Steve Zakuani Changing National Team Affiliations?
by Dave Clark on Sep 2, 2011 11:28 AM PDT
in US National Team, World Cup and Other International Soccer
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Arsenal.com, the official website covering all things Gunners, has a long form interview with their former prodigy, Mr. Steve Zakuani. First noted by @joshuamayers on twitter, Zakuani addresses his national team affiliation as well as growing up within the Arsenal Academy. Considering the attention given lately to the idea of playing his as a forward here's his quote regarding where he played;
I was there for five years and loved every minute. I learned a lot from coaches like Steve Leonard, Dermot Drummy, Andy McDermid and Roy Massey. Liam Brady and David Court were always helpful to me too. I honestly learned how to play the way I do today during those years at Arsenal.
I played on the left as a right-footed player and absolutely loved Robert Pires. I’d go to Highbury and watch him on Saturdays and then try to do what he did in our games on Sundays.
So while the idea of playing him up top would be a significant change as he now has 8 years as a Left Wing and 2 years as a Forward. Maybe more exciting for fans of the United States National Team is a seeming shift in his past desires to play for Congo.
It was a friendly against Mali and was a lot of fun but it doesn’t tie me to the Congo national team. I’m eligible for England too, even though that looks to be more than a long shot at the moment. And in a few years I’ll be able to play for the USA. Of the three, I prefer the States, as this is where I made my name as a player, but we’ll see how things turn out.
The entire interview gives strong insight into who Zakuani is - not just as a player, but as a man. But the news here is that the USA is now the leader for his services. He already meets FIFA's two year residency requirement, but to acquire citizenship would require him to either get married to a US citizen and wait three years, or five years must pass from the day he got his "Green Card," which was December 6th of last year.
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Something changed his mind
Maybe he’s found a lady over here. That would cut down the timeline obviously. Ives noted that it’s a significant departure from what he’s said before, all but turning it down.. Also noted that it might be a result of the response he’s received from American supporters since the injury.
He doesn't seem like the type to marry to speed things up
I wish there was a way to go around this rather than requiring citizenship. Here’s a guy who has lived here for years, played through college, in the pros, setup a freakin charity, and he still can’t play while Fabian Johnson, Mikkel Diskerud, and Timmy Chandler, who have never lived here and have only played in their countries of birth can jump right in just because a parent is American.
by chrisperry1983 on Sep 2, 2011 12:00 PM PDT up reply actions
i was just going to post this!
i think its pretty cool. Im glad hes not deciding yet
A sky of blue, a sea of green...(or claret)
Nerves
I also had some issues with my nerves which further complicated things.
I had not heard this before. Anyone know more details?
i had only heard a little, and cant link anything
but i remember reading/hearing something about this. The nerve endings were not responding like normal, so there were complications in his foot when it came to walking i think (someone with knowledge please correct me)
A sky of blue, a sea of green...(or claret)
He mentioned it
in an interview. If you check out the interview he did earlier in the year. I think first interview after the injury, he mentions it. Check Sounders youtube/vimeo.
My favorite part of the interview:
Growing up, I played on concrete, sand, mud, and grass, because I loved playing for the fun of it, I’m still that way. Take away the fans, TV coverage, salary, trophies and all of that, and I’d still play with a smile on my face.
I wish there were many more footballers playing with that kind of joy and excitement. It’ll be great to seem him on the pitch again.
The thing is, he wouldn't qualify for the USMNT until 2014 or 2015...
…depending on which of the routes to citizenship mentioned above. Is there anyone here who thinks he’ll still be in the U.S. that far in the future? I’m pretty certain that, if he returns next year with the same form he had before his injury, he’ll be snatched up by a European side (probably the Gooners, based on their apparent continuing interest in him) in the 2013 winter transfer window.
It does seem very unlikely he’d end up on the US squad. But who knows what the future holds? At this point I’d say England is out and he seems to have soured on the Congo, more than I would have thought possible. I wouldn’t hold my breath though. The other issue with playing for the US is how old he’d be by the time he was eligible. He’d be more like Jermaine Jones than Timothy Chandler in terms of being on the wrong side of his peak and by the time the first World Cup he could play in rolled around. I’m still for it, but it does seem like a long shot.
Boo! Tomorrow AM. I want all things now!
by Perrinbar on Sep 2, 2011 1:57 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Good God Ladies
Would one of you marry the man already!?! I would love to see him on the national team before Brazil
5 years
That’s a long time and I too don’t know if he’ll have the same feelings towards playing for the stars and stripes by that time. I’m sure he will have no ill-feeling towards our country, however 5 years from 24 years old means 29, and that makes it the end of 2015 (might as well call it 2016) till he could play for USA. Then he MIGHT get the chance of playing in the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2022 Cup would be a lot further off since he’d be at the ages of 31 and 35.
I understand there are other competitions out there he could play (Gold Cup, etc) in as well for the National team (starting in 2016), however I just don’t know if he’s interested in waiting until he’s 29 before he can play for a National team…..?
Did anyone ask the question....
“Steve, if England called you up to play for their national team, would you say yes?”
imagine Zakuani, Agudelo and Altidore....
Would love to see Stevie Z running at the opposing defense in Brasil 2014 with Agudelo and Altidore……now if we can just get some of the other countries to lend us their centerbacks we’ll be in good shape
Jeff M.
@ Ruffneck Scarves
by Ruffneck Scarves on Sep 2, 2011 3:18 PM PDT via iPhone app reply actions
Steve won't be available for 2014 under any circumstance.
The earliest he could be available would be three years from today (assuming he hasn’t already secretly gotten married).
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