Mo Farsi

[Obinna]

35 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Farsi has never lived in Algeria, probably may have visited some holiday, and has never had a call or a whiff from their national program. So it is different.

Are you saying he didn't live in Algeria while playing for Algerian club AS Aïn M'lila?

[Obinna]

10 minutes ago, archer21 said:

Without any real professional reason, or close connection to the other country (such as being born and/or raised there), it seems like a slap in the face to Canada to choose not to represent us. The whole idea that Algeria speaking to him directly while we talk to the agent seems like a silly excuse too, considering we’re actively trying to call him into camps, while Algeria is not. 

Okay hold on. How can you say there is no real professional reason or close connection to the other country? The matter of choosing your national team is a decision that impacts your career, so there is your professional reason.

And as for not having a close connection to Algeria, keep in mind that distance often makes the heart grow fond. Those who don't appear to have a strong connection to xyz country may be the ones who jump on these opportunities to fill a void in their identity, if that makes sense.

I don't know him personally, so cannot say that's the case here, but as someone with an immigrant parent who grew up in a time and place with very little immigrants, I can understand what it's like to go out of your way to discover or re-discover your roots. And for a professional soccer player, part of that journey may be choosing the national team of your parents. Is that a slap in the face of Canada? I don't feel like it is, but I get the sentiment. 

[shermanator]

Just remember that there is a player in the current Canada squad who is doing the exact same thing as Farsi.

But I guess everyone is okay with Luc du Fougerolles committing to Canada given the desperate need for quality CBs while Farsi can go fuck himself amirite?

[sebdeserio]

It hurts more since he's one of the first and maybe biggest CPL success story and the CPL is meant to develop Canadians. LDF and Santiago Lopez would be a blip in PL and Liga MX in terms of players developed for their respective national team, as well as still being youth players so any flip-flopping is almost expected.

[Unnamed Trialist]

49 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Are you saying he didn't live in Algeria while playing for Algerian club AS Aïn M'lila?

Then I'm wrong, I forgot about that stint. 

So as I say, I'm mistaken about his ties to Algerian football. For me that changes things slightly.

[MtlMario]

In a article I read he says his first choice is Algeria and a top official of their federation is in touch with him to join their national team ( and no I do not remember where I read it). Forget about him , he does not want to play for us, even though he said it was a difficult decision(B/S).

Edited March 20 by MtlMario

[Bison44]

If he has decided for Algeria its kind of a sad one for me.  Like his style of play and it would be a homerun for CPL.  Without knowing anything about his personal life or preferences he seemed like he was in that sweet spot to pick us.   Developed here, spent most of his life here, repped canada in futsal/u-23, we've been calling him ie good enough to get a look for us, but probably not good enough to get called for Algeria.  I guess thats the way it goes, win some lose some.  

[Kadenge]

27 minutes ago, shermanator said:

Just remember that there is a player in the current Canada squad who is doing the exact same thing as Farsi.

But I guess everyone is okay with Luc du Fougerolles committing to Canada given the desperate need for quality CBs while Farsi can go fuck himself amirite?

Has LDF been called up by England youth teams and if so, did he turn them down? It's obviously too early for the senior team. I know his dad stated that he is committed to Canada. I think that would be the diff btw him & Farsi in that yes Farsi played for our U23s but has rejected at least 1 call up to the senior team.

[Ivan]

41 minutes ago, shermanator said:

Just remember that there is a player in the current Canada squad who is doing the exact same thing as Farsi.

But I guess everyone is okay with Luc du Fougerolles committing to Canada given the desperate need for quality CBs while Farsi can go fuck himself amirite?

Yes.  😄

[archer21]

54 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Okay hold on. How can you say there is no real professional reason or close connection to the other country? The matter of choosing your national team is a decision that impacts your career, so there is your professional reason.

And as for not having a close connection to Algeria, keep in mind that distance often makes the heart grow fond. Those who don't appear to have a strong connection to xyz country may be the ones who jump on these opportunities to fill a void in their identity, if that makes sense.

I don't know him personally, so cannot say that's the case here, but as someone with an immigrant parent who grew up in a time and place with very little immigrants, I can understand what it's like to go out of your way to discover or re-discover your roots. And for a professional soccer player, part of that journey may be choosing the national team of your parents. Is that a slap in the face of Canada? I don't feel like it is, but I get the sentiment. 

By no real professional reason, I mean that it won’t significantly improve his club options compared to if he chose us. I’m thinking when compared to like England, Spain, Germany, etc where playing for those national teams clearly will have a huge boost in their marketability to club teams and sponsors. If a player chooses a top 5 or 10 national team over us, even if they weren’t born there or grew up there, it makes more sense to me because that’s a tough proposition to turn down. It’s why I give guys like Hoilett, Vitoria a pass a bit more because playing for England or Portugal at that time and playing for Canada are entirely different things

What I meant with no close connection (and why I included what I put in brackets about growing up there), was it’s not like he has all these fond memories of growing up there. Of course he’ll feel connection to Algeria because of his parents, but that’s not the same as being born and/or raised there in my opinion. He can feel however he wants to feel about Canada and Algeria. That doesn’t mean that Canadians and Canadian fans can’t be upset about it. 

