Stefan Mitrovic

[Shway]

Do we know if he was called up and turn down the call? or was he not called up at all?
If it's the former...like Flores he can fuck right off.
If its the latter.....this is horrible on Canada soccer for not integrating him as quick as possible to avoid another Yankov situation. He plays a position where we don't have much in the pipeline right now, so overall the situation is concerning.
 

[Corazon]

23 minutes ago, Shway said:

Do we know if he was called up and turn down the call? or was he not called up at all?
If it's the former...like Flores he can fuck right off.
If its the latter.....this is horrible on Canada soccer for not integrating him as quick as possible to avoid another Yankov situation. He plays a position where we don't have much in the pipeline right now, so overall the situation is concerning.
 

Again, going just on tweets from Ivan (take it with a grain of salt).  He was contacted as a preliminary player for this upcoming camp and it sounds like there was no further follow up by the CSA in regards to making the final squad this camp.  If true (twitter circus aside) this is a big miss on Canada soccer in my opinion.  This is entirely MY opinion based on what "I'm aware of".  Others might be turned off from the whole circus and that's a reasonable stance as well. 

Unlike Flores, he's deserving of a call up right now in a position we are in need of.  I would have sacrificed calling a player such as Brym (where we have a lot more depth) than a player such as Mitrovic to get him into the program.

Again, if the rumours are actually true that there is interest from the "Big 5" leagues then we may regret not calling him to the squad.  Again, assuming what Ivan said was true that he was never called beyond an initial extended squad.  Just imagine he ends up at a mid level team in Serie A or at Brugge with Tajon?  I'm not saying Serbia will call him based on that alone but he would be that much closer to the Serbian senior squad.  Especially if he's already with the U21 program. 

Again, unlike Flores, his numbers warrant a call up.  He was tied for 13th in scoring this season as a 19 year old midfielder.  Just my opinion and I can fully accept people wanting to keep the drama outside the program.  I just think he poised to bigger things.  Aside from what Ivan says, I would think that a teenager scoring 10 goals as a midfielder is going to generate interest abroad.

Edited May 25, 2022 by Corazon

[Mitchryan11]

Big miss by soccer canada

[Obinna]

9 minutes ago, Corazon said:

Again, going just on tweets from Ivan (take it with a grain of salt).  He was contacted as a preliminary player for this upcoming camp and it sounds like there was no further follow up by the CSA in regards to making the final squad this camp.  If true (twitter circus aside) this is a big miss on Canada soccer in my opinion.  This is entirely MY opinion based on what "I'm aware of".  Others might be turned off from the whole circus and that's a reasonable stance as well. 

I can't help but think he was contacted as a preliminary player because he's eligible, but omitted from the roster because he hasn't filed a switch. Then, of course Ivan is not going to be forthright and confirm that for us. 

Chicken and egg. He needs the paperwork to play, but the paperwork binds him.

Coming in to train with Canada just adds more urgency for Serbia to cap tie. Leaving him out means Serbia can bide their time and bring him through the youths more naturally.

Perhaps that sums up the strategy from Herdman right now? 

To add, bringing in a highly player to train who cannot play may just add unwanted and unnecessary distraction for a group prepping for Qatar. 

[narduch]

3 hours ago, InglewoodJack said:

Man chose violence today

 

I don't think this is how it works.

Even if a player has a minimum fee release clause you still aren't allowed to talk contract with the player without letting his actual club know.

Sounds kinda shady

Edited May 25, 2022 by narduch

[blueseeka]

Honestly wanted Mitrovic on the squad. Originally, i enjoyed the updates from Ivan but he just needs to stop tweeting. He just comes off angry and clueless at how bad it looks on Stefan.

[Ally McCoist]

Here's the Ivan tweet (that is now deleted) that started it all.  

This guy is a liability.

Edited May 25, 2022 by Ally McCoist

[Kadenge]

Just to be clear TFC have cut other young players in addition to Mitrovic such as Liam Millar & MAK who went on to be solid pros. Happens to  every club and National team, so let's not speculate it was because of Ivan. Re Stef not being included because he may have been a distraction - we were prepared to invite Flores during WCQ?  All of this can be resolved with a  simple question to JH. Did you select Mitrovic and if not why not?  Herdman is not shy when it comes to these situations. He did state for example that Ferdi rejected several Canada call ups and that he was not looking at Canada as an option at the time.

