Stefan Mitrovic

[jordan]

The hot takes in here today are going to be extra 🌶 

[narduch]

10 minutes ago, king1010 said:

Im really curious as to what happened in June

Sounds like he is lying.

[Vasi]

1 hour ago, Floortom said:

Dias and Smith have no choice but to play for us. Not sure why this forum keeps trying to pretend like France or Portugal gives two shits about them.

Also you say he’s a depth guy for Canada. Well first of all we need more depth. That’s what the best nations have. We’re very thin overall and especially in the attacking mid position. Also, who knows what happens to the program in 8 years. Saying we don’t need him now is poor long term planning for a national program. Sure I’m not crying about losing him but it’s a loss nonetheless.

It will be a loss if he breaks in to a good team. So far he played regular minutes for a mid table serbian side. He playes here and there for Red Star. The only reason he is getting these minutes is for red star can sell him. This is how it works in the Balkans when they feel a player has some potential. 

Its like saying lets bring on Jaden Nelson because he is showing glimpses for TFC. I do not think that people understand that  if you are worth anything in serbia or the Balkans you are not playing in the Balkans at the age of 20. You are playing in a bigger league. Just because you are playing in Europe does not mean you are good or better than the younger bluechippers in the MLS. That is why guys like Kaleso and Kone are or will be capped. Yes we need depth, we dont have much of it. But to be upset at Herdman for not capping a guy who does not want to play for is beyond ludicrous. also i am not assuming that you are upset at Herdman, im am just annoyed that people think it is his fault that Mitrovic is not playing for us.

[narduch]

1 hour ago, bwilly11 said:

When is the last time we did all out, not deserved callup/cap tie? Busti? Just curious..

Maybe it's just not Herdmans style in the leadup to the WC, which is understandable. Seems like he really wants them to earn a call,which I agree with. Arguably Mitrovic hasn't even deserved a call up until like right now.  

Im sure Ivan will be happy to tell us everything before the questions ever get put to Herdman.

Probably Jamie Peters by Yallop

[JAVIERF]

On 9/6/2022 at 2:17 PM, Obinna said:

Bold prediction: Cavallini plays his final game for Canada before Hoilett does.

No way

[shermanator]

Typically when a player uses Canada for leverage to suit up for the country they really want to play for, they haven't been good enough to play for that country in the first place. Hoilett wasn't good enough for England, Vitoria and Ferreira weren't good enough for Portugal, Bunbury wasn't good enough for the US, Bustos wasn't good enough for Chile, Tabla wasn't good enough for the Ivory Coast, Aird wasn't good enough for Scotland, etc. Not always the case, but at least in the 12 years I've paid attention it's the case more often than not.

Personally I'm glad Canada is not at a point right now where we have to suck off every dual national out of desperation to improve our squad. If you want to play for Canada, play for Canada. If not, that's fine we'll just make the World Cup with the players who want to be there. 

Maybe Mitrovic goes on to great things in his international career. Or maybe he has a solid club career and does nothing on the international stage. I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

Edited September 10, 2022 by shermanator

[Stoppage Time]

1 hour ago, toontownman said:

...and....move.

Methinks that people like Ivan and Flores' dad live part of their old country dreams through their children. Stefan was born and raised in Canada, so I presume that Ivan is a Canadian too; however, the call of the "old country" was too strong and the only way for Ivan to "play for Serbia", HIS first love, was to influence his son to play for the old country too. Now Ivan gets to be a Serb soccer player vicariously through his son. This is at once kind of romantic and kind of pathetic. I am pretty certain that the situation was exactly the same for Flores.  

Canadian culture is like this as our hyphenated Canadian system supports multi culturalism, but also weakens some links to "being Canadian" which some may argue weakens Canadian the social fabric. Certainly, when multi culturalism was established decades ago, it did go a long way to reducing well established racist attitudes among many Canadians. 

Mitrovic, through his dad, Ivan, has been unable to fully BE a Canadian because his dad is unable or unwilling to fully be a Canadian.

The exact opposite of this is the example of Borjan who adopted being a Canadian through fully supporting  his new country.

