Mixed emotions as Reggae Boyz clash in MLS play-offs

Gordon Williams, Gleaner Writer

Reggae Boyz are tangled in mixed emotions involving club and country ahead of Major League Soccer's (MLS) semi-final round in the United States.

Four national footballers - Omar Cummings of the Colorado Rapids, Los Angeles Galaxy's Donovan Ricketts, and Ryan Johnson and Khari Stephenson of the San José Earthquakes - will be available for their clubs in the two conference championship games of North America's top professional league this weekend.

The winners will advance to the MLS Cup final on November 21 and miss selection for Jamaica's next international against Costa Rica on November 17 in the US. The losers could join the national team for the Fort Lauderdale friendly.

Cummings and Johnson, who face each other in the Eastern Conference final today in Colorado, explained that while they embrace the honour of representing Jamaica, neither wants his club to lose at this stage of MLS competition.

"It's tricky, but it's understandable," Cummings said.

Ricketts, voted top goalkeeper in MLS, will be at home against FC Dallas tomorrow in the Western Conference showdown.

Cummings and Johnson would be considered possible selections for the Costa Rica game as they have featured regularly for the Boyz in recent months. Ricketts has not played for Jamaica the last few games, partly because of club commitments. Stephenson was recalled to the national squad for last month's friendly against Trinidad and Tobago in Kingston, but did not take up the offer due to issues with his US work permit.

The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) had not released its final squad for the Costa Rica game up to press time yesterday. But, according the players, the JFF has given its blessings to those in the MLS title chase.

"We've already talked about that," explained Cummings. "The JFF knows we're in the playoff. If we're still in the play-off (after this weekend) they don't expect us to be available for the Costa Rica match."

Bread and butter

Cummings reasoned that "Jamaica will benefit from us doing well" in the play-off and the players believe that on this occasion everyone's interest is served if they stick with their clubs during the play-off run.

"The MLS is where you eat your food," said Cummings, who is completing his fourth MLS season with 14 goals and three assists in 2010.

"This (MLS) is bread and butter," added Johnson, who started his MLS career in 2006 and has a goal plus nine assists so far this season. "This is for the championships. A lot is on the line. It's not something that me or Omar take lightly."

Cummings has special incentive to continue the Rapids' bid for the MLS Cup.

"Yeah, it's a difficult choice," he said, "but it's my first time in the play-off and I'm looking forward to it."

The Costa Rica game is a 'friendly', which makes the possibility of missing out "easier" to digest for the players. They also know that the Digicel Caribbean Cup, which begins later this month, will offer another chance to represent Jamaica.

Yet, it is clear the players are glad to be in their current position. Several national teammates were not so fortunate. Shavar Thomas (Kansas City Wizards) and Lovel Palmer (Houston Dynamo), for example, did not make the MLS play-off. Others, like Dane Richards (New York Red Bulls) and newcomer Shaun Francis (Columbus Crew), were eliminated in the first round.

Even if a player on the winning team this weekend wanted to represent Jamaica next Wednesday, it is unlikely a club heading to the MLS final would release that player - especially a regular starter like Cummings, Johnson or Ricketts - for a midweek friendly, even if it is on a date set aside for such games by FIFA, world football's governing body. The stakes are too high.

"This is win or go home," said Johnson. "As a player, even if you want to play for your country, your club will not let you go. At the end of the day it is out of our hands."

Jamaicans will not be the only ones to miss national duty due to the MLS play-off. American stars Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle of the Galaxy, for example, were not picked by the US to play South Africa next week.