Edited May 25, 2022 by Kadenge

[The Real Marc]

Imagine if Richie Ennin had a loose cannon Twitter parent. We would be losing our minds!

Edited May 25, 2022 by The Real Marc

[Unnamed Trialist]

1 hour ago, narduch said:

I don't think this is how it works.

Even if a player has a minimum fee release clause you still aren't allowed to talk contract with the player without letting his actual club know.

Sounds kinda shady

It is not just shady. His agent is not a FIFA agent, he's just a Serbian guy who has coached in Canada. And Ivan has no powers either. Yes, you can hire a FIFA agent the way you can hire an engineer, but that is not the point. 

Mitrovic does not have proper representation, and there is a reason it has worked so far: he's in Serbia. Where things are massively done under the table, there are commissions flying around in all directions, parts of contracts are supplemented by stuff in verbal agreements, and untaxable.

This is the case in dozens of nations in the world, no question, Serbia is similar to many other place. It was the case almost everywhere even up to a couple decades ago. 

If you could extricate Stefan from Serbia things would go a lot better because they would not be living inside a 24-hour bullshit machine. And his transfer would oblige the presence of a Fifa agent who would clean up the Ivan show.

BTW, Nef has been aiding and abetting daddy Mitrovic for months, his credibility is not that great. Apart from the trash he was tweeting about Hutchinson before our last window which was directly called out by people close to Hutch (Hume). So the self-aggrandizing posturing here is moving in multiple directions. 

Edited May 25, 2022 by Unnamed Trialist

[rydermike]

Honestly the situation probably went like this. 

Herdman calls Stefan a month ago. "We're interested in you for Nations League. I know UEFA U21 is a huge tournament. Do you want to finish that first before joining Canada? 

Stefan: Yeah, kinda. They said they're going to call me for U21s. 

Herdman: OK, no rush. Keep up the great work. I'm following your progress. We'll talk more later and call you up another time. 

 

 

Edited May 25, 2022 by rydermike

[dpetzz]

12 minutes ago, rydermike said:

Honestly the situation probably went like this. 

Herdman calls Stefan a month ago. "We're interested in you for Nations League. I know UEFA U21 is a huge tournament. Do you want to finish that first before joining Canada? 

Stefan: Yeah, kinda. They said they're going to call me for U21s. 

Herdman: OK, no rush. Keep up the great work. I'm following your progress. We'll talk more later and call you up another time. 

 

 

You forgot the part where Ivan is listening on the other phone and then Interupts the call to tell Herdman that unless he takes him to the WC, Serbia U21 is the best for his kid

[RS]

1 minute ago, dpetzz said:

You forgot the part where Ivan is listening on the other phone and then Interupts the call to tell Herdman that unless he takes him to the WC, Serbia U21 is the best for his kid

Then tweets about it.

[Obinna]

4 hours ago, InglewoodJack said:

Is this really that big of a sideshow though? I mean, his dad has like 500 followers and his spiciest tweets get like 30 likes. Maybe I’m just used to other sports, but you have fathers in other leagues basically calling their son’s coach to get fired, demanding special privileges, etc. Once Mitrovic is captied to Canada, he’s ours forever and nothing his dad will tweet will ever go viral unless Mitro becomes the next Johnathan David or something. To me he seems like a passionate dad who may be living vicariously through his kid a bit, but I’ve seen worse dads when I was playing U10 soccer. 

500 followers is a small account in the grand scheme of things, so I agree with you somewhat. However, this thread is evidence the reach goes beyond that small amount of followers, isn't it? 

But when I said sideshow, I mean less in the sense of the internet talk disrupting the team and more about the player being disruptive within the team. What happens when Herdman tries to integrate a player that possibly feels jaded or slighted due to negative past experiences? How is he going to take being dropped to the bench, for example? Is he going to whine in the same way his father does that Canada soccer has a personal vendetta against him?

