While the disappointment of not being invited to Bradenton's Residency program was very real for George Pantelic, he's found a pretty good alternative, and it may be the Serbian National Team who benefits in the long run.

Pantelic is a talented striker from Los Angeles who spent time with the U.S. Youth Soccer Region IV 92 ODP Team (with players like Emilio Orozco, Eric Stephenson, and Edson Lemus), the U15 Boys National Team (with players like Jack McInerney and Stefan Jerome) and also had a couple of looks from the U17 MNT setup. The 1992 birth year player was passed over thrice in the past 12 months however, prompting his family to look for other opportunities for him to be in an elite developmental environment.

A trip to Europe gave him tryouts with Feyenoord in Holland and with FK Rad, the favorite club of his father Branko, who was born in then Yugoslavia. Both clubs expressed interest according to Branko Pantelic, but the ease with which his son can get a Serbian passport and thus sign a professional contract at  age 17 (next February) made the Belgrade club the logical choice. There's also the issues of adaptability, and with newly-promoted 1st Division club Rad, George can live with relatives, which he began doing at the beginning of the month.

For George, who played club soccer at Real So Cal, the chance to be at a professional club is proving to be attractive.

"It's been a lot different and better," George said. "They have a lot more trainers here. It seems like there's someone to help on every move you do. I'm learning a lot."

George is playing withdrawn forward on the club's U17 team and is told he can be involved with the Reserves after Christmas if he progresses well. He will attend an American school in Belgrade and says he understands Serb better than he could speak it, noting that a few of his teammates speak English fluently.

"Being on the team is good, but it's hard for me to talk with them sometimes," he said. "On the soccer part I'm doing good."

For Branko, helping his son find the right opportunity as been a priority, but when this one came up, even though it was in his homeland, he admits to feeling some hesitation.

"It was hard for me to send him over there, very hard. I never thought we would send him away at this age," he said. "If he had gone to Residency then I can fly 4-5 hours and see him, not 12 hours. But he loves to play soccer and he wants to go and see if he can make it. It's good that we have relatives in Belgrade."

For George, leaving his parents Branko and Vesna and his brother and sister was not easy, but he sees it as an opportunity he can't pass up.

"I pretty much wanted it right away," he said. "I'm tired now because we practice two times a day, so I go to the first training, come home and eat and sleep a little. Then I go to training again and come home and sleep again. It's a great level of soccer here. It's as good as (Residency). They've developed a lot of good professional players who are playing in Europe now."

George said he has also been contacted by coaches involved with the U17 MNT and confessed he is interested in the idea of playing for Serbia. He thinks he will obtain his passport in approximately a month.

"I'm young and I'm not playing for the U.S. National Team. I don't know what I'll do when I'm older but if the Serbian team picks for the U17s, I might as well play for them and then see what happens."