Serbian national team coach Radomir Antic has claimed victory in the chase to land Neven Subotic, stating that the defender has chosen to play for Serbia rather than the United States.
There has still been no public declaration from Subotic on the matter, and this isn't the first report out of Serbia to claim Subotic had made a decision, but this Associated Press report sounds more legitimate than the previous reports (though the absence of an actual quote from Antic makes me wonder if the AP's Belgrade bureau dropped the ball here). That said, sources have stated to me repeatedly that Subotic had no plans to make an announcement any time soon.
So why would Antic make such a declaration if it weren't true? Could he be trying to put pressure on Subotic? Was something lost in translation? Is Subotic just not in a hurry to address this publicly?
What do you think of this report? Do you believe Antic? Are you disappointed to see Subotic pass on the United States? Are you still holding out hope that Antic is incorrect and Subotic will pick the U.S. national team?
Share your thoughts below.
I like the player and would love to see him in the red white and blue.
However, it occurred to me that there is an awful lot of drama around ONE player. We will probably be good with him and we will be good without him. Let’s not waste our time wondering until Neven comes out himself and says it.
if he plays for serbia that’s too bad. but i’d argue a defender is not high on our list of needs- and we’ve always got good young defenders coming through the pipeline. now if he were a striker and this were true, i’d be more disappointed.
Michael:
I would bet you that he sees himself as a GERMAN. What do you do now?
Also, no one has expressed the thought that his father has publicly stated that he would like to see his son play for the White Eagles (Serbia).
We know how sons always seem to want to please Dad (look at Rossi).
Rongen to Mexico is understandable. But, since his teams have consistently played better at their level than those of Beloved Leader RoboBob, can we make Rongen only second in line to a life of tequila domingos?
Brett, we will agree to disagree on Rongen being a competent tactician.
However, his behavior in front of a mic surely is where I hope even you can see that this guy is not working on all cylinders. As a coach you do not call your kids out to the press. It is a PR no-no for a variety of reasons. Rongen publicly commented on Subotic’s readiness which would have better been handled if he said nothing.
I personally would like to see Rongen removed from coaching as well as telecasting. The man is just bad for the game. Send him to Mexico.
Neven should not decide who to play for based on coaching or which nation has a better chance for success. He should choose based on his personal feelings. If he feels more like a Serb, then he should choose Serbia. If he feels more like an American, he should choose America.
If he has chosen, I hope he has chosen for those reasons. If he sees himself as a Serb, he should play for Serbia. And best of luck to him.
(1) What the hell, dude? Pretty stupid statement saying that about “serbia mafia”.
(2) Serbia is actually much better than the US. Their U19 team is top 3 in Europe right now, and they have very good quality. To think otherwise proves you don’t really follow world soccer and are a huge homer.
If Subotic chooses Serbia, they will be one of the best (or best dark horse) in the World Cup 2010. Mark my words.
Btw, kind of nuts to think Bojan, Marko Marin, and Martin Hamsik could have all technically been Serbian, but decided to play for different national teams. Along with Subotic, Kajcar, and about 10 other players who are really quite amazing, they’d be my pick to make it to the quarter finals in the 2010 WC.
David
You are correct, and I was mistaken. Bocanegra was born in the US. He might be of Mexican descent, but he is a US “native”.
In the cases of migrants and those who migrate due to football, I don’t make see a difference. If you have to acquire a new nationality, one is not a “native” of that country. Like Vuoso, Zinha, and Franco of Mexico.
TK-Ignorant post in what manner?
Ibisevic came to America in 2000 and played high school soccer, college soccer and USL/MLS development soccer here. For 4 years. Could he not have applied for citizenship? I bet if the USSF would’ve pursued it more than playing him on the U-17 team it could’ve been a possibility.
Subotic. How did Gulati pursue Subotic so franticly that you get all bent out of shape? By asking him, “hey, you wanna play for us and not one of the other couple countries you are eligible to?” Or by saying, “you should talk to our awesome coach that is nowhere as experienced as your club coach in Germany.” Cause I know that would make me wanna play for them, talking with ol Bob Bradley.
Rossi. This situation could have been dealt with better, but again, probably not under the likes of Gulati and most definately not Bruce Arena. You can’t just invite a player to a training camp and expect him to be overwhelmed and say yes. You gotta treat it like college football recruiting, show off your stuff and win the player over. None of this was done for any of these players which is probably one of the many reasons they chose to go elsewhere.
