RSL rookie may be a U.S. fixture

Few people watched Tuesday's international friendly between the United States and Morocco with more interest than Real Salt Lake's Mehdi Ballouchy.

As the RSL rookie continues developing as a pro, it seems inevitable that both the U.S. and Morocco National teams will soon begin courting Ballouchy.

Real teammate Chris Klein believes the U.S. should find a way to lock him up now.

"I don't think it would be overstating it to say he's the best young player that I've seen in a long time, excluding guys like Landon (Donovan) and DaMarcus (Beasley)," said Klein. "I've said they should hurry up and get his citizenship as soon as they can. He could play for the national team for a long time. You have guys like Claudio (Reyna) and John O'Brien, guys in the middle, who could be leaving soon. I don't think it's too far of a stretch to say that Mehdi can step in there."

Wow — that's a lot of praise to be showering on a player who scored his first MLS goal just last weekend.

So when the time comes, which national team jersey will Ballouchy choose?

He has no idea, but he smiles when asked and says, "Probably whoever comes calling first, right?"

You see, Ballouchy is a Moroccan who moved to the United States when he was 16 to live with his brother. Now 23, and having lived in the U.S. ever since, Ballouchy would have no problem attaining dual citizenship, freeing him to choose which national team is the best fit for him.

Of course, Klein, who's played in plenty of U.S. National team games through the years, would love to see him in the red, white and blue.

"He has qualities you can't teach. He's so good and so comfortable on the ball; couple that with his creativity and his willingness to try things," said Klein. "Mehdi is the type of kid who truly loves playing soccer."

That's a tremendous benefit to Real, especially with how Ballouchy has progressed just eight games into the 2006 season.

When RSL coach John Ellinger made Ballouchy the No. 2 overall pick in the January SuperDraft, he knew he was acquiring a special player. Less than two weeks into training camp, Ellinger pegged Ballouchy as his left midfielder, even though he'd been an attacking midfielder nearly all his life.

The creative demeanor he impressed so many with in training camp was lacking during RSL's first four games, however. So in the fifth game, he was left out of the starting 11, but he eventually entered the game as a 71st-minute substitute.