Quote:
Originally Posted by ricoFlame
huh? hargreaves was in germany waaay before his international career had got off the ground. so...
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Actually, that's true and not true. He got an opportunity to play in Bayern Munich's youth team at 16, in 1997. He was rejected by Canada twice, despite being there. When he graduated to the pros in August 2000 (which by no means guaranteed him a spot at Bayern Munich... typically top teams sell off their youth grads to small teams if they aren't world class), he was snapped up by England right away to play on their U-21 team (august 2000 as well). Very shortly thereafter, he got to start playing more with Bayern. Being in Germany didn't guarantee his career was going anywhere.
Had he accepted Canada (after being rejected a couple times), he would not have been exposed to the level and frequency of competition seen with a UEFA U-21 team. (CONCACAF teams have less games and less competition) He would likely have not stayed with Bayern due to his lack of international experience and been sold to a smaller club. Just like every other Canadian national in recent memory.
As well, German Bundesliga is generally considered second tier after the EPL, Serie A and La Liga. (This is demonstrated by CL and UEFA cup spots). Going to Man U was all about his International experience and Champions League experience with Bayern... but his CL experience with Bayern was due to his success internationally.