Yeah, there is a lot of ignorance…..on your part, for thinking I just aimlessly posted up here whining and complaining. But hey, that’s what you get from a wider audience right?
I hope the cases of Subotic and Rossi will convince the people who makes key decisions at the USSF (not the figurehead Gulati!) that a qualified and experienced foreign manager is very important. Since it’s the clannish and backwards USSF, I really doubt that would happen. Only the threat of lost revenues from the lucrative club soccer circuit would shake up that organization.
Jonathan, Bocanegra was born in the US (you can’t always tell a naturalized citizen by the name). Adu came to the US with his family when he was a child; his citizenship had nothing to do with football and had everything to do with opportunity – the same reason almost everyone comes to the US and becomes a US citizen.
“He is expected to make his debut in a friendly against Cyprus in February.”
I guess we’ll know more then…sounds like he’s going right into their starting line-up. Imagine that? Giving young talent a run out…Bradley, would make him wait it out behind MLS defenders with 1/4 the talent.
This was horribly mishandled by the USSF – if he’s on the U-20 WC Team, he’s playing for us right now.
And…I’m sorry…but playing in UEFA vs. Concacaf is like the SEC vs. Big East in college football.
With the number of championships, big matches, and fans who genuinely care, I can understand the appeal. He’s eligible, and if his heart’s there, he should play for them.
CVS – boo hoo… Rongen stated that Subotic hadnt grown as quick as they had hoped… Ferrari was left off the same roster, but he still plays for the US… Rongen made a decision on who to bring, and ill state that it was not the right one, but it was his to make…personally its was worded poorly, but it wasnt as bad as everyone makes it out to be….
Rongen is a competent coach, and he excels at calling a WIDE variety of players… he’s done well with the U20’s and knows his players quite well (for the most part)…anyhow, 1 screw up does not warrant such hate… grow up
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per coaching: its not like these national team coaches get months and months of time to train these players… they get them for VERY SHORT stints and at that point its merely to get loosened and stay sharp…. cant go about playing Subotic out of place… so i dont see where the coaching factor comes into place… i highly doubt (if this report is accurate) subotic choose primarily for the coach… but rather the fact he’d be able to possibly play in euro, its close to home, compared to the US where he’d have to fly half way around the world and play CONCACAF :-/
In the eyes of those non American born, bred, and culturally like Subotic
International football: Europe >>> USA
Club football: same
National managers: same since the USSF made a hiring based on passport
Seriously, the writing’s been on the wall for some time. Unless, Sunotic is one of those types who would suit up for a “foreign” side like Regis.
US fans should be happy that it has nationalized the likes of Adu, Bocanegra, Ramos, and Mastroeni who are not “natives”. This isn’t the Cold War ere anymore where the US can get what it wants.
I’m done caring about losing potential players. Let’s start talking about all the great players we DO have, huh? We didn’t lose Altidore to the Hatian national team…THAT’S pretty exciting, huh? I’m celebrating.
This is worse than Rossi because Subotic was a player in our youth system. Everyone can say “Screw Neven, who cares?” but when you look at his talent and his age you have to be disappointed.
Serbia will always be nibbling around the edges of each Euro and World Cup, sometimes making it, more often not.
The U.S. will make every World Cup.
Serbia also has far more competition at the center back position that the U.S., where Subotic would have an excellent chance at starting in the World Cup.
I don’t know what the “heart” says, but the head says it’s no question–the U.S. will give him more internationally.
wow, thanks TK for sharing your knowledge and not being the least bit patronizing about it. i’ve found that generalizing is helpful for my superiority coplex, too.
guess we’d all better start looking for message boards that haven’t gone “downhill”.
I won’t believe this until he makes it official, but this a big blow for the US if he doesn’t play for us. He is a young “field” player that plays an important role on the highest profile team of any other American that plays in Europe at the moment. Can anyone counter that? This could change with movement during the transfer period, but for now this is the situation.
kinda tired of this story… i’m pretty much all, like,” Eff Neven Sobotic.”
The future of the usmnt doesn’t hinge on this kid.
to be fair, the only good reason to go with Serbia over USA is coaching.
