Just because FIFA has attempted to tighten the rules regarding which country someone plays for internationally that doesn’t mean the fight over player nationality has subsided.
Andy Najar, Teal Bunbury Leaning Toward USMNT?
Two recent cases in point are Honduran-born Andy Najar and Canadian-born Teal Bunbury. Both players spent significant portions of their childhood in the United States and now play in MLS, which has led to speculation that their nationalities may not be as clear cut as they seem.
Now, both players have indicated they may, indeed, be leaning toward playing for the Red, White and Blue.
Najar moved to the United States as 13-year-old and recently was named MLS Rookie of the Year after playing the season with DC United. He is still several years away from gaining U.S. citizenship, but he recently turned down a call-up to the Honduras national team and his dad recently told Honduran newspaper La Tribuna that the U.S. may have the inside track on his son.
“We are seeing the U.S. coaches, they have not called yet but they have seen him and the truth is they are more interested than Honduras, because they come to see him play and your country, perhaps catracha Federation has called but do not dare to come here to see how he plays. ”
Admittedly, that’s a rough translation, but it seems pretty clear that the door is at least open for the United States. Najar is still just 17 years old and it would not be all that far-fetched for him to be eligible for the U.S. team by the next World Cup.
Bunbury has an American mother and grew up in Minnesota, but is the son of a Canadian soccer legend and played on the Canadian U-17 and U-20 teams. While he has given numerous indications that he planned to represent Canada at the international level, he recently made a comment to the Internet radio show “It’s Called Football” that he was still undecided and that he needed to do what was best for his family and career.
This led one of the hosts, Duane Rollins of The 24th Minute, to proclaim: “There is no way in hell that Canada is going to be better for his career than the United States.”
While Bunbury’s usefulness to the U.S. team may not be as apparent — he’s not as dynamic of a player as Najar — but he would undoubtedly add depth.
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