Yohan Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 http://www.goal.com/en-ca/news/4172/canada/2012/11/30/3568856/martin-macmahon-whitecaps-koffie-considering-playing-for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obinna Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 I would take him in a heart beat, but that article says he may not be eligible. He received caps for Ghana u-20 before he started the Canadian citizenship process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmonte Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 But if he is eligible, how would it work, given the 5 year naturalization they referred to? It's an important question...if he gets Canadian citizenship and THEN we have to wait 5 years, that would mean he'd be 26 or 27 by the time we get him...still useful, but it's possible by then his heart may change again... But I believe if I'm correct the countdown would have started in 2010, which would mean he'd be eligible for us by 2015, in time for the next WCQ, and he'd still only be 24. That would definitely help our depth! We had guys like Patrice Bernier not starting in favor of guys like JDG and Hutchinson, but by the time Koffie would be eligible, two thirds of those guys would be retired, and probably Dunfield too. I'm not sure where I'd put Koffie in those guys, but certainly ahead of Dunfield, and Koffie can play more attacking midfield at need as well, which JDG and Dunfield aren't really even capable of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmcmurph Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Given his rate of learning that I've seen over the last 3 years I would put him second only to Hutch in 2 years time. Seriously I've never seen someone learn to overcome their weaknesses so fast. His learning curve hasn't hit a platue yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackdude Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Forget about it. He can't play for us. Lenarduzzi would be happy just because the Whitecaps could have one less Canadian with the Whitecaps. He wasn't eligible to play for us in 2011 when he was with the Ghana youth team. (Can't find if he played but if he ever did play for a Ghanaian team in an Official match, he can't play for us.) It's really a Whitecaps could have 1 less Canadian. It means they could for exemple loan out 2 of the 3 Canadians on the team. (Assuming Rochat stays on) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macksam Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Forget about it. He can't play for us. Lenarduzzi would be happy just because the Whitecaps could have one less Canadian with the Whitecaps. He wasn't eligible to play for us in 2011 when he was with the Ghana youth team. (Can't find if he played but if he ever did play for a Ghanaian team in an Official match, he can't play for us.) It's really a Whitecaps could have 1 less Canadian. It means they could for exemple loan out 2 of the 3 Canadians on the team. (Assuming Rochat stays on) They mention Thiago Motta as an exception to this rule as he wasn't eligible to represent Italy when he got capped for Brazil's U23 team. However, I'm guessing FIFA didn't recognize that team considering Brazil were playing out of confederation. You really think Lenarduzzi is adament of having less Canadians on the Caps? They only need three out of 30. It seems too cynical to think Lenarduzzi has something against Canadian players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpg75 Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 http://www.goal.com/en-ca/news/4172/canada/2012/11/30/3568856/martin-macmahon-whitecaps-koffie-considering-playing-for "There is nothing in Motta’s case, at least on the surface of things, which is different from Koffie’s situation." Motta's great-grandfather was born in Italy, so Motta had an Italian passport before moving to Barcelona and playing for Brasil U17's during qualifiers in 1999. I wonder what FIFA's rules on eligibility were back then? That could be why he was allowed to switch... http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2011/marzo/27/Azzurri_piu_vicini_all_Europa_co_9_110327076.shtml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpg75 Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 As i've mentioned repeatedly and even posted a link as evidence, Koffie played the last 2 group games for Ghana at the U20 African qualifiers. He was not eligible for Canada at the time so it is a slam dunk that he can never play for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_Gagne Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 As i've mentioned repeatedly and even posted a link as evidence, Koffie played the last 2 group games for Ghana at the U20 African qualifiers. He was not eligible for Canada at the time so it is a slam dunk that he can never play for us. Unfortunately I agree that this is most likely the case. Also when Italy comes knocking on FIFA's door, I'm sure that in an of itself is a different situation than when Canada does. Koffie is a great player in the making though and one of my favorit Whitecaps, but sadly I doubt playing for the nats is in the cards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyJames Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 My thoughts exactly Forget about it. He can't play for us. Lenarduzzi would be happy just because the Whitecaps could have one less Canadian with the Whitecaps. He wasn't eligible to play for us in 2011 when he was with the Ghana youth team. (Can't find if he played but if he ever did play for a Ghanaian team in an Official match, he can't play for us.) It's really a Whitecaps could have 1 less Canadian. It means they could for exemple loan out 2 of the 3 Canadians on the team. (Assuming Rochat stays on) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyJames Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 I think they are lazy and making a Canadian is easier than developing one. They mention Thiago Motta as an exception to this rule as he wasn't eligible to represent Italy when he got capped for Brazil's U23 team. However, I'm guessing FIFA didn't recognize that team considering Brazil were playing out of confederation. You really think Lenarduzzi is adament of having less Canadians on the Caps? They only need three out of 30. It seems too cynical to think Lenarduzzi has something against Canadian players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmonte Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 I think they are lazy and making a Canadian is easier than developing one. Sadly, this is often true. If I had a preference, I'd much prefer a "true" Canadian then someone from Ghana that loves Ghana, is from Ghana in his heart, and chooses Canada because Ghana would not choose him. I remember the winter olympics in Italy, and watching their hockey team. I don't remember precisely, it was a while ago, but I looked into it and almost all if not all their players were Canadians in disguise that had italian backgrounds or lineage. I remembered feeling a little embarrassed for them that they had to do that. I tend to cheer harder for our Canadians who are actually born and raised in Canada, I can't help that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_Gagne Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Forget about it. He can't play for us. Lenarduzzi would be happy just because the Whitecaps could have one less Canadian with the Whitecaps. He wasn't eligible to play for us in 2011 when he was with the Ghana youth team. (Can't find if he played but if he ever did play for a Ghanaian team in an Official match, he can't play for us.) It's really a Whitecaps could have 1 less Canadian. It means they could