Ranko Veselinovic Possible Future Eligibility?

[Stoppage Time]

His level of skill is up for debate, but would it be a good idea to target this VWFC CB as a future addition to the CMNT? He arrived in Vancouver in 2020 and will be with the Whitecaps this coming season. He was born in Serbia but has been in Canada since February, 2020. I do not know if he has ever played for Serbia. Thoughts?

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

This shouldn't be it's own thread, especially given that he is so far away from citizenship.

I would have bumped this one:

 

 

[youllneverwalkalone]

He's played in u21 qualifying for Serbia, so likely not eligible regardless of what happens from here on in. 

[Xavier.]

1 hour ago, youllneverwalkalone said:

He's played in u21 qualifying for Serbia, so likely not eligible regardless of what happens from here on in. 

That youth rule does not exist anymore. If he lives here long enough he is eligible.

[youllneverwalkalone]

[Obinna]

4 hours ago, Stoppage Time said:

His level of skill is up for debate, but would it be a good idea to target this VWFC CB as a future addition to the CMNT? He arrived in Vancouver in 2020 and will be with the Whitecaps this coming season. He was born in Serbia but has been in Canada since February, 2020. I do not know if he has ever played for Serbia. Thoughts?

He has a Serbian NT cap at the senior level. Not sure whether that affects his eligibility or not. FIFA loves to change the rules every few years, it seems. 

[TGAA_Star]

But I think he has to have at least 4 caps with Serbia to be cap tied to them

[Norrin Radd]

5 hours ago, TGAA_Star said:

But I think he has to have at least 4 caps with Serbia to be cap tied to them

That's only for U21 players. One cap after his 21st birthday would be enough to prevent him from filing a switch and I believe he was already 21 when he made his senior appearance.

Edited December 9, 2022 by Norrin Radd

[InglewoodJack]

We could captie Camacho before him if we wanted to go this route which I do not believe we will do

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

1 hour ago, Norrin Radd said:

That's only for U21 players. One cap after his 21st birthday would be enough to prevent him from filing a switch and I believe he was already 21 when he made his senior appearance.

His game for Serbia was a friendly and that u21 restriction is in regards to a player who "was fielded in official competition at “A” international level".

So one non-friendly cap. 

[rydermike]

Eligibility summary:

 

[GasPed]

So, if he stays in Canada and doesn't play for Serbia, Feb 2025 is when he's eligible to switch to Canada?  Seems like a longshot, but given our dearth of CB's, even longshots are worth something...

 

 

[canadianbacons]

Signed a contract extension with Whitecaps through 2026 season:

https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/vancouver-whitecaps-defender-ranko-veselinovic-signs-contract-extension

Is Canada eligibility a possibility down the road? 

[Shway]

He's not better than what we already have in MLS is he? 

"Hey Alexa, play despacito" 

[Soro17]

13 minutes ago, Shway said:

He's not better than what we already have in MLS is he? 

"Hey Alexa, play despacito" 

He'd be an upgrade on Miller, in my opinion. So, yes. 

[InglewoodJack]

If we go this way, why not just cap Camacho? He played for Montreal for almost exactly 5 years, I believe he qualifies. 

[HochelagaFC]

6 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

If we go this way, why not just cap Camacho? He played for Montreal for almost exactly 5 years, I believe he qualifies. 

Because he has no upside whatsoever at his age and if Doneil Henry is making nervous people with the treat of red card and penalty, Camacho is even worst. 
 

I can’t judge Veselinovic, didn’t see him play enough. 

[InglewoodJack]

30 minutes ago, HochelagaFC said:

Because he has no upside whatsoever at his age and if Doneil Henry is making nervous people with the treat of red card and penalty, Camacho is even worst. 
 

I can’t judge Veselinovic, didn’t see him play enough. 

What kind of upside does Veselinovic have though? Both would be Zac McGraw type players- depth guys that can fill a gap when we’re missing players, so I wouldn’t really be concerned about future potential. 

[GasPed]

Ranko is a poor man's Vitoria.  That is, he's slow, reasonably good with his feet, generally smart with his positioning and pretty good in the air.  I would rank him right there with Zach McGraw actually - in fact, I think he's better on the ball.  Which I guess makes him an instant starter on our national team?  (Ed: Because he's right-footed)

Edited August 2, 2023 by GasPed

[HochelagaFC]

12 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

15 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

What kind of upside does Veselinovic have though? Both would be Zac McGraw type players- depth guys that can fill a gap when we’re missing players, so I wouldn’t really be concerned about future potential. 

I’m not arguing for Veselinovic or even McGraw, I’m arguing against Camacho. 

[rydermike]

He got his second cap January 2023. Both caps were friendly, so he'd still be eligible

[Obinna]

I like Ranko. I don't know how old he would be once he's eligible, but right now he is 23/24, that's pretty young still for a CB. As mentioned, he's got good feet and is good in the air. He's amassed close to 100 MLS appearances and he stuck when the Caps shipped out the likes of Cornelius. Would be a good pickup for Canada.

[BearcatSA]

2 hours ago, Obinna said:

I like Ranko. I don't know how old he would be once he's eligible, but right now he is 23/24, that's pretty young still for a CB. As mentioned, he's got good feet and is good in the air. He's amassed close to 100 MLS appearances and he stuck when the Caps shipped out the likes of Cornelius. Would be a good pickup for Canada.

Considering his height, I don't find him as good defending aerial challenges as he should be.  He is surprsingly nifty shutting guys down on the deck, however.  Sometimes his defensive positioning lets him down, but that's par for many regularly starting CBs in this league, even the ones on the better defensive sides.. For me, he does enough to do a job out there and is at his ceiling in MLS.

[Obinna]

42 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

Considering his height, I don't find him as good defending aerial challenges as he should be.  He is surprsingly nifty shutting guys down on the deck, however.  Sometimes his defensive positioning lets him down, but that's par for many regularly starting CBs in this league, even the ones on the better defensive sides.. For me, he does enough to do a job out there and is at his ceiling in MLS.

To be honest I hesitated before praising his arieal ability. He's no McGraw, though he could be. For a big body average is fair suppose, but that's probably better than Miller, who really isn't great in the air.

Agree his ceiling is MLS.