HANOVER, N.J. — New York Red Bulls midfielder Kaku is officially part of the Paraguayan national team after FIFA granted his one-time switch from Argentina, the club announced Wednesday.
The process took significantly less time than his move from Club Huracán to the New York Red Bulls and didn’t require any “watch” hashtags on social media, but was just as significant for the 23-year-old.
The Argentine-born playmaker, who signed with the Red Bulls in February, represented Argentina at youth levels, including at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2015. He also featured in three games in New Zealand, including one start.
But having not been called up to Argentina’s senior team for an official match and with both parents citizens of Paraguay, Kaku was eligible for the one-time change.
“We know, at least we had an indication when we were trying to get him here, that he was going to make the switch to Paraguay,” Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch said after training Wednesday. “We thought that was a very good thing for him. Now that it’s been finalized and he’ll be ready to go to camp with them, I think that’s really exciting for him and for Paraguay.”
Kaku, who leads MLS with nine assists and has three goals in just nine appearances, has already been called into his first camp with Paraguay. He will leave June 4 for an international friendly with Japan on June 12 in Austria. Kaku will miss the Red Bulls’ U.S. Open Cup match against NYCFC on either June 5 or 6, as well as the league tilt against Columbus Crew SC on June 9.
“We’re really excited for him and international football, in my mind, is always a good thing for players,” Marsch said. “Even though we miss them with the club at times, these are moments where I think they get big experiences and big confidence and they’ll come back to the club and bring that with them.”
Although he hasn’t been called in for this friendly, it will be interesting to see what a potential partnership between Atlanta United star Miguel Almiron, who has been capped 13 times, and Kaku looks like in the future. They could also be joined by NYCFC’s Jesus Medina, who made his senior debut against Mexico last July, and Five Stripes attacking standout Hector Villalba, who is reportedly also looking to make the switch from Argentina to Paraguay.
“Even seeing him and Almiron on the field together makes you wonder what those two will look like together,” Marsch said. “I think they’ll be pretty special.”