[RANKINGS] For a record fourth year in a row, the Baltimore Bays remain the No. 1 team in Soccer America’s ranking, launched in 2003, of the nation’s best boys clubs. The Bays beat out three MLS clubs -- FC Dallas, the New York Red Bulls and Chicago Fire -- in this year’s rankings.

The Bays won their record ninth U.S. Youth Soccer boys title when their Bays Chelsea team beat the Chicago Fire Juniors, 2-0, to claim the 76th McGuire Cup championship at the 2011 National Championships.

The Bays U-19s finished their run as three-time national champions, having also won titles as U-14s and U-15s.

More impressive, the Bays have won at least one USYS national title in each of the last six years.

The Bays Chelsea also finished fifth in the Development Academy’s U-17/18 age group when Michael Gamble scored four second-half goals in the 4-1 win over the New York Red Bulls in their placement game.

Criteria: Soccer America selects the top 30 clubs based on success of their teams in national youth competitions over the last three years (2009-11) and the selection of their players to national youth teams and other national achievements in 2011. Club profiles may reference other accomplishments, but accomplishments of former players and the number of players placed in college are not considered.

Club profiles appear in Soccer America’s Best Boys Clubs feature in the Best of American Soccer 2011 magazine, which is included in magazine subscriptions and also available for purchase (see below).

2011 Top 30 Boys Clubs
1. Baltimore Bays
2. FC Dallas
3. New York Red Bulls
4. Chicago Fire
5. PDA
6. Dallas Texans
7. CASL
8. Concorde Fire
9. Cal Odyssey
10. Michigan Wolves
11. Pateadores
12. Real So Cal
13. D.C. United
14. Crossfire
15. Columbus Crew
16. Vardar
17. Los Angeles Galaxy
18. Carmel United
19. PA Classics
20. Fullerton Rangers
21. Grand Rapids Crew Juniors
22. Chicago Magic
23. Seattle Sounders
24. St. Louis Scott Gallagher
25. West Coast SC
26. RSL AZ
27. Arsenal FC
28. Yardley Makefield Soccer
29. Westside Metros
30. Albion SC

No. 1 Boys Clubs
2003 -- FC Delco
2004 -- Chicago Magic
2005 -- Chicago Magic
2006 -- Chicago Magic
2007 -- Dallas Texans
2008 -- Baltimore Bays
2009 -- Baltimore Bays
2010 -- Baltimore Bays
2011 -- Baltimore Bays

READER’S NOTE:
Soccer America’s annual Best Boys Clubs story, detailing the accomplishments of the ranked clubs and their players, will appear in Soccer America’s Best of American Soccer 2011 magazine, which is included in magazine subscriptions.
 

To read the complete SoccerAmerica article click here >

“The camp has been great and there are a lot of great players here,” Bijev said. “I feel like I’ve been playing well. Everybody just came off of winter break so I think it’s kind of normal that a few of the players would be a little bit rusty. But taking that into consideration, I think everyone is playing really well and I feel that my performance has been good at this stage.”

Earlier last year Bijev had been playing with the U.S. U-18 team and had made initial plans to attend the University of Washington. But in the summer he made headlines when he went on a trial at Liverpool and delivered a stellar performance.

During the trial he played in two games for Liverpool’s U-18 team. In the first game against Tranmere, he scored two goals and assisted on a third in a 6-1 win. In the second game, against Stevenage, he scored a hat-trick and added another assist in an 8-1 win.

Club officials at Liverpool were clearly impressed and they wasted no time in signing Bijev to a three-year contract with a club option for two more years.

“I believe the trial worked out so well because I got a chance to play with players who have been playing professionally since they were young,” he said. “I got to train with [the players] before the scrimmages. During the scrimmages I knew what they would be looking for. I was making good runs and the ball was just there. All I had to do was put it away which is the instinct I have as a forward. I guess the chips just fell where they needed to fall.”

Bijev was born in Bulgaria but moved to Fresno, Calif., when he was a child and it is there he began to develop while playing for the California Odyssey, one of the premier youth club teams in the country. When he was 17 he obtained his American citizenship.

