Kappos makes pledge to Canada

[Massive Attack]

New Canadian soccer recruit battles elements after trip from Greece

By NEIL DAVIDSON

SUNRISE, Fla. (CP) - Stathis Kapos wasn't quite sure what time it was. Or what language he should be speaking.

The 24-year-old right back with AEK Athens had just finished practising with the Canadian soccer team for the first time after a backbreaking trip from Greece. The newest prospect for coach Frank Yallop played a league game on Sunday, left the next day at noon, arrived in New York 11 hours later, then caught a connecting flight to Fort Lauderdale to get to the 12-day camp here.

"Man, it was a killer," he said Tuesday afternoon before heading to his hotel room for a much needed nap. "I feel exhausted."

Kapos was sorting out more than jet lag. The heat and bright sunshine of Florida are a far cry from the current cold spell in Athens.

Plus he hasn't spoken English for any length of time for some two years.

"It's a little weird for me right now," he explained.

While Kapos was tired, hot and a little confused, he was also very happy to be playing in a Canadian shirt.

Born in Toronto to Greek parents, Kapos lived in Canada until his family moved back to Greece when he was 16.

Soccer was just a hobby at a local club until he was noticed and signed by Kalamata, then in the Greek first division. In 2001, he made the jump to AEK Athens, where he now starts.

AEK is fourth in Greece's top flight, but has struggled of late. And in Greece, where soccer is taken very seriously, that's bad news,

"You win one game, you're a champ. You lose one game, you get trashed. . . . The fans come to the field just to swear at you."

Loyalties are divided in Athens, also home to powerhouse teams Olympiakos and Panathinaikos.

Kapos may be a new name to Canadian soccer fans, but he is recognized in the street back in Athens.

"If you play for the three big teams, people know you," he said. "They're such fanatics there that even if you play for a small team, they know you."

Kapos is versatile on the field. He played centre forward at Kalamata and moved to AEK as a right-winger.

He was shifted back to right back out of necessity when the team need someone to fill a void.

"I did well," he said. "I like it. No complaints."

Kapos only managed a few hours sleep after arriving here. He says he felt fine when he woke up, but hit the wall just before training.

Yallop, no stranger to transatlantic flights when he played in England, knew his newest recruit would be feeling the effects of the journey.

"It's tough," said Yallop. "He's just trained at four in the morning his time. I've done that before and maybe not played so well.

"I told him this morning 'I'm giving you two weeks. It's not just today.' And I don't make decisions early. I can't, because it's unfair on him and myself."

Kapos, whose last visit to Canada was three years ago, saw action with the Greek under-21 team in exhibition play but says he wanted to play for Canada.

"I feel Canadian, even though I've been living in Greece for seven years," he said.

He thought enough of the Canadian tryout to miss two games with AEK and hopes he won't lose his starting job as a result.

But there are no regrets, he says.

"It's great, great. It's wonderful. A great experience."

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/2004/01/13/312081-cp.html

[BearcatSA]

Looking forward to seeing how he does! Sounds versatile (right wing, right back). Maybe Staltieri can now move back into a central midfield role?

[JayWay]

"I feel Canadian"

What a refreshing paradox to some statement some other guy made some time ago. Forget who. I'm sure it's not important.

[Gian-Luca]

Well, I guess this article will put end to any speculation as to what country Kappos wants to represent internationally. Welcome Aboard Stathis!

[Gian-Luca]

Well, I guess this article will put end to any speculation as to what country Kappos wants to represent internationally. Welcome Aboard Stathis!

[Free kick]

Its great to see that Yallop is having more and more options at our disposal. The piece also highlights one of the major obstacles that we have to overcome in qualifying; That being Jetlag. Holger Osieck also alluded to this. Hopefully this can be minimized when we play in summer months when European clubs are in their off-season. In which case they could arrive earlier to adapt. But I still worry about the fall qualifying games. I think that we have further evidence here why setting up base in BC rather that eastern Canada is a bad idea. No I am not trying be the ugly arrogant easterner

[Gian-Luca]

Here's a nice article by Norm Da Costa on the newest member of the Nats:

Jan. 15, 2004. 01:00 AM

Canuck staying close to home

NORMAN DA COSTA

SOCCER

It is refreshing to note that a player who may be good enough to represent Greece has decided that his international future lies with Canada.

It is indeed surprising that Stathis Kapos would make that decision when one considers that soccer has a far higher profile in the European country. And others in the past have turned their backs on Canada, notably Owen Hargreaves, who opted to play for England rather than Canada.

Kapos, who has dual citizenship, represented Greece at the under-21 level on nine occasions in exhibition games, meaning he was still eligible to turn out for Canada. Had he played for Greece in international competitions, FIFA rules would have barred him from suiting up for Canada.

Of course, he thought about playing for Greece — and when one considers that soccer enjoys the same popularity there as hockey does here, why not?

"But I picked Canada because I feel Canadian all the way ... the mentality, everything," said the 24-year-old defender who is training with the Canadian national team in Sunrise, Fla.

