SPECTOR: US MAY PLAY MORE IN EUROPE Friday, March 9, 2007
West Ham defender Jonathan Spector is hopeful of a return to international action soon and thinks in the future the US might be playing more games outside America.
The 21-year old made his last appearance for his country in the 1-1 Glasgow tie against Scotland November 2005.
Having missed World Cup 2006 through injury, he is determined to pull on the Red, White & Blue again, starting with the forthcoming clashes with Ecuador and Guatemala.
"I don't pick the team, so I don't have any expectations," Spector told YA, "but I will definitely be doing all I can at club level to get selected for the national team."
"I'll certainly be having an eye on those two games, but I don't have any say on whether I go or not. If I am selected, it would be a good opportunity to play for my country. Because of the injury I missed out on what chance I had to go to the World Cup, so I would like to establish myself in the US National Team."
With hours of travel and jet lag an inevitable consequence of representing the US while living in Europe, Spector also thinks the team may eventually follow the example of other nations who have scheduled games overseas, where large cohorts of their players are located.
In the run-up to last year's World Cup, the US hosted a home international against Poland in Kaiserslautern, Germany; this February Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Ghana, Greece, Nigeria, Portugal and South Korea all played friendlies in London.
"They very well could play here," Spector said. "I know there are lots of people in America who want to go and watch the games so we play in the US, but with more and more Americans coming over here to play that might not be the case in a few years' time."
"Argentina played in Spain so their European-based players would not have to travel far and Nigeria had a friendly against Ghana in England," he continued, "so something like that from my standpoint would not be bad, but obviously the games are for the American public first and foremost."
Like many players, the Illinoisan experienced the familiar club v country dilemma in February when West Ham opted not to release him for the midweek friendly against Mexico because of a vital Premier League contest the following weekend.
"It is difficult with the long traveling, I won't deny that," Spector agreed, "and clubs can put you in a very difficult position with friendlies when you might get back on a Friday and have a game on the Saturday. It is a tough balance to strike and it is hard to find a happy medium."
The competing demands of clubs and national associations have led to ever more fiery disputes across the world in recent years, with some coaches being less than honest about their employees' injury status and players in return insisting on contract clauses allowing them to be released for international duty.
The former Charlton and Manchester United starlet has thus far encountered no such trouble, and is hoping a selection by Bob Bradley will give a boost to his play at relegation-threatened West Ham.
"Sometimes a change of scenery can help," he offered. "Although I wouldn't look at it as a break from West Ham as such, but I know a lot of clubs who get knocked out of the FA Cup or Carling Cup early go away to Spain or Portugal or Dubai for a long weekend to recharge and improve their club form."
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