Orange Legionnaire

A week ago, it was reported on MLS-Rumors and confirmed by myself on here that Toronto F.C. was looking to grow their Dutch Lion contingent by two through adding DDL's Evan Schwartz along with Bas Ent.

Well word travels fast and once one MLS team declares a player strong enough to fit under the new six player (under 24 & do not count against the salary cap format) then other teams want to take a look as well.

And here comes the Colorado Rapids.. I have heard murmurs around Dutch Lion sources that Colorado is also interested in Schwartz.. I didn't put full stock in the murmurs until just the other day when a Rapids fan website contacted me to ask about Schwartz since they have heard similiar rumors.

Well looks like Schwartz is about to have a busy offseason fielding interest from multiple MLS clubs. Stay tuned here for more stories in the offseason on Schwartz, Ent, and other Dutch Lion player transfers.

Earlier in the week MLS-Rumors reported that Evan Schwartz was being looked at by Toronto F.C. (to possibly be signed with Bas Ent) and that D.C. United and the Philadelphia Union were after Sonny Silooy for an Academy and Assistant position.

Although it was possible that either story could be true; it was best not to count those stories as fact, at the time, since only one out of every five or so rumors on MLS-Rumors end up being true. Further, neither story was reported elsewhere.

However, over the past few days I have heard that in fact both rumors are true.

First, the Schwartz to TFC rumor in detail. Toronto F.C. did scout Bas Ent, Evan Schwartz, and their teammates in a Dutch Lions-Toronto Lynx game back in July. At the time, Toronto F.C. could not even afford to pick up one Dutch Lions player, let alone two; as with MLS's salary cap restrictions and the ammount of money TFC had freed up, nearly none at that time last Summer, TFC scouted the Dutch Lions and gave Bas a trial only for possible future consideration or possible future rule changes in MLS.

Why the planning in advance from Toronto? Because Toronto F.C. likely heard that the MLS Reserve League was to return in 2011. With the return of the MLS Reserve League:

MLS rosters will expand from 26 to 30 players to accommodate the reserve division, with six spots designated for players 24 years old and younger. Also, development academy players will be eligible to play on reserve league teams, as will players on tryouts with MLS franchises.

Therefore, each MLS team has to fill their roster with six players 24 years or younger in 2011. Also, these six players will not count against the team's salary cap. Ent is 23, Schwartz is 22.

And the puzzle pieces start to line up... Each MLS team is going to try to stack those under 24 roster spots with the best talent they can find stateside or elsewhere who are under 24. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a Niemens shopping spree on talented Dutch Lion players from 2010, as well as talented under-24 players from other USL-PRO and NASL teams.

With TFC showing interest in Schwartz, other MLS teams have started to take a look at him as well. And although both are likely to be eventually signed because of the Reserve League changes, there is a good chance that either Schwartz or Ent (if eventually signed) can find themselves receiving a lot of starting time, as TFC is weak down the whole right side of their roster.

Second, the Sonny Silooy to D.C. or Philly rumor in detail. Both are true, both are in talks with Silooy. Silooy is also considering coming back to the Dutch Lions and also may have a head coaching offer with the Tampa Bay Rowdies or a couple other Second Division teams.

According to a source, another Lindsey Wilson product looks destined for the top American leagues, as Englishman Joe Tait looks to follow in the steps of Lindsey Wilson grad Shaun Francis (Columbus Crew starting left back) by joining up with the Dayton Dutch Lions of USL-Pro.

Tait had his best season as a professional last year for the Baton Rouge Capitals where he won PDL Defender of The Year (video discussing that accompishment below). Additionally, Tait and his Capital teammates rock hard defense led Baton Rouge to a 3rd place national finish in the 2010 PDL season.



Tait also has offensive prowress, as Tait did play some midfield for Lindsey Wilson and scored a hat trick for Baton Rouge in a game against Atlanta this season. Tait is a strong, tall defender that can get up well and is a threat on header goals from corner kicks.

The signing of Tait (or one of his teammates- as it hasn't been confirmed yet on Tait) was first hinted by Mossel in an article that appeared on Dutchlionsfc.com; That article stated that the Baton Rouge partnership also consisted of the Dutch Lions acquiring one of Baton Rouge's best talents in the coming weeks:

"They have access to a very talented area and we like to do more than just share ideas like we have been doing so far. One of the first things we will do is schedule an exhibition game in Dayton in 2011. We are also about to sign one of their most talented players in the coming weeks.”

I have heard some murmurs that this signing will probably be Tait.

Here's Tait giving a brief bio for Lindsey Wilson college:

Yes, the "American football club does need players."