Kapos was born in Toronto and was here till age 16, in 1996, when his parents decided to return to Greece. Kapos said it was a family decision and he went along with it. In Toronto, Kapos played for Olympic Flames, a team made up primarily of Greeks, just "because all of my friends loved playing the game and I took it up as a hobby."

In Greece, he again played the game for fun until a coach at First Division club Kalamata spotted Kapos, who was a striker at the time, in a junior game and felt he had potential.

Kapos impressed as a striker, but was moved to right back after a string of injuries left the club short of defenders.

"After two or three games the coach said that I was a better defender and that has been my position since," Kapos said.

Kapos obviously made an impression because AEK Athens, one of the country's leading clubs, showed an interest but Kalamata refused to let him go.

His big chance for a move to AEK came in 2001 when he took Kalamata to court for unpaid wages and won. In Greece, a player is declared a free agent if he wins a court case, and AEK quickly signed him up.

Last year, the CSA started making inquiries about the 5-foot-11 Kapos, and it finally managed to get him released for the camp in Florida.

"I was really excited when I got the papers from Canada to show up," Kapos said. "And my coach (Dusko) Bajevic had no objections.

"He said, `This is the first time you have been called and it is important that you go,'" Kapos said. "It wasn't a big problem as the team is in fifth place and we cannot win the league now."

Canadian team manager Morgan Quarry said he had been charting Kapos' progress for the past year and was happy when he agreed to play for Canada.

Another player on the CSA radar for the last year was Angolan defender Edgar Bartolomeu, and he too was called up for the camp, but was unable to link up with the squad because of visa problems.

Bartolomeu is no stranger to coach Frank Yallop, who has seen him play in for the New York MetroStars of the MLS.

"It is unfortunate that Bartolomeu is not here, but I have seen him and he is a pretty good player," Yallop said.

"Kapos, too, seems like a good, solid player and the next few days will show us what he is all about."

Yallop is pleased with the addition of these two new players. This should give his squad the depth he requires before it gets ready for World Cup qualifying matches.

[bungey]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

"I was really excited when I got the papers from Canada to show up," Kapos said. "And my coach (Dusko) Bajevic had no objections.

"He said, `This is the first time you have been called and it is important that you go,'" Kapos said. "It wasn't a big problem as the team is in fifth place and we cannot win the league now."

Wow, a European coach encouraging a player to go play for Canada? Pinch me, somebody pinch me!

[Daniel]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

Kapos, who has dual citizenship, represented Greece at the under-21 level on nine occasions in exhibition games, meaning he was still eligible to turn out for Canada. Had he played for Greece in international competitions, FIFA rules would have barred him from suiting up for Canada.

And what would a Da Costa article be without at least one mistake? New FIFA rules allow players who have represented a country in youth teams for official games to be capped by a different senior team for which the player is available. There was lots of talk with Kanoute of Spurs, who turned up for Mali at the 2004 ANC while having played youth team with France.

[Gian-Luca]

Well actually two mistakes since Kappos was being tracked by the CSA for over 2 years, not just since last year (I remember talking, along with Grasshopper & Mike D., to Morgan about him at the Gold Cup in Jan.2002), but I'll cut Norm some slack since the mistakes are fairly minor & the article's quite good for the most part.

[Grasshopper]

In fact, I believe that he was also listed in the official Gold Cup program as a part of Canada's 25 man roster. And yes that was late January 2002.

Blair

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

Well actually two mistakes since Kappos was being tracked by the CSA for over 2 years, not just since last year (I remember talking, along with Grasshopper & Mike D., to Morgan about him at the Gold Cup in Jan.2002), but I'll cut Norm some slack since the mistakes are fairly minor & the article's quite good for the most part.

[DJT]

quote:Originally posted by JayWay

"I feel Canadian"

What a refreshing paradox to some statement some other guy made some time ago. Forget who. I'm sure it's not important.

Yeah, but he couldn't have always felt that way. Otherwise he wouldn't have been sitting on the Greek bench as a sub during an official U21 Euro qualifying match at the end of 2001.

quote:Originally posted by Grasshopper

In fact, I believe that he was also listed in the official Gold Cup program as a part of Canada's 25 man roster. And yes that was late January 2002.

We heard about Kappos for the first time prior to the final 2002 Gold Cup rosters being released when CONCACAF posted everyone's preliminary 30-man roster on their Web site and Kappos was on our roster. The forum went nuts trying to figure out who he was, track him down, debate the possibility of him playing for Canada, etc.

quote:Originally posted by Gian-luca

Well actually two mistakes since Kappos was being tracked by the CSA for over 2 years, not just since last year (I remember talking, along with Grasshopper & Mike D., to Morgan about him at the Gold Cup in Jan.2002), but I'll cut Norm some slack since the mistakes are fairly minor & the article's quite good for the most part.

What's really funny is that Norm himself wrote an article about Kappos two years ago.

So is it "Kappos" or "Kapos"? This is bugging me. I know in Greek it's spelled with a double-pi so I assume it should be a double-p, and it was a double-p two years ago. Now all of a sudden the CSA uses a single-p and Neil and Norm and some of us follow suit. What's going on???