NE Revolution New-Guy Report: Amaechi Igwe

By: Jeff | March 5th, 2007

Of all the players the New England Revolution drafted in 2007, none piqued my interest so much as Amaechi Igwe. Some of this had to do with the fact that, in the days that preceded the 2007 Superdraft, Igwe’s name got floated a couple times and in a couple (long-since archived) places. What parts of my brain name recognition didn’t spark were later switched on by words like “left-footed” and hints of versatility. Not to put too fine a point on it and no offense intended to the players implied, but, once I go past Avery John on my personal inventory of left-sided players for the Revs, the team feels a bit thin on that side.

So, now comes Igwe. The question is, what kind of player do we have on our hands with this one? Some digging into his playing history with the United States U-20 team shows a player who has been a regular contributor, even if primarily as a sub, and for a good chunk of time. Also, some answers from his former coach at Santa Clara University, Cameron Rast, who was enough of a mensch to take some time for an email Q & A, spoke to some of Igwe’s off-paper qualities.

Before going on, I want to point out something I didn’t in my profile of Miguel Gonzalez, specifically that getting a look with any U.S. national team speaks well of a player; after all, this means he’s viewed by a few experts as being one of the 20-25 best players in his age group out of a possible, country-wide pool that surely numbers in the thousands, if not tens of thousands.

In any case, that’s all to point out that repeatedly appearing as a sub - not to mention starting a few games as Igwe did last year versus youth teams from Canada, Denmark and Paraguay - says the Revs picked potential at the very least. And the more potential a team can field on the left side, especially, the better. There’s also a sign or two that Amaechi knows how to score from his left-back position, as he did in another game against Canada that prepared the U-20s for the 2006 Milk Cup. All good stuff. But a general appreciation for Igwe’s perceived value to the U-20s comes with the fact that he was on the roster during the January qualifying games for this summer’s FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada; it also doesn’t hurt that he almost pipped in a winner after coming on as a sub in the goalless draw against Guatemala.

The number of appearances a player has with a high-prestige team says only so much. There’s more to learn, naturally, and some of the comments from Santa Clara Coach Cameron Rast fill in some big blanks about where Igwe is in his development as a pro. What follows is a verbatim transcript of some questions I sent Coach Rast over email along with his responses:

Q) Where did Amaechi play for Santa Clara and what chief strengths did he bring to that position?
A) “Amaechi was primarily a left sided wing for us. We play in a 4/3/3 and he ran the left flank. His strengths for that position and in general were his athleticism, specifically his work rate and speed. He was also very skillful on the dribble which made it easy for us to isolate him in individual match-ups. He had been playing left back for the U17 so defensively he could also hold down that role.”

Q) What would you consider his greatest upside as a player?
A) “His best upside is the fact he is young and experienced for his age. He is tactically aware but not always diligent. With his skill and athleticism he only needs to gain a bite more consistency/toughness in his play to become a good pro.”

Q) As he embarks on a career in Major League Soccer, which part of his game do you expect will need the most improvement?
A) “answered above”

Q) Did you see in particular qualities of leadership in Amaechi, of either the vocal, locker-room, or the on-field, by-example varieties?
A) “Amaechi best leadership quality would be demonstrated by his committment to the game and trying to improve himself…. so definitely leadership by example. He often worked after training either on fitness or skill development, finishing etc. Otherwise I think the maturity he will gain in a professional environment will help develop the leadership qualities he does have.”

Personally, I find the greatest cause for optimism in answer #4. It sounds like Igwe’s got decent tools, but his willingness to work and learn gives me more confidence. Here’s to hoping Igwe will be a pick in the 2004/2005 draft class mold as opposed to 2006’s less-stellar selection.

One last thing before closing: that RevsNet wrapped up an interview with Igwe tells me my timing on this post was pretty good. The most interesting particular of that interview? The jersey number Igwe picked.