Estrada Stunned into Screaming after Sounders Selection in First Round

by Sounder At Heart on Jan 14, 2010 5:51 PM PST in Major League Soccer Comment 10 comments

Estrada wasn't at the Combine. He didn't go to Philly either.

"I did not expect it at all. If I was taken in the third round, I was going to be happy with it. Fourth round I was thinking maybe I should go back to school."

From his Conference Call with Seattle media. He said that when he found out he was picked in the first round he ran into his backyard screaming. He's a kid who has known some success but due to an injury seemed to have fallen off of many team's radar. Adrian, Sigi and Company though seem to want to give him a chance to return to that early luster.

Reading the quote from Chris Henderson it is apparent that the two spots where he'd fit best would be at Right Mid and Withdrawn Forward.

"David Estrada is a versatile player that can play up top, play wide, has good energy and can score goals." said Sounders FC Technical Director Chris Henderson. "We are looking forward to seeing him in camp with the rest of our group."

He'd be learning from that Ljungberg guy in that case, and Estrada knows the Seattle attack and the Freddayain fairly well, commenting on those two leading a great attack. An attack from which Sounders fans want to see more goals.

Estrada's skill set is one that reads more like a Euro player than an American. He's a technical guy with tactical knowledge and not a lot of size. He does have a some speed as well. He should be competing with King, and Fucito for depth in the attacking midfield and may even a shot at becoming a rotational if he can bump Levesque.

Here's Estrada being interviewed at Sounders FC's Vegas Tryouts

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Vegas

I feel a lot better knowing that they got a real good look at him at the Vegas tryout, though I am afraid he will just add to our roster of guys who will be mugged and beaten by opposition thugs to the stunning disinterest of MLS referees.

by brokejumper on Jan 14, 2010 9:32 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Not sure what to think of this pick

but I trust our FO and will withhold judgment. I will be very disappointed if our first round pick doesn’t make an impact this year, however. Wherever he does it is fine (CCL, USOC, MLS), but the FO has to show me, through significant minutes, that he was worth passing up some of the other players who, surprisingly, fell to #11.

by Cornchops on Jan 14, 2010 10:16 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Considering our sometimes woeful passing

This may not be a bad signing, if his technical skills are good.

by CarlosT on Jan 14, 2010 11:38 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

If it means more goals

and no months-long scoring drought like last year, I will be very pleased.

Hopefully the fact that he scored a bunch at UCLA means that he will be able to score a bunch at Qwest Field.

24 is clearly the most perfect of numbers.

by AMb1valenT on Jan 15, 2010 9:48 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Zak

scored a ton at Akron, and didn’t score a ton at Qwest. However, he moved from forward to wing, and made a big impact in other ways. And got a few goals, too.

Estrada says he’s a forward, Henderson said he can play all over. If he doesn’t play up, he might not score the goals, but if he can make an impact, then I’ll be happy.

by Cornchops on Jan 15, 2010 1:57 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

It sounds as if the Sounders front office thought there were eight good players in the draft

They were all picked ahead of Seattle. So, they decided to roll the dice and go for a player that could be very good or a bust. He had one great college season where he showed he has talent. Unfortunately, it was his freshman season.

Time will tell if this was a wasted pick. So far, except for Zak, the Sounders drafts have been underwhelming. But, that has not stopped them from being one of the top teams in MLS.

by Coug1990 on Jan 15, 2010 9:55 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Building through the draft.

I think the lack of playing time from draft picks we made last year shows building through the draft is not the best idea. You can restock talent and add one or two good players but I think Philly is making a bit of a mistake stocking up on so many extremely young players and draft picks. I don’t know anything really about college soccer so I can’t really comment on the draft other then say that Sigi and Adrian have never let us down and have succeaded at every level. That makes me feel a bit better about their choices. I’ll trust their evaluation on our draft over Goal.com’s… haha.

by DarthGreedo on Jan 15, 2010 11:06 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Building

through the draft is OK if you have 3 of the first 7 picks.

Otherwise, I agree.

by Cornchops on Jan 15, 2010 1:54 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Does it appear that Philly is taking a longer methodical building process than the Sounders?

The Sounders goal was to compete in year one. With this draft, I find it hard to think that the Union will match the Sounders first year success. Unless they intentionally picked three GA players so they can spend big money elsewhere.

by Coug1990 on Jan 15, 2010 2:41 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

This pick was all about money.

Sigi reached on Estrada, no question. But I’m almost positive he did it because he knew Estrada would be willing to sign a developmental contract, and not take up one of the limited all-important senior roster spots. We’ve got one, maybe two, spots left, and at least one signing on the way. Taking a known quantity who will be happy to be in Seattle and will be happy to play for peanuts isn’t all that bad.

In baseball and the MLB draft, there are always guys taken for ‘signability’ (read – $$$) reasons, drafted ahead of where they were projected on talent alone. Estrada’s pick is kind of the equivalent of that. And who knows, he could be a useful piece off the bench.

by Nick S on Jan 15, 2010 2:21 PM PST reply actions 0 recs