He played four years of college soccer (at the University of Washington), he never played for a U.S. youth national team, and he’s been called in to just one camp with the senior national team, without being capped, yet FC Dallas defender George John is headed to Blackburn of the English Premier League.
The rangy centerback is making the move for an undisclosed transfer fee, and all terms are expected to be finalized by the end of the week. What ever the circumstances, though, this says a lot for the player and for Major League Soccer—that it has made an EPL–worthy defender out of John, who entered the North American league with a relatively humble pedigree.
In addition to his one U.S. invitation, and the EPL interest, John’s MLS performances attracted the attention of the Greek national team, which invited him to a camp it held in New York this past spring. John, who was born in Shoreline, Washington, but has Greek grandparents, is eligible to play for both Greece and the U.S. He has not committed to either nation as of now.
He closes his MLS career on a pretty good note: John’s last game with FC Dallas was their historic CONCACAF Champions League win over Pumas in Mexico City, the first win by an MLS side in an official competition in Mexico in 26 attempts.
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