2025-04-14, 03:55 PM - Word count: 616
When putting together a roster in any sport, there's a number of factors coaches, managers, and front office staff need to consider. Current Talent, Potiential, Personality, and Position are a few that come to mind. But there's another that needs to be considered as well that isn't always spoken of:
Age vs Experience.
Do you go with a roster full of well known, seasoned veterans approaching or past their prime?
A blend of fresh faces with league stalwarts to act as mentors?
Or, as União São Paulo appear to have done, focus on the raw potential of a slew of young talent.
União São Paulo boast the youngest average experience of their roster at 3.7 seasons in the league. The Minors Team, AS Paris, has an average of 3.4 season, though this number is slightly skewed due to an aging keeper and an additional man on the bench at time of writing. (Paris is NOT the youngest team in the minors this season, that honor belongs to Tokyo's Minor team in Cairo City, which will boast a whopping TEN rookies on the roster)
In spite of their young rosters (Or perhaps because of them), both teams finished well in the league, with São Paulo finishing 3rd in the league, just 3 points behind Champion and Cup winners Reykjavik United, and AS Paris finishing 4th, though the gap to league winners Montreal United was much larger at 14 points.
For São Paulo, it's clear that the roster they've put together is solid. With the experienced back four of Kirkpatrick, Eilish, Cotswold, and Peixoto, as well as Aquilera in net, I feel this young team will be incredibly hard to score on in season 20, and could easily make a run for the league title this season. The biggest question mark of this Major League roster (again, on paper) will be Midfielder Zach Mulder. Mulder is entering his sophomore season, and while he boasts some INCREDIBLE physical abilities (This players is the embodiment of a speed demon), it will be interesting to see how his mental and technical game develop moving forward.
As for AS Paris, the Minor League roster boasts 3 fresh faces from the academy level in Midfielder Dunkler Sowerwine, and Defenders Jakob Fensterhausen and Ashito Aoi, the latter two of which have, in my opinion, a bit of a challenge this season. Which leads me to the biggest question for this Paris roster, Keeper Patrick Carrigan. Entering his 13th season in the SSL, Carrigan is the second oldest keeper in the league (behind Dexter Hall of F.C. Kaapstad). And while his experience is INVALUABLE to helping this young roster in the locker room and on the pitch, he's certainly not the keeper he was 5 or 6 seasons ago. That said though, if he's able to show flashes of greatness between the sticks, which I believe him more then capable of still, Paris could repeat their result from last season, if not climb to a top 3 finish.
In conclusion, the staff at União São Paulo have done an excellent job fielding rosters that are well balanced. Like I mentioned earlier, I could see this Major League team in the mix for the league title this season. Paris, on the other hand, faces a bit of an uphill battle in my opinion but I still see them in the top half of the Minor League table when all is said and done. There's still 18 matches to go still, but I'm excited to see how things will play out for both teams this season.
Age vs Experience.
Do you go with a roster full of well known, seasoned veterans approaching or past their prime?
A blend of fresh faces with league stalwarts to act as mentors?
Or, as União São Paulo appear to have done, focus on the raw potential of a slew of young talent.
União São Paulo boast the youngest average experience of their roster at 3.7 seasons in the league. The Minors Team, AS Paris, has an average of 3.4 season, though this number is slightly skewed due to an aging keeper and an additional man on the bench at time of writing. (Paris is NOT the youngest team in the minors this season, that honor belongs to Tokyo's Minor team in Cairo City, which will boast a whopping TEN rookies on the roster)
In spite of their young rosters (Or perhaps because of them), both teams finished well in the league, with São Paulo finishing 3rd in the league, just 3 points behind Champion and Cup winners Reykjavik United, and AS Paris finishing 4th, though the gap to league winners Montreal United was much larger at 14 points.
For São Paulo, it's clear that the roster they've put together is solid. With the experienced back four of Kirkpatrick, Eilish, Cotswold, and Peixoto, as well as Aquilera in net, I feel this young team will be incredibly hard to score on in season 20, and could easily make a run for the league title this season. The biggest question mark of this Major League roster (again, on paper) will be Midfielder Zach Mulder. Mulder is entering his sophomore season, and while he boasts some INCREDIBLE physical abilities (This players is the embodiment of a speed demon), it will be interesting to see how his mental and technical game develop moving forward.
As for AS Paris, the Minor League roster boasts 3 fresh faces from the academy level in Midfielder Dunkler Sowerwine, and Defenders Jakob Fensterhausen and Ashito Aoi, the latter two of which have, in my opinion, a bit of a challenge this season. Which leads me to the biggest question for this Paris roster, Keeper Patrick Carrigan. Entering his 13th season in the SSL, Carrigan is the second oldest keeper in the league (behind Dexter Hall of F.C. Kaapstad). And while his experience is INVALUABLE to helping this young roster in the locker room and on the pitch, he's certainly not the keeper he was 5 or 6 seasons ago. That said though, if he's able to show flashes of greatness between the sticks, which I believe him more then capable of still, Paris could repeat their result from last season, if not climb to a top 3 finish.
In conclusion, the staff at União São Paulo have done an excellent job fielding rosters that are well balanced. Like I mentioned earlier, I could see this Major League team in the mix for the league title this season. Paris, on the other hand, faces a bit of an uphill battle in my opinion but I still see them in the top half of the Minor League table when all is said and done. There's still 18 matches to go still, but I'm excited to see how things will play out for both teams this season.
