Canada's 18-player roster announced!

[MikeD]

Men's World Cup Team

Wednesday, July 02, 2003

Osieck Announces Gold Cup Roster

Ottawa, Ontario – Canadian Men’s World Cup Team Head Coach Holger Osieck today announced his 18-man roster for the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup from July 12-27.

The majority of the team will assemble north of Toronto for a training camp which begins on July 2. The team will travel to Boston on July 9th and face Costa Rica at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts on Saturday, July 12. The game will be shown live on Rogers Sportsnet at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Canada’s second game will be against Cuba at Gillette Stadium on July 14 at 6:30 p.m. ET (live on Rogers Sportsnet). Cuba and Costa Rica will face each other in the final preliminary round in Group D on July 16 at 4:30 p.m. The top two teams from each of the four groups advance to the quarter-finals.

The winner of Group D will play the runner-up of Group C (USA, El Salvador or Martinique) at Gillette Stadium while the runner-up of Group D will play the winner of Group C at Gillette in the quarter-finals. The semis are in Miami and Mexico City while the third place game is July 26 in Miami and the final is in Mexico City on July 27.

The roster includes veterans Nick Dasovic and Carlo Corazzin. Corazzin has signed with the Vancouver Whitecaps and will play with Dasovic and the Whitecaps before join the group on July 5th. Martin Nash and Nevio Pizzolitto of the Montreal Impact will also join the squad on the 5th following their game against Syracuse on the 4th.

Mike Klukowski rejoins the team after earning his first international cap against Libya. He missed the Estonia game through injury and won the Belgian Cup Final with La Louviere on June 1 (missing out on Canada’s friendly with Germany). Iain Hume also returns to the squad for the first time since earning his first appearance against Libya in February.

Captain Jason deVos makes his first appearance since captaining Wigan to the English Second Division championship in April. He took time off to heal a broken bone in his foot following Wigan’s successful promotion.

Earning his first call-up since the 2002 Gold Cup is midfielder Jason Bent. Bent missed several friendlies after suffering a hamstring injury with Plymouth Argyle last season. Davide Xausa also returns to the squad for the first time since the friendly against the USA in January.

Kevin McKenna, who scored Canada’s goal against Germany, will look to repeat his accomplishments in the 2002 Gold Cup when he led the team in scoring with three goals. Defenders Paul Fenwick and Richard Hastings have also been called in along with Maycoll Canizalez.

The goalkeepers are veteran Pat Onstad, who has led the San Jose Earthquakes to a first place berth in the MLS Western Conference and suffered only one loss in 10 games (6-1-3). He is joined by Lars Hirschfeld (Tottenham) who has recovered from a hamstring injury suffered in March while on loan with English Second Division side Luton Town.

Midfielders Paul Stalteri (Werder Bremen) and Daniel Imhof (St. Gallen) have also been selected along with defender/midfielder Chris Pozniak (Orebo).