On the one hand,you have Antic, very experienced in Euro football. From wiki:
He is the only individual who has managed FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid. Additionally, Antić is one of only two men to have managed both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.
on the other hand, you have Subotic’s experience with Wrongen the Ajax reject and the prospect of playing for Bradley, one of only two men to have managed both the Fire and MetroTards.
Brett, I assume you are related to Rongen.
Not sure how you can argue against his mishandling of Subotic. The man called him out to the press and left him off the intl squad.
I am sure USMNT has been doing damage control ever since.
Until neven comes out and declares who he is playing for then i wont believe any of this.
I am so tired about talking about this and putting our eggs in this guy’s basket like he is the savior to US Soccer. Let him go to Serbia; he will never play in a World Cup or a European Championship. Though, I would like to see him play for the USA, if he does not want to then let him go. His loss…
Thank you TK. I was about to post the same thing. It’s not like the US is flat out missing playeres like Ibisevec. I’m sure he was on the radar, and he was willing like he said, but he would have had to stay in the US in order to gain citizenship so that he could play for us and if he had done that, there’s not telling he would have developed to what he is now since he wouldn’t have been playing overseas. As for Rossi, move on. He made up his mind based on his dad’s pressure, nothing the US could do even though he’d been invited multiple times. As for Subotic, it’s his choice. Serbia isn’t that much worse than the US to be honest. The reason we think we’re better is simple bias on our end. As for those blaming Rongen, please. A coach is going to criticize players, whether or not they’re justified in it. A player needs to learn not to take it as a completely personal attack and use it to try and make themselves better. I like to think Subotic isn’t immature to blame the incident with Rongen on the US national program, but I could be wrong.
Quite frankly…I just don’t care. I hope he chooses whatever team he wants, and does well.
There is no way this is not a blow to the national team. Subotic would have solidified our back line by allowing us to move Bocanegra out left (where he plays in France) and added another threat on set pieces. If it turns out to be true, it is a big loss.
I have to agree with Jags98 that the coach matters here. While I am sure the travel issue & relative obscurity of soccer in the US is playing into the decision, if we had a ‘name’ coach talking to him, it likely would have been easier to bring him into the fold.
I don’t know why some people knock Serbia. No, it’s not as sexy as playing for Germnay, France, Spain, Italy, or England, but they are a decent team. It’s not like he’s planning on playing for Malta or San Marino. And I don’t necessarily think the US is better than Serbia, maybe on par, but not better. They’re currently first place in their qualifying group and most likely will be in SA 2010. Also missing a Euro Cup means nothing. The games in UEFA are extremely competitive. The Netherlands missed out on the World Cup in 2002, doesn’t mean they’re terrible. Personally, I won’t believe it until Neven says it, but the fact that this is the second time it’s been claimed that Subotic has chosen Serbia seems to indicate he is at least seriously talking to people about it.
Justin.
Ignorant post. Plain and simple.
Ibisevec? Do some research. No clue about that situation or what was neccessary or happened. Ignorance.
Subotic. Gulati and the US didn’t push hard? That’s your inference? Ignorance again. Plain and simple. Nothing more…nothing less. Just dumb. Stupid.
Rossi was shipped off and gone to Italy by dad, and never gave us a second glance at about what? 14 -15. Never wavered no matter what crap little stories you heard. Never.
It seems you are the type that is into self loathing/blaming without having an actual clue with regards to what was happening and when…and what it actually takes to be a citizen in one case. Soumare is another. He wants to play for us…ask the gov’t why it takes several years. Wait, the USSF is oh so powerfull, they could force the gov’ts hand. Especially after 9/11.
It’s one thing to miss out on players, while ignoring the ones we got who could have played elsewhwere. It’s quite another to show compelete ignorance to sitautions and blame others.
Oh wait. You must be the type who read a story here or there and believes everything that person says.
Gotta a bridg in Brooklyn for ya…real cheap.
This board has really gone down hill. It’s now in Big Soccer territory. A lot of mindless ranting with no clue. Never used to be like that. I guess that’s what a wider audience brings.
A lot of ignorance.