Here are a couple new videos from the past few weeks, from the Netherlands, on the topic of the Dutch Lions and their Dutch tryouts. Just something interesting to look at:

Dutch players speak about chance to go to America-


Dutch Lion owners Erik Tammer and Mike Mossel are interviewed at tryouts-

No idea what Mossel and Tammer are saying but I'm sure it was good.

Tomorrow I'll have some stories on the rumors that popped up on MLS-Rumors this past week, I got some confirmation on those stories. Just haven't gotten a chance to report on it with working on this new format and the holidays.

Cheers.

That's according to MLS-Rumors, as they first stated on Friday that Toronto F.C. was not only interested in Ent but the Dutch Lions whole right side from the 2010 season; both Ent and overlapping Dutch Lions right back Evan Schwartz.

According to Rumors:

Our source adds that both players were scouted this past july at a game in Toronto, by Nick Dasovic, interim head coach of Toronto FC.

This is quite possible as Nick Dasovic, in a lesser assistant or technical director position before becoming interim head coach at TFC, did scout Bas Ent in a July game in Toronto against PDL foe the Toronto Lynx. Schwartz did play in that game as well.

Dasovic may have found Schwartz interesting as well, and Toronto F.C. may have decided to bring the American right back to TFC to try to ease the transition for Ent; As Ent and Schwartz did work well together in 2010.

Also right back has been a position in flux for Toronto F.C.

I guess we will see as there's meat to about 1 in 4 stories on MLS-Rumors on a good day. I'll keep checking online in different places, once you see something coming from two or three different places it usually has some meat to it.

MLS-Rumors also stated today that former Dutch Lions Head Coach Sonny Silooy might have job offers from both the Philadelphia Union and D.C. United:

According to my colleague’s sources, long-time Ajax defender and head coach of Dayton Dutch Lions FC, Sonny Silooy, was being courted by the Philadelphia Union for the position of reserve team coach and technical director of the youth academy, but it now looks like DC United is interested in using him in this same role.

MLS-Rumors stated "according to my colleague's sources" for both stories which is about as vague as it gets, nearly saying "some guy I know, know's a guy who said..." When it came to the Ent rumor it was reported various places online, starting with the Dutch league that Ent plays for, which makes it very credible. But, who knows there may be some truth to both of these.

I'll keep scanning online to see if anything more concrete comes up in the next week or so. It would be good news for DDL F.C. as having three guys associated with the club making the jump up to MLS, would land the club a great deal of credibility to go along with Ent's reported signing with TFC.

The Dayton Dutch Lions already have one sister club in Dutch champions F.C. Twente. The Dutch Lions might be going for the partnership treble this offseason...

Yesterday the Dutch Lions announced a partnership with a very successful PDL club- the Baton Rouge Capitals. The Baton Rouge Capitals were founded in 2007, and have a strong English influence- with nearly all of their international spots taken up by English players similiar to how the Dutch Lions keep most of their international spots open for Dutch players. The Baton Rouge Capitals also finished as 3rd place finalists in the PDL National Championship in 2010. Therefore, the Dutch Lions won't only be partnered with the best Dutch team in Twente; but also one of the best PDL clubs in Baton Rouge.

There is quite a bit beneficial by this sort of partnership. As the Dutch Lions will have access to the best players of one of the strongest PDL clubs (as after college graduation these players are no longer eligible for a PDL non-PRO team like Baton Rouge). Whereas, Baton Rouge can gain connections to Dutch internationals who are not quite good enough yet for the USL-Pro level but great for the PDL.

The Dutch Lions-Baton Rouge partnership overall includes, but is not limited to, the following:

- An agreement for both teams to meet in an exhibition game annually between May and July

- Access for Dutch Lions officials to Capitals' players and give Capitals' players the chance to play professionally in either the US or Europe or with the Dutch Lions

- An exchange of knowledge

- Access for Capitals' coaching staff to recruit players from the Netherlands

The partnership may have come out of the Dutch Lions interest in one of the Baton Rouge's key players; as Dutch Lions owner Mike Mossel said in his discussion on the partnership:

"They have access to a very talented area and we like to do more than just share ideas like we have been doing so far. One of the first things we will do is schedule an exhibition game in Dayton in 2011. We are also about to sign one of their most talented players in the coming weeks.”

No definite name yet on who that player will be, but Baton Rouge's strongest talent is Joe Tait(picture below); as the English defender Tait was selected as the PDL Defender of the Year in 2010 for Baton Rouge and would be a nice selection for the Dutch Lions who struggled in the back in 2010.


The PDL Defender of The Year, Tait, has offensive header prowress as well scoring a hat trick in a game vs. Atlanta this season. Could this be the talent the Dutch Lions are after?

However, Tait (or one of his English compatriots) would go against the Dutch Lions form of only picking up Dutch internationals. Yet, Tait might possibly have an American green card from four years in the United States.. And Englishmen have always been better defenders than the attacking Dutch. :-) So, who knows.

