QuoteThis thread says Staunton had him on trial at Darlo in January! I wonder where he is now...
He scored against me in Football Manager the other day. Neat turn of pace if I remember correctly.
This thread says Staunton had him on trial at Darlo in January! I wonder where he is now...
would he make a 1st div side? cork maybe?
He should go back to North America and play in the MLS.
would he make an MLS team?
Its really not that complicated!!!
No idea, but the standard of football is very poor here. He was the NCAA player of the year in his senior year at college, so he'd get a shot for sure. I think Toronto FC own his rights.
Anyone have his number? My team is looking for guys and if he still lives near Notre Dame Chicago isn't too far (technically the league is semi-professional).
Last edited by theworm2345; 10/04/2010 at 10:30 PM.
My Guarantee
Am looking for old Irish matches on VHS, PM me if you have some and I'll upload them here
He played in the game at Giants Stadium vs Ecuador.
Bloody awful game.
No Somos muchos pero estamos locos.
He was selected 35th in the MLS draft in 2008. PLayers selected below 20th aren't usually offered professional deals
To put it in perspective, Pats' Ryan Guy was selected 22nd in 2007
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_MLS_SuperDraft
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_MLS_SuperDraft
54,321 sold - wws will never die - ***
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New blog if anyone's interested - http://loihistory.wordpress.com/
LOI section on balls.ie - http://balls.ie/league-of-ireland/
he would make mervue or limerick at least
Lapira was very highly regarded by MLS teams, and would have been selected very early on; however, he expressed his desire to play in Europe before the draft, so most teams avoided him.Originally Posted by Dodge
Toronto FC "wasted" a late pick on him because they felt the slight chance of him signing was worth the risk, as it was a late round pick anyway.
Just because he hadn't earned an Ireland cap doesn't mean he's a joke; this guy was very good at the college level in America, and it's not his fault he was selected for Ireland.
Toronto FC would be very happy to have a young player of his calibre return to North America.
Personally, I hope he becomes a good solid pro wherever he goes, just to shut some people up in this place.
EDIT: I've added a couple of sources:
http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/mls/news?slug=ro-draft0118087. The best player in the draft goes … 35th?
Johnston also took arguably the best player in the draft at No. 35, but it is unlikely he will ever get to use him.
Notre Dame's Joseph Lapira, who has already represented the Republic of Ireland national team, looks certain to pursue options in Europe rather than play in MLS. However, if for any reason things do not work out and he decides to play in North America within the next two years, Toronto would hold his rights.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns...499902&cc=5901Johnston could wind up with the steal of the draft when he grabbed Lapira in the third round. If Lapira signs with MLS, Toronto will have run away with this draft.
http://www.onlyonefootball.com/?p=10Joseph Lapira, the once-capped Republic Of Ireland international and former Notre Dame star, was one of the most exciting prospects to come out of the MLS draft. Lapira fell to the third round since it was well known that he would put a pursuit of a career in Europe as his top priority. Still, Toronto FC took a gamble on the striker.
http://proplayerpipeline.wordpress.c...team-analysis/Toronto FC draft fortune is based upon possibilities. If Lapira (#35) signs with MLS, they have the steal of the draft with a mid 3rd round selection.
Last edited by irishfan86; 11/04/2010 at 7:28 AM.
Yep, and he's doing nothing now so its immaterial
54,321 sold - wws will never die - ***
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New blog if anyone's interested - http://loihistory.wordpress.com/
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Surely he would have been better off playing in the MLS rather than the Norwegian 2nd divison, or where ever he was.
Its really not that complicated!!!
Had a look for him on that Norweigan club's website, but no sign of him. What's he at this season I wonder?
I posted in another thread that last he was heard negotiating with a professional team in India:
http://zipsport.com/wordpress/?p=683Irish-American footballer Joseph Lapira, who has played internationally for Ireland is looking to a move to Kolkata club Mohun Bagan.
For who? Dell?...
Did you ever notice that in every painting of Adam & Eve, they have belly buttons. Think about that...take as long as you want.
Laugh at MLS if you wish, but it is light years ahead of the League of Ireland. Players in the US are coached properly and the league in general is technically better than the Championship in England. In the games MLS teams have played against Premier League teams they have fared quite well. Admittedly the MLS teams would be no match for EPL teams in mid-season but generally speaking US soccer is on the right road and has been for some time. Keep in mind they were Leinster Senior League level about 15 years ago. It's all about coaching at the end of the day!
if Ireland/the FAI could retain its best players or the majority of them as the MLS does then we would be light years ahead of the MLS. Its more than just coaching. Ireland has a lot of good coaches at every level.
Though i agree that it is overall a better league than LOI, I have to say that the defending in the MLS is atrocious (generally).
I like high energy football. A little bit rock and roll. Many finishes instead of waiting for the perfect one.
Set-piece defending in the MLS is laughable. I remember watching a match a month or two ago where the centre-forward was being marked by FOUR defenders on a free kick near the corner flag. Smart little pass to one of the wide open players, and bang, goal.
mark is correct the mls is a decent standerd and can hammer any loi side. they have soccer stadiums here and quite good ones. they have a amature u23 league that acts as the 4th division here in the usa. even though they are u23 they are run as a pro team and play in the national cup. also the mls players leave the mls to go to top flight leagues. jozy altadore left mls to go to villareal in spain. donovan left for everton bocanegea to fulham ect. how many loi players go right to the english prem right away? our guys go t northampton town then get released!! the loi can learn alot from the mls in the way of developement of players ok the league is weak in some areas but the players are leaving mls for TOP FLIGHT TEAMS not league 2 sides in england. the usa have more players playing top flight football than ireland does. we can learn from the mls the league is a good standard and has come a long way since it 1st started. there miles ahead of the loi
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