I see no scenario where he doesn’t play during the window. Unless he chooses not to play, he’s definitely getting a runout. That’s the whole pitch for Berhalter, you have a chance to contribute now, not later.
I have to question this claim that Musah is eligible for Italy. Very difficult when your parents aren't Italian and you move away as a minor. Recall that Balotelli was born and raised in Italy, but still had to wait until he was 18 to represent their national team.
the kid isn’t yet 18 and lived almost 10 years in italy and now almost 2 in spain. maybe not so surprised he doesn’t feel overwhelmingly english?
I doubt it for Pulisic as the UK is entering anoybet lockdown, but in a normal time even players who aren’t at the camp training still come to visit and meet with coaches.
It takes about 10 years to gain Italian citizenship through naturalization & children are naturalized automatically. Given that his parents moved to England when he was about 14 after 12 years in Italy for him (and longer for the parents), I think we can safely assume there was plenty of time to get citizenship. Balotelli's case was complicated by him by being in foster care from an early age and eventually being adopted. Not sure if the rules have changed since then, but now you have to be a legal resident for 5 years after being adopted to gain citizenship. ETA: I found another article that says Balotelli was never formally adopted, so he had to wait until he was 18.
Why? Kid was born in the USA, so he has more birthright claim to rep the US than some others that we've brought in. I think it's crazier to see someone like Dest to forego the option of playing for the Dutch to play for the US. But incredibly well done anyway for the Fed to attract the kid.
Smart move by Yunus. He loses nothing by checking out the US setup. Maybe puts a little pressure on the English FA to make a bold decision. Maybe ruffles some feathers, but he's still being smart. I like smart players.
i gotta say, you have to wonder if the american crew isnt a bit more relatable than the english one. perhaps a byproduct of soccers status in america seems to be that our kids get to stay relatively smaller fish in the relatively smaller pond vs these english kids who have been hyped to the extreme for years before they debut.
God the kid is almost a regular for Valencia. At 17. Can we not somehow miracle up something that will cap tie the kid????
I think it's important for guys like Pulisic and Adams to be at camp even if they don't practice or play in the game(s). One reason is so that a kid like this sees what kind of players we have and how much of a family that young group of players has become.
Exactly! If they’re expected to be leaders... then they need to lead. Even if they have to hobble their crippled asses on the sidelines. That presence is mandatory.
It takes 10 years of legal residence before you can apply, and then the process can take ages after that as Italian bureaucracy is notoriously slow. Plus, not everyone receives residency status as soon as they arrive. If they were there for 12 years then they could have pulled it off. But I'm still not going to believe it until I see some confirmation.
🌟 YUNUS MUSAH 🌟🎙️ “It’s incredible to score and help the team in a club with so much history at such young age”#AMUNTValencia 🦇— Valencia CF (@valenciacf_en) November 3, 2020 Nice video interview.
Ah, just saw you added this later. And according to this piece he was even younger than that: The family, of Ghanaian descent, lived in Italy until he was nine where he played for local team Giorgione. They then moved to London and he was immediately snapped up by Arsenal, eventually graduating from their Hale End academy. At that age a kid cannot legally transfer to a foreign academy without his family, correct?
"We've been tracking Yunus [Musah] for over a year now. We have a good relationship with Valencia... We've had a lot of good contact with him. I've spoken at length to his family. We see a player that's hungry."Gregg Berhalter, #USMNT head coach.— Rachael Kriger (@RachaelKriger) November 3, 2020 "We see him as having a bunch of potential. It's about getting him on the field with us, experiencing how we work as a group, as a staff... We can only hope he chooses us for the long-term."Gregg Berhalter, #USMNT head coach, on Yunus Musah.— Rachael Kriger (@RachaelKriger) November 3, 2020
And this is how it should be, and how you get most of us to stop thinking USSF is just a bunch of sinecures chilling out in Chicago. Excellent effort.
It probably doesn't hurt that European clubs in countries like Spain see the talent England has been stockpiling and are quite eager to help a country like the United States pick one of those players off.