NEW YORK – Reigning MLS Player of the Week and Seattle Sounders winger Steve Zakuani told MLSsoccer.com’s ExtraTime Radio on Monday that he is leaning toward representing the national team from the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the international stage.
While he says he would relish the opportunity to play for the US, the 22-year-old Zakuani says the clock is ticking on his international career and he wants to get started sooner rather than later.
“Time has been the one thing on my mind,” he told ExtraTime Radio. “I don’t want to wait until 25 or 26 to make my international debut when I can be playing for the Congo national team in the African [Cup of] Nations qualifiers, which are very good games. … Just because of that is probably why I’m leaning more toward Congo.”
Zakuani will receive his US green card in the coming weeks, and unless there is a situation where he citizenship can be fast-tracked, Sounders fans can expect him to begin making the cross-continental trips to join his older brother, who already plays for Congo.
The revelation by Zakuani comes just days after the Philadelphia Union’s Rookie of the Year candidate Danny Mwanga also told MLSsoccer.com that the Congolese national team has also contacted him.
Back in MLS, Zakuani is soaking in the glory of his second Player of the Week award of 2010, which comes on the heels of what he called a dream goal on Friday against Chivas USA.
It’s another honor in what has been a breakout season for the 2009 No. 1 SuperDraft pick. The left winger says the only difference compared to his rookie season last year is that he’s been more effective in 2010.
“I got behind defenders a lot [in 2009] just as much as this year if not more,” he said. “It’s just when I got there, we didn’t always get something from it. … I’ve matured and I’ve learned the league a little bit better and I’ve learned to play against them.”
