For some reason I was under the impression that not all youth tournament qualifiers were cap tying events. Youth tournaments, yes, but the qualifiers not as much.
At the top level of the International game all players need to work very hard on both sides of the ball. Alvarez is a very skillfull player but his work rate is just not close to good enough and when the other team has the ball he becomes a liabilty.
I take your point, which is whether youth caps SHOULD cap tie a player. That is certainly worth discussing. But as for now, they do provisionally do so with a window until age 21.
Agreed. And the thing is, unlike someone who simply didn't have the talent or athleticism, Alvarez could conceivably change that. He could "get it" and start to make himself a more complete player. Whereas there are workrate guys who run themselves ragged and contribute as much as they can, but simply lack the "talent" to take it to the next level [Wolyniec comes to mind. Imagine if EJ played with Wolyniec's workrate. He'd be twice the player. He might still make poor runs and reads of the game, but he would be much more useful].
i would guess that is what Alvarez and El Salvador are thinking, as well. if you could locate that "some reason" or find some link or story indicating that may be true, please share.
FIFA's rules are fine the way they are. International football should have a much higher level of exclusivity than club football, and I'm not at all comfortable with the idea of federations releasing players to other nations once cap-tied. As an aside, I'm also happy that Arturo Alvarez will still be an eligible member of our player pool. He's young enough that I'm not ready to give up on him, and you can never have too many skilled left-footed players in your pool. He may yet be useful in future competitions when we have a congested schedule and need to dig deep into our pool (like in the summers of 2007 & 2009). Great post. Repped.
Its a vague half memory, i just vaguely recall a post discussing cap tying in the past, and that one of the youth qualifiers wasn't considered a FIFA competition. A CONCACAF competition to determine entrance to a FIFA event, but FIFA not officially sanctioning it per se, leavinging itup to the individual confederations.
Best of luck. The kid does have dribbling skilsand great left foot, but seems lack focus in some games.
thanks for the info. if that turns out to be the reasoning, (differentiation on the part of Fifa between the U20 WC Finals tournament -- which Alvarez never appeared in -- and the Concacaf Qualifiers for that U20 WC which perhaps by Fifa's determination is not an official Fifa/cap-tying event), then I'd be fine with that. I guess we'll see. But the fact that there are reports out there that "Arturo Alvarez To Play For El Salvador" does mean something. it means either those reports are right, or they're not.
Ives says no El Salvador for Alvarez: http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_...switch-to-el-salvador-may-be-denied.html#more
im not saying he would be a big lost to the u.s. but in 4 years who knows hes a good player in the mls with good skills and a shot on goal so he might be good enough in the future for us ..
It's good that Ives cleared this up.. Youth tournaments that are part of qualifying very much count... things don't have to be FIFA to be binding. Remember... Rossi was cap tied to Italy on his 21st birthday because he played for Italian youth teams in UEFA events (not FIFA events). Official competitions for part of cap-tying purposes can either be FIFA or one of the the regions like CONCACAF, UEFA, CONMEBOL, etc. This is true even at the youth level. The official name of the U20 WC qualifying tournament from our region is called the CONCACAF U-20 Championship. It would have the same effect as a player playing in, for example, the UEFA U19 Championship (which is what Rossi played in cap tying him provisionally to Italy which became permanent on his 21st birthday).
P.s just for the record Rossi was never selected for the U19 Italy team, which is also Italy's U20 @ U20 world Cup. That's why he never made the U20 WC squad in 2005.
Doh... I should have said the U21 team but the point still stands Youth tournaments in regions like UEFA and CONCACAF, provisionally cap tie a player... allowing him to switch before he is 21. The tournaments don't have to be FIFA.
I think its a good decision on his part. He is young and will be able to experiance big time matches in WCQ. Im sure his heart was with the US but lets be honest its a now a very tough team to crack. But hes quality and he will do well. Congratulations Alvarez im sure youll make your family proud representing El Salvador.
No, that's not the case. All official tournaments (FIFA and confederation tournaments) and qualifiers thereto provisionally tie anyone who appears.
http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/86590-alvarez-ineligible-for-el-salvador?eref=fromSI Interesting rumor.
We need a Spanish interpreter, but I think El Salvador will appeal. http://www.elgrafico.com/index.php?dest=true&art=23133 On what grounds? I have no idea. They have no shot on this as it would require a total overhaul in the FIFA rules. EDIT And by the way.. if El Salvador wins the appeal... it would require adjusting the rules in a way that would make Edgar Castillo eligible to play for the USA (since the only thing that bind either player to their respective countries are Youth National Team appearances in official CONCACAF qualifying events). So as far as I am concerned, we either keep Alvarez or get another shot at Castillo.