For what it’s worth the last 2 players to be among the best while still in their teens were Hirving Lozano and Erik Gutierrez. Only one of them is a star now and IMO it will be a while before Liga MX sees another player of that caliber at that young an age. Positional differences aside, Lozano was at another level.
So, in a nutshell, you are saying JoGo is lier! Because he has gone on the record saying nobody contacted him.
^^^ I'm not one of those "US or damned" guys, but you're not being consistent. If he wants to play in the WC and will do what he must to make that happen, then it doesn't matter what the US would've done or what message they would've sent. He'd choose Mexico because it's his only option for 2018. And for US fans, the fact that he has split loyalties or choose playing at a WC over the US, suggests he's not a guy they want on the team anyhow. Example: Tim Chandler
We can all spout off here all we want, but I think we should consider that this really is a very difficult decision for a young man to make. Of course, I hate to see the US loose a potentially very good player, but he has to decide what he wants and there are plenty of reasons for him to pick Mexico, just as there are good reasons to pick the US. He made his choice and now he will live with it for better or worse. That said, my fingers are now crossed that he's a bit over-rated after all. I mean, I feel for guy and all, but I certainly hope he doesn't come back to torment us for years to come.
Nobody contacting him for Portugal friendly. one meaningless friendly. Kid is a SELL-OUT. Being a USMNT player was his desire and he had a lot of supportive international teammates. Instead of helping to make the USMNT great again, he choose the easy road, he bended to his parents wishes like a little boy and will now play for our most heated rivals. This is a personal decision on his part that makes him look 10x worse then Rossi, Subotic, etc. because he choose to play for our heated rivals and he was entrenched in our program for years.
I thought he is a solid player, his game is nothing outstanding but his work ethic is excellent, does he play to the final third from the 6? nope. His switch is a loss but I don't think is catastrophic to our program but it does bring up the issue with our incompetent staff.
Take that noise somewhere else. This is not the time or place. Nobody cares that you are proud of him.
I believe that Jonathan Gonzales should not switch now from the US national team to the Mexican national team. First, Gonzales grew up in the US and apparently has felt a commitment to the US national team because of what US Soccer has done for him in the past. According to an interview that Gonzalez did with American Soccer Now’s Brian Sciaretta, Gonzalez said the following: Until this moment, the United States has always guided and been there for me so I feel like I have the need to be with them. I'd say for now I'd have to stick with the U.S. for all they've done for me. My family is supportive in whatever decisions I make so it makes it much easier for me. International play for me is once in a lifetime opportunities, not everybody gets the chance to play international soccer so I'm very fortunate for everything I've been through and hopefully will be going through. Moreover, if Gonzalez were to choose not to switch now from the US to Mexico, he could always do so in the future, assuming that he doesn't get cap-tied to the US, which he is not currently. In contrast, if he were to switch now from the US to Mexico, then, under FIFA’s current rules, he never would be able to play for the US national team. Moreover, he may have a better chance of playing in important games for the US national team than for the Mexican national team. First, Gonzalez would have no better than a fifty percent chance of making Mexico’s roster for the 2018 World Cup. For the tournament, Mexico is unlikely to take more than two defensive-midfielders plus Diego Reyes, who can play both in central defense and at defensive-midfielder. Moreover, for 2018, Mexico national team head coach Juan Carlos Osorio likely would pick Mexico veteran Hector Herrera ahead of Gonzalez. Herrera is much more experienced and proven than Gonzalez, and Herrera plays his club soccer for a club (Porto) that is probably at least as good as Gonzalez’s club and in league (Portugal) that is at least as good as Liga MX. In addition, it’s unlikely that Osorio would choose to have Gonzalez on Mexico’s 2018 World Cup roster over Jonathan Dos Santos. Dos Santos has 29 caps compared to Gonzalez’s none, and Osorio has often played Dos Santos in important games. Finally, Diego Reyes plays for Porto and is an important part of the Mexican national team. Moreover, in Mexico’s November friendlies against Belgium and Portugal, Osorio started Reyes at defensive-midfield in a 4-3-3/4-1-4-1 in both matches. Mexico tied Belgium and beat Poland, and, from what I’ve read, Reyes played well in both matches. Furthermore, Andres Guardado, who, if healthy, almost certainly will make Mexico’s 2018 World Cup roster, can also play central midfield in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2. In addition, Rafa Marquez, who Osorio has liked to start in important games (for instance, in Mexico’s second World Cup qualifier against Panama in Panama City), is another person whom Gonzalez could be competing with for a roster spot. After the 2018 World Cup, Gonzalez may have as good a chance to play important games for the US as he would for Mexico. In the recent past, Mexico’s central midfielders have, overall, been comparable in quality to the US’s. For instance, Andres Guardado is comparable in quality to Michael Bradley and Hector Herrera, Diego Reyes and Jonathan Dos Santos are better than Kellyn Acosta, Darlington Nagbe and Jermaine Jones of the last year. And, looking forward, although I doubt Gonzalez has the upside of Weston McKennie, he could be better over the next four years -- and certainly over the next eight years -- than Danny Williams, who is 28 now. Finally, over the next 10 years, the US national team is likely to be at least as good as the Mexican national team. Over the last 10 years, the U.S. national team has been comparable in quality to the Mexican national team. Although Mexico finished first in CONCACAF in the final round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup and the US failed to qualify for the tournament, the US won the 2018 Gold Cup, finished first in CONCACAF in the final round of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup (and Mexico barely qualified), and advanced as far as Mexico did in both the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. In addition, the U.S. has a population that is about 2.5 times larger than Mexico's (327 million versus about 130 million) and has a more democratic government and is a more developed country. So, if Gonzalez does not switch now to Mexico, he would have a chance of playing for a national team (the US) that is likely to be at least as good as the one he would be switching to. It's not as if he would be switching to Germany or Brazil and be guaranteed of playing in important games for Germany or Brazil. So, Gonzalez should not switch now to Mexico and should instead keep his options open. He can always switch to Mexico in the future, unless and until he plays a full international for the US. And if he were to switch to Mexico now, he never would be able to play for the US, unless FIFA changes its rules on the eligibility of dual-nationals in the near future, which is questionable.