It may not be fair to assume Stef has the same temperament exhibited by his father online, but at the same time it's hard to imagine he doesn't feel slighted on some level.

And I wouldn't have to speculate about Stef in that way if not for his father, regardless of whether his grievances are justified, genuine, etc. 

On a pure football level the guy should be there, but he's not, so why?

 

Edited May 25, 2022 by Obinna

[Colliedor]

"Also if you get cut by Tfc U19 and Forge because of ill politics"

Is another way of saying an over involved parent became a headache to the clubs.

[Colliedor]

2 hours ago, narduch said:

I don't think this is how it works.

Even if a player has a minimum fee release clause you still aren't allowed to talk contract with the player without letting his actual club know.

Sounds kinda shady

The same guy that said he was FOR SURE MOVING in January spilling misinformation? No.. no I don't believe it.

[narduch]

Wheeler on One Soccer saying Stefan refused to do the one time switch.

I sort of speculated this previously.

[Obinna]

1 minute ago, narduch said:

Wheeler on One Soccer saying Stefan refused to do the one time switch.

I sort of speculated this previously.

Yeah, that's what I expected to come from this. Always two sides to a story and I suspected Ivan would lie by omission.

And really, if you can't expect Ivan to be totally forthcoming on that detail, who's to say how badly Stef even wants to play for Canada? I am pretty sure his talent is such that if he wants to compete for a spot on the team, the chance is there. 

But if you're Herdman why call a player not willing to file a switch? Especially this close to the WC?

Good on Herdman and the CSA if that's indeed what's happening.

[Obinna]

Another thing. Stef can always file a switch when he's ready. And if he's never ready and wants to stick to Serbia, totally his prerogative, but that's the last time I am going to entertain the Mitrovic sob story about getting burned. 

[SoCalTransport]

8 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Yeah, that's what I expected to come from this. Always two sides to a story and I suspected Ivan would lie by omission.

And really, if you can't expect Ivan to be totally forthcoming on that detail, who's to say how badly Stef even wants to play for Canada? I am pretty sure his talent is such that if he wants to compete for a spot on the team, the chance is there. 

But if you're Herdman why call a player not willing to file a switch? Especially this close to the WC?

Good on Herdman and the CSA if that's indeed what's happening.

The interesting thing I’m finding with this and the Flores situation. 

Even with Canada’s recent success. The story is still the same, born and bred Canadian players are still hesitant to commit.

[rydermike]

[Obinna]

Wheeler also says Mitrovic is supposedly below Edwards, Corbenau, Brym and Nelson. 

The first 3 I can live with, but being below Nelson really caught my attention. 

Don't get me wrong, love what that kid is doing at TFC right now, but 10 goals in Serbia with a team that just qualified for Europa league conference qualifiers is a big accomplishment. Nelson is pretty highly rated though, and for good reason, plus MLS is a better and deeper league than Serbia, but the difference in production is night and day. The Serbian league is not the CPL.

I suppose Herdman and his staff have watched enough film to make that assessment. 

[rydermike]

I think the moral of the story is one of these two:

1) Ivan has no understanding of FIFA eligibility rules and does not understand what a one-time switch is.

2) Stefan does not actually tell Ivan as much about his career plans as Ivan thinks he does, since Ivan did not realize his son was not eligible.

or...

3) A bit of both

[dyslexic nam]

Ivan:

[Stoppage Time]

21 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Another thing. Stef can always file a switch when he's ready. And if he's never ready and wants to stick to Serbia, totally his prerogative, but that's the last time I am going to entertain the Mitrovic sob story about getting burned. 

Was it not He Who Cannot be Named who made the same "I was cut" argument before he went to Germany to play club football? I feel bad that Stef does not seem to have his own voice to explain his own soccer career. His dad speaks for him, it seems. At the same time, the Herdman conversation scenario mentioned above is reasonable. If a one tie switch was filed by Stefan, then he could not play in the UEFA U-21. That tournament could be a big career changer for him. Yes, Canada could, hopefully, come later. In the meantime, I wonder how Koleosho will enjoy his first camp.