I have watched and followed Sydney Leroux’s progress during the last two years.
At the 2008 FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile, Leroux won the Golden Ball Award as the tournament’s top player.
Fast forward to 2010 and it is difficult not to notice that Leroux’s progress had halted. There are no doubts she has one strength to her game: speed. Speed, of course, is crucial in the modern women’s game, and you won’t get far without it.
Leroux is sheer speed and is very direct but what else is there to her game? What has happened to Leroux’s development during the last two years?
Watching her play in Germany it is clear that her combination play in the final third has not improved and perhaps even deteriorated in the last two years. Her ability to play with back to goal has not been obvious to me. Watching her movement in and around the box one can only conclude it is not good enough at this stage of her career and that more should be expected.
Her first touch needs improvement, her heading ability seems to be where it was in 2008 and tactically I question her progress.
Compare Leroux to tactically savvy German players. Bianca Schmidt, Kim Kulig and Alexandra Popp have already earned senior caps, while Desirée Schumann and Marina Hegering previously appeared in Chile, as did Schmidt and Kulig. Germany also have 18-year-old Dzsenifer Marozsan, a technically gifted sharp-shooter who won the adidas Golden Shoe at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2008 in New Zealand. They all appear to possess sophistication levels we all hoped Leroux will demonstrate by now.
Popp’s progress is a demonstration of German training system.
Two years ago, as a 17-year-old FFC Recklinghausen forward at the UEFA European Women’s U-17 Championship, Popp finished the tournament as top scorer. But she looked raw.
At that time German coach Ralf Peter said that Popp is not a natural predator. Popp moved to Duisburg and in two years made staggering improvements to her game. Today she looks to be one of the upcoming talents in the women’s game.
5 Comments
Interesting take. Considering Leroux was far and away the U.S.’s most effective player this tournament, it leads one to wonder about the technical quality of this team as a whole.
Please you’ve been following Sydney for two years. Why didn’t you post something when she was scoring all the goals but no you wait till she missed her pk. She’s broke records, scored 24 goals in college last season, won golden boot in concacaf, the list can go on. But here you are acting like you know everything. I’m sure you were a great athlete and your children are way better than anyone elses. I hope you enjoy trying to break players down. All the best to ya
Besides speed I also felt that she lacks stamina. She has to focus on this aspect if she wants to be a good striker, both of which are a must in modern football.
First of, this is not criticism of Sydney who was and is a big talent.
When I first watched her in Chile I was genuinely excited about her potential and still am.
But to a certain degree the national team program or perhaps the system in North America is failing her as far as her international development goes.
It is not her fault, she responds to training she is given.
Watching her in 2008 and 2010 I expected the training she had received would place her further ahead. I am not placing the blame on anyone just expressing my opinion. No different than if I said that Jose Antonio Reyes’s progress had slowed down after he left Arsenal.
Some environments are better for player development than others.
Wow this is a great resource.. I’m enjoying it.. good article
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