On dual citizenship, and how the U.S. nats might benefit

I would sure hate to see a day when a United States national team’s starting 11 is dominated by dual citizenship types.

I don’t mind the occasional Fabian Johnson, Terrence Boyd, etc., players with dual papers who can augment a roster of home grown talent.

But I would hate to see this ability to incorporate passport players devolve into a crutch; I’d much prefer maintaining a pressure point on the need to constantly improve and enhance the country’s developmental mechanisms.

Besides, I think that retaining a certain team identity means retention of a core of players with shared backgrounds, young men (and women, for that matter) who were born and raised in the United States.

All that said, I love this list from Brian Sciaretta at Yanks Abroad.

It’s a really well-researched Top 10 of foreign-based talent with dual citizenship. It includes guys like Miguel Ponce, a promising young left back who plays regularly for Mexico’s Chivas.

Like Ponce, a lot of these guys have only a sliver of a chance that fates of mutual interests will collide. Still, I bet one or two of them will wear the full U.S. national team shirt one day. So, may as well get to know ‘em now – then you can brag to your friends about being first to the party on these guys.

You’re welcome.