Posted by

Aaron Nielsen ,

September 15, 2017 Email

Aaron Nielsen



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@ENBSports

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As long as I have been aware of Marco Bustos, I have had excitement for his potential. I’ve gone as far as penciling him in as a next generation Canadian National Team player with expectations to join only a handful of Canadians as a regular starter in MLS. Given his current playing situation, one would assume he's now taken a step backwards in his career, as the 21 year old hasn't played a first team minute with the Whitecaps this season. He has been playing with Whitecaps II, a side that are a shadow of themselves from last season, as they have followed more the path of TFC II for their USL club, who don’t appear to seriously try and compete at the second level of US/Canadian Soccer. However, when I was reviewing USL numbers for this season, Bustos stuck out as having a good, if not above average, season this year based on his circumstances. Bustos has scored seven goals in the USL this year, the same amount he scored last season, yet in 400 fewer minutes. If he plays out the season in USL he could score 10 goals, and this is for a player who plays in the midfield deeper than your average double-digit goal scorer. One would like more assists, however, Bustos averages a key pass per game which should have led to more assists than just his one this season. His other stats, such as passing, thru balls, dribbles, touches and passes to the 18 yard box, and even his defensive data, has improved and is comparable with some of the top players in the USL. My take, and the reason I'm writing this article, is to critique the Whitecaps and MLS in general for not developing players. Development is not only about training and producing players, but creating a pipeline so these players have somewhere to go after reaching their peak at the academy level. From information I have read and heard, it seems the Vancouver Whitecaps have no interest in Bustos being a Whitecaps first team player. Instead, there have been rumours of him playing for a club in Chile, or Europe, as he has an Italian passport. If this is the case I hope Canada's National Team and Octavio Zambrano gets involved, as I don't want him to have ill will against Canada once he's playing somewhere else. In following up on where he might head next season, I came across an interesting article about Bustos appropriately called the "Bustos Paradox". It is a well-written and thorough article, although one with conclusions that Bustos is somewhat at fault for where we are now. The writer is clearly a Whitecaps first team supporter, and with them currently being more successful is the perspective he is coming from. My views are different, as I generally don’t have any allegiences with regards to the player or team. If I was employed by the Whitecaps regarding player personnel, I might have difficulty playing Bustos over almost every player in the world. Although if the debate, as the article points out, is between him and Yordy Reyna, I would like to begin by show both players touch map from this season (pre midweek's fixture against Minnesota).

Is Bustos a better player then Reyna? That has yet to seen, although Bustos is making $70,000 a year and has the potential to be sold for a significant transfer fee. Yordy Reyna is making $533,000 and even if he was to become a star in MLS, his transfer fee would be minimal because his new club would have to pay his expected salary as well. Reyna has some decent skills, yet I know for a fact a number of MLS clubs turned him down at the start of the season. Added, for $533,000 a year I could list a number of players who are better value, however, what is also true right now is these players would also be better for the first team than Bustos. Like many things regarding MLS, to be blunt, sometimes the bigger picture of the game or more importantly the business side of the sport is overlooked. In the article the author points out that players might not value playing for the Whitecaps and uses Ajax as example of passion for the team. Ironically, at Ajax, Bustos would likely at this point be a second/third year first team starter, and if successful, there would talks about moving to one of the big four European leagues. Ajax develops most of their players from within, and most of them to sell for large profits. Currently in MLS, clubs will have youth players signed to their roster for three years at around $70,000 a year and then let them go on a free transfer, if they are that lucky. Ajax doesn't care if the player is an Ajax fan, they just want to make the most money possible, and the players know this and agree because it means they are in one of the best environments to advance their careers and also make money. The fact that Bustos, Froese, Adekugbe, and Zanatta might leave the Whitecaps has nothing to do with a lack of commitment by the player and is purely that the Whitecaps have failed in their ability to deliver what they promised the player when they first joined the club. Now this issue is not only a Vancouver Whitecaps issue, it is an MLS issue. There are a number of young players in USL, who like Bustos, will most likely never get an MLS opportunity despite being the top prospects in Canada and United States. It is a sign of naivety and poor management by MLS and will probably result in a lost generation of North American soccer players. This is also something I wrote about a number of years ago that was mostly ignored. The issue MLS is facing now is the fan expectations are greater than the quality on the field. Players such as Bustos, or a Jonathan Osorio or even a Cyle Larin, are criticized for making mistakes and not being good enough, however, when you look at their ages in comparison to players in the world game, these player would potentially be identified as future stars worth millions on the transfer market. For many clubs in Europe, player development is important not only for how the team does in the standings but also how the club maintains itself as a business. The idea that you can continue to sign in new players and be a good team is not a realistic business model. Even big teams in Europe produce a cash flow from player development to help finance the transfer fees and salaries they might spend. Even China, who are often compared to MLS in terms of big money player recruiting, only allow four foreign players per club, so most players in China are developing players who play for their home club. While in MLS, the number of homegrown players minutes is less then 10% of the total minutes played in MLS. This article and response is directed towards the overall trend of young players in MLS appearing to slip through the cracks. These players are being replaced, in many cases, by ones most people have never hear of, like Yordy Reyna before the Whitecaps signed him, or in turn possibly 90% of the players MLS might potentially bring in. Many MLS fans get hyped up by the youtube videos and the fact a new signing played with Red Bull Salzburg, Ajax, PSV or FC Copenhagen, which creates an assumption that these players are better, than say, a player of Bustos quality. It should be mentioned for MLS to get access to players like Yordy Reyna at his age, the player like Bustos, in the noted author's opinion, never cut it at said MLS club, and as a result are basically unwanted by most pro clubs in the world. The irony is, if Bustos moved on to one of these development clubs or leagues and succeeded, he would be too good for MLS. If he failed, he'd then be a prime target to replace Renya on the current Vancouver Whitecaps, yet at a much higher cost.



Aaron Neilsen is a co-founder of Prospect XI (Prospect Eleven), a scouting network and online magazine dedicated to tracking/highlighting young players that refer to as "prospects" as well as their development pathways both within North America and worldwide. Follow PXI via www.prospectxi.com or on twitter @ProspectXI.