Bijev was unable to play for Liverpool after signing for at least a year because he had no way of obtaining a British work permit at the time because of Bulgaria’s transitional status in the European Union.

Because of this issue, Liverpool immediately sent Bijev on a season-long loan to Fortuna Düsseldorf in Germany’s second highest division, the 2.Bundesliga. The club was seen as a solid choice as they were anticipated to be in strong contention for promotion.

“I like being in Germany a lot,” Bijev said. “The style of play at Fortuna Düsseldorf is also possession and the speed of play is very fast. That has helped me a lot as far as knowing what to do with the ball before I get it and playing one or two touch. I would definitely prefer to be in Liverpool from the beginning and not have to go on loan. But due to the work permit situation, if I had to be out on loan anywhere, I would prefer to be in Germany.”

The first half of his season with Fortuna Düsseldorf has proven to be difficult for Bijev to break into the first team primarily because of an ankle injury that lingered.

“I rolled my ankle during a game where we were playing on artificial turf,” Bijev recalled. “I just kept taping it and playing on it. It got to the point where I could no longer play on it. I flew over to Liverpool and had treatment there and came back to Germany to have more treatment. I returned to playing and I made the mistake of playing without tape. I reinjured it even worse.”

The injury kept him out four weeks and it was not until the beginning of December that he began to feel 100 percent. He finished 2011 on a positive note with solid training in Germany before the winter break.

For Bijev, it put the exclamation point on a year that saw a meteoric rise and laid the foundation for him progress at one of the world’s most storied clubs.

“Last year was the most progression I’ve made in my career and I think the main thing has to do with focus,” Bijev said. “I always wanted to go pro as opposed to going to college. Knowing that, I pushed myself to the limits with the California Odyssey as well as doing trainings on my own and in the U-18 camps just trying to get better every day. In the end it worked out for me.”

Now in 2012 Fortuna Düsseldorf is in first place as the end of the winter break nears, and Bijev’s top goal is to make the first team during the second half of the season to ensure the club’s promotion to the Bundesliga. To do that, however, he feels that the next step in his development is to improve his physical strength.

“The areas of my game that I want to improve on are mainly to get stronger and stronger on the ball,” Bijev said. “To be a forward I need to have good upper-body strength. Also, [I want to work on] shooting from range and making better contact with the ball to keep [my shots] low. Other than that, I feel like I have good awareness when I’m in the box. When the ball comes to my feet, I know what to do with it.”

When Bijev joined the U.S. U-20 team last week, he was hoping to boost a team that was coming off a bitterly disappointing cycle in 2011 where it put together a talented team but fell short of qualifying for the FIFA U-20 World Cup after an upset loss to Guatemala in the quarterfinals of the qualifying tournament.

Last fall, U.S. Soccer hired Tab Ramos to coach the U-20 team and reinvigorate the program. Bijev had never met Ramos before the camp but after his first experience playing under the former U.S. national team captain, Bijev said he enjoys the style of play Ramos wants to implement and feels that it will mirror top teams in the United States.

“I like the way he coaches very much,” Bijev said of Ramos. “He seems like a very possession-minded coach, which I think is very important as far as the direction that the United States wants to go soccer-wise. I think it’s important as opposed to in the past [when] we were known to be more physical and fit guys just chasing the ball. I would prefer we keep possession — we play with ball and make the other team chase us. That’s what Tab wants to do.”

Bijev is familiar with most of the key players on the U.S. U-20 team and is confident they will have the ability to succeed as they move forward in building a team to qualify and succeed at the 2013 U-20 World Cup in Turkey.

The development path he is on, however, is different from the path of most of the players in camp. On the 36-man roster, 15 are currently in the N.C.A.A. ranks. There have been many players like Clint Dempsey, Oguchi Onyewu, and Vedad Ibisevic who have played in college that have had great success.

Still despite the success of a few, the environment with professional clubs in Europe is simply different for players at that age.

“There are a lot of great players in this U-20 group,” Bijev said. “One thing I can say is the only difference in playing abroad is that those players play on a daily basis from a young age. With the U.S., most of the players are in college so they have many other responsibilities on top of playing soccer. Whereas the professionals, their main focus is just to play soccer as opposed to going to school and jobs.”

