he looked very sharp tonight…put him in as an EJ or Dempsey sub, and with Donovan and MB pulling midfield strings…things start looking good offensively. Very excited to see him in a qualifier.
I learned a lot from the video. To hear most talk about it, he was just born in the US while his parents were here for a semester of research and left right away with no further connections.
His good English, spending the first three years of his life in Alabama, spending summers and vacations in the US, and going to the IMG academy for a solid year somehow make the Icelandic FA’s comments even worse.
Great debut today, hopefully he justs gets better and better with more expierence.
We will probably take 4 fwds to Brazil, should we make it,
1. Jozy
2. Dempsey
3. EJ
4. Open for AJo, Boyd, Gomez, Agudelo, others–right now he is winning that sweepstakes, really want to see Boyd play sometime but AJo looks like the national teamer right now
His English shouldn’t be a surprise. I’m pretty sure a guy who spent a year at IMG Bradenton and visited Florida every summer growing up would probably speak English.
(I would too if my language contained words like Eyjafjallajökull.)
Long way to go before WC. I think he played pretty well, but it was also one game. Towards the end of the game he had a little bit of a disconnect with the rest of the fellas up front and I think that is his only place for concern. Otherwise, he looks like a solid player. I hope to see more of him and the 4-4-2 formation.
Yes, he seems like a nice guy guy and I wish him all the luck in the world and I hope he scores lots of goals for the USMNT. That said, the interview basically reinforces my opposition to National team coaches actively and doggedly trying to recruit dual nationals. The door should, of course, be left open to them, but IMO national team coaches should not be telephoning dual nationals who already are leaning toward the country they grew up to try to make them change their mind, as it appears Klinsmann did. Would be better to simply let them make up their own minds using their own hearts with no outside interference.
Not sure what you think the harm is. If you look at it from the players perspective, they have a huge life changing decision to make. A coach’s interest is one of the factors the player would consider in making the decision, as it signals whether they could be a potential key part of the team. A proactive coach is only good for the pool. Wasnt it BB’s crew that built the Germanican pipeline? Ultimately, it is the player making up his own mind and heart. Until they decide and are captied, Klinsmann or any coach has no power over them other than persuasive powers (of which apparently JK is also in possession).
And a proactive coach can be a huge factor. Vedad Ibisevic said he chose Bosnia because only the Bosnia coach showed any interest. Likewise, Shalrie Joseph would have played for the US instead of Grenada had the US called first, and was definitely good enough to be our starting d-mid at the time.
It’s a delicate situation….. can understand the discomfort. That said…. it is not uncommon for National Team managers (JK in particular) to call, keep in touch, express interest and encouragement to top prospects with solely US citizenship. After-all, this is a player who of his own accord attended US development. Seems quite right and normal for a new manager taking over a program to reestablish contact with a player who has been involved in the past, see where he is at. What I do like to hear is AJ having made clear that JK emphasized the importance of going with his heart. I think it is a good thing to let a player know he is valued, what your program has to offer. Then…… let him, his agent, his family decide where his heart and interest lie, sounds like this is pretty much what went down. I trust that the kid and his support system took great care in making a fully informed, careful decision and respect that. So….. Welcome to the Stars and Stripes brotha!!!!!!
Guess we’ll see see where character, talent and hard work places him within the fold…
To be sure, a friendly doesnt cap tie him, correct? What is the point of no return? Is it being on the game day roster in a competitive match, or is it playing 1 second in a competitive match? Or is Aron Bacon captied now, with the FIFA paperwork done, which was referred to this week?
He had to file his one time switch from Iceland, so there’s no going back for him now.
Hey, just because a woman’s already leaning towards another man, it shouldn’t stop any other formidable male from letting her know they might be interested- just saying.. If you don’t at least let them know you’re interested, you have no chance to begin with…
His English is better than I thought. Now I’m curious of how well JAB and the other AMERICANS (yes they are American, no need to attatch the German to it ) speak.