[The Real Marc]

Even if we had called him earlier than we did (and we did!) would he have started enough games? Or would he have made his one time switch when Serbia called?

We were leverage, then fallback, then once it was in his sights he wanted to play for them, not us. It’s ok.

There is no shame in not calling a marginal unproven youngster that’s shown iffy commitment to us (while batting eyes at the old country) in the midst of our most important qualifying run ever. Or we can self-flagellate. To each their own.

I hope he plays a lot for Serbia and does well.

Edited September 10, 2022 by The Real Marc

[dyslexic nam]

For the sake of full transparency, I suspect he will end up having enough quality where he would likely have been a solid contributor in the years to come, and possibly even a consistent starter. But despite that, I am fine with him going elsewhere.  Something about being used as a pawn (which was clear to anyone paying attention) and his dad’s shenanigans that made me want to have very little to do with him.   Had he committed I am sure I would have come around but at this point it is a loss that feels at worst like a minor inconvenience.   

[Joe1973]

"Dreams come true" according to his dad's tweet...

So why are we pretending that they were open to play for Canada? He was gonna play for Canada if Serbia didn't want him. Pretty transparent if you ask me.

[Kadenge]

 I did say many months ago that Ruben Flores & Ivan Mitrovic were comparing notes.  Was just being silly at the time but the end results are somewhat similar unfortunately. I do think that Stef playing in Serbia for the biggest team  put a lot of pressure on him to accept the Serbia call. It may have been different if he was sold to another league but who really knows. It is what it is.

[Stoppage Time]

One more thing to consider is the strong nationalist nature of Serbians. This goes back generations to well before World War I. This is also true of Croatia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, and Montenegro, for example. Serbia was at the heart of the beginning of WW1 due to its occupation by the Austro Hungarian Empire.  The creation of Yugoslavia created a "unified" country under the leadership of strongman Tito (ironically, Yugloslavia reached as high as #3 in the world in the soccer), and that country was progressive and prosperous. When Tito died, the various Slavic nationalist peoples saw opportunity to promote their nations, as it were, and the Balkan Wars (genocides) of the 1980's and 1990's began (Look up Canada's UN Peacekeeping mission in the Medak Pocket). Many Slavic people in the Balkans hated each other and massacred each other under the disingenuous label of ethnic cleansing.  So it is no surprise that a Serbian person living in, for example, Canada, wants to BE Serbian because their ethnic roots are massive and deep! Perhaps Ivan fits into this category - I am not one to say, but it is plausible.

[Kadenge]

1 minute ago, Stoppage Time said:

One more thing to consider is the strong nationalist nature of Serbians. This goes back generations to well before World War I. This is also true of Croatia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, and Montenegro, for example. Serbia was at the heart of the beginning of WW1 due to its occupation by the Austro Hungarian Empire.  The creation of Yugoslavia created a "unified" country under the leadership of strongman Tito (ironically, Yugloslavia reached as high as #3 in the world in the soccer), and that country was progressive and prosperous. When Tito died, the various Slavic nationalist peoples saw opportunity to promote their nations, as it were, and the Balkan Wars (genocides) of the 1980's and 1990's began (Look up Canada's UN Peacekeeping mission in the Medak Pocket). Many Slavic people in the Balkans hated each other and massacred each other under the disingenuous label of ethnic cleansing.  So it is no surprise that a Serbian person living in, for example, Canada, wants to BE Serbian because their ethnic roots are massive and deep! Perhaps Ivan fits into this category - I am not one to say, but it is plausible.

BORJAN

[Stoppage Time]

19 minutes ago, Joe1973 said:

"Dreams come true" according to his dad's tweet...

So why are we pretending that they were open to play for Canada? He was gonna play for Canada if Serbia didn't want him. Pretty transparent if you ask me.

I wonder: Who had the dream first, Stefan or Ivan?

[TOcanadafan]

1 hour ago, Dominic94 said:

I think we’re hyping them too much based on where they play, reality is that if they were good enough for France and Portugal they’d be there.

