Zakuani Chooses DR Congo

Alas. Not surprising though given his citizenship status.

For what it's worth (not much), it's only a friendly, so the door isn't 100% closed.

 

Wow cant believe he would choose Congo over the U.S.

 

I don't believe that's the case since he isn't currently U.S.-eligible.

I would have liked to have had Zakuani, but it just isn't realistic for collegiate immigrants to be factors for the U.S. Barring a major change in the citizenship laws (not saying that there needs to be one), this sort of situation will continue to happen.

 

Ah, so the rule is that if someone is dual eligible, they can make a one time switch as long as they haven't played in a competitive match (qualifier or composition) but if you play for a senior national team in any capacity before having citizenship for another country, there's no switching?

 

(Competition.) I believe that's it exactly.

 

Meh. Whatever.

Here's a jam:

[ame="http://youtube.com/watch?v=RNsqKpZpyPo"]YouTube - Congo - Konono - Congotronics - Sobanza Mimanisa Live[/ame]

 

If my understanding of the rule is correct, yes.

I believe that Zakuani is England-eligible, so hypothetically a friendly would not bind him from playing for them (I said hypothetically), but it would bar him from playing for the US, or Canada, or any other nation he might live in and become naturalized in. (Alternatively, if he earned US citizenship tomorrow, I believe he could still switch.)

Others feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

 

You guys are exactly right. A player is free to make his one-time switch at any time, provided he has only played in friendlies, and was eligible for his "want-to-switch-to" country at the time he first played for his "want-to-switch-from" country.

 

Zakuani was definitely considered a longshot for USMNT status considering the long wait for citizenship, so not too many will be upset. Mwanga, however, is a different story, as it appears he has a much shorter time span before he can qualify for citizenship. One wonders if Zakuani choosing DR Congo might affect Mwanga's decision. Stay tuned...

 

Mwanga's personal situation with DR Congo (his father being killed in the civil war) would seem to be a huge factor. I wouldn't want to play for the side that killed my father (in a manner of speaking). Would you?

Plus, as you said, he's further along.

If we could get our state department to play ball, our soccer team would be a lot better.

 

I am not in favor of this. Wait your turn like everyone else (ie doctors, engineers, scientists)

 

Are we sure that the winning side of the Civil War killed his father???

 

Yes. Mwanga's father was an adviser for Mobutu, who was the Dictator of Zaire. Alliance des Forces Democratiques pour la Liberation du Congo-Zaire (AFDL), led by Laurent-Désiré Kabila, kicked out Mobutu took over the government & have changed the political landscape of DR Congo.

 

Got it, didn't know his dad worked for the baddies.

 

IIRC, Mobutu was a charismatic leader. He renamed Congo to Zaire & he did have the support from the West, because he was against communism. However, the guy was ruthless & killed w/out qualms. The people had enough of it in the 90's & that led to his downfall. Sorry for the historical rant

 

He was no Patrice Lumumba that's for sure...

 

Yeah, Zakuani was always alongshot, also considering his family ties to the Congo NT as well (his brother as been capped).

Mwanga will be interesting one. BTW whatever happened to Rodney Wallace? He seems to have dropped off the radar... I'd love to see another Terp in the USMNT pool.

 

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Those people should be fast-tracked, too. Anyone who is an extremely productive member of society with a high paying job should be treated differently from, say, relatives who are being brought over by naturalized citizens or other cases like that.

 

I know he was banged up a lot this season & really do much w/ dc united. Has he committed to the US??? I know he is a Tico.

 

Zakuani made the only possible decision, noone at 22 yrs old is gonna want to wait 3 years to play international football. The USSF owns all the blame on this one. Apparently the US track and field has lobbied fast-track citizenship in the past. Why can't the USSF do this? Track and Field is as much a fringe sport in this country as soccer is and they don't even have a major focal-point event like the World Cup since the Olympics doesn't necessarily focus on just track. Seems like a big missed opportunity to me.

 

Congo is not guaranteed qualifications to the African cup of Nations or World cup( compared to the US having a good shot at making the gold cup and world cup)... But, if he can help the team maybe they will be good enough...

Being an international is good for any player because, it gives more chances for you to show your talent and, subsequently build your career... Playing for Congo could give him opportunities to move to France etc etc...

 

I can somewhat agree as the real difference is that any relatives I bring over from Nigeria can still live and work here for many years with just a green card. My parents never even bothered to get their citizenship until I was in elementary school, almost 20 years after they came here as students. It's a matter of status to them, they were never going to be forced from the country since they were not criminals. But Zakuani was on a ticking clock and there's a reason that he needed to be fast-tracked. I'm a bit torn, but I can understand fast-tracking a person in Zakuani's situation.

 

The only thing is that it's easier to get work permits in Europe when you play for a top 75 or so FIFA-ranked international side. Playing for Congo as opposed to the US might make it harder for Zakuani in some countries. Look at what happened to that Iraqi player who Man City wanted to sign. It doesn't really matter, though, for Zakuani since he's already an EU citizen, but for a guy like Mwanga it makes a difference.

 

With the long time it takes to become a citizen of the US, we shouldn't be surprised when so many of these players who COULD play for the US only IF they wait several years for the process to play out opt not to do so.

Vedad Ibisevic, Roger Espinoza, Bakary Soumare, Yura Movsisyan, Steve Zakuani. I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

As things currently stand, it takes a long time to become a US citizen and we're talking about athletes, who by their nature aren't patient and who don't have a long window to play internationally. So, when they opt not to wait, it's a shame but it isn't a surprise.

There's a reason why no college player who was recruited here from abroad has gone on to play for the US in over a quarter century. (Jean Harbor is the last one to do so and he came to the US for college in 83.) And there's a reason no foreign player brought to MLS has gone on to play for the US.

The citizenship process just takes too long. Don't blame the USSF, MLS or the players. Blame the bueraucracy of the US government and terrorists who have forced the US to proceed much more cautiously torwards citizenship. (That, and the vast volume of applicants.)

It's actually a minor miracle guys like Danny Mwanga and Andy Najar are showing a willingness to wait, though both of them came to the US as minors, and got the citizenship clock started at an earlier age.

But if Tony Tchani or Ruben Luna or whomever the next Naturalization Candidate Flavor Of The Year is opts not to wait, I won't be surprised at all.