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Clarifying the Andy Najar situation

Andy Najar (ISIphotos.com)

Photo by ISIphotos.com

 

There are few things that stir the imagination of soccer fans more than the rise of a promising young prospect, and no young player in Major League Soccer is stirring emotions like Andy Najar.

The D.C. United academy product has become the subject of various reports from Honduras to England, with a stories ranging from off-season destinations to his national team preferences. The Honduran-born sensation has apparently been the subject of some incorrect reports.

Najar's agent, Chris Megaloudis of Long View Management, clarified some of the stories, including stories of a reported post-season training stint with English club Arsenal, as well as his national team preference.

Megaloudis denied that Najar is set to train with Arsenal, stating clearly that no plans have been made yet for Najar's offseason.

"There are no firm plans for Andy in the offseason," Megaloudis said. "He is a D.C. United player so it will be up to them about what they let him do.

"He and I both want him to be in a good training environment during the off season but nothing is set."

Megaloudis also addressed conflicting rumors and reports about Najar's national team preference. A native of Honduras who has a green card in the United States, Najar has yet to make a decision about a national team preference, a decision that may wait a while for the 17-year old.

"He is still a very young guy with limited professional experience under his belt," Megaloudis said. "He needs to get through this MLS season before he is even going to think about his national team future.

"He is concentrating on his soccer and his studies at the moment and we will  all sit down when the time is right to explore his national team future."

Comments

  1. I think that he has cleared it up pretty well for now. And the answer is “I DON”T KNOW”! Which if I was him/agent/family is the way to go. The US does not do anything to expedite these things for athletes so if the choice is the US then he needs to wait until he can legaly become a US citizen. If Honduras is the choice then nothing really to do but wait to get called. He has 2 options why rush or says things that you are going to regret later.

    This will continue to happen. We already have Rossi and Suboctic examples and more are in the pipeline Mwanga, Najar, Lletget, Zahavi, Yura Mosian(SP?) and others that we have heard about yet.

    Do i hope he chooses the US? Of course. I want the most talent possible at our disposal. But constantly asking a 17 year old kid about this decision is not COOL!

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  2. Ives, is the agent Chris Megaloudis the same as former metro player in camp Chris Megaloudis? Saw the name and got some flashbacks of Metro past. Was he ever on the roster? lol

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  3. no, actually, as I understand it, he would be cap tied to Honduras because he is only currently eligible (as far as I know) for Honduran citizenship. the whole non-cap tie thing applies to players who are eligible to play for two teams. Jermaine Jones, for instance, has always been eligible to play for the US, because he’s a natural born US citizen (teabagger complaints aside) whether or not he claimed it.

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  4. This is pretty close to the Rossi scenario in that Rossi moved to Italy at a young age (12, right?) and developed over there. Except that with Najar, we’re the equivalent of Italy, and Honduras is equivalent the United States. Everyone was and still is aggravated at Rossi for choosing Italy over the U.S., so we can all understand the thinking of Honduras fans.

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  5. since he’s not currently a US citizen, the US won’t be calling him in.

    to become a US citizen, the first thing is he has to turn 18. which won’t happen until next March. then the question becomes how long has he had his green card? (I have no idea, actually) if he’s had it for at least five years, he can start the application process. but no way is it done by Gold Cup, even if he wants that. it’s unlikely to be done by 2012 even.

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  6. Imagine Najar on the USMNT that went down to SPS last fall and clinched qualification. I don’t think he’d have been too popular.

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  7. Regen didnt call Luis Gil and McInerney or Bowen to the milk cup, but called 4 college players. Sounds like the same stupid mistake over and over again. Fire that stupid coach.

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  8. Do we have recruiters? I think our national team could learn something from college football. Start the recruiting process early.

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  9. Yeah, but he’s not “cap-tied” until he features for the senior team, or turns 21(?), I think.

    So in theory anyway, he could play for the Honduran U-20’s, and then switch to the US squad when he’s first plays in a USMNT match.

    U-20 teams are still considered “youth” teams I believe. It doesn’t matter which country he features for until he plays for the senior squad.

    Does that sound right? Anybody else know?