[InglewoodJack]

44 minutes ago, shermanator said:

Just remember that there is a player in the current Canada squad who is doing the exact same thing as Farsi.

But I guess everyone is okay with Luc du Fougerolles committing to Canada given the desperate need for quality CBs while Farsi can go fuck himself amirite?

Well yeah, we’re fine with it because he’s playing for us. I would hope England fans grow sour on him if he becomes a world class CB, but the gap between Canada and England is so wide that I don’t know if their fans care much more than we do whenever we lose a CPL player to a Caribbean nation. 

Edited March 20 by InglewoodJack

[Obinna]

8 minutes ago, archer21 said:

By no real professional reason, I mean that it won’t significantly improve his club options compared to if he chose us. I’m thinking when compared to like England, Spain, Germany, etc where playing for those national teams clearly will have a huge boost in their marketability to club teams and sponsors. If a player chooses a top 5 or 10 national team over us, even if they weren’t born there or grew up there, it makes more sense to me because that’s a tough proposition to turn down. It’s why I give guys like Hoilett, Vitoria a pass a bit more because playing for England or Portugal at that time and playing for Canada are entirely different things

Gotcha. Naturally I agree with you as a fellow Canadian fan. I'd like to think Canada and Algeria are roughly in the same class now a days, but I am also biased toward Canada. Algeria are historically stronger and have a much closer proximity to Europe, though. Perhaps he thinks being an Algerian international would make him more attractive to European clubs, at least compared to being a Canadian international. 

15 minutes ago, archer21 said:

What I meant with no close connection (and why I included what I put in brackets about growing up there), was it’s not like he has all these fond memories of growing up there. Of course he’ll feel connection to Algeria because of his parents, but that’s not the same as being born and/or raised there in my opinion. He can feel however he wants to feel about Canada and Algeria. That doesn’t mean that Canadians and Canadian fans can’t be upset about it. 

Most definitely. I get the upset that we are losing a solid depth option, and people are free to say he can go F-himself because he wants to play for another country. I don't feel like this guy is worth my F-you, personally. It's been clear for a while he wants to play for Algeria. It is what it is. Not a shocker.

[shermanator]

I get the visceral reaction especially amongst the old heads who dealt with this scenario time and time again a decade ago. It's instinctive to throw your hands up and say "fuck that guy" because for years we lost seemingly every dual national.

But at some point we need to grow up as a nation and come to grips with the fact that situations like this will continue to happen, both in favour of and to the detriment of the national teams. Maybe Farsi is a stud and plays in multiple World Cups for Algeria. Maybe he gets a few caps ala Teal Bunbury. I don't really care.

[MtlMario]

....or maybe he makes the team and they do not qualify for the W/C. That would be a good option too. I don't really care one way or another with this guy.

[Ivan]

7 minutes ago, shermanator said:

I get the visceral reaction especially amongst the old heads who dealt with this scenario time and time again a decade ago. It's instinctive to throw your hands up and say "fuck that guy" because for years we lost seemingly every dual national.

But at some point we need to grow up as a nation and come to grips with the fact that situations like this will continue to happen, both in favour of and to the detriment of the national teams. Maybe Farsi is a stud and plays in multiple World Cups for Algeria. Maybe he gets a few caps ala Teal Bunbury. I don't really care.

As an "old head" the truth is I am pretty much immune to it these days, although I am still somewhat bothered by the born and raised here defections (Mitrovic, Yankov, Flores, and yes, Farsi - even though I don't put Farsi into the others quality class).  Probably because we have much more talent now, and realistically, these guys make very little difference to the overall quality of our squad.

Losing dual nats with little connection to Canada (Koleosho, Aidan Morris, even LDF if he changes his mind) doesn't bother me in the least. 

[Aird25]

Nice to have the luxury of not being desperate for a player of this quality 

Edited March 20 by Aird25

[dyslexic nam]

4 hours ago, shermanator said:

Just remember that there is a player in the current Canada squad who is doing the exact same thing as Farsi.

But I guess everyone is okay with Luc du Fougerolles committing to Canada given the desperate need for quality CBs while Farsi can go fuck himself amirite?

That's the beauty of my rationale.  It requires neither consistent application nor common sense.  

[The Real Marc]

1 minute ago, dyslexic nam said:

That's the beauty of my rationale.  It requires neither consistent application nor common sense.  

Why aren't you being completely rational about a pursuit that is completely irrational!

[Footyeh]

9 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Farsi has never lived in Algeria, probably may have visited some holiday, and has never had a call or a whiff from their national program. So it is different.

This isn't true.  I mean the interview he literally just did he said they called him and according to people close to him, a call-up is very possible.  To a 1st choice camp?  I doubt it, but let's not say they aren't following him or communicating with him.  

[Footyeh]

8 hours ago, shermanator said:

Just remember that there is a player in the current Canada squad who is doing the exact same thing as Farsi.

