Looking at it from far away I see this as a BAD THING. I mean if a guy is willing to be that much of a baby about things what happens when he doesnt get his way here?
You might be right. Or, might just be a professional athlete being a prima donna....ain't that unusual.
i guess its a good thing in more ways than just him not leaving us for his nats. because european clubs look at national team games more so than they look at MLS games, so he wont be leaving for any hiigh profile clubs, not for a while at least. but then again, if he is a money hungry player, a big IF, it might be hard to sign him for next year again, no? he'll probably join them back up in a couple of months/years anyways, but at least we have a good midfeild general now. dre
I suspect there's more to this than we know about. This kind of stuff just doesn't crop up out of nowhere. Let's stay tuned... On the bright side, maybe the little taste of MLS he's had so far is to his liking and he knows he has a home no matter what happens with Honduras. Let's all cheer like mad next Saturday and let him know we love him and want him on the MetroStars!
The article reads like the federation's version of events, I wonder what the players have to say for themselves.
Late word is that he won't be right back, his doctor has ordered some rest on a beach with his girlfriend.
There's another article on the ESPN site. Look, without trying to engage in stereotyping, some of the Central American football associations are very poorly run. Eliseo Quintanilla of DCU (and the Salvadoran youth team) ran into a similar situation where he was "banned from the team" and the explanation didn't make sense. Honduras has had a number of problems with competence with their football federation. They nearly defaulted from the Olympic qualifying tournament (where they finished ahead of the USA) b/c the day before the tournament, the team didn't have meal money (or the federation had reversed itself and declined to provide some meal money) so the Olympic side refused to go to Hershey for the tournament and nearly defaulted. I recall reading a translation of an interview with Mondragon (the former Motagua and Honduran NT coach) and he wasn't so complimentary about the level of organization either. I don't know all the facts here (heck, don't know most of the facts) but it makes no sense of Guevara to leave the USA, arrive for the match and then demand money. This is the sort of thing (if one was going to do this) that you'd do before you got there. After all, once you're there, the team can take your plane ticket (or refuse to give you a flite back), and it's not like he's the most leverage against T&T does it? I think the Honduran FF explanation makes no sense what-so-ever. As to how this plays out in the long run (and if it hurts or helps Guevara), I don't know. But this doesn't sound that out-of-the-ordinary for FF's in Concacaf.
while not knowing the facts, there's definitely room to make guesses that arent too far-fetched...for one, it isn't unknown for 2nd or 3rd world countries (hell 1st world for all i know), to have soccer federations that are very shady or have trouble operating (i.e nigeria)...i really don't know how a model one should be run, but one positive is that guevara did travel to see his team win (if one wanted to take something positive from the incident)...it seems it's the better players of the team that stood firm on their stance, but moreover, they could probably afford to do so...the rest of the team probably has to settle for what they can get b/c their salaries with their clubs probably aren't that great...second, i think if guevara then makes the effort to get back for wednesday's game (which i would think is possible), then it could be taken as a positive since there could be players that might not make the trip b/c their club wasnt originally expecting them to...i know for myself, i'm tripping over myself to give every aspect of this season the benefit of the doubt...while i think there's a good chance this isnt a demonstration of poor character, we may also never get the real story, much like no one really knows the specificss of quintanilla's situation to this day...
"Abudoj said coaches kept all four players out of the game after they demanded to be paid $19,000 each for helping the team qualify for the Gold Cup tournament, which will be played in Mexico and the United States in July.". Regardless of whether it's a 2nd, 3rd or 4th world country, don't players generally know approximately what their bonus is going to be prior to the start of these tournaments? They had to know they weren't going to be getting $100K and a Mercedes. The Metros had that little squabble two years ago about the Merconorte Cup over the paltry $42 "bonus" money. At least they had a team meeting about it. It seems here, these 4 guys took it upon themselves to make a statement and were representing their own best interests and not the team's. Also, "demanded" is a strong word and unfortunately the article does not elaborate. Did they say they weren't going to play if they weren't paid more? Once Guevara gets back to NJ, I hope he can shed some light on this since we're only getting one side of the story.
you have a good point, i'm just under the impression that there was a pre-determined figure and that the players were getting shorted...it seems ludicrous that players would just come up with their own figure after the fact, just because they thought they could get away with it...i'm really hoping that's not the case...not only that, but money country pays usually pales in comparison to what they get for their regular club, i'd think that despite that, it was principle and these players that i think could afford to stand up against getting shorted did so b/c they were fed up with it...again, unfortunately we dont have all the facts and may never get a straight story
I read the posted article. The crowd that says that Guevara is a whiner can stuff it. Our own USSF has treated our own players like shite over the years. Apparently no one remembers our boys in the Copa in Uruguay and beyond winning glory while the suits at the USSF were screwing them over pennies. The women have had the USSF shite end of the stick from the get go. It is worse in Central America. If Guevara is bucking his federation, that takes balls of brass. He is EXACTLY what the Metro can use.
Ghost, i completely agree...unfortunately, i just think it's tough for more players to do so because they don't make enough money otherwise to turn down whatever they already make...i would think some would even grin and bear it while trying to make an impression in internationals since they probably won't get recognized by foreign clubs otherwise, and i think central american players are great beneficiaries of MLS (in that they may be more easily recognized) and i think the case is becoming more and more vice versa for MLS benefitting from having these guys in the league...
While I can't say what _really_ happened and I don't know if he has balls of brass or if he's a Judas, I can say Guevara is taking some very, very serious heat for this in Honduras. Short term it can't be a good thing for his mental state.