Options at CF are rare, he, Schieber and Schurrle(more of a SS?) are the only U21 forwards starting for their clubs. i think he'll get his chance even if he's not literally "good enough". At the moment, he shows promises in his game: very fast n explosive, great hustle and decent technique for player of his size at 6'5". If he has rejected Togo so many times already, i m not quite sure if he has left the door open for Togo at all........ If Mlapa isnt under the radar of DFB, of course its understandable to choose Togo; but he just got the gold medal of Fritz-Walter-Medaille, and he is seen as one of the top striker prospects in Germany these days. I am pretty sure he realizes this as well It really is a no brainer. DFB will have themelf to blame if one of their youth NT players suddenly plays for Togo, which i believe is not even a second tier African football nation. Choupo-Moting's case is totally different. Cant even compare to Mlapa's Choupo-Moting's talent was not as widely recognised as Mlapa's. He wasnt a definite starter for the DFB U21, n a borderline starting striker for Nurnberg last season. People generally rate other U 21 strikers like Schieber, Schurrle, Sukuta-Pasu n Noethe higher. Choupo-Moting's future for Germany was certainly not as bright as Mlapa's. Mlapa is by far the best striker prospect in the U21, already a starter for Hoffenheim at such a young age. When a player is under the radar of DFB, widely recognised as a top talent in the country n playing an integral part of the youth NT..........its insane to play for Togo instead. I'll give it a reach for Italy, Turkey n Cameroon, but Togo??
Interview with Horst Hrubesch (German): http://www.11freunde.de/bundesligen/133364/uns_faellt_keiner_durchs_raster
http://www.ardmediathek.de/ard/servlet/content/3517136?documentId=5631244 He is speaking about tendency...
Of course it's bullshit. The guy would be dumb to completely exclude the possibility of playing for Togo one day, since he doesn't know yet whether he'll be good enough for Germany. But as I said, actions speak louder than words. And it's a fact that he declined Togo's A-National team invitation to the African Cup of Nations and rather went to a course of Germany's U19. That should indeed tell you something... He has made his decision. The only question is whether he will be good enough for Germany.
Mlapa initiated the attack that lead to the goal Hoffenheim scored away to Dortmund with some fine individual effort and pass. The kid looks very promising indeed.
you don't get it, or do you like to play the dumb ? You have stated that Mlapa will play for Germany. I have said and Mlapa, by the way too (in the video link I have posted), that he has NOT MADE A FINAL DECISION. I am sure that he will play for Germany, but it is not confirmed. Lovely skill from Mlapa fooling two Dortmund players and playing the ball to Gustavo. It was his best and only good scene he had.
hihi, that's something for my favourite thread on tm! Another interesting player in the team is Sinan Kurt (Ponys). He was great when I saw him two months ago in a tournament in Nuremberg, by far the best player. Felix Schröter (Vfbäh) interesting striker prospect, tall & two footed. Dortmund's Stenzel also interesting, however he tends to play awesome one day, and awful the next day (not very surprising in this age group obviously). Very talented winger.
Ekici decided for the turkish NT http://www.spox.com/de/sport/fussba...age-an-dfb-nuernberg-bayern-guus-hiddink.html This move indicates (according to Hamit Altintop ofc) a decision based on pure heart and is certainly not influenced at all by career motives or limited chances to actually get playing time in the german nt.
Ekici has opted to represent Turkey. http://www.tff.org/default.aspx?pageID=202&ftxtID=11147 edit: zwei Dumme,...
Sure I am, Im moved by one blip on the care-o-meter. Seriously though, If the guy's heart is elsewhere then you really cant do much about it.
I think Gundogan is a better prospect among the two. Strange coz i've seen the interview in tv.dfb n Ekici seems to blend in well with other German U21 players. Not as anti-social as the social-problem suggests But still, this is another alert i guess. If u look at our U17 NT, possibly half of the team are Turkish descents n that makes us very vulnerable: Germany put in all the money for the development of players who will eventually play for Turkey! Gundogan, Emre Can, Aycicek n maybe Samed Yesil.........i wont complain if they choose Germany instead of Turkey. But we never know. Looks like DFB's youth teams approach of relying on a majority number of players with dual-nationality, start to show its flaws and problems
What do you want Germany to do? It is what it is; there are a lot of talented players with an immigrant background in Germany, a look at the demographics can tell you as much. Do you suggest that the DFB should not give these players their fair shot and instead give preference to "pure" Germans. Luckily such absurd practices are far behind us. What FIFA should do however, is find a way to make such moves more difficult (I'm not holding my breath). Perhaps a player who chooses to switch federations should be banned from international games (at senior level only) for 12 to 18 month. This would prevent those "changes of heart" that we've seen before this world cup. If a player wants to switch allegiances that's fine, but it shouldn't reek of blatant opportunism.
They should have never made the "one time switch after a player is 21" rule either. I'm glad Jones has a chance with the USMNT but it doesn't really seem right, does it?
Agree. I still dont get why this was introduced in the first place. Once you choose to represent one country, that should be it. I mean why should a player have an advantage over the rest, if he has dual citizenship?.
what the... ? DFB's youth team policy is to rely on the BEST German players, which is pretty normal for a federation. And not to include as many players as possible with an immigrant background just for the sake of it.
because we're the MINORITY. The majority are countries which have an interest in getting players from countries like Germany, France, England, Netherlands, Austria etc... Why should any African country vote for the U21 rule? Why should Turkey, the whole of the Balkans etc vote for the rule? They profit. We don't. But we're the minority.
It does feel strange, but FIFA consist of over 200 members, and each, I think, have equal voting power (perhaps Smithfan knows more on this). Countries like Germany or France have very little say, which leads to such rule changes. Going back to Ekici, I wish he could have shown a bit more patience. Players like Klose demonstrate that one's development is not always linear. While it looks unlikely right now, Ekici might have been able to make his way to senior side in a few years. Now the DFB loses him without any compensation to a federation that has not spent one cent on his personal or professional development.
Yes, every country has the same voting power, nevertheless how small. Means for example Tonga=Germany. Pretty ridicolous. Now DFB has to show Gündogan some perspective. And I mean not the perspective in the U21, where he of course will play most of the time in the next two years. If he stays with the DFB. Why not inviting him to a friendly like the one in Sweden next month? DFB has to be more pragmatic in the future.
Perhaps but we're not exactly short on options in that position. It would be very difficult for him no matter how he develops. I don't blame him, it's not really too big of a loss. Wish him the best. He seems to be doing well this season.