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American Soccer |OT| Life, liberty and the pursuit of the beautiful game

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A

ActStriker

Member
U.S. Soccer ‏@ussoccer 2m
Julian Green has chosen to represent the #USMNT! The @FCBayern forward has applied to FIFA for a Change of Association
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more confirmation!

daoster said:
Next up, Gedion Zelalem (for the 2018 WC, but we need to make sure he doesn't play for German U-19 next month)
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Need to get him his citizenship. And Diego Fagundez's citizenship while we're at it.
 
M

Meier

Member
Saw his dad made this collage 10 days ago. He's so proud of him -- really awesome to see. :)

BiQgBBrCcAAPsZz.jpg
 
C

Cornballer

Member
- US Soccer:
Bayern Munich Forward Julian Green Commits international Future to U.S. National Team Program

CHICAGO (March 18, 2014) – Bayern Munich forward Julian Green has chosen to represent the United States in international competition and has applied for a one-time change of association to FIFA. The process is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.

“We are absolutely thrilled that Julian has chosen to be a part of the U.S. National Team Programs,” said U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. “As we have said, he is a very special talent. We wanted him to feel comfortable with our program and listen to his heart when making this decision. I personally want to thank Kalle Rummenigge and everyone at Bayern Munich for their support through this process. He is an exciting player with a tremendously bright future.”

Born in Tampa, Fla., the 18-year-old Green is a dual citizen of the United States and Germany. He has been a part of a U.S. U-18 camp, and most recently spent two days with the Men’s National Team in March prior to the friendly against Ukraine. Because he played for Germany in an official competition - a qualifier for the U-19 European Championship - the one-time change application was required.

“Obviously this was a big decision, and I spent a long time discussing it with my family,” said Green. “I was born in Florida and my father still lives there, so I have deep roots in the U.S. I’m very proud to be representing the United States.”

“A big part of the decision was the experience I had in Frankfurt. All the players were super nice and welcomed me from the beginning. Clint Dempsey gave me a jersey with my name on it, and the way they supported me gave me a lot of belief. The coaches have shown a lot of trust in me, and now I hope to do everything I can to earn a spot on the World Cup roster.”

Green has been invited to participate in the training camp leading up to the game against Mexico.

Per FIFA rules, once a change of association has been filed, a player cannot represent either association until the process is complete.
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See, Dempsey is pulling his own weight. ;)
 
X

xbhaskarx

Member
daoster said:
Next up, Gedion Zelalem (for the 2018 WC, but we need to make sure he doesn't play for German U-19 next month)
Click to expand...

ActStriker said:
Need to get him his citizenship. And Diego Fagundez's citizenship while we're at it.
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One down two to go...
xbhaskarx said:
We have plenty of promising young players already, but I have a feeling a big part of whether or not we can take the step up to the next level will be determined by how many guys play for us out of Diego Fagundez, Gideon Zelalem, and Julian Green.
Unfortunately two out of three aren't even US citizens yet...
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D

daoster

Member
Julian saw the writing on the wall, and wanted to be a part of the first team outside of S. America and Europe to win a World Cup.

Seriously though, has anybody seen him play? I hope he's at least as half as good as they say he is...
 
X

xbhaskarx

Member
daoster said:
Seriously though, has anybody seen him play?
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For Bayern in preseason friendlies against lower division opponents, and a couple minutes vs Moscow in Champions League... so basically nothing that matters or with a meaningful sample size.
But hey let's see what he can do against Mexico.
 
X

xbhaskarx

Member
Cornballer said:
- Alexi Lalas and Roger Bennett talking Julian Green & dual nationals for ESPNFC
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Do we really need the opinions of aging nativist white dudes like Alexi Lalas and Taylor Twellman in US soccer to be our equivalent of Lou Dobbs....

Nor do I view Rossi or Subotic as “ones that got away.” If the players don't have the emotional connection to the country they are playing for, and a pride in making that decision to represent them, then their performance will suffer. Those players don't have the attachment to the country. I believe we dodged the bullet. The emotional attachment between player and country has to be there.
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There seems to be either xenophobia or a serious inferiority complex at work when it's bad when dual nationals choose the US because that means they're mercenaries (Lalas know their motives), but good when dual nationals choose other countries because it means they never had an emotional connection to this country (pretty ridiculous to say about a guy like Rossi who is a total New Jersey kid).

