USLsoccer.com News Exclusive
Thursday, October 22, 2009
TAMPA, FL -- The Austin Aztex trip to England may prove fruitful for several players as interest from teams in England and abroad have potential moves on the horizon for a few, including Kieron Bernard, who is remaining with Stoke for an additional two weeks of training.
According to Gary Mellor of Beswicks Solicitors, an English sports management and law firm, a number of players have received interest from clubs in England, Spain, Holland and Italy. Mellor served as overseas advisor and organizer of the tour. Beswicks is an official partner of United Soccer Leagues following an agreement forged in August of 2008 that puts the English firm at the heart of USL’s efforts to develop affiliations and partnerships between European clubs and USL franchises in North America.
Bernard appears to be the hottest commodity following the three-game tour that concluded Tuesday. In addition to having an extended visit with the English Premier League side Stoke City, an affiliate club of the Aztex, the defender has sparked interest from unidentified La Liga, Serie A and top Dutch sides as well as Spanish second division club Real Murcia.
“I knew what they would be looking for,” said Aztex head coach Adrian Heath about Bermard’s 6-3 height, left foot and good capabilities in the air. “It did not surprise me that we got three to four calls after our first game.”
“He knows he has a lot of work to do still, but he’s gotten a little taste, and the signs are very good.”
Rookie goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo also garnered some attention from Real Murcia, whose “international scout Paco Zaragoza was very interested in Miguel and Kieron,” said Mellor.
Heath commented that Gallardo “has had a very up and down season. It started fantastically well, then he suffered the broken leg in Puerto Rico, but it’s great how he come back to show so well.”
Gallardo made the move to the USL First Division in 2009 after earning Premier Development League Goalkeeper of the Year honors with the club’s U-23 team the year before, but missed much of the season due to injury.
Additionally, English striker Eddie Johnson may be seeing a move back home with interest coming from a pair of League One clubs and a third from League Two.
“I think it’s fair to say that before us, he had gotten a bit stale and we were an opportunity to revive his game,” said Heath. “It’s not any surprise that he’s doing well again. He’s staying back in England at home there since our season is done and weighing the different opportunities. If he want to come back to Austin, we’ll be happy to help him.”
Johnson was the lone player from the Aztex squad who received All-League honors at the end of the 2009 season by vote of the league’s coaches and general managers.
In general Heath said the scouts from throughout England and those based in England representing clubs abroad were impressed with the quality of the Aztex. “They were quite surprised at how competitive we were,” he said about the scouts’ reactions. “We enjoyed the trip, and it gave the players a very good idea of the professional game at that level.”
That’s exactly the intent of creating these kinds of tours said USL President Emeritus and Senior Director of International Development Francisco Marcos, who was recently in attendance with Mellor and Beswicks at the Football Leaders Conference in London, where they had discussions with several clubs from Europe and around the globe.
“Despite being just in their first year in USL-1 and second overall in existence, the club is leading by example in how these kinds of relationships can benefit clubs and players,” Marcos commented.
“Creating additional opportunities for players to develop and potential transfer revenues don’t just magically appear from nothing,” said Marcos. “European clubs have barely dipped their toes into North American waters when it comes to scouting, and if our teams want to advance themselves in this fashion, they have to begin looking toward relationships such as the one Austin has with Stoke, and begin taking their product to the masses as this tour has done. The reaction to just a handful of players from a club that was near-bottom this past season is just the tip of the iceberg of what could happen.”
Heath went on to add that aside from the trio that may find homes abroad following the England trip, another unidentified player has garnered significant interest from a team in Mexico, something that could see movement over the next few weeks.
Aztex Return Home
After closing out the tour with their third win, a 2-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday’s reserves, the Aztex returned home to Austin Wednesday. Check out the club’s blog for updates of their trip from community relations director Kay Rawlins, the wife of owner Phil Rawlins, who is also a director at Stoke. Aztex Blog [+]
