2011 MLS Draft: Omar Salgado Goes No. 1 Overall To The Vancouver Whitecaps

Stumptown Footy’s Geoff Gibson was able to interview Nagbe post draft. Among the issues that were touched upon was the circumstances around how he ended up not going No. 1. There was a rumor circulating that he was going to refuse to play for Vancouver. While he admitted to preferring to staying in the United States, where he’s lived since moving with his family from Liberia in 2001, he vehemently denied that he’d refuse to play for Vancouver.

Nagbe went on to talk about how excited he is to playing in front of supporters like the Timbers Army. When he was told that fans have already been coming up with chants for him, he seemed almost embarrassed.

The Daily Wiz’s Andy Edward had a chance to chat with SKC’s newest addition.

A few hours after any draft is not the right time to assess winners and losers. In the case of the MLS SuperDraft, where teams probably won’t know if the guys they picked are any good for at least a year or two, it’s even sillier. But that shouldn’t stop us from at least trying to assess who looks like a better team today than they did yesterday and which teams look pretty much the same.

Seattle Sounders: There were no doubt a lot of people scratching their heads when the Sounders traded their first-round pick, which eventually ended up in Houston’s hands. But it’s hard to argue when they still ended up getting Michael Tetteh with the second pick of the second round. Tetteh was widely projected as a first-rounder and was signed to a Generation Adidas contract. Whether or not you believe the Sounders when they say all five of their players were in their top 23, this pick combined with the allocation money they picked up when they dealt the No. 11 pick make this a clear win.

While not ever meant to be a scientific study, it’s still kinda fun to go back and look at some of the bigger mock drafts and see how they came out. Not trying to be all judgmental here, but we all got it pretty wrong. Suffice it to say, MLS is still looking for its Todd McShay or Mel Kiper

Of the six mock drafts I looked at, MLSsoccer.com’s Travis Clark was the only prognosticator to get more than one pick exactly right. And even two his three correct picks were aided by trades. WV Hooligan’s Drew Epperley correctly named 14 of the 18 players to be picked in the first round, better than any of the other five. Soccer by Ives was the only source that managed to even have all 18 of their first-round picks selected in the first three rounds.

In Salgado, the Whitecaps have a player that has all the physical tools to be one of the next great American strikers, but also one who has shown little ability to find the back of the net while playing for the Chivas reserve team. At 6-foot-4, 170 pounds and left-footed, he certainly presents a unique body frame. Chances are, he won’t play much his rookie year, but if he is able to develop in Vancouver, was almost universally believed to have the highest upside.

The next big surprise of the draft was Zac MacMath going to the Philadelphia Union with the No. 5 selection. MacMath was almost universally believed to be the top goalkeeper available in the draft, but was not expected by many to go in the top 10. The reason for this belief is mostly based on the fact that so few coaches are willing to roll the dice with young goalkeepers. With Faryd Mondragon rumored to be close to signing with the Union, little will be expected of MacMath early in his career. In two or three years, this pick may end up being lauded as one of the best.

Despite playing a defensive role, he scored 18 goals over his four-year career in which he started every game he played. He was lauded as being a vocal team leader at Stanford and will likely compete for a backup spot with the defending Western Conference champions.

Despite playing well at the combine, there are some significant concerns about Cardozo’s size. He stands just 5-foot-4, the smallest players in this year’s draft pool. He was signed as a youth by Argentine power River Plate and has been at Quilmes the last two years.

Prior to transferring to Michigan as a junior, he scored 51 goals and had 30 assists in 52 games at Yavapai College. During his two-year Michigan career, he continued to perform at a high level, scoring 24 goals and registering 14 assists in 41 games.

With so many players leaving this offseason, Meram is a player that will likely be given a chance to contribute almost right away.

At the combine, Estupinan was among the more impressive players. Prior to that, he led the reserve squad of Quito to their championship and led the reserves in scoring.

Real Salt Lake was the original owners of the pick, but did what many expected of them and traded out of the position. RSL has not always seen the draft as the way they want to build their team, and said they were unlikely to find a player that could help right away at this point in the draft.

Hertzog scored 20 goals and had six assists in 22 matches during his senior year. He led the NCAA in goals and points (46), while earning second-team All America honors.

