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Mexico fails in bid to flip Torres

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                                           Photo by ISIphotos.com

If you think that Jose Francisco Torres’ decision to play for the U.S. national team instead of Mexico didn’t have an impact south of the border, think again.

Not only did the Mexican national team actively recruit Torres at the same time as the United States, Mexico also attempted to convince Torres to change his mind even after Torres was named to the U.S. national team’s 23-man roster for its upcoming World Cup qualifier against Cuba.

Sources with knowledge of the approaches told SBI that Mexican officials lobbied hard for Torres, before and after his decision was made, but Torres stuck by his original decision to play for the United States, his country of birth. The Texas-born Torres will become officially cap-tied to the United States if he appears in either of the U.S. team’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Cuba and Trinidad & Tobago.

What do you think of Torres’ decision? Does knowing that Torres said no to Mexico twice make you a fan? Think Torres can be an impact player for the U.S. national team in the immediate future?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. rick – btw, i agree 100% with that last comment of yours. my comments (just to clarify) are regarding people who have actually lived in the second country.

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  2. this is great news for the USMNT. hopefully he proves himself on the field and earns the regular spot. i agree that BB will CAP him ASAP so he is set in stone. like they did with Adu…which brings me to my next point.

    some on here saying “this is a no brainer, he was born in the USA, so he should play for the USA” are probably the same people who defend Adu playing for the USA over Ghana because he developed his game here. Well Torres clearly developed his there. So what is it? Where you were born or where you develop your game? The answer is both. Obviously nationalized players are a big issue with a lot of people, but look, that is just the way the world works. People move from place to place. It happens. Get over it. As long as it is not a COMPLETELY bogus loophole, then there should not be a problem.

    Alejandro – I would say no. Santos and Guardado are better overall players right now. However, I think Torres has plenty of potential to become as good as them. If he continues well with a strong team like Pachuca, he could end up in a really good spot in Europe. From there, who knows…but the sky is the limit.

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  3. I agree the kid deserves a standing ovation, if only for his courage. His circumstances made it a tough decision, playing in Mexico, he will undoubtedly see some backlash. And, as he has said, he is grateful to Pachuca for discovering him and giving him a chance to develop, a chance he did not think he was going to get in the states. Also, hats off to Bob B. for pursuing this kid; let’s hope this encourages more Hispanics to pursue their soccer dreams in this country.

    And can we please drop the I’m more patriotic than you arguments? Lets’ talk soccer.

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  4. My parents are Mexican, but I was born here and would never consider supporting Mexico. Too many people see national teams as an ethnic teams, but they are not, they are NATIONAL teams. If you are American, you play for the US, regardless if you are white, black or brown-PERIOD.

    IMO, too many people in the US call themselves Irish, Polish, Italian, etc, when they are really just Americans with ancestors from somewhere else. Many have never lived (or even visited) these other countries.

    Anyway, please give the kid a standing ovation if you go to the game

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  5. Torres is an attacking outside (left) midfielder. He’s very quick off the ball and

    has great technical skill. Tactically he is as good as a soccer player can be, not an athlete but a real soccer player. He is similar to Dempsey in terms of showboating skills, but Torres plays more like a winger to provide crosses than make runs through the middle like Dempsey. How well would he do? He doesn’t have straight line speed like Beasley or industry of Convey, and does not have experience of Lewis. I think he could start on the left side over Beasley and Convey if you are building for 2010, but for getting results right now, Lewis would get the start with Torres the

    first option before Beasley and Convey.

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  6. Oh, and Ives, are you going to be doing a piece on Rossi’s first senior cap for Italy? That ought to rouse a good debate…

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  7. Alejandro Ruiz — I think we have a winner. Many players treat the international game as a shop window to obtain foreign interest and it’s no secret that he’ll have a much easier time breaking into the US squad than the Mexican squad (to the former Pachuca employee — what are you smoking? On paper, Mexico is the stronger team). This decision is just as pragmatic as, for example, Fernando Amorebieta’s desire to play for Venezuela. Amorebieta was born to Spanish parents in Venezuela and moved back to Spain when he was 2 years old. He kept on blustering about how he wanted to play for Venezuela because he felt Venezuelan (but most likely because he didn’t have a chance in hell of playing for Spain) but when Spain finally came calling he jumped at the chance to represent his real country. Make of that what you will.

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  8. christian, i don t remember ever writing “we abuse all mexican illegel immigrants” and by abuse I meant verbally. However you guys managed to group all americans together saying when the spanish american soldiers come home, us “Arrogant Americans” call them spics, well I am here to tell you it has absolutely nothing to do with where your from, its in fact your legal status here in this country. I was not just speaking of people who are illegal in this country with spanish blood, I am talking about all nationalities. Im actually happy I got you to respond because judging by your earlier posts where you attacked Ives its very obvious you are a scorned Mexican who is upset that this kid chose us. Let me put it into simple terms, if you consider looking down on ALL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS thats Mexicans, Canadians, Germans and so on, then maybe I am a racist. I am African American and have experienced racism for myself so I dont need a lesson in what is and isn’t racist, but regardless what I wrote was not intended to be racist. I agree with Jackson I dont come here for the political jargon, I come here as an apparent racist according to some to get the best soccer news on the web from another minority.

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  9. Whether he considers himself Mexican or American, I’m just glad to see another Texan out there (like Brede Hageland)…Texas, the greatest country on Earth

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  10. Ryan:

    Pardon my french but you’re a tool.

    It’s well documented that some Army recruiters offer green card status to Illegal immigrants just to get them to sign up for the service knowing damn well that they can’t offer these kids such things.

    The kids sign up, go to Iraq, lose an arm and a leg and return home only to be called names by ignorant fools like you and subsequently be deported.

    That makes sense, right?

    Anyway, Torres has said in previous interviews that US scouts never looked at him twice which is why he went to Mexico in the first place, to develop. He’s going to be a good player but it’s not a coincidence that he made his choice after he wasn’t picked for the Mexico – Chile friendly.

    The interview he gave to Mexican media was after he had already accepted Bradley’s call. I don’t see why he had the need to say that he passed on the Olympics because he hoped Mexico would call.

    Seems to me like the kid doesn’t want to make enemies on either side.

    For all the people who think that Pachuca is somehow going to demote him because he decided to play for the US, well, let me just tell you that some of you think a little too much of yourselves. Enrique Meza (Pachuca’s coach) has been very supportive of the kid, no matter which shirt he wears. There are about 4 or 5 kids right behind Torres who will be pushing to displace him in the next few months so let’s see how he handles it.

    ciao

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  11. Mexico didn’t want him or else Sven would have called him up into camp for the recent friendly against Chile. Yes, he might be talented, but Sven isn’t stupid enough to not call him up if he genuinely saw something in him.

    I can’t wait till he makes the squad against Mexico and hears all of the US fans yelling slurs at his people. lol

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