Canadian Roster For Gold Cup 2003

Name Position Club D.O.B. Caps Goals/Shutouts

Pat Onstad GK San Jose Earthquakes, MLS 1/13/68 37 15

Maycoll Canizalez M Werder Bremen, Bundesliga 12/28/82 3 1

Richard Hastings D/M Graz AK, Austrian First Division 5/18/77 31 1

Paul Fenwick D Hibernian, Scottish Premier 8/25/69 29 0

Jason deVos D Wigan Athletic, English First Division 1/2/74 39 3

Jason Bent M Plymouth Argyle, English Second Div. 3/8/77 29 0

Paul Stalteri M Werder Bremen, German Bundesliga 10/18/77 42 4

Daniel Imhof M St. Gallen, Swiss First Division 11/22/77 16 0

Carlo Corazzin F Vancouver Whitecaps, A-League 12/25/71 55 10

Kevin McKenna D/F Heart of Midlothian, Scottish Premier 1/21/80 16 6

Martin Nash M Montreal Impact, A-League 12/27/75 25 2

Nick Dasovic D/M Vancouver Whitecaps, A-League 12/5/68 58 2

Davide Xausa M/F Livingston, Scottish Premier 3/10/76 32 2

Mike Klukowski M La Louviere, Belgium 5/27/81 1 0

Nevio Pizzolitto D Montreal Impact, A-League 8/26/76 6 0

Chris Pozniak D/M Orebro, Swedish Premier 1/10/81 7 0

Iain Hume M/F Tranmere Rovers, English Second Div. 10/20/83 1 0

Lars Hirschfeld GK Tottenham Hotspur, English Premier 10/17/78 11 3

Staff

Andy Sharpe Head of Delegation

Holger Osieck Head Coach

Colin Miller Assistant Coach

Kevin Muldoon Goalkeeping Coach/Equipment Manager

Dave Foley Physiotherapist (July 2-11)

Greg Bay Physiotherapist (July 11-27)

Hans Guenter Bruns Massage Therapist

Sanjay Gupta Doctor

Morgan Quarry Team Manager/Director of Communications

Mike D

[Added by DJT] For reference, here are the 7 alternates:

GK: Kenny Stamatopoulous (Enkopings/SWE)

D : Carl Fletcher (Atlanta Silverbacks/USA D2), Mark Rogers (Wycombe/ENG)

MF: Atiba Hutchinson (Osters IF/SWE), Ante Jazic (SK Rapid Wien/AUT), Tam Nsaliwa (FC Saarbrucken/GER D2)

F : Robert Friend (Moss FK/NOR)

[Guest Ed]

Good to see Klukowski on the squad. Jazic fans, start your engines!!

[matthew]

WTF?!

So there goes the idea of seeing how Tam looks as a rightback a little more. I guess he's more valuable to his club right now, but seriously we aren't going to get anywhere if we don't actually see our players in useful competition. He looked good against Germany and then no more.

As for Jazic . . . jesus the saga continues. Actually, no I'm not even going to think about the implications of this because I don't want to. I'm sick second guessing every decision we make. I can't change it, no need to go nuts over it. But it seems there's no need to get too worked up over anything other than WCQ, given the scarcity of seeing more than a handful of our top players at a time, we don't seem to take anything else seriously.

So: Onstad/Hirschfeld

Pozniak--WHOKNOWS--DeVos-Hastings

Bent-Imhof-Stalteri-Nash

McKenna-Hume/MC2

Will it be Dasovic or Fenwick pairing with DeVos? (somehow I know it won't be Nevio). Or does Holger live up to my expectations and start Dasovic ahead of Bent?

cheers,

matthew

The secret of life is to find moments of levity and grace in what is, ultimately, a tragedy. Watching Canadian soccer is good practice for this.

[beachesl]

So, the "7" are Stamapoulos (may be back on if Hirschfield not fully up to it in training), Fletcher (no suprise given disappointing germany performance, but may be back on if De Vos is iffy, as known quality to Holger), Jasic, Friend, Rodgers, Hutchinson and Nzaliwa (too bad, but I guess the club doesn't want him to go). No suprises realy, guess Holger finds some comfort in experience of Dasovic.

I expect that Hirschfield and De Vos have recovered nicely.

Remember, all 25 remain as possibilities, as the cut "7" remain as alternates in case of "injury" (or, winkwink, not doing well or behaving at training camp, or further club problems, altho' I expect that Nzaliwa would not be released in any event).

Guess we'll have to wait for "inside" reports to filter in to get real story behind much of this.

Is it a freudian slip that Holger listed Onstad first and Hirschfield last? If so, shows he is capable of some change.

My humble guess at Holger's starting 11 (not my choice if I were god) against Costa Rica would be a rough assortment of:

Onstad

Fenwick De Vos Hastings

Bent Imhoff Pozniak

Nash Stallieri Xausa

McKenna

Then, hopefully he will feel he can afford to play a more offensive formation with Canizales and Corazzin against Cuba (with at least half the original squad taking a rest, and with Hirschfeld in goal).

Blah, blah, blah.

Just do it, boys!!!!!!!!!!!!1

A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change

the subject. -- Winston Churchill

[DJT]

quote:Originally posted by matthew

but seriously we aren't going to get anywhere if we don't actually see our players in useful competition

Yeah. The problem with always waiting until WCQ is that without even trying what we think is our full team we won't know if it is indeed our full team (ie. whether they actually work well together), and so we will still be experimenting during the more challenging WCQ stages (let's face it, we won't see a full lineup in the first stage).

