Right now, there is little doubt that Urawa's Emerson is the top forward in J-League, and it appears he will stay in Japan despite (reported) offers from Barcelona and Deportivo La Coruna. Now, Emerson may apply for Japanese citizenship next year and both Zico and the Reds seem excited about the prospects (think how much better Japan would be with a true finisher like Emerson) but.... isn't he cap-tied? According to this, Emerson (or Marcio Carioca, as he was known then) played for Brazil in the U-20 South American championships in 1999. As I understand, according to FIFA rules, once you play in an official FIFA-sanctioned match at any level beginning with U-17, you are committed to playing for that country. (The only way out is if he had dual citizenship at the time of his first Brazil cap, or if he was changing nationalities for political reasons, neither of which is the case here) The Japanese media is saying that he'll have to choose between Japan and Brazil for the 2004 Olympics, but it seems he won't have a choice since he has already played in an official match for Brazil. Am I missing something here? Is the U-20 tournament not FIFA-sanctioned? Or did Zico and the Japanese media forget to check the records?
This was a rumour a long time ago, but I hadnt heard much about it recently. I thought most people were now assuming that this will not happen. If Emerson DOES intend to get citizenship, he has a lot of hard work ahead of him. Theres no way he can pass the language test with his current (almost nonexistent) Japanese ability. Personally I think it sounds like a baseless rumour. However, as far as eligibility goes, this matter has already been discussed in the Japanese sports newspapers. Emerson was named to the Brazil U-20 team (twice), but he never actually played in a match. Therefore, he is not cap tied to Brazil.
http://www.conmebol.com/scripts/runisa.dll?s7:GL1::71185+1052+1999+101BRA Actually, according to the above link, "Marcio Emerson Passos" a.k.a. Marcio Carioca (No. 19) played in all but one match in the U-20 tournament and recorded one goal. I would be very surprised if the South American championship matches don't constitute official cap-tying matches. Of course, all of this would be moot if he does receive and accept a call-up for Brazil's Olympic qualifiers as rumored.
Caps Caps only count when it's a full senior match. So therefore playing 100 times for the U21s and never for the senior team can still make u officially uncapped.
Re: Caps Yes and no. "Caps" only refer to full senior side appearances but you're "cap-tied" as soon as you play in any FIFA-sanctioned match at any level beginning at U-17. That's why it was such a big deal for Freddy Adu to play in a World Youth qualifier, since that appearance tied him to the United States. (To complicate matters a bit, a new FIFA ruling now allows you to change nationalities before your 21st birthday BUT ONLY if you had dual nationalities at the time of your national team appearance. Which means that Freddy Adu can still choose to play for either USA or Ghana, but no one else)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/hochi/soccer/dec/o20031212_10.htm(Japanese) I think that Eme is the best FW in all the players of the history of J.League.
Well, whoever stole Eme's medal returned it. Zelic is still waiting for his. If you can't read Japanese, here's the basic gist of the article linked in Shurarara's post. It quotes Emerson saying that he has wanted to be Japanese ever since Alex got his Japanese citizenship 2 years ago. He is working with a tutor to improve his Japanese and says he has no problem hearing and his speaking has gotten much better. He thinks Japan can be in the Top 9 in the world and he can help them finish in the Top 4 in the '06 World Cup. He played for Brazil at the U-20 South American championship in 1998 but that will not be a problem since it was not a FIFA event. To gain Japanese citizenship, the application process takes 1-2 years and you have to - be able to read, write and speak Japanese, - have lived in Japan for 5 years or more - have no criminal record - make enough money to support yourself and - forfeit any other citizenship