for exemple loan out 2 of the 3 Canadians on the team. (Assuming Rochat stays on) I don't think for a second that it would make the Duzz happy to have "one less Canadian" on his roster. I however do think that there definitely is a bit of proactive PR work going on here (i.e. "controlling the message/directing the conversation"). The fact is that whenever the VWC put a "loop-hole" (i.e. CMNT ineligible) Canadian on their roster, they get a lot of fan blow-back as the perception is that they are cheating the quota system. Thus with Koffie applying for domestic status (i.e. landed immigrant status), and weary about the potential perception of Koffie taking up one of their "Canadian" quota spots, it would certainly be in the Whitecaps' interest to push the idea that maybe, just maybe, their Ghanian wonder-kid might eventually play for the nats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler453 Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Sadly, this is often true. If I had a preference, I'd much prefer a "true" Canadian then someone from Ghana that loves Ghana, is from Ghana in his heart, and chooses Canada because Ghana would not choose him. I remember the winter olympics in Italy, and watching their hockey team. I don't remember precisely, it was a while ago, but I looked into it and almost all if not all their players were Canadians in disguise that had italian backgrounds or lineage. I remembered feeling a little embarrassed for them that they had to do that. I tend to cheer harder for our Canadians who are actually born and raised in Canada, I can't help that. The Italian team surprisingly did actually have more Italians (though still a big number of foreign talent). 9/25 were Italian-Canadians, 2/25 were Italian-American while the rest were domestic. Currently, 7 of their 25-man roster are Italian-Canadians while 2 are Italian-Americans. There is also one British guy on their team. To a lesser extent, you still see it in France too. A few of their players are Quebecers. In my opinion, if you're a team trying to get better and build interest in the sport, you need to welcome people like Koffie, especially if they perform. You see it around the world in sports that aren't quite traditional to those areas where they look for people with the descent of their respective country. It's part of sport and the strive to get better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ag futbol Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 As time goes on and clubs can continue to naturalize people, the CSA needs to raise their quota. Especially considering they can have two / three non-cap hit minimum money players on their roster with very little implications. The max roster size is 30 now ... it's not like it used to be where if you held onto some youth prospect you had to do it at the expense of some NCAA plumber you need to play spot minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yohan Posted December 2, 2012 Author Share Posted December 2, 2012 Just a note, Canadians with permanent residency count as a 'domestic' in MLS. So, no need for citizenship in order to meet the 'quota' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigi riva Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 LETS Face it we need all the help now in Rebuilding our program if this guy is considering it why not Look the Americans got a couple of Germans on there Roster and no one sems to care Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFCfan4life Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 This is a bunch of ****. The guy will wait 4 years to play internationally for a country he has been in for 1 year when he still all into his homeland. No way this will happen. It just smells like the whitecaps are trying to circumvent the Canadian quota by having a Canadian resident on the team which means he will count as Canadian no matter what the national team affiliations are. Just **** talking that is all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shway Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 LETS Face it we need all the help now in Rebuilding our program if this guy is considering it why not Look the Americans got a couple of Germans on there Roster and no one sems to care I agree, especial with their sense of pride "if they do it, why can't we? Canada as a nation isn't as prideful as the us of a. Plus we're usually on the short end of the stick! When it comes to players picking another country other then their birth place? It's good to see some his age, even consider playing for Canada, in a few years he will be somewhere else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betterredthandead Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 This is a bunch of ****. The guy will wait 4 years to play internationally for a country he has been in for 1 year when he still all into his homeland. No way this will happen. It just smells like the whitecaps are trying to circumvent the Canadian quota by having a Canadian resident on the team which means he will count as Canadian no matter what the national team affiliations are. Just **** talking that is all. Wha? You can't apply for Canadian citizenship until you've lived here three years. So, he would be eligible for the 2014 year at the earliest and 2015 for the latest. Of course as far as his youth caps go.. I guess we will see. I do agree that Italy has a heck of a lot more sway with FIFA than Canada. Didn't Sebrango try to play for Canada too because he is considered a refugee of sorts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Bob Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 I would always rather have the Canadian national team be made up of players who are proud to represent Canada specifically. I'm cheering for my country, not just for laundry. That said, heaven knows there are plenty of extremely proud Canadians who came over as immigrants from Africa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonovision Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 I would always rather have the Canadian national team be made up of players who are proud to represent Canada specifically. I'm cheering for my country, not just for laundry. That said, heaven knows there are plenty of extremely proud Canadians who came over as immigrants from Africa. If he is in fact eligible, Koffie's situation is morally equivalent to JDG2 suiting up for Holland. I'd take him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 It's all a game. Koffie is probably coming out with this to pressure Ghana into calling him up, countless footballers have done this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmonte Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 I also agree that getting Koffie would be worthwhile and that if he goes for Canada, he would even deserve a roster spot once (if he plan/chooses) he is Canadian. Still all I'm saying is I feel more national pride if it's players actually developed IN Canada winning for Canada, rather than a majority or even a strong minority of naturalized players. Beggars can't be choosers, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villus Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 I also agree that getting Koffie would be worthwhile and that if he goes for Canada, he would even deserve a roster spot once (if he plan/chooses) he is Canadian. Still all I'm saying is I feel more national pride if it's players actually developed IN Canada winning for Canada, rather than a majority or even a strong minority of naturalized players. Beggars can't be choosers, though. How do you feel about Will Johnson? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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