Yura Movsisyan will be joining Armenia in their August 11th friendly against Iran. It looks like they want him in their upcoming Euro Cup qualification process. Playing in this friendly doesn't commit him to Armenia, but it can't be a a good sign for the USMNT. http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2010-08-09-u-s--striker-joins-armenia-s-national-soccer-team
A chance to play in the EUROs is probably much more enticing than a chance to play in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
hmm, yes, euro's over world cup, thats a real ********ing no brainer. seriously though, the guy has NEVER sounded committed to either side, but the US is about to flush a good thing down the drain (which isnt surprising given our recent track record). armenia will not be making the world cup in yura's career timespan and he could be good enough to crack the US's world cup roster. at this point its so much less about player development than it is about who is going to step up to the plate and recruit this son of a bitch. the US is striking out right now, could be 0-3 on young talented players to line up the forward, midfield and defensive positions for the future. our national team system is totally ********ed up right now.
There is no way on earth that Armenia will qualify for Euro Cup. They have to go through Ireland, Russia, and Slovakia.
I don't know how this works but when a friend of mine was applying for citizenship he couldn't spend more than 180 days in a 12-month period outside of the country. I wonder if Yura's move to Europe has had a negative impact on his pursuit of citizenship.
Well I just learned that if he gets capped by Armenia in this game, he will be ineligible to ever play for the US. He has to have nationality for the US at the time he is capped (even if it's a friendly). I guess you can't get nationality later and then switch. I'm not really sure though. FIFA statute: Change of Association 1. If a Player has more than one nationality, or if a Player acquires a new nationality, or if a Player is eligible to play for several representative teams due to nationality, he may, only once, request to change the Association for which he is eligible to play international matches to the Association of another country of which he holds nationality, subject to the following conditions: VII. ELIGIBILITY TO PLAY FOR REPRESENTATIVE TEAMS 69 (a) He has not played a match (either in full or in part) in an official competition at “A” international level for his current Association, and at the time of his first full or partial appearance in an international match in an official competition for his current Association, he already had the nationality of the representative team for which he wishes to play.
How realistic was it for him to even play for the US anyways... media hype doesnt do it for me. Neither does Yura's hopes and dreams. Plus, I also heard that his agent is doing his thing again...
Not a bad move by Yura. Im guessing that this is their reply to not calling him in for Brazil. Maybe it will get USNAT's to come knocking, or he could become the limelight of a small country who would completely adore him. Either way, he looks to gain: Big fry on small team or small fry or medium fry team. Ultimately, I bet that since he isn't planning on returning to the US to play that he has given up hope for US citizenship.
In coach bradley's defense, he is ineligible for a call up as he doesn't have nationality. Moving to Denmark could not have helped his chances of speeding up the legalization process. However his wife is American. Knowing our country's long, drawn out, pain in the butt legalization process, who knows when he could become a citizen.
Given what little I know about Yura's immigration status, I suspect he could have likely already obtained his U.S. citizenship - if he would have wanted to. ... On the other topic, I definitely don't begrudge a player choosing to play for a country where they are actually called in to play.
It was made known that Yura would have had to wait 3 more years for citizenship. Moving to Denmark definitely didn't help either.
Ya, you know, except that Yura isn't eligible to play for the US. This situation shouldn't be used to rail against the US national team system. Not that it doesn't deserve criticism, just that it's not Bob Bradley's or Sunil Gulati's fault that Yura's playing for Armenia.
Yes, that may true. Especially if he intended to apply for citizenship based on his wife's citizenship. I was speaking generally about his ability to obtain US citizenship given the fact that he immigrated to the United States in 2002. If we assume that he came over from Baku as a refugee or asylee, he could have obtained his green card after a year of living in the United States. It's another 5 years after that to receive your citizenship. Obviously, I am assuming he is a refugee or asylee. He may not be, hence an alternative route to a green card. It's not unreasonable to assume he was admitted as a refugee or asylee, however, given his Armenian heritage and the Armenian pogroms that occurred in Baku. Anywho, it is all academic anyway. I wish him luck with whatever he chooses. *Sighs* What awesome goals in 2008 to get RSL into the playoffs (against COR) and past Chivas (that heel-flick at Rio Tinto).
if this is in fact true, it makes a bit more sense. Why not take your trade to the international level (even if it is with a bad squad) while you are young. Hopefully he can catch an eye or two, and make it to a bigger league (his play is suited best in the EPL I believe). Good luck Yura, wish it could have gone differently
Having interviewed Yura on this topic in the past, here is what I know: Yura was granted full asylum status in July, 2007. In Aug 2008 he was waiting for his green card to be issued, and then expected a 4-year wait (according to him) to obtain citizenship. I believe he obtained his green card sometime in the middle of the 2009 season, but I'm not sure when. I think the question surrounding the US National team was whether or not he could get his citizenship in enough time to become part of the mix for the 2014 World Cup. With his move to Randers, this looks doubtful. Unfortunately if he can't make the 2014 WC roster, his usefulness to the US team diminishes dramatically. Probably a wise decision on his part to choose another path.
if this past world cup is any evidence, you dont have to be ready (or capped) until a couple months before the tournament starts... but I fully understand the move if what you have there is true
Too bad I think Yura could have been a much needed addition to the United States forward pool. Original post indicated that this did not limit his choice of National team Selection with this one match. Will this one match in fact make Yura unable to represent the U.S. in the future.?
It's too bad he won't play for the US, but given his citizenship status and relative skill level I'm not sure this makes much of a difference anyway. In any case, I'll always love Yura: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2xQtaClZOI"]YouTube- Movsisyan Magic‎[/ame]