Shouldn’t be surprising. He spent a year at IMG in Bradenton, and according to the commentators during the game, he and his family visited Florida every year.
Just looked up what Hrubesch said… wow he needs some anger management classes or something. Absolutely furious that one of the guys he actively wanted would choose the USA/
what did he say? post the quotes
Quotes?
Is that too much to ask?
Link?
Is that too much to ask?
great interview. kid’s english is very good and he’s got a humble charming vibe. you can see him fitting right in. interested to see him play
His career to this point is pretty unremarkable, he’s moved onto a bigger stage now so let’s see how he does. I’m not sure what he’s done to this point to merit being fast-tracked into the USMNT. Of course, my view that this kind of thing doesn’t help US Soccer is well known by regular readers of this site.
You could say the same thing about Altidore or Bradley when they were first called up. Bradley had played just 6 games for Heerenveen when he played in some pre-WC 2006 friendlies, and Altidore was still with the Red Bulls when he first got called up. They seem to be helping US Soccer a fair bit.
Besides, Johansson’s scored 17 goals in his last 23 games between AZ and Aarhus, so I’m not sure there are any other Americans in Europe that deserved a call-up over him.
Here’s the Footloose video…. http://youtu.be/lDIU7Ym3vMg
Aron bacon!?!? First, zusi looks like roger federer. Then jack mac looks like tom cruise. Now iceman looks like kevin bacon. Love it!!!
he looked very sharp tonight…put him in as an EJ or Dempsey sub, and with Donovan and MB pulling midfield strings…things start looking good offensively. Very excited to see him in a qualifier.
I learned a lot from the video. To hear most talk about it, he was just born in the US while his parents were here for a semester of research and left right away with no further connections.
His good English, spending the first three years of his life in Alabama, spending summers and vacations in the US, and going to the IMG academy for a solid year somehow make the Icelandic FA’s comments even worse.
I cannot root for anyone that could have been the badguy in Mighty Ducks 2, USMNT or not.
At least he can speak English!
Great debut today, hopefully he justs gets better and better with more expierence.
We will probably take 4 fwds to Brazil, should we make it,
1. Jozy
2. Dempsey
3. EJ
4. Open for AJo, Boyd, Gomez, Agudelo, others–right now he is winning that sweepstakes, really want to see Boyd play sometime but AJo looks like the national teamer right now
His English shouldn’t be a surprise. I’m pretty sure a guy who spent a year at IMG Bradenton and visited Florida every summer growing up would probably speak English.
Everyone in Iceland speaks (pretty good) english.
(I would too if my language contained words like Eyjafjallajökull.)
Long way to go before WC. I think he played pretty well, but it was also one game. Towards the end of the game he had a little bit of a disconnect with the rest of the fellas up front and I think that is his only place for concern. Otherwise, he looks like a solid player. I hope to see more of him and the 4-4-2 formation.
You say “At least he can speak English!” like the USA has an official language.
Anyone think Iceland will get to the World Cup or UEFA within the next decade or two?
World Cup? No.
The Euros? Yes, largely because it is expanding from 16 to 24 teams.
Yes, he seems like a nice guy guy and I wish him all the luck in the world and I hope he scores lots of goals for the USMNT. That said, the interview basically reinforces my opposition to National team coaches actively and doggedly trying to recruit dual nationals. The door should, of course, be left open to them, but IMO national team coaches should not be telephoning dual nationals who already are leaning toward the country they grew up to try to make them change their mind, as it appears Klinsmann did. Would be better to simply let them make up their own minds using their own hearts with no outside interference.
Not sure what you think the harm is. If you look at it from the players perspective, they have a huge life changing decision to make. A coach’s interest is one of the factors the player would consider in making the decision, as it signals whether they could be a potential key part of the team. A proactive coach is only good for the pool. Wasnt it BB’s crew that built the Germanican pipeline? Ultimately, it is the player making up his own mind and heart. Until they decide and are captied, Klinsmann or any coach has no power over them other than persuasive powers (of which apparently JK is also in possession).
