English Immigration Doesn’t Love Brad Guzan. And this is Good for MLS.

By: Laurie | February 1st, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzzC1VMothI

Where soccer is concerned, the goal of English immigration laws is to ensure that only the best of the best are brought into the country. They don’t want below-average foreigners coming in to play the game when there are plenty of perfectly good below-average English players who can fill the jobs.

As we discussed here on Sunday, national team standing is one work permit consideration. Most players who play for a country ranking lower than 70th in the FIFA standings will have their permit requests denied.

If this were the only factor, though, Chivas USA keeper Brad Guzan would be wearing an Aston Villa jersey today. Instead, it’s looking like MLS will get him for at least a little while longer.

Guzan attracted a lot of European attention during the January transfer window. He was linked to several clubs, including Celtic of Scotland, who offered $2 million. But it was the Aston Villa offer that looked like it was going to happen. They offered Chivas USA $4 million, and Chivas accepted. All that was left was the paperwork.

What happened? According to Soccer America:

To be granted a work permit to play in the United Kingdom, a non-EU worker must have played in 75 percent of his team’s competitive ‘A’ internationals during the two calendar years prior to the date of application, and the nation must be ranked in the top 70.’

If a player meets those benchmarks, and clears a medical exam and routine security check, a permit is issued by the British Home Office, which oversees immigration and visa procedures in the UK. Appeals are heard by a panel, whose decision is final.

Unfortunately Brad has played only five internationals, and only one of those was competitive. Permit denied.

So what happens now?

Well, for starters, Brad is back in the USMNT camp ahead of the US-Mexico game. After that, he heads back to Chivas USA. So in the short run, Chivas USA have a goalkeeper who is going to play his butt off to gain a starting place on both the USMNT and a European roster.

And Guzan is only 23 — a baby in goalkeeping terms. He’s good now. He could be amazing in a few years, and teams around the world are now paying attention.

What does this mean? In the long run, he’s outta here. According to his agent:

“Brad will continue to work hard, be a professional and it remains only a question of when, not if, he will go to Europe.”

So watch him while you have the chance, US fans. Because it won’t be long before we’re watching him kick butt in Europe and saying, “Guzan! I remember way back in the day when he played in MLS.”

(P.S. How much do I love the fact that MLS is now allowing us to embed their videos? Welcome to the 21st century, Major League Soccer. Thanks for allowing us to give you free publicity.)