[redhat]

NO real surprise!

Except for Jazic not being there (again), I think Holger just stuck

to his favorites and picked the likes of Fenwick & Corrazin.

Onstad

Hastings ( Pozniak) -DeVos-Fenwick

Imhoff-Bent-Stalteri-Klukowski- Nash

McKenna-Hume (MC2)

Let's see how Hume and MC2 do with the senior team, in this tournament.

Sad not to see DeGuzman, Rad, Pwamme, Tam, Jazic, and Brennan. (Hey that's most of our A-team!)

[Gordon]

If Brennan starting with a new team is reason to skip, I guess the same applies for Nsaliwa. Disappointed about Jazic. Just hoping their is a legit reason and not a spat involved.

Falling under the category of making lemonade, lets hope that Holger gives Bent a run out at right back.

Onstadt

Bent De Vos Klukowski Pozniak

Nash Stalteri Imhoff Hastings

McKenna Corrazin

Note that I am on my "Klukowski as a Central Defender" kick here []. If not, give Pizzo a go. MC2 for Corrazin at 55 minutes and Hume on for Nash at 70 mins. I really do hope that Klukowski gets some minutes, where ever that might be. I expect that Pozniak figures to play a bit for Holger to call him up mid season. Not at all disappointed that Hutchinson is a sub as staying in Sweden is probably better than sitting on the bench in Boston.

I don't see us playing more than 3 games this time around. We should beat Cuba, and give C/R and the US a game, but unlikley to get a result in either of those two...

The opinions expressed above are just that.

[Ryan Keay]

Well, considering the 25 they were to be chosen from, the 18 here arent too bad. Menezes and Pesch being the notable unexplained and (kind of) unexpected missing players in the 25.

I wouldn't mind hearing about what happened with the Jazic situation, be it injury, club commitments, Holger not choosing him or whatever.

But since it seems like it's Starting XI time, its time to have a bit of fun and choose the eleven I want to see when I travel down to Boston. And because theres no one of the 18 I would like see pairing with De Vos in the centre of a back four without causing severe panic attacks (mainly due to every one of our centre backs being on the slow side), I choose to go with the standard German 3-5-2.

Onstad

Dasovic

De Vos Hastings

Bent Imhof Stalteri Klukowski

Nash

Hume McKenna

The Hume/McKenna combo could be pretty effective. I've always been a fan of tall and small, and despite the fact I dont think Hume will start, I think he's probably our most dangerous striker in the squad when it comes to beating their man. McKenna has looked good up front and willing to get into the mix, plus I rate him much higher than Corrazin.

As for the midfield, I basically chose the best five guys in there (IMHO of course). Plus, it gives us an option of having Canizales being our super sub, either up front or wide. His ability to run at defenders will be key, and particularly useful against some tired legs.

As for at the back.. De Vos has to be there. Perhaps from watching Pozniak play wide all the time for the Lynx Ive developed a bias against him playing in a central defensive role, but he seems more fit for playing on the outside of the midfield for me. Hastings has pace, so he gets in the back, cause its something we need badly. And I put Dazza at sweeper, cause frankly, its him or Fenwick . But really, I think he could do well there, keeping the play in front of him, we just have to keep him to watch his tackling in the box.

But I expect this from Holger:

Onstad

Pozniak Fenwick De Vos Hastings

Imhof Stalteri Bent Nash

McKenna Corrazin

"Half of what I say is bull****, the other half are the most important things you will ever hear." Nicky Wire

[Ryan Keay]

quote:Originally posted by Gordon

Note that I am on my "Klukowski as a Central Defender" kick here [

That's something I'd definitely like to see, him paired with De Vos for one game. Maybe not in the Gold Cup, but maybe a friendly? A partner for De Vos in a 4-4-2 is going to be a bit difficult to find, he could be it.

