Sunday was a bit of a madhouse down in the mixed zone. There is no locker room access but rather players walk past you and you ask them to stop. Most do, some don't. In the midst of talking to Chivas USA players, I got the chance to talk to Jose Francisco Torres, the Texas native who plays for Pachuca.
I didn't think I'd get the chance to talk to him very much because there were other players to talk to as well but it worked out well in the end.
You can listen to the entire audio of the interview right here. It's not exactly an exclusive as about five other reporters jumped in on the interview so you may see these quotes elsewhere. It'll probably happen as we typically get pilfered for our content. So I figured I'd put the audio up for our trusty and loyal readers before the leeches outside of this market freely grab our stuff and pass it off as their own.
But, I digress.
The skinny on Torres: he said he turned down the Olympics because he and his coaches at Pachuca felt it was best for him to focus on his club team at the present time. He did not shut the door on the US entirely though but also said he felt he owed Mexico a favor because he developed down there.
There is more, quite a bit more, in the interview.
ADD: And with regards to the pilfering, I don't mean the guys who were right around me. They were well within their rights to jump in on the interview and then use the stuff as their own. I don't have any issues with that. It's the people who weren't anywhere near HDC who use the stuff that is bothersome. But whatever. We provide it to you, trusty reader, and getting things to you is what matters most.
9 comments:
Great work, Luis.
Sounds like it was less a matter of choosing Mexico over the US and more a matter of not wanting to leave Pachuca - or more to the point, not pissing off the folks at Pachuca - to go play in the Olympics.
Certainly sounded like he would be open to playing for the US senior team if he got a call when it was FIFA date or during Pachuca's offseason and there were no club conflicts.
Also got the feeling that if Mexico calls him up first, he would play for them, too.
Perhaps Bradley should call him up for the Guatemala game, which is on a FIFA-match day, and get him into the US system that way.
He's certainly not the first player to feel conflicted between the Olympic schedule and his club's.
well bradley would be a fool big fool if he doesn't call him soon. because we all know mexico will just like they called up castillo. depth is what you want so they should call them up before they are snatched away.
by the way after watching new england the last couple of weeks does anyone else think nicol would of been better for as the us coach?
Great work Luis.
I think it's bush league lazy reporters pilfer your work, they should put in the time and effort themselves.
As for Torres. It would be an absolute disaster if Bradley didn't call him up ASAP. Lock him down while Sven still has the training wheels on.
BBSC
I think Torres has a better chance of playing for Mexico than the US to be honest. The US midfield is much younger than Mexico's right now, he would have to fight for playing time against Bradley, Edu, Clark, Feilhaber, Donovan, Adu, Beasley.
Meanwhile Mexico's midfield is much older and guys like Pardo and Torrado probably won't be around or will most likely play a lesser role by the time the World Cup comes around. I mean there's even talk of bring Blanco back into the fold, so it shows the lack of young players that Mexico currently has in the middle.
I don't believe in capping players just for the sake of capping them. At this point I don't see the point of having Torres on the team just so Mexico doesn't snatch him up.
I totally agree with poster above. However, I wonder how can a player who gets regular time with one of the top clubs in the Americas NOT serious contend for meaningful minutes with the USA. The way I see it, if you are good enough to start for Pachuca, you're probably good enough for the U.S. It's not like any of the players you mentioned are automatic starters anyway, besides Mike Bradley, and I'm not sure he should be. Adu, Benny, Clark and Mo Edu certainly still have lots to prove. If Torres will accept the invite, I say give him a look ASAP.
Adam takes the Torres situation as a starting point and adds more info here
After listening to the interview, it seems to me that he's definitely open to playing for whomever calls him up first. He's careful not to lean too much one way or the other.
Vanessa, I understand what you're saying if he's playing regularly with Pachuca then he should be able to play for the US. But is he playing regularly? It sounds to me like he's still fighting for a starting role on the team and is being used as a sub for the most part. Also I don't think this kid is getting playing time over Adu and Co. If he was that good, he'd either be in Europe by now or getting first team minutes in Mexico.
Don't get me wrong, I think this kid is a solid prospect, but I just don't see how he would fit into a national team that's already loaded with young midfielders. And let's not forget about players like Szetela and Zizzo in that group as well.
If you look at Michael Orozco, sure he's going to the Olympics, but Bradley didn't use him at all during the three friendlies for the senior team when he had the chance. And I don't know if he'll be a mainstay on the team for years to come. I just think it would be unfair to the player to cap him just so Mexico doesn't get him, and then never plays for us again.
trust me he's good and he plays in the left side so why would he be fighting for time with Edu, Adu,Szetela, Feilhaber and Bradley they play a different position. He just has Beasley in front of him and he gets injured all the time. Do you prefer to have an aging Eddie Lewis as your second left sided midfielder. Yes i am not counting on Convey he's becoming the next O'Brien.
Lewis hasn't been too shabby on the left side, but he is old. Brandon Manzonelli is also a left-sided mid, and he's one to look out for as well. I don't think Torres would be up against just have Beasley or Lewis.
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