Tesho Akindele

[Obinna]

http://www.mlssoccer.com/extratime

 

Tesho Akendele was asked about NT allegiance. They asked him if his allegiance was towards Canada and he never said yes. Sounds like he's keeping his options open at this point.

 

I hope he doesn't become a Teal Bunbury. Poor guy can't get a sniff with the USA now.

Edited August 18, 2014 by Obinna

[Addona]

http://www.mlssoccer.com/extratime

 

Tesho Akendele was asked about NT allegiance. They asked him if his allegiance was towards Canada and he never said yes. Sounds like he's keeping his options open at this point.

 

I hope he doesn't become a Teal Bunbury. Poor guy can't get a sniff with the USA now.

Is Teal even cap-tied to the U.S.?

[Yohan]

Is Teal even cap-tied to the U.S.?

yes. he played in a WCQ for US prior to tearing his ACL

[mowe]

http://www.mlssoccer.com/extratime

 

Tesho Akendele was asked about NT allegiance. They asked him if his allegiance was towards Canada and he never said yes. Sounds like he's keeping his options open at this point.

 

I hope he doesn't become a Teal Bunbury. Poor guy can't get a sniff with the USA now.

 

He also mentioned that the CSA has been in contact with him. And Squizz tweeted that he's "in the plans" for the September friendly.

But he did say that he's focusing on his club right now. And when asked point blank if his loyalty was definitely to Canada he said he didn't know at this point.

 

So basically let's hope this isn't another Bunbury and we can cap tie him before he draws interest from the US.

[apbsmith]

Tesho Akindele was interviewed as part of the recent mls podcast, the link will probably only be good for a week.

 

http://www.mlssoccer.com/extratime

 

Click the play button.

 

Interview starts at 26:40

 

- classy kid, well spoken, sounds and acts Canadian!

 

At 36:35 asked about his International alliance....

 

Pretty straight up "I don't know at this point"....

 

BUT he did avoid the original question about "is there a chance for the USA" he didn't even acknowledge the question, , did not even say maybe.

 

At around 33:00 mark, in the interview, loyalty comes up, let's hope he stays loyal, he was on our u17 team!

 

Anyways, seems like the Jamaica game won't work , I wish he came in for a late sub.  Sounds like he wants to play international soccer soon so I hope Blais encourages him to come visit his country in Panama and he plays for us there! "not the near near future but the near future." .  Let us just hope he said "I don't know cause" cause he was being Canadian and being polite to US reporters.  If he keeps crushing, Klinsmen will probably give him a call .

[apbsmith]

Yo my bad Obinna, you were the first to post this, I'm a lifefish when it comes to message boards haha, I will stick to reading them.

[ag futbol]

Pretty sad state of affairs when we have the number of fence sitters that we do currently.

 

I'm not sure what the solution is, other than develop enough prospects where some of them will have to be loyal and the ones that aren't will feel the heat to accept a callup rather than assume they can jump in whenever they want. 

[toontownman]

Seems to have been the case for a number of years. One of the main solutions still remains. Until one of these re emerging Canadian talents stands up to be counted and leads by example there will be no trend to set. Not saying it will make a huge difference but think of the message it would have sent had Hargreaves or still Hoilett stood up and said its Canada for me, as really they should have done.

 

I know there is plenty of debate on here about the reasoning behind keeping international allegiances and options open but we need both a government and association they is showing ambition and support for our players (not saying they aren't to a degree already doing that either) in combination with the above talents standing up and leading by example.

 

Back to Tesho.. I am praying we get him cap tied and in the squad. Lots of potential there to do a job for Canada. If he is at all open to it, which he has confirmed, Floro has to pick him before someone else does. 

[Yohan]

I'll regret Tesho not picking Canada over US, but I'll understand. After all, he's about Canadian as Will Johnson is, having spent most of his childhood and adult life to now in US. Does he really 'feel' Canadian?

[Obinna]

Well he did live in Canada until he was 8. I believe that is longer than Will. When I was 8 years old I was certainly old enough to strongly identify as a Canadian. He also spent summers in Kelowna with grandparents or something I recall from another interview. I don't think the situation was quite the same with WIll. I would say Will is more similar to Marcel de Jong in that regard.

[Yohan]

Well he did live in Canada until he was 8. I believe that is longer than Will. When I was 8 years old I was certainly old enough to strongly identify as a Canadian. He also spent summers in Kelowna with grandparents or something I recall from another interview. I don't think the situation was quite the same with WIll. I would say Will is more similar to Marcel de Jong in that regard.

