After the Gold Cup Final, I'm not sure Julian will choose the USMNT. This is a very weird time when we have arguably the deepest pool of talent in the RB position. I 100% believe Araujo could easily play his way into a starting or bench role with USMNT, depending on Dest's form or injuries. I rate him as having a much higher ceiling than Cannon, but the decision is his to make. And considering the performance of the USMNT and El Tri, sadly it looks like Araujo will have a much easier time making the starting lineup with Mexico, which prob will add to his decision. So yes, I am a USMNT supporter and homer, apologies to the non-USA fans here. Julian has already turned down 1 callup with USMNT due to the potential to be cap-tied. We will see what happens when the next friendlies or lower-tier Qualifiers roll around.
BTW, the Wings challenge between himself and Bond was amusing, the last question, when Bond asked him USA or Mexico and Julian refused to answer..... It must be hard, having deep roots in two countries, to be a level of skill that is coveted and courted by both countries....
If we are considering the wings challenge, then I submit the following hard evidence for consideration. There was another challenge where you had to name as many state as you can in 60 seconds (or something like that) and I think Julian said California and maybe one other state and gave up. I suppose you could say Julian's lack of basic US Geography makes him a typical US kid or unfit to wear the Stars and Stripes.
that's interesting. I hear that and I think back to the 5th grade and that mnemonic device, that song we were taught singing the states in alphabetical order.... I can't help but list the states by singing that song. over 28 years ago for me. and I still remember it.
Julian also looked a little bit like he was a bit embarrassed to be doing the states challenge. If he had burst into this song, I'm not sure if I would have been so surprised I couldn't stop laughing for a week or perhaps stood and put my hand over my heart. I'm thinking they might have asked a few foreign nationals in the state quiz as well. My geography is atrocious. I'm sure I couldn't name more than a handful of provinces of Canadia or counties of England. As a country we are very US-centric. It always gets me how during the US national anthem the camera always pans through the players and there are these slow shots of players looking appropriately respectful - who aren't US citizens - it always strikes me as odd. I'm usually thinking something like "Why are they zooming in on this guy from France? I wonder what he's thinking - maybe - this damn song again. If they knew I'd have to listen to this so many times I wonder if my forefathers would have been so generous with military aid or large symbolic statues."
I never understood why we play the anthem during "league" sporting events, especially in leagues where Americans are a minority (like Baseball).
That's honestly kind of disturbing. I'm not worried about Julian specifically, but civic society depends on that basic kind of knowledge. Not to get political, but what are the schools doing here??
He sounds low IQ to be honest. The schools can't fix stupid. The kid has traveled to many different states playing professional soccer, but he can't name them? Sad!
true, I didn't mean "majority" I meant "a good amount". Gut feeling MLB, MLS and NHL are the three leagues that have a higher percentage of non-USA players. and yes you are right, MLB is 70%+ USA. I cannot edit my prior post.
I think that's probably a bit harsh. Everyone has different priorities. But I do think it's fair to say that Julian is at his best when he's not thinking too much on the field and is playing in "the flow". As stated many times the discipline of playing defense, which is often something more cerebral players excel at, is not his forte. In general, we've been spoiled over the years where MLS has been a league with a large amount of college pedigree US players. With the growth of youth development, there's also probably come a reduction in the average education of MLS players. Of course, it's not rocket science.
It doesn’t take a college education to understand what states you’ve visited. That’s just something a normal person learns over time. No need to make excuses—we can’t all be Einstein’s.
Well that last sentence is definitely true since there was only one Einstein. I once dated a woman with a PhD from Duke who didn’t realize England was an island. Now I’ll admit I was taken aback when I discovered this - but her issue was clearly not a lack of intelligence. She just grew up in a protected household with zero interest in anything but what went on in her immediate sphere of influence - her family and her academic work, where she excelled. But it’s one thing to be amazed, or even critical, or even break up with someone who isn’t more curious about their world. But its a whole ‘nother thing to attack them as not being “normal” and assuming they are “dumb” when you’ve never met the person. For example I don’t assume you are actually dumb or not normal despite your coming across that way.