Even with Stefan it is hype at this point.  I agree he would have provided depth and has potential, but he is far from the finished product.  
It sucks he chose Serbia over Canada, but gotta move on… and good on people to wish him luck, but the CMNT fan in me hopes he doesn’t go on to be a star.

[Bison44]

I'm much more excited to see possible movement with Jebbison, than sad about Mitrovic.  As long as its win some lose some and not back to the lose damn near everyone "bad ole days'.  

[Corazon]

Mitrovic choosing Serbia over Canada is disappointing given he would already be depth piece to our midfield.  Given our lack of depth in the midfield and his upside makes it more disappointing.

I fear Canada and Mitrovic have the most to lose with this decision.  Serbia absolutely has the least to lose.  I worry Mitrovic will be Bunbury’d (Bunburied) with Serbia while we could use him even as depth pieces in our midfield.

Serbia is a football factory.  They churn out players all across Europe’s top 5 leagues and regularly as well.  Their last midfield call ups came from clubs Ajax, Sevilla, Juventus, Getafe, Torino (2), Sampdoria, Lazio, Hellas Verona (2), PAOK, Porto & Braga.  So it’s cool to bet on yourself but if Mitrovic expects to be a regular for Serbia, he better make sure he makes a jump to a top 5 league and features regularly.

[Joe1973]

24 minutes ago, Stoppage Time said:

I wonder: Who had the dream first, Stefan or Ivan?

Thats a good question man...but you know what my honest answer to that is? We shouldn't give a crap. With this new Canadian team culture, the bar has been raised:

Borjan: "this country has given everything to me and my family"

Phonsie: his ambition was to take Canada to World cup. 

So if Marcelo and Stefan can't or won't tell their dads that this is my home and want to be a hero for future young Canadians, then f#!# off and we'll fill your spot eventually with boys that want to. For a Canada that will be consistently qualifying for a World Cup in foreseeable future. 

So good luck and enjoy coming in 80th minute in friendlies or against Estonia.

[The Real Marc]

Or maybe Stefan and Marcelo aren’t under the influence of paternal svengalis and just don’t want to play for us unless that’s the only option they have.

I don’t know the comparisons to Borjan are apt. One guy had to leave Croatia in the midst of a war as a kid and seek refuge here. The other was born in Hamilton 15 years later and didn’t have a Serbian passport until 2020. Very different experiences and relationships to the two countries. 

Plus, what’s to say Borjan wouldn’t have chosen Serbia with different timing or circumstances.

Edited September 10, 2022 by The Real Marc

[sose]

I hope he gets one cap and then is never called to Serbia again... meanwhile Nelson, Kone etc develop to be solid pros in top 5 leagues. By 2026 this tread will be a distant memory and Ivan will use the internet way back machine to read through the pages and dream what could have been while a single tear runs down his cheek.

joking. I wish him all the best but at the same time glad we don't have to deal with the Ivan drama anymore.

 

 

[CanadaFan123]

I feel for this kid, honestly. I can’t imagine the Serbian FA putting up with such a douchebag unless Stefan is immaculate. Funny though, I’m sure he doesn’t have the same strong words for Serbia. 

[Bertuzzi44]

I might be alone here but I think this is a big loss and a real shame for our program.

Not saying anything could have been done about it, but when promising, young, born-and-raised in Canada footballers play for other nations, it just really sucks...

[Bertuzzi44]

^... and just goes to show our situation has improved A LOT, but we still have a ways to go with regards to dual nationals.

I think we've passed Lensky-like situations, but losing Flores, Mitrovic, Sali, Jebbision playing for England Youth, etc, ain't great.

Yes, even Brazil doesn't win them all, but we can still do better. A good showing at the World Cup would be huge imo

[johnyb]

3 hours ago, narduch said:

Probably Jamie Peters by Yallop

Peters deserved it though. He was young, but we sucked at the time and I truly believed he was in our best 11.

Edited September 10, 2022 by johnyb

[InglewoodJack]

Rat behaviour by the Mitrovic clan. Dead to me. Enjoy playing for like the 13th best team in Europe instead of the kings of concacaf.

 

we move along.