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  10. In this interview (in spanish) it’s clear Najar is undecided on which country he will represent.

    http://www.laprensa.hn/Ediciones/2010/07/21/Noticias/Andy-Najar-Tengan-paciencia-en-Honduras

    He is getting loads of heat from Honduras on which country he is going to choose. In that interview, he is asked about it almost every question, and his answer to each is he is concentrating on his career right now and has yet to decide.

    It sounds to me like there is a chance he could pick USA, but I’ll put my money on Honduras.

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  11. Would love to have a player like him as part of the ever expanding Player Pool for the USMNT, but at 17 its still a little early to project him as a “Saviour” or “Lock” as a professional. I’m not saying that the US National Team(s) shouldn’t extend camp offers to him to let him know that we are interested, but give the Kid a chance to make up his own mind without undue pressure/expectations.

    Besides there are other players we should also be focusing on before they go the way of Rossi or Subtic (sp). For instance: Michael Hoyos, Daniel Williams, Alex Zahavi, Fabian Johnson, etc… These are players who can begin to contribue Now and in the future.

    Najar maybe (stressed) able to contribute in 2014, but more realistically he’s a prospect for 2018 along with players like William Packwood, Jack McInerney, Erik Benjaminsen, Juan Agudelo, Luis Gil, and Charles Renken.

    Just my opinion.

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  12. I don’t think the USSF (or fans) should be begging hot prospects to join the national team. We have some very good homegrown talent. I think (aside from Altidore and Feilhaber)the rest of the WC roster was born and bred in the US. Let these prospects make their own decision without pressure from the federations. Would anybody really be upset if Freddy Adu decided to play for Ghana? Didn’t think so.

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  13. Can’t wait to see what the future holds for this bright young player.

    By the way – Those might be the sweetest warm-up jerseys I’ve ever seen (or is that a game jersey). Nicely done, DC

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  14. He could marry an American, amend his application, and have citizenship in 3 years after receiving a green card. Otherwise, I think the legal minimum residency requirement green card holders to receive citizenship is 5 years.

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  15. Can’t wait to see what the future holds for this bright young player.

    By the way – Those might be the sweetest warm-up jerseys I’ve ever seen (or is that a game jersey). Nicely done, DC

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  16. It clarifies by making the uncertainty clear. So, no one will now say that he is committed to one side or another. I can very much respect this position. He is far too young to cast his lot with one side or the other and possibly regret it. By all accounts, this kid lives, breathes, and eats soccer, which is a welcome relief from some of the other younger players who seem quite enamored of the lifestyle that soccer affords as much as the game itself. I, for one, will enjoy watching a young talent develop-that’s right develop!-in the MLS. Let him focus on soccer and make his decision when he is ready.

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  17. They are actually two different people. The former NYRB and PR National team player is currently playing in the Serbian 3rd Division. The agent went to UVA and FIU and was a youth coach with DC United according to his bio on the LVM website.

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  18. Agreed. The kid should go where he wants to go and he’d make a great addition for Honduras. If he comes here… fantastic. If not… I’m still a fan.

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  19. Every time I see this kid play I’m amazed. And although I think he could be a star for the US, if his heart is in Honduras that’s where he needs to go. That’s where I’ve gotten to with these players. They need to go where they want to go… and no hard feelings.

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  20. Green card does not equal citizenship. I had to wait 7 years to get mine after the green card, these days, post 9/11 it’s even longer. Now, you gotta think that there’s at least one DC fan who has some pull on the hill and may be able to forward his application through a bit faster, right?

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  21. How well does he speak English? I’ve only seen him interviewed in Spanish. I know he moved here 4 years ago. I think language could be an indicator of where he’s at emotionally. A teenager who doesn’t speak a lick of English probably doesn’t have much of an emotional connection to the USA.

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  22. Wait…is his agent Chris Megaloudis, as in former RBNY player (no idea where he is now) and Puerto Rico National Team player? Or some other Chris Megaloudis?

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  23. Glad we could clear that up.

    Another thing I’d like to see cleared up, has Manchester City launched a takeover of SBI? Just kidding. Has a club such as Man City ever advertised on here before? If not, it’s probably a little flattering that your blog is attracting such attention.

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