Grella Gets a Game

[burnspbesq]

Former Duke forward Mike Grella, who didn't get into the league opener on Saturday, started and played 83 minutes for Leeds United tonight in its 1-0 win over Darlington in the first round of the Carling Cup.

Congrats to Mike. All Dukies (even the ones who claim to hate soccer) are proud of you.

[burnspbesq]

http://www.skysports.com/video/clips/0,23791,12602_5484086,00.html

[dkbaseball]

I've been in Europe for a couple of months, and naturally have been exposed to plenty of soccer news. I keep hearing the name Jay Heaps. Apparently the US national team had a pretty good run in a tournament last month and Heaps seemed always to be in the middle of things. Perhaps someone who knows more about soccer and/or Heaps than I can weigh in. Am I remembering correctly that he was a walk-on for the hoops team?

[MChambers]

Yep, he sure was. Think he was on the 1999 team, in fact. He's had an amazing soccer career.

[burnspbesq]

I've been in Europe for a couple of months, and naturally have been exposed to plenty of soccer news. I keep hearing the name Jay Heaps. Apparently the US national team had a pretty good run in a tournament last month and Heaps seemed always to be in the middle of things. Perhaps someone who knows more about soccer and/or Heaps than I can weigh in. Am I remembering correctly that he was a walk-on for the hoops team?

Jay was called in for the recently completed Gold Cup (the championship of the North and Central America and Caribbean regional federation), as part of what was frankly a US developmental team. He appeared in, IIRC, four of the six matches, and helped the US reach its third consecutive Gold Cup final. Alas, in the final he was the victim of an absolutely horrible call that resulted in a penalty kick for Mexico, and that successful Mexican PK was the start of a very long afternoon for the US.

Jay has returned to his club team, the New England Revolution. The Revs have been crippled by injuries to key players this season - but that has led to ample playing time for former Duke player Darrius Barnes.

[Oriole Way]

Has Grella ever been considered for any of the U.S. National teams?

[FreezingDevil]

Has Grella ever been considered for any of the U.S. National teams?

I think Mike played for the U.S U-19 team and he may have been in contention for the U-21 as well. But he has never been called up by the senior team. But if he can perform well and continue to develop at Leeds, then he could be called up at some point in the next few years. Bob Bradley has demonstrated that he likes to give a large number of players a shot, so I would bet Mike is on Bob's radar screen.

[COYS]

I think Mike played for the U.S U-19 team and he may have been in contention for the U-21 as well. But he has never been called up by the senior team. But if he can perform well and continue to develop at Leeds, then he could be called up at some point in the next few years. Bob Bradley has demonstrated that he likes to give a large number of players a shot, so I would bet Mike is on Bob's radar screen.

Also, even though the US has a number of promising young attacking players in Altidore and Davies, and a few veteran attacking mid/forward types like Dempsey and Donovan, ever since Brian McBride retired, no one has really laid any sort of absolute claim to the role of pure striker for the national team. Jozy and Davies certainly have the physical tools to succeed and I personally would hope that they will continue to develop and become unquestionable stars for the team, but our striker pool is still very shallow and any combination of injuries or poor form from our strikers over the next five years will definitely give a chance to any number of other candidates.

[burnspbesq]

Mike's first challenge is to get consistent playing time. Right now he's stuck behind the best player in League One, Jermaine Beckford, on the Leeds depth chart. There have been tons of rumors about Beckford being transferred to a team in a higher division, but so far none of them have proven out.

It would also help his national team ambitions if Leeds were to get promoted this year. The caliber of competition in the Championship is dramatically better than in League One. If he can be a consistent goal-scorer at that level, then he is highly likely to get a look, perhaps for the 2011 Gold Cup.