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Subotic Almost German, McDonald’s Almost Scottish

October 3rd, 2008 | By: Brooks Peck | 12 Comments »

According to TribalFootball.com, Neven Subotic (pictured left, looking like Kevin Federline’s white trashier little brother) is closing in on his dream of becoming German and playing for their national team. If your first reaction to that is “wow, that was fast,” you’re right. It was. But the citizenship process tends to go into hyperdrive when the applicant is a promising young footballer. Says Tribal:

“Former US Youth National Team defender Neven Subotic is days away from receiving German citizenship.

The Borussia Dortmund man, who has been the subject of speculation about his international future since being dropped from the US U-20 team by Manager Thomas Rongen in 2006, could be eligible to play for up to five countries.

Subotic reportedly has refused a call up to the full US National Team despite being a product of US Soccer’s Bradenton Youth Academy and appearing almost 15 times for the various US Youth National Teams.

Subotic is eligible by birth to play for Bosnia, by ethnicity to play for Croatia and Serbia and also soon by citizenship to play for Germany. His caps at the youth national team level for US are non binding before he turns 21 on the full international level. Subotic is currently 19.”

Of course, FIFA will still have to rule on whether they allow him to play for Germany, which should prove to be the biggest stumbling block in this process. For Subotic to go through Bradenton, appear for the US at both the U-17 and U-20 levels and then to say “just kidding, I’m German now” — if FIFA allows that, they would be setting the dangerous precedent of making a player’s nationality and/or country of development irrelevant to the decision of which country the player is tied to. Remember, Subotic has no German heritage. His only tie to the country is that he has played club football there for less than two years (and maybe he enjoys knackwurst on occasion).

At least the other talented young player America lost recently, Giuseppe Rossi, left us to play for the nation from which his parents immigrated. We may not have liked his decision, but at least there was a tangible tie there. In Subotic’s case, there is none.

So, the question here is whether FIFA will deny Subotic and Germany their baseless union or if they will stand back and let international football devolve into a glorified version of the club game, where players can essentially ply their trade wherever they please, regardless of nationality.

But this case does raise other questions for US Soccer. Namely, in the wake of losing the likes of Rossi and now maybe Subotic to more prestigious footballing nations, is it time we step up our pursuit of talented young players from countries with lesser football programs? Since the US has become a consistent World Cup qualifier, we are now in a position where we can turn to prospects from, say, Central America or maybe even Canada, places that struggle to make it out of CONCACAF, and offer them a chance to play on world football’s biggest stage.

Granted, this idea may sound hypocritical after just railing on Subotic and Germany, but if that’s how the big boys are doing it, maybe that’s what the US needs to do to step up to their level.

Photo credit: Patrik Stollarz/Bongarts/Getty Images

Tags: Germany, Group E, Kevin Federline, Neven Subotic

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Comments

By GS | October 3rd, 2008 at 12:14 pm

As ridiculous as this whole thing is the only thing I can’t understand is why Neven believes he has a chance to play for the German national team. If getting left off the U20 team hurt his feelings wait until he never makes it off the bench for the Germans in his whole career.

Posted from United States

By Jan | October 3rd, 2008 at 12:44 pm

“His only tie to the country is that he has played club football there for less than two years”

For the sake of a more balanced and less polemic discussion of the issue:
Neven Subotic came to Germany in 1994 where he started to play football - on youth level for the next five years. His family then moved to the US in 1999, where he continued to play in parks before his talent was spotted there and he joined the University of South Florida in 2004. In 2006 he moved back to Germany, where he played one season in the developmental team of Mainz. He was promoted to the first team a season later, where he played his first full season as a pro after which he was sold to Dortmund. So you have five years of initial training in Germany, seven years in the US but only two in a proper team and another year in Germany before signing a pro contract. So the US is actually not solely responsible for developing Subotic’s talent.

Anyway, he has already played for the US on U17 and U20 level, so I don’t know whether he would still be allowed to play for Germany. I think you can switch before you turn 21 or something, but I’m not sure. In the end it’s up to Subotic to decide really. Should he chose Germany, then he should do it because he feels that this country is his home and that he would like to represent it - or not. Because there is absolutely no guarantee that he’ll play a part in the German national team in the future. He is a highly rated talent and would surely play on Uxx level for Germany at the moment, but there are a lot of other highly rated talents out there and you never know which one of them comes good or not. So if he’s just cynical and wants to play for a national team with a higher profile, then he also needs to accept the potential consequences of not playing a part in the team at all in the future.

