Now that I think of it I don't think we will hear much of this until we "steal" back a kid from Mexico. If you think about it these kids are "Mexicans" and not naturalized so there is no issue there SO even if they were to break into the full El Tri squad there wouldn't be much stink about it.
Except there are people quite upset that the Mexican women's squad is so heavily American. It's understandable that the issues of the two teams are very different, but a reliance on more than a couple of American-raised Mexican players would generate some heat. Of course, this is a country that takes great pride that Chivas only plays "Mexican" players.
I don't think there'd be the same stink within the Mexican community regarding Mexican-American players as there was in the past for naturalized players (Leandro Augusto, etc.) Liga MX has become increasingly foreign, however. And there are more and more quality players on a path to citizenship. Particularly the Argentines. Dario Benedetto is a perfect example. He gained his Mexican citizenship prior to moving back to Argentina to play for Boca. Now that he's moved back he probably won't play for Mexico. Probably....................but he could. And he's quality. [A player I really want MLS to go after.] Mexican fans seem to be against the use of naturalized players until "trouble" occurs. When results go South, they tend to look at all available options.
Hector Pineda and Alan Carrillo named to the final roster for El Salvador for the U20 WCQs: Delegación Oficial El Salvador, para "Campeonato Sub-20 de CONCACAF". Costa Rica 2017.Deseamos los mejores éxitos a la Azulita!!! pic.twitter.com/yU5aJ9tLJ2— La Selecta (@LaSelecta_SLV) February 15, 2017 Carrillo is a California HS senior. His club mentioned this in a now-cached article: We are proud to announce that our very own Alan Carrillo has been invited to represent his family's native country and join the U20 El Salvador National Team. He has participated in some preparatory matches in Argentina, and hopes to continue on to some Olympic qualifiers. We wish him the best of luck in his endeavors as he proudly represents California Rush while competing overseas.
News that Tillman will have to reconsider his current stance of playing with Germany for now, if Arena calls him in. http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2017/02/15/bob-bradley-lafc-jonathan-klinsmann-timothy-tillman-usmnt
Huh? Doesn't say Arena is calling him for first team callup, it says Tillman wants a call. No conclusions just speculation. Who's desperate? Go ahead and call him just to check in. No promises. Just Marketing.
Ramos should be the one communicating with him. We are too damn desperate. If he wants to play for us he needs to be playing for our youth teams.
Obviously anyone running the national program is entitled to adopt this policy, but it's just not the way we have done things lately. Of course, that might change under Arena, who surely is aware of Tillman but arguably has more pressing issues on his plate. It's possible that Tillman isn't even all that interested, but trying to nudge Germany a bit here. He probably also noticed that Julian Green scored for the U.S. in the last World Cup while very much still in the "prospect" stage of his young career.
Shrug. It seems he's on the cusp of the Bayern first team. If Arena wants to call him up to a friendly to take a look at him, who would have a problem with that? Also, for high profile kids that would need to make a switch................I have no doubt that our USMNT coach is involved in the recruiting process (whether its Bradley, Klinsmann, Arena, etc.)
How about the American-born players who are also on the cusp of making their respective first teams? Tillman hasn't proved that he's even capable of playing in the Bundesliga and we're talking about calling him up over players like Wright, Perez, Akale and others.
I wouldn't have a problem if Arena wanted to call up any of those kids to friendlies either.................................. On every USMNT roster there are usually the bottom 3 roster spots that we know aren't going to see the field. If Arena wants to use them to invite youngsters to check out what the USMNT is like, who'd have a problem with that? The phrase club teams use all the time is "vertical integration." US fans tend to have little folders in their heads entitled: USMNT players US U23 players US U20 players US U19 players US U18 players US U17 players etc. etc. etc. How about we starting thinking about it as one pool of players.......................................? Tillman would seem to be a player we want to recruit into the US program, not to one individual team or another. Once we get him into the program, then the USSF staff can determine where he fits best.
I'm uncomfortable with calling-up undeserving players because you simply want that player in your program. However, I am equally uncomfortable with not calling-up a player based on where they were born and who it might offend. If Tillman is committed to representing our country, and he's a better player than other American-born options, then I say call him in yesterday.
Right now, there's no '99 anywhere close to him in terms of profile. Others might certainly get first-team opportunities before he does, of course, as there are some highly regarded players in the class who presumably won't end up at Bayern. My sense is that Taitague is generally considered the top U.S.-produced '99 at present.
In the other U20 CONCACAF qualifying squads: Antigua & Barbuda: Elijah Jarvis -- HS in NY, Robert Wesleyan College -- no confirmation on US citizenship Panama: Alessandro Campoy -- At FIU now. Has played with Panama previously. Confirmed dual citizen. St. Kitts & Nevis: Raheem Somersall Born in SK. HS in NC. Now at Appalachian St. No confirmation on US citizenship.
This presumably means ... something: Orginally from the Caribbean Island of St. Kitts and Nevis, Somersall was a member of the U-17 National Team in 2012 and received a U.S. Soccer Training invite in 2013. http://www.appstatesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=210223691
Guessing this: http://www.ussoccerda.com/training-centers Would fit with him seemingly being in the U.S. at that time. I doubt citizenship is a firm requirement for those programs.
Alessandro Campoy starts for Haiti & Raheem Somersall starts for St. Kitts: Official lineup #StKittsNevis v @fhfhaiti #CONCACAF #CU20CRC pic.twitter.com/O82uP4rxNp— Concacaf (@Concacaf) February 18, 2017