Jags98 – >.< more ignorance…Thanks Jags98, but i (and others) get bored with all the anti-bradley posts
i will wait to hear it from subotic, but why would you even bother playing for a national team like serbia? they’re not going anywhere. it subotic has ambition to make a splash in a world cup some day he will have to play for the u.s. if not, he can represent serbia and make as much of an impact for them as ryan giggs has made for wales. internationally he will be anonymous.
rednow.red4ever- he’s not going to napoli, that rumor was squashed before it took flight…
Who knows what is going on with the Serbs. I would hate to see him go, but I am going back to the Coaches again on this one. Do you think if we had Scolari or name any other top coach in the world this kind of stuff would go on? Nope! How do you train with a national team knowing your club coach in Europe is better? Given a great head coach not only would we be better prepared, but he would talk people into staying or becoming a citizen. Get with it, it happens everywhere. Even Mexico has Brazilians and Americans on their national team now. Thanks Bob, but the team has already out grown you in the time you have been there.
Justin – erm, Bradley has called him into camp many times…. Subotic simply wanted to focus on his pro career…
CVS- you are an idiot.
per topic: personally im getting too tired of this drama-fest to even care… if Subotic wants to play for Serbia, good luck to him…. if he wants to play for the US, then id be MORE THEN HAPPY to welcome him to our ranks…
Well frick. Oh well we could take Serbia!
Agree with ag nigrin. Enough about Subotic! I really don’t care if he plays for us or not. Let him go to Serbia. The last thing we need is a prima donna who can’t decide which country he would represent. I know it’s his right to postpone his decision but do you really think anything would change between now until the end of the Bundesliga season? I think he is just making everyone’s heads spin. If he is not given all these media exposure, I’m sure he would have decided already. I am perfectly happy with Boca and Gooch manning our defense.
Good. I’m happy for him and Antic. Now how’s that move to OM going for Gooch again?
If Subotic did choose Serbia, then he certainly got a big manila envelope stuffed with large bills, courtesy of the Serbian Mafia.
I hope he also enjoys throwing games fixed by the Serbian Mafia on behalf of their gambling interests. Because that is what he will be doing.
You can bet that Gulati is on the telephone right now to Steve Kelly (Neven’s Agent) checking into this. He did it before when rumors started swirling and I am sure that Gulati/Bradley et al are keeping very close tabs on this developing story.
Having said all of that, the kid needs to make a decision BEFORE next December. The qualifiers are coming up and if he has any desire to participate in WC 10, then he has to make a decision by the end of May.
Just my opinion…
Rongen is an idiot. Keep him away from our kids.
Well, while i certainly support the U.S., I can understand why he’d play for Serbia and I also am happy that he’s being to Napoli- that is certainly good news….
he’s just going to ruin his career by doing that. Serbia? come on even the U.S. stock is higher and have more legitimate chances of winning something bigger. Serbia wasn’t even in Euro 08 if I recall right. He should’ve jumped at the chance to play for Germany.. (although I think there was issues with that that complicated it?)
I think this is yet another huge loss for the USA. I don’t understand why Gulati in the past and now Bradley haven’t pulled hugely for these players that have the opportunity to represent us to stay here and do just that. Subotic is just another name on the list. Can you imagine if we Subotic, Rossi and Ibisevic? Ridiculous. Just imagine at WC 2010:
……..Ibisevic………Altidore……….
……………….Adu…………………
Beasley………………………..Donovan
……………….Edu…………………
Spector….Bocanegra…..Onyewu……Pearce
………………Howard……………….
Subs: Subotic, Bornstein, Parkhurst, Dempsey, Kljestan, Rogers, Cooper, Guzan
That would be an awesome lineup.
In the next 3 to 4 world cups that Serbia might qualify for with Subotic playing, do they have as much of a realistic shot at winning than the US does?
Obviously, I would love for him to play for the US, but am not surprised. If he plans a European club career, it is far easier to play for a European based national team than have to travel 10,000 miles roundtrip midweek 10 -12 times a year for US national team games. That has to be a factor.
Sebs have been known to count their chickens a little too early too many times before.
wont believe anything until Neven says it.
I am tired of all of this… If Neven Subotic
wants to play for Serbia, let him… I want some one who is committed to helping the USA…The USA does not need a prima donna!
If this is true!!! Disappointed that he is not playing for us, but just glad that he is making a decision now.
If true, this is another blow for our team. We are not good enough or deep enough to keep missing out on players like Rossi and Subotic.