And a proactive coach can be a huge factor. Vedad Ibisevic said he chose Bosnia because only the Bosnia coach showed any interest. Likewise, Shalrie Joseph would have played for the US instead of Grenada had the US called first, and was definitely good enough to be our starting d-mid at the time.
It’s a delicate situation….. can understand the discomfort. That said…. it is not uncommon for National Team managers (JK in particular) to call, keep in touch, express interest and encouragement to top prospects with solely US citizenship. After-all, this is a player who of his own accord attended US development. Seems quite right and normal for a new manager taking over a program to reestablish contact with a player who has been involved in the past, see where he is at. What I do like to hear is AJ having made clear that JK emphasized the importance of going with his heart. I think it is a good thing to let a player know he is valued, what your program has to offer. Then…… let him, his agent, his family decide where his heart and interest lie, sounds like this is pretty much what went down. I trust that the kid and his support system took great care in making a fully informed, careful decision and respect that. So….. Welcome to the Stars and Stripes brotha!!!!!!
Guess we’ll see see where character, talent and hard work places him within the fold…
To be sure, a friendly doesnt cap tie him, correct? What is the point of no return? Is it being on the game day roster in a competitive match, or is it playing 1 second in a competitive match? Or is Aron Bacon captied now, with the FIFA paperwork done, which was referred to this week?
He had to file his one time switch from Iceland, so there’s no going back for him now.
Hey, just because a woman’s already leaning towards another man, it shouldn’t stop any other formidable male from letting her know they might be interested- just saying.. If you don’t at least let them know you’re interested, you have no chance to begin with…
He really does look like Kevin Bacon.
He even has a Footloose dance parody video!
His English is better than I thought. Now I’m curious of how well JAB and the other AMERICANS (yes they are American, no need to attatch the German to it ) speak.
Shouldn’t be surprising. He spent a year at IMG in Bradenton, and according to the commentators during the game, he and his family visited Florida every year.
lol
“And then another American was taking my spot. Jozy and he was scoring every game.”
Hey Ives, there is an article on ussoccer that says John A Brooks has committed to US, you could do an article on this
You talking about the first article under the news section ?
After what the German U-21 coach said, I would commit to the US too….
What did he say?
Just looked up what Hrubesch said… wow he needs some anger management classes or something. Absolutely furious that one of the guys he actively wanted would choose the USA/
what did he say? post the quotes
Quotes?
Is that too much to ask?
Link?
Is that too much to ask?
great interview. kid’s english is very good and he’s got a humble charming vibe. you can see him fitting right in. interested to see him play
Self-deprecation, humility and self-sufficiency are major aspects of Icelandic culture. It oozes from the kid.
His career to this point is pretty unremarkable, he’s moved onto a bigger stage now so let’s see how he does. I’m not sure what he’s done to this point to merit being fast-tracked into the USMNT. Of course, my view that this kind of thing doesn’t help US Soccer is well known by regular readers of this site.
And you are who again?
And yet you persist. You saw today’s game? That is why he is exciting.
Your act is tired.
I think the quote is, “Your story has become tiresome.” Said in the Dieter voice, of course.
If you watched today’s game, then you now know why he was being fast tracked. The kid is very skillful.
Your team plays later, you need to get ready!
You could say the same thing about Altidore or Bradley when they were first called up. Bradley had played just 6 games for Heerenveen when he played in some pre-WC 2006 friendlies, and Altidore was still with the Red Bulls when he first got called up. They seem to be helping US Soccer a fair bit.
Besides, Johansson’s scored 17 goals in his last 23 games between AZ and Aarhus, so I’m not sure there are any other Americans in Europe that deserved a call-up over him.
And you coach which national team? Ok then, sit down and let the adults talk.
He’s going to be a star.
no doubt.. the question is where.. as a star in Dutch league, Danish league, my corporate team, EPL or Bundesliga…
Don’t be glib. He’s got talent, skill, and determination. He will go far.