Nice story on Ramon Nunez of the U18 team

Here's a nice and informative article on Ramon Nunez of the US U18 team, an SMU recruit that Soccer America dubbed the best recruit in the country.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...ries/stories/061803dnsposoccerfeat.1f523.html

As US Soccer fans, we need to hope he can get his citizenship by early 2005 so he can play in FIFA-sanctioned games with the U20 team (qualifiers, the World Youth Championship.)

Here's my only quibble with the story. It says he was "Born: Nov. 14, 1985 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras."

Then the writer says - Freddy Adu is the 14-year-old soccer phenom who signed a $1 million endorsement deal with Nike in May. U.S. soccer coaches have told Nuñez that he could start on the under-17 national team that Adu headlines. Only the need to become a U.S. citizen stands in Nuñez's way.

Obviously, that's not true as even if he were an American citizen, he would be too old for the 17s as those players have to be born in 86 or later.

Otherwise, it's a great article and here are the things I liked reading the most.

"No disrespect to Freddy Adu, but all that success and recognition he's received? Ramon is in the same category," SMU soccer coach Schellas Hyndman said. "He could play with Freddy."

Well, good! We can't have too much talent, can we?!

And... Everyone from Nuñez to his parents to Hyndman concedes the likelihood that Nuñez will turn pro after one or two years at SMU. In the meantime, becoming an American citizen is near the top of Nuñez's to-do list.

And... "But I want to play for the U.S."

 

davide asking the hard - and fair - questions. It really is a blunder on the part of someone at Texas, Region III and US National Team levels.

Anyone - and I'm serious about this - know a good imigration attorney? Sounds like the Nunez' could use one.

Honestly, helping educate Latino - and for that matter, African, Asian, Carribean and European immigrants - about the best ways to facilitate the citizenship process will go a long way towards making them feel more included and wanted.

I've long thought that if US Soccer had more Latino players on the national team (s), it would go a long way towards getting the huge Latino base in this country to be more supportive of the national team and of MLS. But, the American soccer community has to do its part and offer help and guidance in what can be a very tricky process, particularly post-9/11.

As an aside, if he gets his citiezenship, the next U20 team could feature Guillermo Gonzalez, Arturo Alvarez, Sergio Flores, Danny Vasquez, Trini Gomez and Nunez so that might be the start of a new look to our youth national teams.