Also, some people just don't do well under pressure and can freeze and honestly, we all have brain farts sometimes.
Can we get away from the IQ talk? Feels awful to make such assumptions about a young man who has done so well on and off the field. Don’t forget the advocacy work he does for migrant farmers and workers. He’s a good kid with a good head on his shoulders. We can all learn from him. In regards to the original question, as a G’s fan, I’m hoping he fights it out with the USMNT. I think he can challenge for a spot. However, he will fit in nicely with Mexico’s style of play.
I think part of the reason he didn’t accept the call up for the Gold Cup was to stay with the Galaxy. There was no guarantee he’d get playing time with the National team, but he was going to start every game for the Galaxy. I think he’s more worried about what’s best for his career and getting to Europe. Playing game in and game out for the Galaxy, is going to help him develop and get the move he’s looking for. It might be easier to break into Mexico’s roster at RB, but Julian is a fighter, and I doubt he’d be concerned with competing with Reggie Cannon and Shaq Moore for a spot on the roster. It might also help that the US B team just beat Mexico’s A team in the Gold Cup final, a month or so after the US A team beat Mexico’s A team in the Nations League Final. That’s a sign that the power of Concacaf is shifting back towards the US and based on the level of talent the US is producing, I don’t think it’s going to shift back anytime soon.
Touched a nerve didn't I? I don't really understand why you have taken this so personally. Many athletes are not very bright; sometimes they reveal it. Not being able to name states that he's visited--something a small child can do--is evidence of low intelligence.
One sign of intelligence is an ability to learn and grow, which he IS doing, at least on the pitch. Intelligence is never truly measured as a metric for remembering things. IQ tests are about logical thinking and how you process information, not what information you have stored away in your memory banks (although plenty of people make that mistake, and plenty of not-so-intelligent people make up for Low-IQ by strictly remembering lots of things). That last point, for example, I sailed with 1 person who was a lower IQ person, but they memorized step by step exactly how to light off a freshwater distiller. Ask them exactly why they are doing the steps and they would have no clue, they just know "Open valve, Start Pump, Open this valve, etc..." That being said.... I'm not going to speculate on other peoples' intelligence. Those types of discussions and speculations really aren't productive, especially when the only metric is a silly video recorded for social media, which the person involved may have not even cared to participate seriously.
I think we speculate on player's intelligence all of the time. But yeah, we don't need to discuss it forever.
I’m sure Jazzy has never been on camera and frozen up and been unable to remember something really simple. Any more comments that disparage players IQs will not be tolerated. Thank you.
If anyone doubts that, watch the hours of hilarious gameshow outtakes. It came up recently that my family once auditioned for Family Feud back in the 80s. It's a running joke how terrible everyone was, including my Mom, who couldn't remember her own profession when the host asked during the "small talk" before any questions and for some reason said she was a lawyer (?). Julian's, what, 19? Many of us were still struggling with doing classroom presentations at that age.
That is vastly different from what you were referring to and you know it. To say otherwise is very disingenuous.
Cannon and Moore aren't as good as people think. Our rightback pool is filed with good options, but we lack that elite option outside of Dest imo. Yedlin is on the decline which is expected due to age. Cannon is doing well in Portugal, but he is also playing a mix of right back and right mid there. I am not convinced he is going to be anything other than a solid right back option which is honestly great too. Shaq Moore is playing in the spanish 2nd division which shouldn't put him automatically above Araujo. I really wouldn't be surprised to see Araujo called up for the world cup qualifiers especially with how well Araujo has been playing lately.
I disagree. I think IQ and intellect in fact align with soccer and sports IQ. There’s lots of reason to believe it’s the case. That said this is becoming a sideshow and I’m not trying to prolong it.