I think we should let him go as long as he does not play for Florida, LSU,Tennessee or an ACC team.......
I understand the FIFA rules, but sometimes you wish there was an appeal process that made sense. If the US went to FIFA and said they don't intend to use him, that should be taken into consideration. It was one youth cap after all that's the sticking point. That's a little silly isn't it? But them's the rules, and FIFA doesn't tend to bend them. Or need to, quite frankly.
I understand what you are saying.. but there are a lot of players not good enough for the US national team. Why should Alvarez be rewarded for having duel citizenship and be allowed to play for somewhere else? Duel citizenship is reality in this world and it is something that FIFA has to deal with.. but FIFA's intent has always been to reduce the benefits of duel citizenships because it becomes pretty unfair to those that don't have it. There are a lot of players that would like to move somewhere else, if they could, where they can play. That really goes against what national team football has been about. Again.. IF FIFA allows Alvarez to switch, the US should get a chance to invite Castillo to the US program. Same thing.
If I'm reading that Spanish article correctly from above, Alvarez is just going thru the process of getting Salvadoran citizenship now. He isn't really a dual citizen, just somebody who had a potential for dual citizenship. In the same way Jozy Altidore or Maurice Edu were. El Salvador has tried to call up Alvarez on multiple occasions, including to their Gold Cup squad last year. Arturo has always said he was going to wait for the United States. He said this without knowing he was actually cap-tied to us apparently. He wanted to play international football with us, but eventually he got to the point where he realized it wasn't going to happen. I just feel a little sorry for him. Just a little. Hopefully he gets another opportunity with us at some point. We don't have a ton of depth on the left side of midfield.
I also think the system fails in making players hungry. If I have duel citizenship and I know I won't get called up for team "A" and team "B" is saying I can be given an 'instant' spot, well then. Shouldn't players work their butts off to improve their entire game to win a spot in the team. If you don't feel that way, you kindof miss the point on the international game.
I get what you're saying but this isn't club soccer. If they don't work their "butts" off then that is the problem of the National Team for whom the player plays and their head coach.
Best place to appeal this would be : The Court of Arbitration for Sport not Fifa (His appeal will be denied by Fifa)
Didn't Castillo play for the Mexican full national team? If so totally different situations. I'd be all for getting Castillo.
Castillo played for the Mexican senior team only for friendlies and they don't count at all for cap-tying Alvarez and Castillo are bound to their nations only through official CONCACAF Youth Competitons. If Alvarez wins his appeal (which he probably won't) it would open the door wide open for Castillo to play for the USA if he wanted to.
I'm not going to translate the article word for word, but the gist of it is that Alvarez was born in the US to Salvadorean parents. He has submitted his birth certificate and parents' passports to the El Salvador consulate to request dual citizenship. El Salvador's federation have submitted a letter to FIFA asking for clarification of article 18, to see if Alvarez can play for them. They expect a response some time between Monday and Tuesday.
Castillo could easily be in the same situation as Alvarez. He's a good player, but Mexico has several better options at left back. I'd personally play Carlos Salcido of PSV every game. (To be frank he's the one player I'd most like to take off of Mexico and put on the USMNT. He'd instantly fill our biggest hole.) What I'm trying to say is this: Edgar Castillo hasn't gotten a cap in any of the world cup qualifiers so far this cycle. Maybe Sven will give him a run-out against Sweden later this month. He's going to be a fringe player for Mexico, while he could have had a great shot at being the US' starting left back for the next 10 years. I think he's better than Pearce or Bornstein, but it's a close call. He's going to get great experience playing for Club America, and will improve, so maybe after this cycle he'll get more opportunities with el Tri. Just like Alvarez he could be cap-tied to a nation that doesn't really need him..........and he said he only picked Mexico because they called first.
Seriously, he just did that? My god, I would have done it way earlier when I was 18. You'd think this was jury duty and not his int'l career the way he's so blase about it. He actually had not thought this through at all and now it's pretty much too late. You'd think someone in El Salvador would have called him on his 21st bday.
I may very well be wrong about this, but as i understand it, "A" international friendlies are infact regarded as cap-tying games. That isn't to say Castillo is cap-tied, but it would depend on if those friendlies that he played in were infact seen as "A" internationals by FIFA.
No.. friendlies ("A" or "B") do not cap-tie a player. They have zero effect on anything. Freddy Adu had played several friendlies with the senior team and official youth events (which provisionally cap tied him) but he only became cap tied permanently when he played in the Barbados WCQ. Castillo is permanently cap-tied to Mexico on the basis of playing official CONCACAF youth tournaments and now being over 21. He has yet to play for the senior team outside of friendlies. Alvarez is in the same exact position with the USA. So if Alvarez wins his appeal (again, very unlikely to happen) to play for El Salvador, Castillo would have to have the option of switching to the USA if he wanted to.
Clearly, Alvarez considers himself as more of an American, rather than a Salvadoran. And fair enough, he was born in the US. But because of that, and the fact that he's coming to us as his second (and ultimatly, only other option) then i'd rather thhe just wait for his chance to play for the US. No doubt he's got skills, but to come to El Salvador only because someone else doesn't want you, is something that as a Salvadoran support, i don't really want to see. Maybe if he'd atleast visited the country atleast once in his life, i'd be more inclined to give him a chance. But to never visit the country of your parents birth, especially considering how close it is from the US, IMO, really says a lot about how much he cares about us as a nation.
Not that i don't believe you, but would you happen to have a link to support what you're saying? I just find it a little hard to believe, that say a player who has never participated in any junior international tournaments could theoretically play hundreds of international friendlies and still not be cap-tied to a country. Cause am i wrong, or is that pretty much what you're saying?
That one is debatable, I have never seen a FIFA ruling on friendlies. Some on BS have interpreted and speculated that was the case, but I've never seen case for or against friendlies cap-tying player. The rule is kind of vague. Unless there is something new since Freddy Adu was tied.
Not debatable when you read the rules. Martin Vasquez played in several friendlies for Mexico and switched to the USA. Here's FIFA Rules FIFA go out of their way to stress official competition. Friendlies do not count for anything.. I have read all the rules on this matter.
its article 15-18 of FIFA statutes that states it but it leaves it open to interpretation (and legions of dead horses still scared to death). excerpt from article 15: "With the exception of the conditions specified in article 18 below, any Player who has already participated in a match (either in full or in part) in an official competition of any category or any type of football for one Association may not play an international match for arepresentative team of another Association. article 18: If a Player has more than one nationality, or if a Player acquires a new nationality, or if a Player is eligible to play for several representative teams due to nationality, he may, up to his 21st birthday, and only once, request to change the Association for which he is eligible to play international matches to the Association of another country of which he holds nationality, subject to the following conditions: (a) He has not played a match (either in full or in part) in an officialcompetition at “A” international level for his current Association, and at the time of his first full or partial appearance in an international match in an official competition for his current Association, he already had the nationality of the representative team for which he wishes to play. (b) He is not permitted to play for his new Association in anycompetition in which he has already played for his previous Association. article 3 tells us what an "A" match is but doesnt define "competition". "An international “A” match is a match arranged between two Members of FIFA and for which both Members field their first representative team." The definition of "competition" may infact suggest any A match but theres plenty of evidence to suggest its refering to FIFA tournaments as a whole rather than matches in and of themselves.
When Landon Donovan scored his record goal against Denmark. Fifa ruled it an official competiton only after Denmark claimed it was. That game was as "friendly" as you can get. http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/20080229-1239-soc-us-donovanrecord.html
right, but thats not where the confusion lies. FIFA is pretty clear about what defines an official A match but doesnt clarify what an official "competition" specifies.