Marcelo Flores

[Corazon]

As expected Marcelo has been included in a 38 man squad for Mexico.  Yes a 38 man squad for Mexico!  He is apart of the upcoming friendlies vs Nigeria, Uruguay and Ecuador and the Nations League games vs Suriname & Jamaica.  Although he may join up with the U20’s before Nations League starts.

I figured there was a reason he made that over the top letter yesterday right before the squad dropped.

[JamboAl]

Okay, enough of this.  Off you go, Marcelo…

[SoCalTransport]

2 hours ago, InglewoodJack said:

This, but unironically. I think you need to show players and their family that there’s marketing opportunities and support for their sons in Canada. Look at how Flores is viewed in Mexico vs Canada- he had a whole ass marketing deal in Mexico, meanwhile only the most fervent Canada supporters even know who he is. Contrast that with Mitrovic- frequently mentioned in social media posts by canadian soccer media, interview on a podcast, I mean, his dad pretty much likes or retweets anything about his son vs Serbia who hasn’t as much as acknowledged his existence. If your kid is not only good enough to play for one country’s team, but several, all who have strong soccer teams, you need to prove to the family that you can help their kid be a star.

I could be wrong, but I feel Marcelo will be playing in North America in a few years, this feels like another Gedion Zelalem to me.

I also disagree with your statement, Canadian soccer is exploding right now, and I think there will be a lot of big endorsements going into the 2026 World Cup, and if the hype is real, he could of been one of the faces for Canada at that World Cup.

I feel bad for the kid, he had a lot of pressure to make this choice at such a young age. I think this should of been a decision he made after Qatar. Canada has less depth than Mexico, so even if he plays in MLS in a few years, he would of had a good chance to crack the Canadian lineup if he played well.

[RJB]

15 hours ago, TGAA_Star said:

Flores was never going to play for Canada I mean let's face it. His family was pressuring him to play for Mexico but also the Mexican fans and their media were probably doing everything they could to lure him to Mexico. But also Flores himself probably feels Mexican. I mean who are we to judge that really? Especially if someone feels more connected to their background or nationality than the country they live in. I mean there's nothing necessarily wrong with that. Yeah sure it hurts to lose him to Mexico but he was never realistically going to be in our plans if we're really honest.

This.  The ones that turned on us in the past waffled and misled and were mercenaries; turncoats.  This seems different and while too bad, it's not painful at all.  I wish him the best of luck in all matches that don't affect us.  

[InglewoodJack]

12 hours ago, SoCalTransport said:

I could be wrong, but I feel Marcelo will be playing in North America in a few years, this feels like another Gedion Zelalem to me.

I also disagree with your statement, Canadian soccer is exploding right now, and I think there will be a lot of big endorsements going into the 2026 World Cup, and if the hype is real, he could of been one of the faces for Canada at that World Cup.

I feel bad for the kid, he had a lot of pressure to make this choice at such a young age. I think this should of been a decision he made after Qatar. Canada has less depth than Mexico, so even if he plays in MLS in a few years, he would of had a good chance to crack the Canadian lineup if he played well.

It’s exploding, but what are the marketing opportunities for a player of Flores’ calibre?
 

consider this study on player marketability in Canada vs the world:

Davies is by far our most famous athlete worldwide, yet is 19th in Canada, comparable to a Brendan Gallagher, far behind Christine Sinclair and nowhere near the top NHL names. Johnathan David is nowhere near this list, so unless Flores becomes an absolute star with Arsenal, no one in but the biggest soccer fans in Canada will care about who he is. That may change in the build up to 2026, however Mexico is more of a sure thing- Flores *may* become a star, and that *may* lead to marketing opportunities in Canada, whereas in Mexico, the opportunities are guaranteed. 
 

this is pure speculation as to his and his family’s motives, all of this may be irrelevant, but if he’s already got a Mexican marketing deal, he’s already known to fans there, bust or not, he’ll get his praise. In Canada, that won’t be the case- even if he ends up being in our “second tier” or players like Buchanan or Eustaquio, the average Canadian wouldn’t know who he is- his marketing opps would be signing jerseys at a dealership.