"Half of what I say is bull****, the other half are the most important things you will ever hear." Nicky Wire

[marcl_19]

im glad to see klukowski in...im actually moving to belgian fairly close to where his team play, i hope to go see some of his games....i was dissapointed to see deguzman not on the roster...he dod some good things against germany on the wing.

also would have been nice ot see jazic and hutchinson in the top 18.....not my descision tho...all in all, it looks likea decent roster all things considered.

[Grasshopper]

I don't know if I'd consider Carlo one of Holger's favourites, considering the comments that the two exchanged after the Confederation Cup. (Don't have the exact quotes handy, but Carlo's were general unhappiness, and Holger replied by pointing quite an unflattering finger directly at Carlo.) Now Fenwick on the other hand has to go down as Holger's Iain Fraser or Geoff Aunger (or you can make your own analogy). I still haven't figured out the Dasovic unretirement from the national team; I loved his leadership during the last Gold Cup, but I'm all for him winding down his national team playing career, focussing on his coaching career, and having Holger find somebody younger to lean on for leadership (as I really don't think that Nick will be playing during WCQ, but with Holger you never really know.)

Being somebody that is going to Boston to see the Costa Rica match, I can't say that I'm thrilled about the number of players that we're going to be missing. Somehow I thought that moving the Gold Cup to the summer was going to help Canada due to less club/country conflict; I guess not.

The cynic in me guesses the next time that we'll actually see our entire team together is in Germany 2006 (should we be so lucky.)

Blair

quote:Originally posted by redhat

NO real surprise!

Except for Jazic not being there (again), I think Holger just stuck

to his favorites and picked the likes of Fenwick & Corrazin.

[Canuck Oranje]

Well, from the reports I read around the Germany game, it sounded like Jazic was hurting with a back ailment. Sounded like the same thing Wendel Clark had in the early '90s. And that needs a fair amount of physio... so I will give him the benefit of the doubt.

As for Nsaliwa, I can see him staying home too.... Our top priority still has to be World Cup Qualifying...

[sstackho]

I miss Pesch...

'Shawn' on the old board...

[Gian-Luca]

Actually I have to approve of Holger being "less iron-fisted" about club vs. country conflicts. To me this line-up indicates we are taking the Gold Cup very seriously, but still not as seriously as World Cup Qualifying (that calls for "Supreme Seriousness" for lack of a better term ) - I expect we are currying favours right now with the players & clubs. As much as I will hate the fact that Brennan, De Guzman & Nsaliwa won't be there, there are understandable reasons to let them miss the tourney. And won't Julian be able to tell Jonathan what a nice reasonable guy Holger is?

I also think that our increased depth means that we can better afford to miss these players, even though all three mentioned (plus Jazic in all likelihood, (suspect he's still injured)) would be for myself, first choice starters, making that 6 first-choice players unavailable for the tourney ( adding DeRo & Radz, 7 if you add an on-form Menezes). That's enough IMO to downgrade this team to B+ from A-, but we could still do really well in this tourney with the squad called. Much will depend on whether certain strikers can get out of their several-year goal scoring slump (ie.Corazzin - not scored for the National team since Feb.2000, Xausa - not officially scored for Nats since May 1999 - though he did have a legit. goal wrongfully called back in Jan. 2002). We aren't going to win the tourney if these two don't score at some point.

Let's face it though, even with a full squad it would be tough for us to win this tourney with the bloody final in Mexico & with no time to acclimatize.

Even the wolf can learn. Even the sheep can turn. Even the frog can become at last the prince. - Peter Hammill, Over (1977)

[Gian-Luca]

quote:Originally posted by Canuck Oranje

Well, from the reports I read around the Germany game, it sounded like Jazic was hurting with a back ailment. Sounded like the same thing Wendel Clark had in the early '90s. And that needs a fair amount of physio... so I will give him the benefit of the doubt.

As for Nsaliwa, I can see him staying home too.... Our top priority still has to be World Cup Qualifying...

With Tam its the same thing as Brennan. It is a bit awkward for players to sign one day & then immediately say "See you a month from now, I'm off to play for Canada, please make sure no-one claims my spot while I'm away."