 

At 8, I knew jackshit. Certainly not enough to identify myself belonging to a particular group. That came later in my teen years. At least that's when I did it with conviction. May be just my case, but kids are easily swayed at young age, especially when they get immersed in another culture.

[ray]

Perfectly understandable if Akindele would rather play for the US.  However, he should give due consideration to where he would fit into their program going forward.  Just as he is a young striker on the rise, he could find his star eclipsed by another young player is a couple of years.  The USA provides a higher risk/reward for an international career.  Canada provides a greater chance at longevity in the national team.  All things for him to consider before making a final decision.

[youllneverwalkalone]

Pretty sad state of affairs when we have the number of fence sitters that we do currently.

 

I'm not sure this one bother me. Who gave a shit about this guy six months ago? Certainly not the CSA.

[canucklefan]

I'm not sure this one bother me. Who gave a shit about this guy six months ago? Certainly not the CSA.

To be fair, he didn't play professionally 6 months ago and the majority of us didn't even know his existence. 

[youllneverwalkalone]

To be fair, he didn't play professionally 6 months ago and the majority of us didn't even know his existence. 

That's my point. I don't blame the CSA or the player if this doesn't work out. The association wouldn't typically keep regular contact with an NCAA div. 2 player. I'm sure the player understands this, so if he chooses to play for the US or Nigeria I won't feel like we've been wronged by him in any way. Very different than Bunbury, Begovic, Bustos...

[Obinna]

Canada, Nigeria and USA (in that order) are my three favorite national teams. Yet I will be so so so disappointed if he doesn't chose the Maple Leaf. Aside from having the most attachment to the CMNT (naturally), those other two national teams don't need him. The USA literally have 10 times the striker depth we have and Nigeria has even far more than that. 

 

I know these things should be about which country you associate with most, but from a career standpoint, Canada is the safest bet for a long national team career. There are SO many Nigerians and Americans with 5 caps or less. He would face competition in our program as well, but he stands a far greater chance at playing in Gold Cups, WCQ's, and hopefully beyond!

[jonovision]

If he chose the USA, I wouldn't begrudge him that decision, as he moved there as a young kid (7, right?). I feel like if I had that upbringing, I would "feel" more American, and would have to credit my development to their system. But on the years-lived-in-Canada metric, he still ranks far ahead of guys like De Jong, Johnson, Pacheco, and some others in the past (Bircham) that I have always felt vaguely awkward about cheering for as Canadians.

 

So in short, I hope he chooses us, but would have no animosity towards him if he didn't.

Edited August 19, 2014 by jonovision

[DigzTFC]

Canada is the safest bet for a long national team career. There are SO many Nigerians and Americans with 5 caps or less. He would face competition in our program as well, but he stands a far greater chance at playing in Gold Cups, WCQ's, and hopefully beyond!

 

While your sentiment is right, he would have a longer international career with Canada, I believe it  won't be the deciding factor.  Nigeria would probably be the best fit for his career projection.  Look at Bright Dike.  He was a 4th string guy in Portland that Nigeria called up.  He gets traded to TFC and heads in one goal against Italy in a friendly and now he's being scouted by european leagues.  He makes $60k in MLS and would love to get the pay and prestige of a euro league.

 

I would bet a lot of money that TFC was hoping to boost his stock at the World Cup and sell him at a premium but unfortunately he got hurt.  What's to say Akindele wouldn't get the same treatment?  If I was his agent that's what I would tell him.  Canada doesn't provide that high level of scouting that other international teams provide.  Closed door friendlies against Mauritania aren't going to get him a large transfer fee.

 

I would be ecstatic if he chose Canada but it's not about national allegiances it's about money.  Agents don't give advice on sentiment.  They are paid to be objective. 

 

Or maybe this is how I deal with the treachery I've seen over the last decade lol

Edited August 19, 2014 by DigzTFC

[Obinna]

Very interesting points you make but I have to say that Dike's case is extremely rare.

 

His initial call up to the Super Eagles was purely out of necessity. As I remember it, somebody pulled out of the squad prior to the Venezuela match in Miami, leaving coach Keshi with a void to fill in short order. Dike was already in the USA, and was eligible through his parents, so he was brought in to make up the numbers.

 

After that, all the credit goes to Dike. He must have trained extremely well because he ended up starting the match and was crucial in the 3-1 victory. I watched the game and believe he set up one of the goals. He certainly did much more than Obafemi Martins, who was pulled out after 45 minutes. 

 

Dike then went on to score against Italy (as noted), but also scored a spectacular goal against the NT of Catalonia. I believe the result was a draw and the opponent was very FCB and Espanyol influenced, with all the usual suspects involved such as Xavi, Fabregas, Busquets etc. This and the Italy + Venezuela games are why he is so highly rated with the Super Eagles. He made the most of his opportunity.