Bijev is excited to be part of the U.S. U-20 team, but as with any player with dual citizenship, the issue of which country a player will represent arises and Bijev’s situation is no different.

Bijev is happy to have multiple options and he does not discount the idea of representing Bulgaria. Still, he happy to be with the U.S. U-20 team and is committed to the U.S. program at this stage.

“Right now the U.S. is in my mind in terms of who I want to represent,” Bijev said. “But at this young stage in my career and also in my life I think it’s a good thing I have an opportunity to play for either country. I would like to keep all my options open. But right now I am committed to the U.S. I’m very blessed to have been called into this camp and I’m very thankful. I’m happy to be here.”

click here to read the entire New York Times article >>>

Brian Sciaretta, a native of Bernardsville, N.J., and a graduate of Georgetown University, writes about U.S. national teams and youth national teams for the Web site yanks-abroad.com. Follow him on Twitter, @briansciaretta.
 

Official:   Liverpool sign US Starlet Villyan Bijev and Loan him to Fortuna Dusseldorf of Germany

Liverpool have signed young American striker Villyan Bijev from US side California Odyssey
After impressing on a trial period at Melwood, scoring five goals in two games for the Reds in July, the youngster has now signed a three-year deal with the club.

“This is such an incredible achievement for Villyan, stated California Odyssey Club Director Jeremy Schultz, he has been so committed to soccer and this reward for him is much deserved. He has displayed not only the ability to maximize his potential through dedication, commitment and hard work and seize his moments of opportunity but he has maintained a humble spirit and become a man of character along his journey. We are so incredibly proud of his accomplishments and know that Villyan will continue to push himself to achieve more. He is a special player who has consistently proven to be the best in his environment; we know that he expects the same of himself as he becomes a part of a legendary club such as Liverpool FC. We will be anxiously observing his career unfold in front of the world, and you can rest assured that Liverpool FC has just captured a new fan base in Central California!”

"Liverpool Complete American Starlet Signing: Villyan Bijev Impresses During Trial"

US starlet Villyan Bijev signs for Liverpool – report The Reds have reportedly captured the talented 18-year-old American forward, who is understood to have signed a three-year deal with the English Premier League club

American teenager Villyan Bijev has agreed terms this weekend with Premier League giants Liverpool, according to a report from Californian news channel KMPH Fox 26.

The report claimed that Bijev has signed a three-year contract with a two-year option, and his past coach and former MLS midfielder Chad McCarty confirmed the information to the television station.

SOURCE: goal.com

Liverpool has brought in a number of talented youngsters from across Europe and indeed now North America, to play alongside talents in their youth teams. The likes of Raheem Sterling, Nathan Eccleston and David Amoo were brought in from QPR, Bury and Milwall respectively and all appear to have bright futures ahead of them.

Jonjo Shelvey was brought in from Charlton Athletic and is already a regular in the first team set-up whilst Daniel Pacheco and Daniel Ayala came from Barcelona and Sevilla and have both made their senior debuts for Liverpool.

After a barren spell there are also now homegrown Liverpool talents coming through and impressing. Martin Kelly, Jay Spearing, John Flanagan, Jack Robinson and Stephen Darby have all made it through the youth and academy systems and into the Anfield squad and it does seem that Kenny Dalglish is more than happy to blood these youngsters, which can only be good news for the long term future of the club.

Below is a *website link to footage of Bijev in action during a recent 8-0 demolition of Stevenage, during which the striker nets a hat-trick as well as being felled for a penalty and notching up a clever back heel assist.

So Liverpool continues their policy of bringing in talented youngsters to integrate with those coming through the club’s own youth and academy systems. Bijev is said to have greatly impressed during this trial period at the club and that Liverpool had no qualms in offering the Fresno resident a three year deal.

The American will avoid any work permit issues due to his holding Bulgarian citizenship. The rangy striker netted five goals in two trial matches for the club’s Under 18 and also provided two assists which led to the offer of a permanent contract by the Merseyside club.