The 6-foot-2, 194-pounder was among the larger players in the draft pool and put up ridiculous scoring numbers during his junior year. In just 20 matches, Bruin scored 18 goals and had five assists while doing battle in the always tough Big 10. In his three-year career, Bruin scored 33 goals and registered nine assists.

CJ Sapong did not get a lot of attention while playing at James Madison University, but putting up numbers like he did proved too difficult for Sporting Kansas City to ignore. The former Wizards took the 6-foot-1, 185-pound forward with the No. 10 overall pick.

Whether or not he’s allowed to play right away, SKC no doubt has visions of Sapong forming a longterm partnership with Teal Bunbury. Sapong scored 37 goals during his four-year college career, including 12 goals and nine assists in just 18 games his senior year. Sapong continued to impress at the combine, where he was lauded as one of the top players.

The center back is more of a shutdown defender and has the physical presence for it. He’s 6-foot-0 and 175 pounds and has been on the U-18 and U-20 United States youth teams.

The Fire are in dire need of players at this point, having lost both of their starting center backs during the offseason. Anibaba will likely start almost right away.

Nanchoff is almost the polar opposite of Omar Salgado, who the Whitecaps took with the first overall pick. While Salgado is most physical specimen with little performance data to show for it, Nanchoff has played well above his physical stature might suggest. He went from not starting a single game his freshman year to scoring five goals and registering 11 assists in 20 games his sophomore year to breaking out his junior year. That senior year earned him a Generation Adidas contract and now a likely starting spot in MLS.

Okay, this is getting embarrassing. It was bad enough that none of the media had any idea that Omar Salgado was the first overall pick 48 hours ago. It turns out that Major League Soccer’s commissioner didn’t know that Omar Salgado was the first overall pick as of the start of the draft. Below is one of the most incredible sports-related things I have ever seen on the internet.

Coming off the first playoff-less year since moving to Houston, the Dynamo made a move to shore up a defense that yielded 49 goals last season. Their defense was the second worst in MLS last year, and Sarkodie will be given a chance to start right away.

He’ll most likely be slotted at right back, where he’ll use his world-class speed to help stretch the field. Sarkodie had a huge junior year, scoring eight goals and registered six assists for Akron.

Soares is expected to play center back in MLS and has shown flashes of offensive ability during his four years at Cal. He scored 10 goals and has four assists, including five goals his senior year.

Breaking a three-pick trend, the Philadelphia Union selected Maryland product Zac MacMath with the fifth overall pick. The 19-year-old goalkeeper is unlikely to be expected to start right away, as the Union are reportedly close to agreeing to a contract with former FC Koln goalkeeper Faryd Mandragon. MacMath will likely be given a chance to learn under the 39-year-old.

If MacMath is expected to play, however, he is unlikely to lead his team to the playoffs anytime soon. No goalkeeper younger than 23 has ever led their team to the playoffs, and goalkeepers younger than 25 often struggle early in their careeers.

Valentin will almost certainly start camp as a starter at fullback. His passing has been considered one of his top assets, although he had just one assist during two years at Akron.

Chivas USA was probably somewhat impressed by the fact that Valentin speaks fluent Spanish and has been on the United States youth teams ever since U-15.

Personally, I’m a fan of picking the best player available, regardless of need and position. At third overall, Perry Kitchen was the best player available. In my opinion, he can start at defensive midfield in MLS tomorrow and he was the best player in the draft. When the best player in the draft falls to you at No. 3, you have to pick him.

The problem with D.C. picking Kitchen is that the center of midfield, particularly defensive or box-to-box midfielders, is the only position where D.C. is pretty set. The Black and Red need a lot of help right now, but Clyde Simms and Dax McCarty could be staples of an MLS Cup contender. Kitchen is able to play along the back line, but I think that’s a waste of his talents. He’s a defensive midfielder, and a great one.

For several weeks, we’ve been hearing that Perry Kitchen had as high an upside as any player in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft. The defensive midfielder/center back is a physical specimen, showcasing athletic ability that had scouts drooling. Despite playing a defensive position at Akron, he scored six goals in his freshman year.

Kitchen could potentially help on both ends. He should be a stout defensive player, while still offering some offensive ability on set pieces.

Up until a few days ago, Nagbe was believed to be the clear No. 1 pick. But he skipped the MLS Combine and rumors had begun to circulate that he did not want to play in Canada.