So: Jonathan Gonzalez has picked Mexico over the United States. A lot of people are talking about it.
Former USMNT keeper Tony Meola thinks its mostly just a lack of effort from the United States that led to the switch:
His former MNT teammate and US U-20 coach Tab Ramos actually disagrees to an extent. Ramos is very quick to point out that the youth structure, at the very least, couldn’t have done much more to ensure Gonzalez ended up in stars and stripes. He seems to want to avoid blaming anyone from the senior team, though leaves that a little more up to interpretation:
Ramos takes offense to any notion that Gonzalez had gone ignored by U.S. Soccer, noting his regular involvement in the U.S. youth setup since the U-14 level. Gonzalez did fail to make last summer’s U-20 World Cup team, but he was one of the youngest in the player pool and remains eligible for the 2019 U-20 World Cup cycle.
The money shot has drawn a bit of controversy since the article came out:
“If we have players in this country who feel Mexican and want to play for Mexico, I think they should play for Mexico. If we have players here who feel American, who want to fight for the U.S. and represent America, they should play for us. I think it’s as simple as that…
“If at this moment he felt like Mexico is the right place for him for the rest of his career, then at that point there’s only so much you can do.”
The controversy is manufactured around Ramos’s saying that “feeling Mexican” and “feeling American” are apparently mutually exclusive, and plenty of people in the United States – whether children of immigrants like Gonzalez, or immigrants themselves, etc. – feel both. That’s all well and good, but per FIFA rules, you only get to pick one team. Ramos isn’t saying that by “feeling Mexican,” Gonzalez is also not feeling American, he’s saying that he feels Mexican enough to play for El Tri rather than the USMNT, that’s it.
The multiculturalism aspect is absolutely of importance (more on that in a moment), but Ramos isn’t denying it’s possible to feel both, he’s saying the team you pick – and again, you have to pick just one – should be the nationality you’d rather identify with in international soccer. Nothing more or less.
The bombshell piece written in the aftermath of the Gonzalez decision, however, has come from outside the US Soccer structure. In fact, I’m (pleasantly) surprised that Brad Rothenberg, founder of Alianza de Futbol, hasn’t been vilified in this whole ordeal. His company is the one that facilitates Liga MX teams’ scouting of American prospects, and in Gonzalez’s case, a long chain reaction from there could be seen as the path that led to FMF over USSF.
Here’s a few snippets (and my reaction) from the piece:
Our Federation lost Jonathan either by its own arrogance, apathy or incompetence. You pick it. We screwed up and I’m angry about it. I’ve grown tired of watching our federation neglect this community. We didn’t do enough, not nearly enough, to keep him. And the worst part is that it will continue if wholesale changes aren’t made in the approach to finding talent in this community.
Yes.
The [US Soccer] Federation has told us not to promote their brand to the 250,000 Latinos who attend our events and Tony Lepore [U.S. Soccer Director of Talent Identification] actually notified us in 2016 that they weren’t interested in participating in Alianza since they haven’t found any elite players. On more than one occasion, U.S. Soccer scouts and coaches have secretly watched games hiding behind bleachers or our event inflatables but, when I asked, were unwilling to address our Alianza players directly for fear of endorsing an “unsanctioned” event.
…
I don’t think the kids distinguish between MLS and U.S. Soccer. But I think MLS fortunes would rise in this community if the Federation was doing more to go into the these communities and find talent, and help these kids live their dreams, which U.S. Soccer should be doing for its own benefits anyway.
Also yes, but in a far more depressing way. A company is providing free scouting opportunities for your federation and club teams, and you have an organization that’s spitting in its face. US Soccer has been plenty embarrassing in the past 12 years or so, but that’s unconscionable. Maybe somebody like Gonzalez “feels Mexican” because the USSF basically forces Alianza de Futbol participants to not “feel American.”
Something is broken in a deep, fundamental way, and that needs to change. (There’s also a ton more in that story – I recommend reading it ASAP).
Proposed solutions
First things first, regardless of reason or whether it’s merely temporary, this page being blank is trash. That the emptiness of it has been noted (and mocked) for nearly a week now and it’s still blank should be grounds for firing every single person who has any sort of authority to change it. The United States has to be better than this, and the governing body for soccer is no exception.
Indeed, with the diverse influence of soccer players in our country – whether of Latino, European, Asian, African, or those who have never left the country nor felt anything other than “American” – diversity should be one of the most important strengths of US Soccer. That a kid who grew up in Northern California feels more Mexican than American is a black mark on US Soccer, and the lack of a Diversity Task Force is major problem.
Whoever the new president is, that will clearly change very quickly (whether, like in the case of Hope Solo, it’s been the candidate’s primary talking point in recent days, or like Eric Wynalda, it’s just one of many things to harp on about what’s wrong with the Federation as it stands today). Bringing in a variety of voices and influences reflecting the breadth of the American experience is so important when it comes to soccer in our country.
Everybody knows there should be a Diversity Task Force that isn’t ignored. I have an additional idea, though:
The Dual-National Sub-Committee.
There have been tons of notable players over the years who have represented the United States when they could have picked an ancestral (or birth) nation. Whether their options were better or worse from a competitive standpoint, their voices not only represent some of the cultural diversity of our country, but also help the layperson or the youth international with a decision to make what that experience is like, and in the latter case, they know some of the sales pitches that led to picking USMNT/WNT over other options.
Do you think Jermaine Jones (Germany), Sydney Leroux (Canada), Tab Ramos (Uruguay), Alejandro Beyoda (Colombia), Dom Dwyer (England), Edgar Castillo (Mexico), Kenny Saief (Israel) – just to name a few – have a contribution to make to this conversation?
Their value is not only in helping to have an additional touchpoint to recruit dual-nationals. It can also be to help the “typical” (a term I use loosely for our country) American understand the thought processes and passions that go into being a dual-national. The comments Tim Howard made (and he wasn’t the only one, in his defense) about the desire of dual-nationals to represent the United States:
“I think it slips away because you bring in …,” Howard said without finishing that sentence. “Jurgen Klinsmann had a project to unearth talent around the world that had American roots. But having American roots doesn’t mean you are passionate about playing for that country.”
Are problematic. A dual-nationals committee council, or whatever you want to call it can help ease those (frankly troubling) sentiments by having more open lines of communication to those who aren’t dual-nationals. Of course, a third grader could also realize “those guys chose to represent this country, you were just born here” and explain that to Howard, but that’s neither here nor there.
There are many potential functions of a dual-nationals subgroup of a diversity council. Establishing one (and re-establishing the diversity council itself) isn’t just a good idea – it’s practically a necessity.
Side note that fits into this piece in terms of topic but not tone: the United States appears poised to get really good news with Bayern Munich’s Timothy Tillman at least willing to accept a youth call-up after previously refusing them in favor of Germany’s youth set-up. Paging the dual-nationals council to help reel him in!
Club and Country 