What we often won’t say however is that the reason these players pick the United States is that they know they can’t play for the alternative. Signing up for the United States is often an admission they are not good enough.

Bennett: Isn’t this what makes the Julian Green case so fascinating? He is too young to make such an admission. We simply do not know yet how good he will be. Yet, he has looked inside himself, asked himself what is important to him and felt the hunger to take to the World Cup stage. He wants it now.

Lalas: Which is not a good enough reason. There has to be something emotional about the decision to play for the United States. Believe me, If you are just a mercenary, that will manifest itself on the field for you, or off the field for your teammates.
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In this exchange Lalas basically says if you are a dual national who chooses the US, you are either not good enough for the other country, or a mercenary... apparently you can't just want to play for the US.

not absorbed into the squad’s culture
a language barrier

He did not speak much English. Jeff Agoos had been with the team, Regis took his place and started immediately. He lacked a personal connection to the team or the other players and his background was so completely different to ours there was little in the way of inter-relatable background. What we learned is the dynamics of a team that is created over multiple years is fragile.
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Does this mean American players can't complain when they go to a country with a different culture or language and don't get the opportunities they think they deserve? The US doesn't have an official language, would Lalas be okay with excluding a player who only spoke English because the majority of the national team spoke German or Spanish?
 
X

xbhaskarx

Member
Cornballer said:
- MLS Soccer: How excited should we get over Julian Green's USMNT choice?
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He's a pure, wide attacker, a right-footed winger who usually plays inverted on the left.

He should provide consistent penetration from the left flank, something that is one of the central tenets of how Bayern Munich play. They use the wingers to push the defense back, usually holding the ball on one side of the pitch through short combinations then switching quickly to the other side once the winger is isolated. They transition quickly from "possession" to "attack" – quicker than any team I've ever seen, to be honest.

Think of the dozens of goals we've seen from Frank Ribéry and Arjen Robben over the last half-decade. That's how they want Green to play. That's how he's been taught to play. If he's really on the cusp of first-team minutes there, then we should be excited.
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Even more of a logjam for the three spots behind the forward that makes the infrequent usage of Fabian Johnson at fullback look like a terrible move...
 
A

Azuran

Banned
One of the these days MLS clubs will learn how to win big at home so even if they get thrashed in Mexico, they still have some chance to progress.

Anyways, lol Galaxy.
 
A

Askani

Member
xbhaskarx, I finally checked out some replays and watched the Instant Reply segment with Simon Borg. These are what I was referencing when I said SKC got jobbed. You can see the shove which should have been a PK, and the two fouls on Peterson could have drawn at least one PK.

While I only sometimes agree with Borg, I actually like this segment.

SKC vs Dallas starts at 1:16 in.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/video/2014...rdict-dempsey-olave-bernadello-instant-replay

sr7TWrX.gif
 
T

Toothpick

Member
Much better 2nd half by LA, they almost got the tie towards the end too. The collapse in the first 45 was hard to watch though..

Hopefully SJ and SKC have better luck in their games tomorrow.
 
N

Nesotenso

Member
Well one positive from the Galaxy and Tijuana matchup is that got to see Garza play. He will be invited to play for the US soon enough.
 
C

Cornballer

Member
- Dempsey gets a two match suspension for his antics against TFC last weekend
- Steve Cherundolo is holding a press conference to announce his retirement today. 87 caps & 3 World Cups for the best right back in USMNT history.
- Timmy Chandler's club announced today that he's unlikely to play again this year as he's undergoing rehab.
 
D

daoster

Member
Osorio said:
Cherundolo next MLS coach?
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ACtually, I wouldn't be surprised if he stayed in Europe and worked his way up the ranks in terms of coaching over there. He's spent his whole professional career in Germany and his wife is German, so maybe he ends up staying over there.

The guy is a rarity in US Soccer. An American born and raised, but he's spent his whole professional career abroad at a single club. Is HE the most successful US player abroad ever?

But man, it's sad to see him go :( Good luck to the mayor of Hannover.
 
T

The Culture Vulture

Member
Glad MLS wasn't hesitant to suspend their darling of last year. Hopefully his play changes the closer we get to Brazil. His actions and attitude haven't been fit for the captain of a national team for quite sometime now.
 
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