Without Jazic & Tam, I would like to see this as a starting line-up:

Xausa McKenna

Canizalez Stalteri Imhof Nash

Pozniak Pizzolitto De Vos Bent

Onstad (Lars hasn't played in a while)

Subs - Hume as super-sub at striker position. Hastings for Pozniak if he gets tired or injured. Klukowski for any of the midfielders. Fenwick at central defense. Same with Dasovic (he must be banne from midfield - no point anyway with both Imhof & Klukowski on the squad).

Corazzin as another striker sub. I am horrified to hear reports out of Vancouver that Carlo is getting fat - that's the last thing Carlo needed, speed wasn't his game to begin with.

Here's what I think we will see:

Xausa McKenna

Nash Stalteri Imhof Bent

Hastings Fenwick De Vos Pozniak

Onstad

I like my line-up better. I really want to go with a 3-5-2 with Klukowski starting, but I have a feeling (especially against Costa Rica) we will see 4 at the back.

Even the wolf can learn. Even the sheep can turn. Even the frog can become at last the prince. - Peter Hammill, Over (1977)

[Varsity Tyler]

You know what? I've seen Canada put out some poorer rosters against even better opposition than we're set to face in the group stage. In all honestly, I'm pretty optimistic.

At striker, forget about what Holger has to say. Provided that he plays them, Canizales and Hume are apt replacements for our main strikers. I'm not calling their talents level with Peschisolido and Radzinski, but that's okay. So long as they're eased into the games then I think they will do just fine. Remember back to how Holger introduced DeRosario to full internationals; he did it over a course of roughly three years. I think it worked out fine in that scenario. There's no reason why this can't happen again.

The middle is still strong. Yes, it's true that it could be better, but let's not lose perspective. We won this whole tournament a couple of years back with a midfield that consisted of a ****e Paul Stalteri, an aging Nick Dasovic, Jimmy Brennan, Marty Nash and Jeff Clarke! I don't know about you, but I'll take a much-improved Stalteri, a mature Jason Bent, that same Martin Nash and Daniel Imhof over that Championship midfield any day. We have much more depth now than we did earlier; it's going to start showing.

Unfortunately, the back line isn't what it used to be. The dominant trio of Watson, Menezes and De Vos isn't together at the moment. Let's hope to hell that De Vos has recovered enough to remain a presesnce. Then, in a 4-4-2, let him marshall Hastings, Klukowski and McKenna. That should be okay.

[beachesl]

Gian-Luca:

You'd be an awfully generous teacher!

The US GC team would be using a B+ (in terms of POTENTIALITY of all available players in a successful world, not in team competitiveness)and we could use that as a standard. Mexico and Costa Rica would be

A-'s on this scale, Colombia B, Brazil maybe B-, even with their Olympic Q team being sent (smart move on their part, great training camp for the coming campaign!) but they are always hard to peg.

I have always been keeping my sight on the WCQ, but now that the GC is almost here, I'm wanting to get optimistic about at least moderate success (which would be giving the USA hell at the quarter-final, or going on to the Semi if we end up at the head of our group and get to play El Salvador in the Quarters instead).

Hard to give Canada's GC team more than a C+ given it's ultimate potential. But, as you say, hopefully Holger's "Master Plan" will lead to a good "Final Soloution" for the World Cup. Shades of Dr. Strangelove!

A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change

the subject. -- Winston Churchill

[DJT]

Neil Davidson's article:

TORONTO (CP) - Captain Jason deVos and goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld have recovered from injury and will play for Canada at the Gold Cup later this month.

But the Canadians, winners in 2000 and third in 2002, will be without influential winger Jim Brennan at the 12-team tournament that starts July 12 in Foxboro, Mass. Top strikers Tomasz Radzinski and Dwayne De Rosario are also still unavailable. Radzinski, who plays for Everton in the English top flight, is recovering from a groin injury while De Rosario, who plays for the MLS San Jose Earthquakes, has had season-ending knee surgery.

Brennan has just signed with Norwich City of the English First Division and did not want to immediately abandon his new team to play for Canada.

The squad is about as good as it gets for Canadian coach Holger Osieck, whose team is currently ranked 78th in the world.

"When I look at the roster, it's a good mixture of experience and youth," Osieck said Wednesday. "We'll see."

Other matches in the CONCACAF championship, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean, will take place in Miami and Mexico City.

