What the hell is Arena waiting for??

Discussion in 'MLS: News & Analysis' started by Stevedm, Sep 16, 2003.

  1. whip

    whip Member

    Aug 5, 2000
    HOUSTON TEXAS
    something to think about .....

    Why do we want a jamaican on the USA team ? so Cantor can talk about the EL EQUIPO DE TODOS"....everybodys team... We need to define the personality of the USA soccer team with americans who play hard for America. Just look at the statistics Regis, and some of the other foreigners just making a check and talking sh#&t later, we do not need that ...
     
  2. Red Card

    Red Card Member+

    Mar 3, 1999
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: something to think about .....

    Only native North Americans whose ancestry here goes back pre-Columbus!!! ;)

    Heck, I don't care who plays for the US, as long as we win.
     
  3. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Jun 9, 1999
    Re: Re: something to think about .....

    Root, root, root for the home team...

    http://www.iroquoisnationals.com/
     
  4. onefineesq

    onefineesq Member+

    Sep 16, 2003
    Laurel, MD
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Why are people still ignoring the obvious here?!! Two pages ago in this thread (or was it another), i posted a link in which Damani talked about playing on the world stage. And in that link, all he ever referred to was JAMAICA and how he is waiting for THEIR call. The man is Jamaican and wants to play for his country of birth. So get off this assumption that he must want to play for the US because we are the US!!! If he were American and/or wanted to play for us and get his citizenship, rest assured Arena would be all over this guy like white on rice. did you see Damani Ralph and Beasley destroy the Galaxy last night with their overwhelming pace in the USOC? However, this isn't gonna happen for our NATS because he already has a team he desires to play for.
     
  5. Ridge

    Ridge New Member

    correction

    In my SA story I referred to Ralph becoming a senior international in two years when he is 25. He is 23 this season and thus counts as a transitional international.
    Regis was married to an American citizen, which helped expedite the process. That and some arm-twisting from the federation.
    Maybe Arena is "waiting for" Ralph to get a green card at least, but even then he'd be a few years away from citizenship and thus eligibility. Should he have been called in to train for the Confederations Cup or Gold Cup? What would be the point? Arena monitors players on both sides of the ocean very closely and probably keeps a closer eye on those who can actually compete for his team(s) in games that count. Friendlies are preparations for those matches, not "exhibitions" to showcase players for certain fans with certain agendas. Qualifying starts in January. There will probably be a friendly in December. Will Ralph be eligible by then? I think not.
    Perhaps the journalist who wrote the story has no idea that a non-citizen can't play for the USA regardless of whether he plays in MLS, but Arena is certainly aware of that minor complication. The friendly Ralph played for Jamaica against Grenada last year isn't the barrier that non-eligibility is. It's up to him, not Arena, to get the U.S. citizenship process rolling. If he doesn't, he plays for Jamaica, if he's chosen, and Jamaica too will start qualifying next year. Simple as that.
     
  6. Minnman

    Minnman Member+

    Feb 11, 2000
    Columbus, OH, USA
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Real Ray posted:

    "I haven't read the whole thread, but did anyone bring up David Regis expedited citizenship:
    http://www.canoe.ca/SoccerWCPreMay2.../may13_reg.html

    'The expedited naturalization process has been used before by Olympic-calibre athletes, Strassberger said...'"


    That's a bit misleading. The expedited naturalization process can be used by anyone whose situation is covered by the statute. Just so happened that Regis married a US citizen who was stationed abroad on some sort of US gov't work/contrator duty. That break (i.e., his wife's work situation NOT his debatable athletic talents) allowed him to ignore the 5-year residency requirement.
     

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