SB Nation DC - Andy Najar To Play For Honduras National Teamhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48897/dc-fave.png2011-04-05T15:16:54-04:00http://dc.sbnation.com/rss/stream/18559842011-04-05T15:16:54-04:002011-04-05T15:16:54-04:00Andy Najar Announces Intention To Play For Honduras National Team Over U.S.
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<p>D.C. United phenom Andy Najar made it official. He will play for the Honduras National team, announcing his decision at a press conference Tuesday. Najar has chosen this over waiting a few years and gaining American citizenship, which would have allowed him to play for the U.S. National team.</p>
<p><a href="http://twitter.com/SoccerInsider/status/55345306409250816">Via Steven Goff of the Washington Post</a>:</p>
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"It was a decision that my heart told me. It came strictly from my heart." Najar <a href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23dcu" title="#dcu" rel="nofollow">#dcu</a> <a href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23catrachos" title="#catrachos" rel="nofollow">#catrachos</a></p>
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<p>It's a decision that makes sense for the youngster, because it will allow him to begin his National team career right away. There was an outside hope that he would elect to wait to become an American citizen and be a part of the more well-known U.S. team, but he is still several years away from becoming eligible to be a U.S. citizen. He also would not have to wait as long if he wanted to play in the World Cup, an event Honduras played in for the first time in 28 years in 2010.</p>
<p><i>For more on Najar's decision, <a href="http://www.blackandredunited.com/2011/4/5/2091352/andy-najar-decision-honduras-national-team">check out SB Nation's D.C. United blog Black and Red United</a>.</i></p>
https://dc.sbnation.com/2011/4/5/2092638/andy-najar-national-team-decision-hondurasMike Prada2011-04-05T09:57:51-04:002011-04-05T09:57:51-04:00Andy Najar To Play For Honduras National Team, According To Report
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<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/soccer-insider/post/dc-uniteds-andy-najar-preparing-to-commit-to-honduras-national-team/2011/04/04/AFtMHufC_blog.html">According to Steven Goff</a> at the Washington Post's Soccer Insider, Andy Najar will commit to play for the Honduran National team today, which means that he won't be playing the U.S. National team like so many had hoped.</p>
<p>Najar is now 18, and has lived in the U.S. for four years. As a result, people were hoping that he would wait the required few years and attain U.S. citizenship so that he may play for the American National Team. With his commitment today, that probably will never happen. Goff explains why.</p>
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<p>Najar, the 2010 MLS rookie of the year, could’ve waited for U.S. eligibility, but by choosing Honduras now, he has the opportunity to play for the Catrachos this summer at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the regional championship. Depending on Honduras’ qualification success, he could also play in the Under-20 World Cup this summer in Colombia and the Olympics next year in London.</p>
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<p>Najar would have been an exciting player for the U.S. National team, but the Honduran National team means an earlier opportunity to get some notoriety earlier in his career.</p>
https://dc.sbnation.com/2011/4/5/2332789/andy-najar-to-play-for-honduras-national-team-according-to-reportJordan Ruby