As someone who has tracked Gonzalez as closely as anyone, and who has talked with him personally and listened to him talk about his dream to represent the US... The US Staff f#@ked up. There is no sugar-coating it. After the US lost to Panama, things kind of disintegrated. The US was dealing with its own mess, and nobody was staying connected to Gonzalez. As anyone who knows anything about recruiting, the one rule you NEVER break is to lose touch. The US lost touch. You will hear some nonsense about Ramos and Sarachan trying to reach out. According to people close to Gonzalez, they tried to reconnect when it was already too late. Whether it was Ramos's idiotic decision to leave Gonzalez off the U20 roster, or Sarachan not bothering to talk to Gonzalez about the Portugal friendly, the message to Gonzalez has been consistent. He was not a priority. I did not think it possible, but I think even less of the current coaches at USSF than ever. The US lost a good young player - potentially a great one - because they have idiots running their organization.
There is definitely plenty of sour grapes here acting like it's a huge reflection on his character when he's not even out of his teens and given the level he was playing at with a big Mexican club. To his credit USSoccer has been consistent on the matter. Although in general I view that as both a strength and a weakness. He tends to be hard-headed when it comes to player evaluations especially when they start with the youth teams. JoGo barely played with the u-20's because he was 17. It's no big deal. Then he went on to prove himself in the pros. It's about a half-tier above the domestic league. Best XI is excellence, not just being there like our LigaMX'ers except for Herc and Villafana. Both those players were assets to the U.S. even if not world beaters. They were also grown ass men while he was a kid. The lack of excellence in LigaMX and the lack of defensive + physical tools is why players haven't translated well from there before. But outside of maybe being lightweight, don't know how that would apply to him. That said, while I always showed appreciation for him as a player, and think he theoretically fit the system well, I always wondered if he fit next to the group of players in cm that are coming up. Look how badly we got bullied in cm by Venezuela in u-20's. You play him deep, the concern would be we don't have much mettle. You move him up near the attack in cm that pushes McKennie, Roldan, Adams, Parks, etc. back from the 8/10's which is not optimum. Always contemplated if a cdm like EPB would complement the other players better. We punked Mexico in the u-20's while EPB was playing and Gonzalez was watching from our own sideline. Hopefully we can do the same with him on the opposite one being the antidote to teams like them with our superior physical gifts accompanied by sufficient technical ability.
Waits 5 years? I think you're being unrealistic. The kid could die, tear his ACL, get cancer. The future is uncertain. Many people go with a certain second choice.
Its a mess all the way around. But here's the bottom line. The kid grew up in this country and was well supported for many years by the youth national teams. To jump now clearly tells me one of a couple of things. 1. He really was waiting for a shot at the Mexican team all along. 2. He is worried that the other upcomers at his position are better than he is and he may not get to play at WC for the USMNT. 3. He got fed a line of sunshine from the Mexican federation. Lets look at the likely outcome this summer. a. He doesn't even make the WC roster for Mexico. b. He makes the roster but doesn't see the field at the WC. c. He makes the roster and actually gets playing time. Here are my odds. a - 80% b - 15% c - 5% You can tweak the numbers but the reality is he most likely isn't going to see the field at WC 2018 so his decision is odd to say the least.
Also.................worth noting that according to Brian Sciaretta (and others) Mexico never showed any interest in Jonathan until he broke into the first team at Monterrey. The US had been calling him up to youth programs at various levels (U17, U18, U20, etc). including the U20 CONCACAF Championships for years. There's this silly train of thought that not being called up to the Portugal match led to this. That can't be the case. The USSF had spent the last 5 years building their relationship with this player. He knew he was wanted in our program. What changed recently was Mexico being interested. It seems like that was his first choice all along, however the choice didn't present itself until recently. And by the way, it should be noted that we swiped Jesse Gonzalez from them this past summer while they were working on Jonathan Gonzalez. Its worked both ways. We rejoiced in one and are in "how dare he mode!!? about the other. Which is fine. We're fans and know we're being hypocrites on this issue.
