DE GUZMAN NAMED TO CANADIAN ROSTER
Sportsnet.ca
Feb 24 2012
Spare a thought for Stephen Hart.
The Canadian national men’s team coach was forced to scramble to
put together his roster for next Wednesday’s international friendly
against Armenia in Limassol, Cyprus.
The game takes place on Feb. 29, the first FIFA International Date
of the 2012 calendar year. The neutral site match will be the first
meeting between the two nations.
Hart announced his 17-man roster Thursday, a squad that features 15
European-based players and one from Major League Soccer: Toronto FC
midfielder Julian de Guzman.
Ideally, Hart would not have picked de Guzman, as he previously stated
he was trying to avoid selecting MLS players because they are in
the middle of their pre-season training camps. But Hart’s hand was
forced due to injuries and because several European clubs refused
to allow their players to play in the exhibition match. By contrast,
Armenia has 31 players in camp ahead of the game against Canada.
“Putting this team together was extremely difficult. Injuries are one
thing and having to deal with some clubs, because they are involved
in promotion fight — it’s been very difficult,” Hart told reporters
during a Thursday conference call.
“There were one or two players that received a lot of pressure from
their club and it made it very difficult for them.”
Hart received so much resistance that the European teams badgered
him to find out the exact time of the Canada-Armenia match — FIFA
rules stipulate that clubs are required to release their players for
international duty 48 hours before the match kicks off.
With forward Olivier Occean (foot) and defender Marcel de Jong (ankle)
sidelined with serious injuries, combined with the hard time he was
getting from European teams, Hart had to get a little creative in
building his squad for the Armenia game.
Hardly a surprise then that he selected de Guzman, and defender
Nana Attakora, who is currently out of contract with the San Jose
Earthquakes and who recently trained with Scottish club Hibs.
“It’s a situation where I needed somebody that can play centre back
or right back. Nana was in Scotland training on a daily basis and
from all reports was doing quite well. So it was a situation where
I felt I could bring him in and once again give him the opportunity
to show himself,” Hart said.
Like Attakora, Samuel Piette also benefitted from the current player
shortage.
The 17-year-old midfielder, who plays for FC Metz in France’s second
division, received his first call-up to the national team after
previously playing for Canada’s under-17 team, including at last
summer’s FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico.
Hart was impressed with Piette’s work when he recently participated
in a training camp with Canada’s under-20 side.
“At the time I said to myself if I do get the opportunity I’d like to
bring him in with the senior players and see how he settles into the
midfield. This seems to be a good opportunity to bring him in. … It
will give me a good gauge for him,” Hart explained.
On a positive note, returning to the national team fold is star
midfielder Atiba Hutchinson, widely regarded as Canada’s best player.
Hutchinson hasn’t played for Canada since aggravating a knee injury
during a World Cup qualifier against St. Lucia last September. He had
surgery on the knee and underwent a demanding physical rehabilitation
regime before recently returning to action for his pro club, Dutch
outfit PSV Eindhoven.
Hart said that PSV did not put up any kind of resistance with regards
to allowing Hutchinson to make the trip to Cyprus. On the contrary.
“The club was actually pleased that I decided to bring him in because
he needs some games. Of course, we’re going to monitor how well he
does and be sensible about this, but (PSV was) very supportive,”
Hart stated.
Although it failed to earn a tournament berth, Armenia posted an
impressive 5-2-3 record in Euro 2012 qualifying, finishing third in
its group behind Russia and Ireland. Armenia currently sits 41st in
the FIFA world rankings, compared to 71st-place Canada
Armenia plays Serbia, ranked 25th in the world, the day before its
encounter with Canada in Cyprus. Serbia also plays Cyprus on Feb 29.
With Serbia already in the country for a pair of games, the Canadian
Soccer Association looked into the possibility of setting up a friendly
for Canada against the Serbs. But Hart said that idea was quickly
put to rest when European teams denied his request to release their
players a bit earlier.
“There was no way we were going to get the players for an extra day
or two,” Hart admitted.
CANADA’S ROSTER
Goalkeepers: Milan Borjan, keny Stamatopoulos
Defenders: Nana Attakora, David Edgar, Mike Klukowski, Nik Ledgerwood,
Kevin McKenna, Adam Straith
Midfielders: Julian de Guzman, Atiba Hutchinson, Pedro Pacheco,
Samuel Piette, Josh Simpson
Forwards: Marcus Haber, Iain Hume, Simeon Jackson, Tosaint Ricketts
From: A. Papazian
http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/sports/article/189186–de-guzman-named-to-canadian-roster