The tournament features 10 CONCACAF squads and two guest teams: Brazil and Copa American champion Colombia. The Brazilians are not sending their full squad, instead opting for an under-23 side.

Canada, currently ranked ninth among CONCACAF countries, is in an opening-round group with No. 18 Costa Rica and No. 63 Cuba.

The top two teams from each of the four groups will advance to the second round. Canada will be hoping to win its group to avoid a confrontation with the winner of Group C - in all likelihood the defending champion Americans.

DeVos, a hard-nosed defender who anchors Canada's backline, has been out of action recently because of a foot injury. Hirschfeld, who was the revelation of the 2002 Gold Cup, is coming back from a hamstring problem suffered while on load to Luton of the English Second Division.

With Hirschfeld lacking game experience and backup Pat Onstad in fine form with San Jose, Osieck said he will be monitoring the goalie situation closely before naming his starter.

Returning to Osieck's roster are forwards Carlo Corazzin, Davide Xausa and 19-year-old Iain Hume, midfielders Mike Klukowski and Jason Bent, and defender Chris Pozniak.

Young midfielders Julian de Guzman and Tam Nsaliwa are not in the squad. Neither is midfielder Ante Jazic or veteran forward Paul Peschisolido.

De Guzman and Nsaliwa, apparently, were not that interested, with club interests in Germany apparently more of a concern.

"How can I put it, they don't see the significance of the tournament," Osieck said dryly.

Osieck could have called them in, but elected not to.

"I got the feeling maybe it was not whole-hearted so therefore I said I'd rather go with guys of whom I'm really convinced."

Asked if that was the kind of attitude that might cost a player down the line, Osieck was pragmatic.

"I'm not in the privileged position here that I could act like a national team coach in let's say one of those countries like Italy, Germany or England," he said philosophically. "We have to go with those guys."

Osieck does have a long memory, however.

And, in a perfect world, he would have the rampaging Brennan on the left flank.

The Canadian coach took the diplomatic route when apprised of a quote from Brennan taken from the local Norwich paper's Internet site.

"Missing the Gold Cup was a fairly easy decision for me," Brennan was quoted as saying. "I spoke to the Canadian manager and told him I was about to sign for Norwich and it would be a bit difficult to then leave for three weeks. He understood that and was really good about it."

"Let's leave it," Osieck said.

Brennan has been a loyal servant to Canada, however, so perhaps he is entitled to a shot at impressing his new employer.

As for Jazic, the dance continues between the Halifax midfielder and the national team. The Rapid Vienna player has been injured for long stretches when needed by Canada and was unavailable after being called up for the recent German game.

With Peschisolido, Osieck said the two have not talked recently and the last time they did, the veteran Sheffield United striker said he wanted to concentrate on his club business.

Canadian supporters on the Internet have campaigned for the inclusion of midfielder Fernando Aguiar, who is with Benfica in Portugal. But Osieck is unimpressed.

"I don't know about the supporters, in how far they can assess the performance of a player that they don't see."

The Canadians will gather north of Toronto this week for a training camp prior to the tournament. Canada opens July 12 against Costa Rica.

As I posted on the old board... Haha, Holger comments on us again! But does Holger see Aguiar? Does he see (at their clubs) many of the players that he does call?

[Gian-Luca]

quote:Originally posted by beachesl

Gian-Luca:

You'd be an awfully generous teacher!

The US GC team would be using a B+ (in terms of POTENTIALITY of all available players in a successful world, not in team competitiveness)and we could use that as a standard. Mexico and Costa Rica would be

A-'s on this scale, Colombia B, Brazil maybe B-, even with their Olympic Q team being sent (smart move on their part, great training camp for the coming campaign!) but they are always hard to peg.

I have always been keeping my sight on the WCQ, but now that the GC is almost here, I'm wanting to get optimistic about at least moderate success (which would be giving the USA hell at the quarter-final, or going on to the Semi if we end up at the head of our group and get to play El Salvador in the Quarters instead).

Hard to give Canada's GC team more than a C+ given it's ultimate potential. But, as you say, hopefully Holger's "Master Plan" will lead to a good "Final Soloution" for the World Cup. Shades of Dr. Strangelove!