 

Conversely, I sincerely doubt that Tesho's "opportunity" with Nigeria would ever come. Sure, Dike and Martin's have put the MLS on more of a radar now, but Nigeria is extremely extremely top heavy with strikers. Unless he is introduced to the Super Eagles by chance like Dike was, I suspect he will need multiple seasons scoring at his current rate in order to garner some attention.

Edited August 19, 2014 by Obinna

[A_Gagne]

To be fair, he didn't play professionally 6 months ago and the majority of us didn't even know his existence. 

 

... Jurgan certainly didn't either... CSA probably knew more about him than USSF given that he trialled at one of our u17 camps. 

[DigzTFC]

I honestly believe we should be capping guys right after the MLS draft regardless of playing time.  We can't wait for other programs to pick up players on their radar.  We need to lock in as much as we can to build depth.  We had Welshmen, Bekker and Larin in camp before they played a pro game.  Why aren't we doing this universally?  Anybody in this first round of the MLS draft with Canadian connections should be capped ASAP.

[ag futbol]

I'm not sure this one bother me. Who gave a shit about this guy six months ago? Certainly not the CSA.

Well I get that in the sense that he isn't exactly JDG2 or Hoilett, but still...  sad fact of the matter is CMNT needs as much help as it can get. 

[One American]

Perfectly understandable if Akindele would rather play for the US.  However, he should give due consideration to where he would fit into their program going forward.  Just as he is a young striker on the rise, he could find his star eclipsed by another young player is a couple of years.  The USA provides a higher risk/reward for an international career.  Canada provides a greater chance at longevity in the national team.  All things for him to consider before making a final decision.

 

The funny thing is ... the US doesn't have a great forward pool. Altidore is the only near certainty for 2018. Jury is still out on Johansson. Zardes has had a breakout year. But mostly it's a lot of question marks up top for the US. With Canada, OTOH, if everything went right, he could be competing in 2 years with Larin, Cavallini, Hamliton, Jackson-Hamel, Clark, Aleman, etc. That could be a tough numbers game.

Edited August 20, 2014 by One American

[Obinna]

Are you sure you're American? What do you mean Altidore is the only near certainty for 2018? Which jury is still out on Johansson? He was third in the dutch scoring list last season with 17 league goals. Terrance Boyd was the top scorer at Rapid Vienna. Both of those guys will be in their prime by the time 2018 rolls around.  Even Julian Green who is still very raw will likely be a lock for the next cycle.

 

After that, you have a gang of other MLS guys who are coming on strong. Guys like Zardes for example, who are having breakout years. Furthermore, you got players who are not even really on the radar yet like Rubio Rubin at FC Utrecht and Paul Arriola at Tijuana. Don't forget Agudelo who will firmly be in the picture. 

 

In contract, the only Canadian from the group you provided who has really proven anything is Cavallini. A much easier numbers game with us if you ask me, but yeah still not clear cut for him whoever he decides to play with.

[One American]

Are you sure you're American? What do you mean Altidore is the only near certainty for 2018? Which jury is still out on Johansson? He was third in the dutch scoring list last season with 17 league goals. Terrance Boyd was the top scorer at Rapid Vienna. Both of those guys will be in their prime by the time 2018 rolls around.  Even Julian Green who is still very raw will likely be a lock for the next cycle.

 

After that, you have a gang of other MLS guys who are coming on strong. Guys like Zardes for example, who are having breakout years. Furthermore, you got players who are not even really on the radar yet like Rubio Rubin at FC Utrecht and Paul Arriola at Tijuana. Don't forget Agudelo who will firmly be in the picture. 

 

In contract, the only Canadian from the group you provided who has really proven anything is Cavallini. A much easier numbers game with us if you ask me, but yeah still not clear cut for him whoever he decides to play with.

 

Well, Altidore is our top forward. And he's not even a starter on one of the worst EPL teams.

AJ scores in bushels in Holland, but hasn't yet proven it in a top league or with the US.

There are a lot of other candidates, but none of them scream "sure thing." A guy playing for Utrecht, even a young guy doesn't wow me.

They aren't really any further along than Tesho.

 

Compare that to midfield and what Finlay faces .... the incumbents might be vulnerable, but a couple of years down the road he's facing a huge number of the top US prospects - Green, the Parkers, Zelalem, etc. Even if he beat out Zusi, by 2018, someone would likely beat him out and keep him out. To me, his smart play long-term is Canada.

 

But who knows. So much of this is speculation.