By diana | October 3rd, 2008 at 1:08 pm

‘I think you can switch before you turn 21 or something, but I’m not sure.’
From what I remembered, it’s possible. I remembered reading Ivan Rakitic (Schalke) was playing for the Switzerland U-21 before he switched to Croatia at the senior level. Something like that. Correct me if I am wrong.

In the case of Subotic, I have to agree with you, Jan. By the time he turns 21 in two years’ time, he has to decide which country is he going to represent. He cannot turn back after that. Though I understand from according to FIFA ruling, one has to play his club football for five years in the country he’s based in before he’s eligible.

Posted from Singapore

By Brooks Peck | October 3rd, 2008 at 1:26 pm

Thanks for that adding that background info, Jan.

And yes, as the article quoted above states: “His caps at the youth national team level for US are non binding before he turns 21 on the full international level.”

But I believe there are some citizenship technicalities that must be met and a few other FIFA rules at work here.

I guess my main problem is really with what I perceive to be Subotic’s motives. As you said Jan, he came to the US at the age of 11, went through the youth academy and obviously felt enough of a tie to the country to play for its youth national teams. Now, to suddenly switch national allegiances once he goes back to Germany to play club football is what seems odd and a bit wishy-washy.

Posted from United States

By BMatthews | October 3rd, 2008 at 3:06 pm

I don’t even think that the US can be as mad as Bosnia. Germany doesn’t even make sense. Try explaining this to someone who doesn’t already know the players.
A Bosnian kid played for the US youth teams, he moved to Germany and now he wants to play for them.
what?

Posted from United States

By Juliet | October 3rd, 2008 at 3:50 pm

Well, maybe he was upset about being dropped. Perhaps if someone from the US goes and talks very nicely to him, he’ll reconsider. Seriously. Sometimes it works. But if no one from the US is pursuing him, then it’s our loss.

Posted from United States

By GS | October 3rd, 2008 at 4:24 pm

Juliet: the way Neven is handling this situation I highly doubt the US really cares. It would be our loss because it seems Neven is a great talent and could definitely contribute to the US…but one 19 year old kid who’s acting like a child isn’t going to get the national teams coaches coming to his doorstep begging him to play for them.

Posted from United States

By diana | October 4th, 2008 at 1:44 am

‘But if no one from the US is pursuing him, then it’s our loss.’
Juliet, I understand that even the DFB (the German FA) is taking notice of Subtoic given he applied for German citizenship. I’m not an American but for some reason back when last week’s Deutsche Welle’s Bundesliga Kick-Off did their own list of the future stars of the Bundesliga (Subotic was mentioned) and the voiceover mentioned something that he could play for Germany some day, my mind was screaming ‘No!’ straightaway. Maybe it’s because I remembered reading that he had already for the US at the junior levels. But then, one can change at the senior level for which national team does he want to represent.

It’s up to the football associations/federations to act. One has to look at the example of the Turkish national team. There are players who were not born in Turkey but they choose to represent Turkey. The Altintop brothers (Hamit and Halil) were born in Germany to Turkish parents and there’s Colin Kazim-Richards (who is actually Kazim-Kazim on the Turkish national team) who was actually born in Britain. I remembered reading Kazim-Richards qualified to play for Turkey through his Turkish Cypriot mother.

Posted from Singapore

By diana | October 4th, 2008 at 1:47 am

Play for the US at the junior levels, I mean. Typo error.

Posted from Singapore

By Pseudinho | October 5th, 2008 at 8:30 am

We need to fight fire with fire. If that’s how things are gonna be done, then be prepared for all Brazilians whom have ever set foot on American soil to automatically become American citizens as well. Joga Bonita!

Posted from United States

By Dave Martinez | October 6th, 2008 at 5:21 pm

Oh wait. This guy actually has a REASON to want to play for another country. Our lose I guess.

But . . . .

I fucking HATE Rossi.

There. I feel MUCH better now.

Posted from United States

By David | October 8th, 2008 at 5:55 pm

I don’t think FIFA wll let Neven play for Germany. I think he’s going to play for Serbia, I mean who doesn’t want to play alongside Nemanja Vidic.

Posted from United States

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