Arturo Alvarez To Play For El Salvador

Discussion in 'USA Men: News & Analysis' started by Altidore_Adu_Fan, Jan 16, 2009.

  1. Altidore_Adu_Fan

    Sep 30, 2007
    Hammond In
  2. luvdagame

    luvdagame Member+

    Jul 6, 2000
    too inconsistent.

    there's a reason why his coaches keep trading him away.
     
  3. Matrim55

    Matrim55 Member+

    Aug 14, 2000
    Berkeley
    Club:
    Connecticut
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Good move for the kid, because he was never going to break into the USMNT.
     
  4. onefineesq

    onefineesq Member+

    Sep 16, 2003
    Laurel, MD
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Wonderful for him. I wish him well, except against us. :)
     
  5. Captain10

    Captain10 Member

    Jul 26, 2000
    Marietta, GA
    Club:
    Corinthians Sao Paulo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Bad for the US -- he's a quality player. True, he was never going to break into the team, but he should have. Once again, our coaches have let us down.

    Rogers should be getting a whole lot of time on the field now too but, for some reason, Beasley (in poor form, as always) keeps getting starts. I hope Holden doesn't decide to leave us and play for Scotland too. :eek: (Yes, I've seen the article where he says that he wants to play for the US, but if you never get the chance ... Hopefully he'll get some meaningful time during the hex.)

    Good luck to Arturo. I would be willing to bet that he scores many goals for El Salvador and some of them will be against us. :(
     
  6. Altidore_Adu_Fan

    Sep 30, 2007
    Hammond In
    Nothing againts the players of El Salvador but i think Alvarez will be there best player so far
     
  7. aceterp

    aceterp New Member

    Feb 17, 2007
    Harrisburg, PA
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Good for Arturo. Perhaps he should have been given a chance here or there with USMNT, but he really was inconsistent. Another good year to show off his stuff was needed.
    I'm not sweating this too much, or seeing this is as a major gaffe of the USMNT... although i'm sure many on BS will believe the world is falling apart again...
     
  8. bshredder

    bshredder BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 23, 1999
    Club:
    Millwall FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Holden is cap-tied to the USA

    He's past his 21st birthday and has represented the USA at the Olympics.
     
  9. Prime Time

    Prime Time Member

    May 1, 2004
    South Florida
    Um, good luck to Alvarez but this isn't a big loss. For those of you saying he should be getting looks with the full side - what are you basing that off of?
     
  10. SeaOtter

    SeaOtter Member

    Nov 7, 2006
    Atlanta, GA
    Club:
    Fulham FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Funny how player dependent the BS reaction can be. We are a fickle lot.
     
  11. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    I have no idea.

    Is he a decent player in MLS, yes. Would it have been nice for his to represent the US? Yes. Would have gotten caps with the full USMNT? Probably. This kid was in the dilemma players like Gbandi were in. Not good enough to be a consistent participant for the USMNT, but has opportunities to play an important role for a national team like El Salvador. Arturo waited quite a long time for an opportunity and it didn't come. His last real chance was the Olympic qualifying tournament, which he didn't end up participating in.

    This isn't like the Neven Subotic situation at all. This was a kid who wanted to play for the US, but WE decided we didn't want him. Decent player, nothing special. There's a reason he's been passed around MLS like an STD.
     
  12. Peretz48

    Peretz48 Member+

    Nov 9, 2003
    Los Angeles
    Why do you say the coaches let AA down? I have to believe at least one (or more) of the coaches that AA has had in the last few years did and said "all the right things" to get the most out of him. The rest was up to him. Good luck to him with El Salvador.

    I know you keep hating on Beasley, so it does no good for me to discuss him. In case you hadn't noticed both Rogers & Holden are attending Camp Cupcake, and I expect both (barring injury) to get significant minutes against Sweden.
     
  13. tab5g

    tab5g Member+

    May 17, 2002
    Well, we can add to the list another player who'll be missing from his MLS team on these Fifa/Hex dates in 2009.

    I'm intrigued to see what an El Salvador side featuring Eliseo Quintanilla and Arturo Alvarez can do in the Hex.

    My guess is "not much." But I wouldn't mind it if they found some way to take some points off of the other four teams.
     
  14. Trav-Man

    Trav-Man Member

    Jun 7, 2007
    Dallas, TX
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't see why people are surprised or even remotely upset about this. Is losing Alvarez going to cost the MNT anything in the longrun? Doubtful. The truth of the matter is that there are better players in front of him and he wasn't being called up for a reason.