[SoCalTransport]

9 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

It’s exploding, but what are the marketing opportunities for a player of Flores’ calibre?
 

consider this study on player marketability in Canada vs the world:

Davies is by far our most famous athlete worldwide, yet is 19th in Canada, comparable to a Brendan Gallagher, far behind Christine Sinclair and nowhere near the top NHL names. Johnathan David is nowhere near this list, so unless Flores becomes an absolute star with Arsenal, no one in but the biggest soccer fans in Canada will care about who he is. That may change in the build up to 2026, however Mexico is more of a sure thing- Flores *may* become a star, and that *may* lead to marketing opportunities in Canada, whereas in Mexico, the opportunities are guaranteed. 
 

this is pure speculation as to his and his family’s motives, all of this may be irrelevant, but if he’s already got a Mexican marketing deal, he’s already known to fans there, bust or not, he’ll get his praise. In Canada, that won’t be the case- even if he ends up being in our “second tier” or players like Buchanan or Eustaquio, the average Canadian wouldn’t know who he is- his marketing opps would be signing jerseys at a dealership.

I agree with you right now, but remember there is Qatar and there will also be a lot of hype going into 2026 because we are one of the hosts, so I personally think there will be marketing opportunities for the Canadian players in the next few years…

[InglewoodJack]

3 minutes ago, SoCalTransport said:

I agree with you right now, but remember there is Qatar and there will also be a lot of hype going into 2026 because we are one of the hosts, so I personally think there will be marketing opportunities for the Canadian players in the next few years…

But Mexico is also a host, and will likely have more and bigger matches than Canada. While we’ll probably have more marketing then than we do now, to what extent?  How great does he have to be to get on the late night TV shows? Or get a cellphone endorsement? To even get close to what Mexico could offer, he’d have to become as famous as Alphonso Davies, and we’re talking about a guy playing for the best club in the world, has a unique social media presence, is a UN ambassador, and even then he’s not even particularly famous domestically. Most of his notoriety comes from Bayern.

[Free kick]

On 5/18/2022 at 10:35 AM, InglewoodJack said:

But Mexico is also a host, and will likely have more and bigger matches than Canada. While we’ll probably have more marketing then than we do now, to what extent?  How great does he have to be to get on the late night TV shows? Or get a cellphone endorsement? To even get close to what Mexico could offer, he’d have to become as famous as Alphonso Davies, and we’re talking about a guy playing for the best club in the world, has a unique social media presence, is a UN ambassador, and even then he’s not even particularly famous domestically. Most of his notoriety comes from Bayern.

Mex and Can are both getting 10 matches.   That's what's in the bid, that's what FIFA voted on when awarded the WC for 2026

[narduch]

Wasn't in the squad for Mexico's friendly v Uruguay last night.

Mexico got spanked 3-0

[rydermike]

He played nine minutes in the Nations League yesterday. Officially official. 

[Corazon]

Marcelo had a penalty saved.  But apparently  he did very well other than that.

Edited June 12, 2022 by Corazon

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

Cap-tied to Mexico now I think.

3 senior team matches including one competitive one?

[rydermike]

1 hour ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

Cap-tied to Mexico now I think.

3 senior team matches including one competitive one?

I think it's 3 competitive ones. So he can play in two more and still switch, but would have to wait three years. 

[anthony7]

On 5/17/2022 at 9:06 AM, TGAA_Star said:

Flores was never going to play for Canada I mean let's face it. His family was pressuring him to play for Mexico but also the Mexican fans and their media were probably doing everything they could to lure him to Mexico. But also Flores himself probably feels Mexican. I mean who are we to judge that really? Especially if someone feels more connected to their background or nationality than the country they live in. I mean there's nothing necessarily wrong with that. Yeah sure it hurts to lose him to Mexico but he was never realistically going to be in our plans if we're really honest.

 

But in Mexico, he is a part of their next generation of players for 2026 and beyond. Because let's face it, besides Flores who do you know is also going to be a part of that set up going forward?

May as well move on and go after more dual nationals to try to fill the void

I'll still be booing him every time Mexico comes to play Canada because he doesn't deserve any sympathy. Marcelo's situation is the closest thing to the Owen Hargreaves situation. The main difference is Canada is actually good now and relevant. This kid has accomplished nothing professionally and still used us as leverage to get what he wanted. He deserves more hate than Owen Hargreaves for his behavior and the fact that he is walking away from Canada's best ever team. The hate Hargreaves received should have been minimal. This is because Hargreaves joining England made perfect sense at the time. Canada Soccer had and no direction, he wasn't being actively pursued from Canada Soccer like Flores and he was already building solid relationships with his English teammates due to his Man United experience. Hargreaves did get his karma though, because his injury issues forced an early retirement. In addition, he never won anything with England's best generation. Mark my words, I truly believe Flores will get his karma.