But I guess everyone is okay with Luc du Fougerolles committing to Canada given the desperate need for quality CBs while Farsi can go fuck himself amirite?

THIS X1000.

I absolutely think Farsi is making a mistake, but you hit the nail on the head.

Weren't we all hoping Enes Sali files a switch to play for Canada lol?  He was developed abroad, not in Canada.  He has Romania who has been calling him in at every level, including senior team, and he'll likely end up with Canada.  We'll get some, we'll lose some.  None of us are the players, it's easy to cast judgement but none of us have any clue how they feel or what drives their decisions, we're just fans.  There's so many personal and professional elements that factor in.

 

Edited March 21 by Footyeh

[archer21]

40 minutes ago, Footyeh said:

THIS X1000.

I absolutely think Farsi is making a mistake, but you hit the nail on the head.

Weren't we all hoping Enes Sali files a switch to play for Canada lol?  He was developed abroad, not in Canada.  He has Romania who has been calling him in at every level, including senior team, and he'll likely end up with Canada.  We'll get some, we'll lose some.  None of us are the players, it's easy to cast judgement but none of us have any clue how they feel or what drives their decisions, we're just fans.  There's so many personal and professional elements that factor in.

 

Sali is a different case. Born in Canada and lived here until 11. De Fougerolles should by all means play for England instead of us, and I’m sure if they wanted him, he would. I get your point, but those are both bad examples IMO. 

[costarg]

Many different points of view here.  Many excellent points.  Hoilett, Vitoria, FigRolls, Koleosho.... lots of different situations, born here, raised there, vice versa, etc....

My issue with Farsi is - I don't know Farsi's family situation, but my Algerian friends left for a very specific reason.  Algeria had very little opportunity to offer them.  People come to Canada from all over the place, some needed to, some just looking for a change or adventure or whatever.  Some people have a similar quality of life here, some peoples lives change dramatically due to limitations where they came from.  Farsi maybe/probably falls in the second category, so that's why it kinda stings for me.  Davies, Borjan among others, give and gave everything for the shirt and flag, then there is Farsi.  It just feels like there is no honor or pride or maybe even respect for the opportunity his family got.  

[Unnamed Trialist]

11 hours ago, Footyeh said:

This isn't true.  I mean the interview he literally just did he said they called him and according to people close to him, a call-up is very possible.  To a 1st choice camp?  I doubt it, but let's not say they aren't following him or communicating with him.  

Why don't you just ask him personally, being an insider, instead of making up lame excuses for him, justifying his immaturity, about how someone hurt his feelings when he was teen in a Canada camp?

[Obinna]

11 hours ago, Footyeh said:

THIS X1000.

I absolutely think Farsi is making a mistake, but you hit the nail on the head.

Weren't we all hoping Enes Sali files a switch to play for Canada lol?  He was developed abroad, not in Canada.  He has Romania who has been calling him in at every level, including senior team, and he'll likely end up with Canada.  We'll get some, we'll lose some.  None of us are the players, it's easy to cast judgement but none of us have any clue how they feel or what drives their decisions, we're just fans.  There's so many personal and professional elements that factor in.

 

But fandom is a pursuit in the irrational, so no need to view these players as human beings!

[Unnamed Trialist]

9 hours ago, costarg said:

Many different points of view here.  Many excellent points.  Hoilett, Vitoria, FigRolls, Koleosho.... lots of different situations, born here, raised there, vice versa, etc....

My issue with Farsi is - I don't know Farsi's family situation, but my Algerian friends left for a very specific reason.  Algeria had very little opportunity to offer them.  People come to Canada from all over the place, some needed to, some just looking for a change or adventure or whatever.  Some people have a similar quality of life here, some peoples lives change dramatically due to limitations where they came from.  Farsi maybe/probably falls in the second category, so that's why it kinda stings for me.  Davies, Borjan among others, give and gave everything for the shirt and flag, then there is Farsi.  It just feels like there is no honor or pride or maybe even respect for the opportunity his family got.  

I know a guy in my neighbourhood who I used to watch football with in a bar (over a decade ago now), he's a scrap metal dealer from Morocco, works his ass off, is religious and has 5-6 kids in their teens, from a very poor part of the country. They came out of illiteracy and he immigrated, with cousins and in-laws he's in business with. After the earthquake he took in people affected in his already crowded home.

When Morocco was going through our group and the knock-out rounds at the World Cup the kids from Moroccan immigrant families were going nuts, celebrating on the street (I have Pakistanis, Domincans, Moroccans, Filipinos, in my area). And I asked him about it, Morocco took out Spain in penalties, and he put a sour look on his face, standing their with these older guys from Morocco. They just all smiled ironically. And he said "Si, Marruecos", yeah, that country. 

I know from something that came up once with him that they (meaning rural poor) were harassed and discriminated by police and authorities, they really had no recourse to justice or even social fairness.

People are free to have the sentiments they want. But from the perspective of someone who went through the experience of immigrating for necessity (my case is entirely different), sometimes these reversals are a slap in the face. 

Edited March 21 by Unnamed Trialist