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Canadian Russell Teibert cracks the top 10 in first appearance on MLSsoccer.com's 24 under 24 list

Teibert 24 under 24
<h1> 10. <a href="//www.whitecapsfc.com/players/russell-teibert" target="_blank">Russell Teibert</a></h1><strong>Pos: M | Vancouver Whitecaps | Age: 20</strong><p>The Whitecaps FC Residency product makes his first appearance on this list after becoming a mainstay in Martin Rennie&rsquo;s midfield with the Vancouver first team. Teibert leads the &#39;Caps with eight assists so far this season, and he&rsquo;s added two goals to his totals in 18 games. Also becoming a regular choice for the Canadian national team, he has been at home in the center of the park or as a winger. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a big fan of Russell&rsquo;s, I&rsquo;ve said that many times,&rdquo; Whitecaps midfielder <a href="//www.whitecapsfc.com/players/nigel-reo-coker">Nigel Reo-Coker</a> told <em>The Vancouver Sun</em>. &ldquo;&hellip; He&rsquo;s got tremendous ability and he has a very bright future.&rdquo;</p><p><strong>What TDs and coaches like: </strong>&quot;He&rsquo;s a player that has accelerated quickly. When I first saw him, it took him some time to adapt. ... He&rsquo;s clearly got some tools. He is left footed and he&rsquo;s got a dangerous shot and he hits a good cross. Good quickness and cleverness about him. He&rsquo;s always looking to shoot and get stuff on target. ... The one spot I don&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;s comfortable in is as a pure target striker, but an underneath second forward or wide left and right are his strengths. ... He&rsquo;s a very gifted young man technically, quick feet. Good one-v-one player, plays the ball well in tight spaces. ... He&rsquo;s a guy that can create his own goal-scoring opportunities, he can create for others, he&rsquo;s got really good upside. We&rsquo;ve watched him for a lot of years, back when he was with the U-17s and U-20s qualifying for Canada, and he always showed that he had some real excitement to his game.&rdquo;</p><p><strong>Where TDs and coaches want improvement: </strong>&quot;If he&rsquo;s going to be a wide guy, his defending needs to improve and understanding that role. ... For me, it&rsquo;s consistency. I&rsquo;ll scout a game and see him over 90 minutes where he&rsquo;s had way more pluses than minuses. Then there are games where he&rsquo;s sort of out of it. Having a consistent impact in games and understanding his role on the defensive end are two areas to work on. ... I think where Russell has found it somewhat difficult, especially lately, is teams are now focused on slowing him down. ... I think he&rsquo;s going to need to add maybe a little bit more to that one-v-one because he really relies on coming inside and showing that ball. Can he develop a move or two to get himself down the line, refine that right foot, get a little bit more quality in that and become a player that can not only come inside, but also go beyond you on the outside and get service in?&quot;</p><p><strong>Opta Says:</strong> Russell Teibert leads all players eligible for 24 Under 24 with 5.5 crosses per game during the 2013 season.<br></p>
<span style="font-size: 12px;">Tale of the Tape</span>
Last Year in 24U24: N/A
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/castrol" target="_blank">Castrol Index</a>&nbsp;(as of 9/19/13): #123
<span style="font-size: 12px;">2013 Stats</span>
Matches played: 18
Matches started: 17
Goals: 2
Assists: 8
<span style="font-size: 12px;">Related Content</span>
<ul><li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2013/06/20/russell-teibert-2-assists-playing-fantastically-well-improving-vancouver-whi" target="_blank">Teibert playing &quot;fantastically&quot; for &#39;Caps</a></li><li><strong>WATCH:</strong><a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2013/09/10/thursday-4-pm-et-google-hangout-russell-teibert-and-jonathan-osorio" target="_blank"> Google + hangout with Teibert</a></li><li><strong>WATCH: </strong><a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/video/2013/05/11/goal-russell-teibert-his-second-night" target="_blank">Teibert scores his second of the night</a></li><li><strong>WATCH:</strong><a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2013/05/11/magical-night-blur-vancouver-whitecaps-hero-russell-teibert" target="_blank"> Magic night a &quot;blur&quot; for Teibert</a></li><li><strong>READ:</strong><a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/video/2013/06/15/goal-jordan-harvey-connects-teibert-cross" target="_blank">Teibert feeds Harvey</a></li></ul>