season’s conference semi-finals in a heated match facing stars like Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill.  Such poise and big-game impact makes me believe that DeLeon is for real.  Additionally, this team has a great young goalkeeper in Bill Hamid, who has already earned a cap with the USA National Team and is just 22 years old.  25-year-old striker Chris Pontius has been steadily rising in his first few years in the league and appears set to be a crucial player in 2013.  The team also traded for Casey Townsend, the number 5 pick in last year’s draft who could become an integral young star in D.C. United’s future.  This team looks destined for greatness and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them late in the MLS Cup playoffs again this year.

Will the Galaxy win 3 MLS Cups in a row?  With Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane still pulling the strings offensively, this Galaxy team is still a force to be reckoned with.  Perhaps some of the allure will be missing without Beckham, but they will still be among the best teams in the MLS. Their backline is also impressive with both Omar Gonzalez and Todd Dunivant.  Dunivant is a steely MLS veteran while Gonzalez is a 24-year-old star in the making who has earned several call-ups to the American National team.  I think that the task of winning a 3^rd straight MLS Cup may be too tall an order for the Galaxy, but they will be in the conversation throughout the year and are rightly one of the favorites.

2013 looks sure to provide another exciting season of MLS soccer.  Play is set to begin in just 2 weeks and will surely see interesting new happenings in the game.  I do sense that this could be the Red Bulls’ year since Tim Cahill and Thierry Henry will have had more time to gel with one another and should become a great tandem.  There will be a long ways to go this season to see how it all plays out.  Get ready for some MLS soccer soon!

The final stage of 2014 World Cup qualification got off to a horrendous start yesterday with the USA falling 2-1 in Honduras.  Although America has 9 more games to right this wrong and qualify for Brazil next year, the game showcased a monumental problem for America and better provide a serious wake up call to the players who will surely be disappointed and frustrated with how they played in this match.

Although Honduras didn’t take the lead until the 79^th minute, they deserved to win this game and were clearly the better side.  The game stats reveal that Honduras had 57% of the possession, and they dictated the match from the early goings.  Although a lovely piece of skill by Jermaine Jones and Clint Dempsey saw America take the lead against the run of play, the fact that Honduras fought back will have surprised no one.

Juan Garcia’s fabulous bicycle goal off of a corner surpassed the skill of Dempsey’s goal to equalize just moments later.  But when some terrible and lazy defending literally gave the game to Jerry Bengston and Honduras, one has to question the backbone of the American soccer team.

Geoff Cameron and Omar Gonzalez should not be anywhere near the American starting lineup again after this goal.  Both players were equally lazy in defending the opportunity and could have prevented the loss with a bit of grit and determination.  Yes, the conditions were difficult with high humidity and temperatures in the 80’s, but that can hardly be an excuse.  If America is able to reach Brazil, you’d better expect similar weather conditions, and if the USA can’t still provide enough of a spark to play hard late in the game, we will be embarrassed at the World Cup.

Offensively, the USA was woeful as well in this game.  Jozy Altidore will have won no more of Jurgen Klinsmann’s faith with his one-shot performance, and he rarely got a sniff at goal.  Although he can avoid blame through his despicable support that he received, Altidore didn’t make enough effort to get into the action and come back to fight for the ball. The only players who looked capable in this match were Michael Bradley, Tim Howard, and Clint Dempsey.  Everyone else seemed to be taking the game too relaxed and it costed the team in the end.

Yes, Landon Donovan was sorely missed and could have provided some serious help, but this team cannot depend upon a player considering retirement.  The talent amongst the team is clearly there, highlighted by the prestigious European clubs that our players represent, but there seems to be a definite lack of intensity in the American team.  That belief and hard work was clearly missing from the American side as they allowed Honduras to pass their way around and dictate the entire game.  We can only hope that this defeat provides a wake up call to the American team, and that their effort will improve as qualification plows on through the spring.  If not, we could very easily see the USA humiliated and unable to qualify for the 2014 World Cup.  Let’s hope the next match shows a more dedicated team!