AZ Alkmaar striker recently made himself eligible for USA.
Jurgen Klinsmann has selected recent convert Aron Jóhannsson for the USA squad that will play in Wednesday’s friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Jóhannsson has been in good from for AZ Alkmaar, scoring six goals in his last seven games for The Cheese Farmers.
“We are very excited to have Aron with us. It’s a similar conversation that we have with all our dual-citizenship players, said USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann. “They have to make up their mind and they have to make their own decision. We can only hope they go toward the United States. Aron has made that big, big step which is huge for us because he’s one of the up and coming promising strikers in Europe. He played really, really well in Denmark before he moved to AK Alkmaar, Jozy Altidore’s old club, and is scoring goals there so we’re really thrilled he chose to join us and to have him in our group. We just want to integrate Aron and make him feel comfortable, make him feel at home with us. Once he’s comfortable and eligible and all the FIFA stuff is done, then we want to see him in real games and see if he can connect with something special to our game.”
Klinsmann said that he had been following Jóhannsson for some time before the young dual citizen made the switch.
“Aron and myself have been in touch for well over a year at least, going back and forth. We followed him in Denmark where he broke through, and then his move over the winter to AZ Alkmaar,” said the USA coach”. “If not for an injury, Aron would have been with us during the past January camp. We are excited that he has finally joined us and we wait for the final approval from FIFA and then we will get him on the field. Aron is one of the very promising strikers in European football. It’s a difficult decision for a player: Which country do I want to play for? Whom do I represent when I have both passports? I always tell the player that no matter the background he has that they have to go with their heart. And for Aron, he chose the United States and it’s huge for us, but it’s been a process for over the last year and we are thrilled to finally have him.”
Source: ussoccer.com.
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