Quote:
Originally Posted by BishopMVP
On the plus side I was real worried after the first 20 minutes the Netherlands would make a strong push for Dest before we cap tie him, but if they watched those last 70 minutes they won't have much urgency.  |
The kid has played 3 matches in the Eredivisie so far, 1 from start to finish. Even for the usually overhyped Ajax youth academy products, where every kid playing a full game in the Eredivisie get's the "good enough for Oranje?" talk by the (Amsterdam-centric) media, it's a bit early to get that overexcited for a fullback. Apparently he's never been called up for any Oranje youth team before, which is weird for an Ajax-product. But the story to get called up by Team USA was reason enough for a mini-article in Voetbal International, I think the most read soccer magazine.
Still, smart to get him into the Team USA this quickly. Perhaps they've taken notes from what Morocco's been doing (which is politically a much more sensitive country that the USA is to poach kids born and raised in the Netherlands to play for their grandparents' homeland, something most Dutchmen should actually understand, given how loyal they usually are in supporting their own silly commercially motivated soccer clubs). Or lessons learned by Team USA from other kids with double passports active in other countries.