Others of interest include English midfielder Ben Callon who was selected to the Southern Conference PDL team and led Baton Rouge in productivity with 9 goals and 5 assists. Or American keeper Joe Hart (good keeper name if your a Manchester City fan) who made two penalty saves to lead Baton Rouge to 3rd place in the PDL Championships in 2010.


Could the Dutch Lions be interested in Joe Hart? No not the above Joe Hart, the American one from Baton Rouge that lead his team to the PDL finals?

Either way, the partnership probably came out of the Dutch Lions courting of Baton Rouge player to be named later; Just as a possible partnership with Toronto F.C. could come out of TFC's courting of Dutch Lions 2010 standout Bas Ent.

As Dutch Lions President Mike Mossel has stated that the Dutch Lions need to receive something from TFC to let one of their most talented players, Bas Ent, go from his three year contract.

“He is not eligible until we let him go,” says Mike Mossel, co-owner of Dayton Dutch Lions FC, the USL Premier Development League team that Ent played on last season.

“The question is what does Toronto want to pay for him and how much do we want for him?”

Ent currently has a three-year contract with the Lions but Mossel doesn’t anticipate that an agreement will be tough to reach. He says that rather than accepting compensation, there is a possibility of DDL FC and TFC forming some type of partnership.

“I don’t want to be in the way of Bas,” says Mossel. “This is a great step for him and for our club of course, a guy going to MLS after one year.”

So, if Toronto F.C. doesn't want to pay for Bas (which MLS clubs are famous for doing- not paying transfer fees and saying forget it for a player if there is a transfer fee). Then possibly the price for Bas is a sharing of information, possibly feeding some TFC Academy players into the Dutch Lions if they're not ready for MLS, and maybe an exhibition at BMO Field (below) in the future for the Dutch Lions.



Hell, a friendly at BMO Field for the Dutch Lions against Toronto F.C. would probably cut it for a deal as that would be great publicity for the Dutch Lions. So, hopefully see all of you Dutch Lions fans in Toronto for a roadtrip sometime soon.

Cor van Hoeven, owner of the Dutch technical school Winning Skills has had a thought sharing relationship with the Dutch Lions for at least a few years. The above pictures are from the first ever Dutch Lions tryout, over a year ago, in the Netherlands on December 7th, 2009; where van Hoeven was helping Dutch Lions owner Erik Tammer evaluate and select Dutch Lion players like Bas Ent, Johan Wigger, and etc.

Nevertheless, with no youth academy in place back in December of 2009, the Dutch Lions were not in dire need of a pure Technical Director like van Hoeven until they got their youth academy up and running. Now with the Academy up and running successfully in the Fall of 2010, thanks to the efforts of Dutch Lion first team players and youth coaches Ivar van Dinteren and Eddie Hertsenberg (pictures below), the need for someone such as Cor van Hoeven for the next step of setting the technical agenda of the youth players at DDL F.C. is necessary.


Eddie Hertsenberg coaches a Dutch Lions girl academy player, while Ivar van Dinteren runs a drill with the boys academy players this Fall.

It's also a good sign that roles are being evolved and adapted in a positive manner within the Dutch Lions organization; As during the 2010 season the Dutch Lions had Sonny Silooy double as the Head Coach and Technical Director. Which was probably too many hats, despite Silooy's experience.

In contrast, in 2011 it appears that Cor van Hoeven (who has four soccer school branches in the Netherlands) will run the technical agenda at the academy while a head coach focuses solely on the first team. This split will likely allow a solid first team coach to focus solely on trophies for the Dutch Lions, while Cor van Hoeven builds up a Dutch Lions soccer school here in Dayton- a school similiar to what van Hoeven has been building the past 10 years in Holland with his four branches there.

A good call as van Hoeven has had success with his Dutch schools and also has sold many DVD's on techniques for youth players back in Holland. And those who have found success in previous endeavors in a field usually are more likely to replicate those results.

On November 1st 2010, Cor van Hoeven took over as Technical Director on a three year contract. In the below picture from November 6th van Hoeven evaluates American talent in a tryout for the USL-Pro team with Director of Coaches Ivar van Dinteren and Owner Erik Tammer.



Van Hoeven most recently was head of education at BVV Barendrecht, a third division Dutch side and also was assistant coach for over two years with a Finnish top flight side. Van Hoeven also has coached multiple Dutch sides in over 16 years of coaching (complete resume below).

Best of luck to Cor in his endeavors here in Dayton.