This isn't quite what I meant by "B+". I wasn't giving grades, but commenting on how close to being a "top squad" the Gold Cup roster is. If Canada had all of their best players starting, we'd be fielding an A team. If we field a squad that is missing most of our best players but playing the next best alternative to that position, that's a "B" team. If we field a squad that has players playing who are way down the depth chart, that's a C or D team (like we did against the US in January, when Matondo started & Chris Williams played, even though neither might start at this point for our Olympic team, never mind the national team).

Given what our top team would be, there are enough players missing to say that this isn't quite our "A" team. Probably A- or B+.

Even the wolf can learn. Even the sheep can turn. Even the frog can become at last the prince. - Peter Hammill, Over (1977)

[beachesl]

Well-written and comprehensive article !

Again, I give Holger a failing grade on diplomacy for his comments on De Guzman and Nsaliwa. He could have said "Both players, who were very promising in the Germany game, are in difficult club situations that prevent them from commiting to the GC, but they have demonstrated a wish to be involved in the coming WCQ campaign" (which is probably closer to the truth too). Calling a sopade a spade is one thing, but calling a spade a "g*dd*mn shovel" is another!

The comment about Pesch is a bit of a half-true, I'm sure, as well.

A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change

the subject. -- Winston Churchill

[matthew]

quote:Originally posted by DJT

"I don't know about the supporters, in how far they can assess the performance of a player that they don't see.

Well we knew calling in Jason Jordan was a bit of a stretch before Holger did.

Seriously how many of these games does he see? Has he ever been to an A-League match outside of Toronto? I love Nick Dasovic, always been one of my favourites, but if Holger is convinced that Nick Dasovic is a better midfidler than Fernando Aguiar as of July 2, 2003 I have serious doubts about his sanity.

Good job by Neil Davidson to dig a little. Holger didn't offer much in way of response, but at least we know that he thinks Aguiar and Pesch are both past it while still including Fenwick, Fletcher and Dasovic.

cheers,

matthew

The secret of life is to find moments of levity and grace in what is, ultimately, a tragedy. Watching Canadian soccer is good practice for this.

[Gian-Luca]

quote:Originally posted by matthew

Seriously how many of these games does he see? Has he ever been to an A-League match outside of Toronto? I love Nick Dasovic, always been one of my favourites, but if Holger is convinced that Nick Dasovic is a better midfidler than Fernando Aguiar as of July 2, 2003 I have serious doubts about his sanity.

Well it does beg the question that I asked on the old forum, what precisely about Aguiar is he "unimpressed" (as Neil put it) with? His play in Portugal, or something else?

Ryan suggests putting Dasovic as part of the back four, I think I'd prefer that, though I hope he doesn't commit as many fouls in the 18-yard box as he did outside of it 18 months ago in the last Gold Cup. I honestly thought Nick's days for Canada were over. I love the guy, but not on our team at this juncture. With Imhof & Klukowski on the same roster, I sure hope we don't see Nick playing in midfield instead of those two.

Even the wolf can learn. Even the sheep can turn. Even the frog can become at last the prince. - Peter Hammill, Over (1977)

[mattbin]

About Neil's article... the one thing I am impressed with above all else is that he's obviously taking our concerns to heart. Every one of the concerns that are expressed on the V-Board(s)--Jazic, Aguiar, Pesch--has not only been confronted, but even taken up with Holger.

Much as we might disagree with Holger's responses, we must appreciate that our concerns are being taken to the highest level.

Thanks, Neil.

Allez les Rouges,

M@

[Ian Kennett]

Regarding Jazic!

Ante Jazic is LEGITIMATELY hurt as diagnosed by the CANADIAN world cup team doctors just prior to the Germany match according to Assistant coach, Colin Miller. Jazic is back in Holger's good books, and this time we cannot fault him for being absent from the team.

Cheers!

[Reza]

So, the secret appears to be beating Costa Rica or somehow finishing first in the group ....there is no point facing USA in the 2nd round. It's crucial for Canada to get 5 games out of this tournament, since it's rare that they get to play two weeks together especially only 7 months prior to the big competition begins.

Reza