Club America can probably compete if not outbid with some of the clubs in Europe that would be targeting Omar.
That is odd. A standard contract coming out of college is 4 years and he was a rookie in 2009, wasn't he? That would leave one year left. Did he get some kind of contract extension I wonder? Or was he GenAd and was his original contract for 5 years? Almost all contracts for players coming out of college are for 4 years so that would be very rare indeed. But obviously his agent would know a lot better than I would.
Nearly all GA deals have been 5 years. The few that have gotten 4 years were in demand overseas as well when they signed with MLS. Luis Gil and (iirc) Danny Mwanga are on 4 year deals. There's probably a couple others too.
So he will be 25 when his first pro contract ends, and Ream will be 26? Nice deals for MLS, but it turns into quite short careers overseas to make fame and fortune for them if no teams are ready to meet the MLS valuation.
Club America would be bad for him. Too much spotlight and that club is a mess. Also, I doubt Garber and MLS would allow the Defender of the Year to go to Mexico. No way they let a talented American like that leave. It would be different if he was out of contract. Now would MLS let him go to Europe? I think yes. And that's a whole other conversation: transfer fee, teams interested, what's in his best interest etc. We have Beckerman, Rogers, Agudelo, Bunbury, guys who are called up to the national team despite being MLS players. But with his situation and Klinnsman not rating him as high as others. I feel he needs to make a move and there's no better time than now. You've done everything you can in MLS. To get noticed, to get a chance, I think he needs to make a move. His value is highest now. One more thing. I feel he needs to stop the complaining for lack of a better word, about him not being selected. Whether he has a legitimate complaint/argument or not he needs to be professional about it.
Complaining was too harsh of a word. Him saying he would consider playing for Mexico right after he felt he was snubbed.
He was asked if he would consider Mexico if they came calling in an interview. He answered honestly, he didn't run to the press to complain.
Which was at least in my opinion immature. Maybe he would be, but you're trying to get a US callup and you go: "Well idk, I'd listen to Mexico if they came knocking." Fair enough, but he should have said no comment. It makes it seem like he's trying to get them(US Soccer) to act before it's too late. Get me before I change my mind thing.
It's a professional thing to say, not immature. Never close a door that is open to you unless it's absolutely necessary. If I'm looking for a job and have my application in at my first choice job, but haven't heard back yet, and another company asks about my interest in working for them, I'm not going to tell that company "no comment", especially if the quality of the two companies is damn similar. I'm going to keep my options open and tell them I'm interested. This isn't some situation where Omar has some doomsday device and he's holding the USMNT hostage unless he gets his wishes. It's simply him attempting to find a national team willing to give him chances. But I digress. With the amount of potential upheaval in the 2012 preseason, I seriously doubt that Omar will go anywhere for anything other than a king's ransom.
Not really the same thing at all, since you're not doing this via the media. While it may work to put pressure on the USMNT coaching staff, it could also backfire horribly. German coaches are not known for their forbearance of a player shooting off his mouth.
Because Edgar Castillo got no looks from Klinsmann after saying he could have done a better job at the Gold Cup than Johnny B... Any pressure being put on the USMNT staff is purely a result of him being a talented player with options. The whole "it's in the media" thing is a red herring since these sort of things are known by the people who need to know long before any of us fans know. Him answering a question honestly to a journo is hardly some affront to the USMNT staff. They're not going to say "how dare you" and shut the door on him. If Klinsmann doesn't call up Omar because he said in the media something as tame as him being open to playing for Mexico if the US isn't calling, we've got MUCH bigger problems than Omar playing for Mexico.
telling the truth about your options is the professional, mature thing to do in this case. other players have done it. i don't think it's a problem. nt coaches are accustomed to dealing with it by now.
Meh, no biggie here. It's a dream of his to play international soccer. If his first choice does not want him, then he should be open to other options. I don't see an issue with his statement, especially given his background. In particular, the US historically has been ambivalent towards hispanic players. The US development system has focused mainly on upper-income players who could afford youth clubs, with secondary focus on pure athletes, technique be damned. Of course, there are athletic and wealthy/connected hispanics. But tons of talent has been ignored because of hispanic players, often 2nd or 3rd generation Americans, not matching the image the US Soccer bureaucracy had of a player. Culturally, he may feel more comfortable in the meritocratic Mexican system where talent and effort advances kids from pick up games to clubs. If his parents' country, one with deeper talent and a richer soccer history, comes calling, I would not hold it against him. I'd love for every US player to be "US or bust" but in his position it is reasonable to consider two nations if both are interested. My guess is Mexico probably won't go after him, but you never know. This is a different situation than someone like Rossi who was approached repeatedly by the US and chose a country that was not going to give him a real look for 3-5 years.
Yup there's no politics in Mexican soccer, it's all merit based I've never heard any Mexican fans complain about playing Zinha because he's not a "true" Mexican.
Just for the record, OG was called up for January camp. http://www.ussoccer.com/News/Mens-N...mes-20-Players-for-January-Training-Camp.aspx and... how cool is it that his initials are "OG?"
I was thinking of the Ice-T joint as well... The actual football abbreviation is unfortunate, particularly for a defender.