Red Bulls striker Tandir heads to Sochaux

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Izzy Tandir, the second leading scorer for the New York Red Bulls’ unbeaten U-17/18 team in theDevelopment Academy, has signed a contract with French club Sochaux.

The 6-foot-4 Tandir scored eight goals in eight games this season after scoring 10 goals for the Red Bulls’ U-15/16national championship team in 2011-12.

He is the third player to turn pro from the Red Bulls’ academy in the last month. Teammates Amando Morenoand Santiago Castano signed homegrown contracts with the Red Bulls.

The 17-year-old Tandir trained in the fall with the Red Bulls’ first team. Hehad previously trained at FC Toronto and SC Cambuur in the Netherlands.

“It was a nice experience for me,” Tandir  told Bosnian websiteReprezentacija.ba in early December. “A special impression on me was [Thierry] Henry. Remarkable man, a great player. He advised me. When I told him I am fromBosnia, said he knows a lot of players from our area.”

Tandir, who was born in German to Bosnian parents but is an American citizenship, played two games in December for Bosnia’s U-19national team against Montenegro.

Bosnian-born players — Vedad Ibisevic and Neven Subotic — were alsoraised in the U.S. youth system but chose to move to Europe, and they are now stars in Germany’s Bundesliga.