Bobby ConveyÆs life as a schoolboy pro has been widely chronicled, but his rapid development on the field suggests he has quite a future ahead of him
From ESPN The Magazine to the front page of USA Today, to sizable features in The Washington Post and Philadelphia Inquirer to a recent segment on ESPN’s The Life, Bobby Convey’s appearances in the media have focused almost exclusively on the challenges of becoming a professional athlete at such a young age.
The D.C. United midfielder, who turned 18 in May, has fielded questions about that topic countless times.
“It’s definitely old now, just because I’ve done it for a while,” Convey says. “I’ve just gotten used to it, really. With the media and everyone in the league, it’s been ‘What’s it like to be the poster child of MLS?’ – I get that a lot. Now, especially with the team, I’m not considered the young guy. I’m just a player on the team.”
And now that Convey is legally an adult, the media’s scrutiny may shift from his age to his play.
A darting midfielder with a startling burst of acceleration and micro-fine ball control, Convey uses simple touches to solve complex problems. He is comfortable receiving the ball from any angle while facing any direction and will evade an imminent tackle with a mere twitch of his foot in mid-stride.
‘INNATE ABILITY.’ While his small stature and boyish looks foster the age questions, his alert, confident playing style gives the illusion of vast experience. Those precocious qualities are what prompted United coach Thomas Rongen to use a first-round draft pick on a high school junior.
“It’s always a bit of a gamble, because you don’t know how young players are going to respond to the pro environment,” Rongen said. “But he had shown me in prior games, especially the games in the [U-17] World Cup when he came off the bench, that he had something I didn’t see in some of the other players on that team – an innate ability, at his age, to have an understanding of the game. When he came here, in the first week … he rarely lost the ball. People talked about his size and whether or not he was going to make it, but I felt that technically – and more so tactically – he was so advanced already and played like an older pro.”
In his rookie season, United used Convey far more than it had planned. He appeared in 22 matches and started 18 of them. That time gave Convey a taste of the speed and physical nature of Major League Soccer. It gave his opponents glimpses of what this “kid” could offer. This season, they must prepare for him.
“With the ball in tight spots, he has a way of maneuvering out of the situation and then running with the ball,” Chicago Coach Bob Bradley said. “He causes trouble in that regard.”
‘RARE COMMODITY.’ Defining Convey as a player is not easy. Positionally, D.C. has used him primarily as a wide left midfielder, but he does not fit the mold of a traditional flank player. He sometimes strays from the 15-yard channel by the touchline to combine with teammates and get away from pressure. Entering the attacking third of the field, he is just as likely to slip a pass through a wrinkle in the defense or penetrate for his own shot as he is to gain the end line and serve a cross.
“I think as he moves forward, we may find that he can play in a playmaking role because he is a very good passer of the ball,” said U.S. national team coach Bruce Arena, who has used Convey in two international friendlies. “He can be a player who down the road may turn out to be a true playmaker, which is a rare commodity among American soccer players.”
United has used Convey as a stand-in for playmaker Marco Etcheverry at times, and Rongen is starting to experiment with the two together in central midfield because “sometimes confining [Convey] to one side is stifling his strengths.”
With the under-20 national team, a similar transition may occur. In the qualifying tournament in Trinidad, Convey played out wide, but coach Wolfgang Suhnholz says he may use him in the center during the World Youth Championship in Argentina.
Suhnholz cannot think of a famous international player, past or present, who Convey resembles.
“Bobby is so versatile,” Suhnholz says. “You cannot just put him in a certain way.”
Any ambiguity about Convey’s game can easily be attributed to the fact that it is still developing. A scouting report on such a young player can hardly include weaknesses, but rather areas to work on.
After one game last season, Rongen criticized Convey’s defensive commitment. This season, his effort is not an issue, but his concentration can falter at times, according to United general manager Kevin Payne.
One MLS scout noted that Convey is so good seeing the 15-yard area around him that his vision of the whole field suffers. Rongen mentions heading and crossing accuracy among things Convey can improve.
Yet none of these flaws seem daunting when gauged against the progress Convey has made in just one professional year.
One challenge Rongen put forth to Convey was to become more productive this season. Last season he agonized D.C. fans in pursuit of his first professional goal by hitting posts, forcing goalkeepers to make spectacular saves and waiting a bit too long to shoot at times. He finished the season with two assists.
“It wasn’t frustrating,” Convey says. “I just didn’t really care. I didn’t feel like I had to score to contribute. I knew my time would come.”
His time came in this year’s opener against Kansas City, when he tracked down Mark Watson’s floating long ball over his head, settled it with his chest and cleanly beat Tony Meola with a volley.
Already this season, Convey has become a more effective player, not just an exciting one. Through nine games, he had a goal and five assists.
‘TON OF CONFIDENCE.’ “He has a ton of confidence now and you can see it in the way he plays,” says Landon Donovan, his teammate on the U-20s. “I think with the U-17s at times, being younger than the rest of us and not always starting, you could still tell he was incredibly talented, but he was not as sure of himself on the field as he is now.”
Convey says he doesn’t do much differently than last season, but he has adjusted to the rigors of MLS.
“I got stronger, I play quicker,” Convey says. “Everybody thinks I got bigger, but I’m no bigger than I was last year. I grew about an inch this year, but I maybe gained five pounds.
“Basically, what happened last year was I wasn’t ready to play yet. I’m just not supposed to play [with pros] when I’m 16 – my body’s not ready for it. Now, I’ve made my body understand that I have to do it. That’s why it’s not hard anymore.”
Convey talks about his soccer in such simple, matter-of-fact terms that it seems he cannot verbalize what comes so naturally.
How did he develop so early?
“I was just a normal kid, I played just like everyone else. Nothing different.”
Where did he learn moves?
“I just did ’em.”
Can he describe himself?
“I just play. Whatever happens in the game, that’s what happens.”
by Soccer America associate editor Will Kuhns in Washington, D.C.