Soccer America magazine is reporting that Pat Noonan, who had an assist in the U.S. win over Sweden on Saturday, is joining the Norwegian club Aalesund on a free transfer. The New England Revolution had decided not to pick up Noonan’s option.
(3 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
Loading ...The Norwegian league obviously isn’t one of your top-tier European leagues, but I would agree it’s a good move. As far as how this affects his national team situation, he probably would have been a dependable call up this year for games that featured domestic players. Games played in Europe, which usually fall on FIFA international dates, will be tougher. But it will be a good chance to see where he fits in with the country’s top players and if he’ll be a factor come 2010.
Why is going to Norway a good move for Pat? I am not familiar with the Norway league, but is it better soccer than the MLS? It is highly likely that another MLS club would have picked him up.
I’m not familiar with the Norwegian league either, but it is ranked 18th among UEFA countries (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_coefficients#League_coefficient).
It’s hard to judge how the MLS stacks up. You can try to guess off of things like the Chicago Fire’s 1-1 draw against Celtic in the summer, but there aren’t enough head to head matchups against European teams to truly gauge the skill level. Plus Celtic was very early in its preseason at the time. In the FA Cup some of the lower tier teams might tie a Premier League Side once and lose the replay 4-0. So you never know.
I would guess the MLS falls somewhere around the Norwegian league, but for Noonan this is a chance for him to get overseas and make a name for himself. Norway’s Rosenborg team is fairly well known, so if he plays well against them, who knows, maybe he gets interest from a better league etc.
It is sad to see that Noonan and Taylor Twellman are no longer the Revs’ strike-force. But it is good for Noonan to get his name out, perhaps in a big game with Rosenborg. Too bad Twellman couldn’t do the same with Preston.
Tom, word is that the Pennsylvania legislature is about to announce the funding for the Philly MLS stadium. What does this mean for Cooper and StL United?
Tom: why no coverage of tonight’s USA v. Mexico match in the P-D? I feel a bit embarrassed having to go to other papers to read about it.
I think this is the right move for Noonan. Good for him.
Some diligent soul has already updated Aalesund’s Wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aalesunds_FK