Go to Winning Skills.com for more on van Hoeven.


van Hoeven trains with a youth at BVV Barendrecht

Cor van Hoeven’s Overall Experience

Head education
BVV Barendrecht
(Sports industry)

June 2010 — Present (7 months)


Owner
Winning Skills Westland
(Privately Held; Sports industry)

April 2001 — Present (9 years 9 months)


Interim coach
R.V.V.H.
(Sports industry)

January 2010 — June 2010 (6 months)


Head Education and coach of several youth teams
Excelsior-M
(Sports industry)

June 2005 — March 2010 (4 years 10 months)


Head coach
Excelsior ' 20
(Sports industry)

June 2006 — June 2008 (2 years 1 month)


Head coach and Head Education
R.K.V.V. Westlandia
(Sports industry)

January 2002 — June 2004 (2 years 6 months)


Assistant coach and Head Education
F.C. Jokerit ( fins veikkausliga )
(Sports industry)

February 2001 — October 2001 (9 months)


Head coach
VV Rozenburg
(Sports industry)

July 1999 — June 2000 (1 year )


Head coach
MVV 27
(Sports industry)

July 1995 — June 1999 (4 years )

Cor van Hoeven’s Education

Fontys Hogescholen
Sports Marketing 2002 — 2004


Royal Dutch Soccer Association
Trainer Coach / Teacher 1993 — 2003


Activities and Societies:Trainer Coach 3,2 and 1. ( UEFA A )
Teacher of the academy

24-year-old Ruben van de Water is more in the class of the Bruce Godvilet's, the Bas Ent's, the Julius Wille's, and etc. as a 2011 signing. Meaning unlike Oscar Moens, van de Water will not be stealing many Dutch or American headlines for signing with the Dayton Dutch Lions.

Not a problem nevertheless; Ruben is one of those signings that gets to the route at some of the things the Dutch Lions attempt to do. As the Dutch Lions entice some Dutch players with extracurriculars (youth training experience, Sports Management degree) into a multi-year contract to do their bidding on and off the field. Luckily for Ruben and the Dutch Lions, Ruben van de Water has both youth training, a Sports Management degree, and on-the-field talent and experience in his resume.

Furthermore, Ruben comes to America as a multi-purpose deal as his girlfriend will make the trip with him and she has some business talent and will help out the Dutch Lions as well. It's very interesting how the Dutch Lions are not only looking for players who help them win on the field, but also help them win off the field in their front office. Some of the Dutch Lion players in 2011, just like in 2010, are multi-talented and will wear many hats in helping out the organization.

Ruben does however have talent on the pitch as well. The SC Enshede player (Dutch 3rd division) actually received a full ride to Xavier University (the alma mater of Dutch Lions owner Mike Mossel) in 2008. However, Ruben did not make the trip over because of family issues and believed that his chances at an adventure stateside were over.

Nevertheless, the Dutch Lions have fulfilled a "dream come true" and a second chance for Ruben according to de twenstche courant. Ruben has his American dream, and as the first Dutch signing in 2011 will fulfill many roles for the Dutch Lions in seasons to come.

Welcome to Dayton Ruben!

A second article from Voetbal.NL.

Below is a video from Radio Netherlands Worldwide from the Dutch Lions Netherlands tryout. One of the featured players by Radio Netherlands was Regillio Seedorf, newphew of famous Dutch, A.C. Milan player Clarence Seedorf. The 21 year old Regillio hasn't had as remarkable of a career as his cousin yet, with only stops in the Second Division of Belgium and the Netherlands. But, with a nice goal strike at the end of this video, who knows his career might take off stateside starting with the Dayton Dutch Lions:

According to soccernews.nl and various Dutch sources, Dayton Dutch Lions goalkeeper Oscar Moens stated today that "he will do as David Beckham does" when it comes to his contract with the Dayton Dutch Lions. Meaning that he will play out the rest of the Dutch season with Sparta Rotterdam (a club that has flirted with the Dutch Premier Division the last few years) and won't return to Dayton until he's done with Sparta this season.

The Dutch season doesn't end until mid-May, and Moens is under contract to start the USL-Pro season with the Dutch Lions in March. There has been no response yet from the Dutch Lions on how they feel about Moens plans. As on one hand Moens was one of the Dutch Lions top performers in 2010, but on the other hand it's likely that the Dutch Lions will want their number #1 keeper in net from the start of preseason.

If the Dutch Lions have a high priority for having a starting keeper on their roster for 100% percent of the season, they may have to look elsewhere and scuttle Moens large salary. Then again the Dutch Lions ownership and fans hold Moens in high regard; and may decide that having Moens for 70% percent of the year is better than none at all. Either way, Moens looks to put Sparta as his main priority and stating so emphatically in an interview with Voetbal International may hurt his return:

"Well, how it works in America. The competition was two months ago and starts over again not until March. Until then they all will probably play basketball or something. I've signed with Sparta until the end of the season. I would like my arrangement to be the same as David Beckham," said Moens.

No word yet on whether the Dayton Dutch Lions would be okay with such an arrangement.