Edited July 4, 2022 by anthony7

[Unnamed Trialist]

On 7/3/2022 at 1:48 PM, anthony7 said:

I'll still be booing him every time Mexico comes to play Canada because he doesn't deserve any sympathy. Marcelo's situation is the closest thing to the Owen Hargreaves situation. The main difference is Canada is actually good now and relevant. This kid has accomplished nothing professionally and still used us as leverage to get what he wanted. He deserves more hate than Owen Hargreaves for his behavior and the fact that he is walking away from Canada's best ever team. The hate Hargreaves received should have been minimal. This is because Hargreaves joining England made perfect sense at the time. Canada Soccer had and no direction, he wasn't being actively pursued from Canada Soccer like Flores and he was already building solid relationships with his English teammates due to his Man United experience. Hargreaves did get his karma though, because his injury issues forced an early retirement. In addition, he never won anything with England's best generation. Mark my words, I truly believe Flores will get his karma.

You're completely mistaken about OH and very badly informed. We're talking about one of the biggest fakes and liars Canadian soccer has ever produced, which did matter because he was a good player, he was crucial winning a Champions League. 

Marcelo doesn't even matter because he is a player who is not even a bona fide pro yet. He'll not likely go to Qatar, so no one cares and possibly no one ever will. One story was written and turned stomachs, the other gives rise only to misinformed vitriol.

Massive difference. 

Edited July 5, 2022 by Unnamed Trialist

[anthony7]

On 7/5/2022 at 3:39 AM, Unnamed Trialist said:

You're completely mistaken about OH and very badly informed. We're talking about one of the biggest fakes and liars Canadian soccer has ever produced, which did matter because he was a good player, he was crucial winning a Champions League. 

Marcelo doesn't even matter because he is a player who is not even a bona fide pro yet. He'll not likely go to Qatar, so no one cares and possibly no one ever will. One story was written and turned stomachs, the other gives rise only to misinformed vitriol.

Massive difference. 

Could you please elaborate on why Hargreaves continues to receive all this hate? I want all the facts. Based on what I am aware with regards to his situation, I feel he made the right choice to choose England. Do you mind explaining in complete detail because I'm a huge Man Utd fan and even remember watching his last game against Wolves where he came on for like 2 seconds and he had to come off due to injury. Thanks.

Edited July 6, 2022 by anthony7

[yomurphy1]

23 minutes ago, anthony7 said:

Could you please elaborate on why Hargreaves continues to receive all this hate? I want all the facts. Based on what I am aware with regards to his situation, I feel he made the right choice to choose England. Do you mind explaining in complete detail because I'm a huge Man Utd fan and even remember watching his last game against Wolves where he came on for like 2 seconds and he had to come off due to injury. Thanks.

I miss the old OH profanity filter. 

But the answer is because he's a mercenary who could have transformed Canadian soccer but instead chose two bum knees and a fake accent. I'm not bitter.  

[Bison44]

Anthony..I feel like this is a troll and your response will be a 3 page rebuttal with a killer "the truth hurts" coup de gras on the end.  He was a CDN kid that learned the game here at a time when we had many players from elsewhere.  He was better than most of them and could have......could have really transformed the national team in a way like a David or Phonzie did. Spurred young kids  even without tik tok and instagram.  He could have stepped in been a fixture and who knows where we could have gone with him on those 2000 era teams.  But he didnt....he was like a domino that pushed the wrong way, it was a running joke and it helped usher in very dark times for us which some of us suffered through and he gets hate for it.  

And you can come back with the usual stuff ad nauseum, but for all the same reasons OH left, Davies and David could have gone with other countries too.....but they didnt.  They chose canada, the country where they learned the game, their country, MY COUNTRY, and they will always get my respect and admiration.  I wouldnt cross the street to piss on OH's head if his hair was on fire.  

[narduch]

I just want to add fuck Whoregreaves

[gator]

 

[narduch]

He will get a League 1 loan if he's lucky 

[narduch]

Will play in Spanish 2nd tier.

 

[SoCalTransport]

I know what a moron his father is…he should of just waited six months to see how the landscape looked after his club future was in place.

[Obinna]

Will be interesting to see how he does at that level. It's a division we may see Corbeanu in as well if the loan to Levante happens. 

[rydermike]

9 hours ago, SoCalTransport said:

I know what a moron his father is…he should of just waited six months to see how the landscape looked after his club future was in place.

If his heart was always set on Mexico, it's a non-issue, but losing any leverage/opportunity you had for 9 minutes against Suriname was never a smart move.