I was surprised today when I saw Rodrigo Faria being spotlighted on a Brazilian Sunday sports show. But I think i caught Rodrigo in a lie. The feature was about young unknown Brazilians that come play soccer in the US. They showed a few guys that Faria knew and didnt make it here though they supposedly teach soccer here now. Then they talked about Faria and showed his goals and success here. Faria then was interviewed and said: " I played a few months at the college and then a few games in a little reserve Metrostars team and next thing I know I was playing with Lothar Mattheus...it was awesome..." Im assuming he meant playing on the same team, because he surely didnt play against him.... was Faria just trying to brag a little, he probably knew the Brazilian press wasnt gonna verify the data. But if I recall Faria came to the MS's in 2001 and Lothar left in 2000. Anyone? He also said his dream is to play for the US in the WC. "I know that UNFORTUNRETLY I wont play for Brazil in a World cup, but I know I can for the US" Faria said.
He played for the de facto Metros reserve team, before they were officially announced as Metrostars Black. They were around in the latter stages of the 2000 season.
I doubt that they played together, but I sure that Faria trained with Lothar at some point. No, he can't play for the US. He would make Twellman look like a great forward, and Arena wouldn't put up with him for 5 minutes.
I don't understand your ridcule of Rodrigo. Of course, he's not a USMNT pool player right now, but he has every right to set his sights for a place on a US WC team. At least he has the drive to do so. Look at it this way: Mathis has played 54 games for Metro, Faria played 56 during his tenure here. Mathis has scored 29 goals for Metro, Faria scored 25. Take away Clint's 5-goal match vs. Dallas, and their goalscoring rates look awfully similar. Now I'm not saying Bruce should be looking at him anytime soon. But if in the next couple of years he shows improvement in terms of judgement and finishing, why the hell shouldn't he be looked at?
Let's not bust on Faria on his Birthday...then again he is playing on an arch rival team now....hmmm...
Wait people...who knows how old Faria actually is. He says he's around 25 or 26. He's probably older. Give me a break. How on earth can he play on the Nats??????
I seem to recall Faria having problems hitting the open net last year... thats real national team potential there.
Faria is crap. He definitely has a good work rate and sets himself up for chances but doesn't have enough skill to finish them. He works hard in practice but I've heard he also has a raging ego, which is crazy considering he really hasnt done a whole hell of a lot. As for that guy trying to compare Rodrigo and Clint's stats, give me a break. Try figuring out how many of Clint's goals were self-created and how many of Faria's were. You mention the 5-goal game for Clint, how about taking into account that something like half of Rodrigo's goals have come against D.C. United, well maybe not half but more than enough. Unless he get his $hit together real soon, and his absence from Fire training camp isn't a good sign, Faria could find himself on Chicago's bench and out of the league soon after that.
Faria's a great player. Sure he had a lot of misses, but hey, I don't remember Clint or Diallo doing much more then he did. He's one of the few players last year that actually played at 110%.
So are you saying his 110% is about equal to Clint and Diallo's half assed effort? Because I would agree with that.
No, what I meant to say was, Faria was one of the few players that actually played with heart, and contested every ball. At least when Faria didn't fracture an ankle one week, and some how come back the following week because he had an off game. Had he been benched for a game because of those misses, I'm sure he would have learned his lesson, and tried harder the next times. And with the way the US forwards played versus Argentina, I won't mind seeing Faria get subsitiuted for one of them.
No, I'm just saying that he's not going to improve much. Plus, would you really take him over any of the forwards who were on the team in 2002? I don't know how you can say yes. As for the play of our forwards against Argentina. Mathis had a groin injury. Ben Olsen, sadly didn't show his best form in the midfield, leaving us utterly defenseless for the first 20 minutes of the match. Later on we got our rhythm back, and leveled out the match.
Faria was called onto the Metro Reserve team in the middle of lothar´s last season.....he meant that he got a chance to play (practice) with lothar...as for the USMNT...i feel that if rodrigo had become a naturalized citizen, he could have a chance especially since a lot of new young guys are being given a chance....i actually heard that Arena asked rodrigo on his paperwork situation and if he had any perspective as to when he might have his stuff straightened out
I agree, US did eventually play better. Though I won't mind seeing Faria come in the 75th minute just to add some spark, just like Gio did in the past for the Metros.
ok, all this kind reminiscing is fine, but I don't hear anyone saying that they wish he was still playing for Metro. I know that I won't miss seeing those one or two blown 1v1's with the keeper in the first 10 minutes of every game, whether or not he was giving "110%."
Player age with the US nats Chris Klein is becoming a bit of a late bloomer for the US nats now and if I'm not mistaken he's 26 or 27. Just thought some people might want to think about that. Now I'm not saying Faria is great or anything...
Ok, I'll stick my neck out. I wish he was still here. Not that I'm all broken up that he's gone. His missed sitters pissed me off too. Still, I think his overall game has improved considerably over his first year, and he's still young.
Faria problem was that he came to the league at an older age. Though, I think if he was coached by Bradley or Arena, he might improve as a player.