USMNT: Richie Ledezma just another worthy dart throw

PSV have triggered a two-year extension on the contract of USMNT prospect Richie Ledezma. The midfielder is another worthy dart throw as young Americans continue to plough into senior football.

The development of young players is immensely tricky. Different talent has different needs. Some explode onto the scene and then stall. Others are late-bloomers. More yet will look ready to take centre-stage as an elite player, only to then flounder when fame and finances flood in. It is not an easy process.

Because of this, it is also not a predictable process. Just reflect on the many young players that have broken onto the scene over the years and consider the wide range of predictions for their career. In every situation, someone will have been wrong.

To counteract this inherent unpredictability and inconsistency, clubs — and national teams, by extension — play the numbers game. If you cannot put all your eggs in one basket without knowing which basket will break, then spread your inordinate resources across all baskets and simply wait to see which flourish.

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This is where the U.S. Men’s National Team currently are. Given the lack of history of the sport in the country, developing young players has been challenging. Kids did not play it as regularly as basketball or baseball or football, or many other sports, for that matter. As such, developing young talent that could feasibly be effective professional players was extremely difficult. It meant the USMNT were banking on one or two extremely gifted young kids.

But, invariably, these kids rarely played out. They fell to fame and fortune. They found early success due to their athleticism but when it came to playing at a higher level, they struggled as they were no longer athletically superior. Character problems undermined their development. Their development was not linear and they suffered confidence issues as their form depreciated. There are plenty of reasons why a young footballer will not fulfil their potential.

That is why playing the probabilities and ensuring that you have several burgeoning stars is critical to strong player development and the building of an elite national team. Where the USMNT had one or two kids capable of becoming high-end professionals, Spain, England, Italy, Germany each had thousands. They spread the risk, and even if only five of those thousands turned into world-class players, it was worth the investment in those that didn’t.

More recently, however, the U.S. has started to produce a greater number of young talent. Christian Pulisic is the obvious name but there are plenty of young players breaking into senior teams in MLS and Europe. In time, this greater number will yield a higher-performing national team.

The latest name to rise to the surface is Richie Ledezma. The attacking midfielder was signed by Dutch club PSV from Real Salt Lake’s excellent academy in 2018. With his contract set to expire in the summer, the club formally exercised a two-year option they had included in the initial deal, meaning Ledezma will remain with them until the summer of 2022.

The attacking midfielder had been selected for the now-cancelled CONCACAF Olympics Qualifiers. He has played regularly for PSV under-21s and featured in the U.S. under-20 side that reached the Under-20 World Cup quarter-finals last season. He is, however, yet to make a senior debut for club or country.

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Anyone predicting how Ledezma’s career will play out has not learned their lessons from the past. It is almost impossible to do. But he is talented, PSV believe in him, and there is reason to hope for the future. As the USMNT look to become more competitive on the world stage, he is another young dart to the throw, and that is no bad thing whatsoever.

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