    Best of luck with El Salvado AA.
     
  15. Adam Zebrowski

    Adam Zebrowski New Member

    May 28, 1999
    hugo perez played for usa and not el salvador..

    if alvarez was a hugo perez, then i'd have 2nd thoughts..
     
  16. SCBozeman

    SCBozeman Member

    Jun 3, 2001
    St. Louis
    Not a huge loss for the US, at least not right now.

    It might end up being a 'Ramon Nunez' situation -- a player that's too inconsistent for US coaches and fans but, at times, can produce some brilliant play. It would've been nice to have him in the stable for potential future development and use (i.e., who can say if we'll need a left-footed winger in the next 4 or 5 years), but that's not fair to him.

    Wiki says: "On January 14, 2009, Alvarez announced that he had decided to play for El Salvador, although it is yet to be determined if he can do so as he may in fact be cap-tied to the US."
     
  17. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Yes, and it wasn't just Bradley who passed on Alvarez. It was a litany of youth coaches, U-20 coaches, U-23 coaches, Arena and Bradley. This kid has always been on the fringes of our squads. Close enough that he didn't accept the Sallies callups years ago. There's always been somebody who was slightly better or had slightly more potential. Not getting called into camp cupcake this time pretty much told him all he needed to know about his prospects. That meant he wasn't going to get looked at this cycle, and it would be at least 2011 before another chance came.

    Best of luck to him (unless he's playing the US). May he score a brace against Mexico, and rip off a jersey to reveal DOS A CERO on his t-shirt.

    Kids like Alvarez are going to explore their options, and this kind of thing is going to continue. It wouldn't shock me if Quavas Kirk played for T&T shortly.
     
  18. Marko72

    Marko72 Member+

    Aug 30, 2005
    New York
    Seems like I'm actually with the majority here. Here was a decent (if, as many have reminded us, inconsistent) player with nice skills, a player that's always been in the back of our minds, Nats-wise. It's nice, it does say something about him and is flattering to us that he stuck it out hoping for a spot for so long. But he was unlikely ever to make the breakthrough aside from Camp Cupcake and whatnot, and would likely have been a minor role player if he had, there are just too many guys ahead of him. I can't blame him for wanting what will probably be a key role for El Salvador considering he might never get any sort of role with the US.

    I think this was the right decision for both Alvarez and the USA, frankly. Good luck to him, and El Salvador just got themselves a new key player.
     
  19. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    I thought he hadn't appeared for the US on any level. He has been called into various camps, but surely that doesn't mean a thing.

    I guess I could be wrong.
     
  20. SCBozeman

    SCBozeman Member

    Jun 3, 2001
    St. Louis
    Again, from wiki: "Alvarez has represented the US in various youth levels (U17's, U18's, U20's). He has also participated in various matches and training camps with the U23's, but has as yet, failed to be selected for the men's national team."

    He's over 21.
     
  21. SeaOtter

    SeaOtter Member

    Nov 7, 2006
    Atlanta, GA
    Club:
    Fulham FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    He'd have had to represent us in Concacaf qualifying for WYC, U20 WC, or Olympics or their finals to have been cap-tied, no? I don't believe there are any other "official" matches that would've provisionally tied him to us.

    Or am I forgetting something?
     
  22. QuakeAttack

    QuakeAttack Member+

    Apr 10, 2002
    California - Bay Area
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Not a surprise. It was highly unlikely that he was going to have any chance to make the USMNT on a consistant basis. He has always been borderline.

    Having watched him twice with the Quakes, I like him, but have never thought of him as international quality.
     
  23. Wessoman

    Wessoman Member+

    Sep 26, 2005
    Austin, TX
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I am more than sure Alvarez appeared in qualifiers for the U20 WC. This may cap-tie him to the USA.
     
  24. tab5g

    tab5g Member+

    May 17, 2002
    Here's an appearance:
    http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_142159.html
    http://www.ussoccer.com/common/stContent.jsp_79-05cqt.html

    don't know if that did in fact cap tie him, or if Fifa might somehow allow him to go play for El Salvador now.

    although he appeared in U20 WC qualifying in 2005, he doesn't look to have been on the final squad that went to Holland for the tournament.
    http://www.ussoccer.com/common/stContent.jsp_79-YNTU20Mfwy.html
     
  25. bshredder

    bshredder BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 23, 1999
    Club:
    Millwall FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You are right.. there is no way he can play for El Salvador

    He is over 21 and has represented the USA at an official Youth Tournament

    CASE CLOSED

    http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_142159.html

     

Share This Page