Lol. Half his heritage is Mexican. He plays in Mex. He's fluent in the language. Disgraceful and xenophobic post. Don't blame the kid for our problems and our failures.
Chief Scout Thomas Rongen went to his house THREE times, there was definitely contact, and the US clearly did want him.
Too late for what? Honestly, you mean they contacted him to late because Mexico promised him a place in their team with the world cup around the corner. why does a program that he publicly states that he wants to be a part of have to bend over backwards for a player that "PUBICLY" states he was US all the way. Why do we have to recruit for a player the same way as our hated rivals do for our player? why? they are our heated rivals and he stated that he was USA all the way. 18 years old is a man. He is old-enough to vote. And I'm somebody who is 24/7 critical of USSF the last few years because they allowed the old-boy network to build the entire US team around MB90. But the truth here is that, he is not 7 years old and we cant make excuses for him. He sold-out his dream for a short-term gain with a heated rival. Don't want players like that anyway. He is a whiny little SELL-OUT.
As a family friend, you're in a position of bias on the other end. We can be too as U.S. fans, but the centrist p.o.v. is to blame both parties. You want none of the blame to be put on his shoulders. That is very unlikely to be accurate. Your reasoning indicates short-sightedness. You claim that Mexico is the superior team because they made the World Cup. Well, that was true for this cycle. But last cycle the U.S. won the group and the only reason Mexico didn't get d.q.'ed was because of the U.S.' own superiority and integrity. They came back to win at Panama, allowing Mexico to back door a spot through the playoff. Same could have happened for the U.S., but instead Mexico went in the opposite direction and collapsed against Honduras in the final game of the hex. So it's 6 in one half and half a dozen in the other. Law of averages the U.S. and Mexico are on even footing next cycle. So Gonzalez' potential benefit applies for a whole 6 months. And even for that period, the U.S. gave him a better shot to be integrated for international and club purposes. Mexico gives him a slim shot to play a significant role in the World Cup. But YOLO! The U.S. deserves flack for not calling him in for a camp or two when they could have and not even maintaining contact. But so does he for being fickle with teammates and coaches during an upheaval all for a lotto ticket and a little charming. It's not shocking though, as I said all along it was a real possibility, knowing how teens act in recruiting. He may be mature for a teen, but still is immature for a person.
Of coarse. the truth is that, he is a sell-out. the faster people realize it the better. I am the last person to defend USSF, but the truth is that, hes a big-boy and he made a grown decision to abandon who he was as a person and his teammates loyalty for a chance at a world cup with the most heated rivals. its his decision, but he should forever be known as a sell-out.
Um, playing for El Tri is the tougher road. They're best in the region, stacked and he has no guarantees. We're looking up at Panama and Honduras. We're not even WC caliber and could very well get worse if Carter wins the USSF election. We're a mess. Can't even draw T&T. We would easily be the "easy road".
I've been covering dual nationals for a long-time. It used to be fun and intense when these players have to make a decision. Now it just gets boring. I mean, Keaton Parks has been trying to claw into the U.S. program (even at the youth level) for a long time. He doesn't have dual nationality. So he just keeps fighting for that U.S. shot that has been so hard to come by. Then in the other corner you have Jonathan Gonzalez who has been given tons of chances going back to the U-14 level. He's been a regular with US YNTs forever. And everyone who is honest with the situation (and not overly dramatic) knows he would have been part of the full team in 2018 and also with the Olympic team in 2020. But unlike Keaton, Jonathan has another option. Unlike Keaton, Jonathan doesn't keep fighting. Jonathan gets dealt with a little bit of adversity (a fraction of what Keaton does) and quits on the program entirely by opting for an archrival program that has been ignoring him his whole life until four months ago. Snubs happen every camp. Some players have to fight a little longer for their chances (not just the USMNT either. Every national team has players that take some time to get their chance). My dream is for American fans, especially when the program is down, to cheer on the Keatons and others who want to be on the team and rebuild it. To cheer on those that fight through a snub or two to get that US chance. Not feel bad over those teenagers that can't deal with not getting a phone call regarding a friendly - so they take their ball, go home, and quit. The last thing I'd want to see is that this become another Subotic and/or Rossi which is lamented over a decade later. Focus on moving forward with players that want to be there. Don't let Gonzalez leaving get 90% of the attention. Give it to those who don't quit instead. As I've always said, what makes the international game so much fun is that the players and fans share a common bond for a crest which is tied to the flag. Without that bond, the fun of international football crumbles. Jonathan doesn't want to be part of that bond, so US fans should be eager to move on with players that do.