neil21 Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 I miss the dribblers and the real goalscorers. Is the Gold Cup not big enough for guys like Radzinski... Peschisolido... and what happened to Mark Bircham's spot on the national team? Is it age? Lack of talent? Contract conflict? What bugs me a lot is the CSA site announcement of the roster with never a mention of guys not on it. Shouldn't we know why Nsaliwa or Radz isn't on the team? If he's injured or with Everton on a tour of the Pacific Goat Islands, then let's hear it![}] If anyone knows where to get any of the answers to these questions... (Then I found the answers...)[8] 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattbin Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 Although Neil's article was superb and answered a lot of our questions about the non-selections, I do not disagree with the CSA's lack of mention of non-selected players (except maybe in cases of injury, to a key player like the captain or keeper). The press release should tell us who is in the squad, not moan about who isn't available for whatever reason. I'm not going to complain about the GC selections while I'm cheering our third straight semifinal appearance. Let's also not forget that we won the thing with four unattached players--and without Radzinski for that matter! Allez les Rouges, M@ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 I agree, time to get positive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJT Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 quote:Originally posted by neil21 If anyone knows where to get any of the answers to these questions... Yes, they are all over this site. These questions have been discussed a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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