Yallop announces roster for development camp

[Jarrek]

YALLOP ANNOUNCES ROSTER FOR MEN’S WORLD CUP TEAM DEVELOPMENT CAMP

Ottawa, Ontario – Canadian Men’s World Cup Team head coach Frank Yallop today named his 17-player roster for the upcoming Men’s World Cup Team Development Training Camp in Vancouver, BC from July 9-15.

The team will assemble in Vancouver on July 9 and will play Scottish Premier League club Hearts on July 12 at 7:30 p.m. and FA Cup Finalists Millwall from the English First Division on July 14 at 7:30 p.m.. Both games are at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, BC. The tournament is being hosted and organized by the British Columbia Soccer Association.

Yallop has assembled players from each of the five Canadian A-League teams as well as a number of players from Europe and the United States in an effort to broaden the Men’s World Cup Team Player Pool.

“There are a number of players who have impressed me recently or that have shown they deserve to get a closer look ,” said Yallop. “This camp and these high quality games will provide them with the perfect opportunity to show what they can do and if they are ready to play for the senior team. It also gives me another look at some players who have already earned some senior caps.”

Some senior members of the squad include defender Tony Menezes who has played the last two seasons in China, as well as midfielder/forward Mauro Biello, who earned four caps with the World Cup team from 1995-2000.

Others players include 17-year-old Jamie Peters who is with Kaiserslautern in Germany; Terry Dunfield, who played for Canada at the 2001 World Youth Championship; Kevin de Serpa, who represented Canada at the 2001 Francophone Games; former Toronto Lynx defender Marco Reda and goalkeeper Theo Zagar; Olympic and Youth Team midfielder Josh Simpson and forward Olivier Occean, who earned his first cap against Wales on May 30.

Yallop has also selected several players from Canadian A-League teams, including Mesut Mert (Calgary), Gabriel Gervais (Montreal), Chris Lemire (Edmonton), Tyler Hughes (Toronto), Alfredo Valente (Vancouver) and Adrian Serioux (Toronto).

“This is something the A-League teams have been asking for and I am delighted to be able to get a chance to have a closer look at some players with the cooperation and assistance of BC Soccer,” said Yallop.

Canadian Roster for Training Camp in Vancouver, BC

Name Pos. Club League D.O.B.

Theo Zagar GK Rochester Rhinos A-League 11/2/74

Greg Sutton GK Montreal Impact A-League 4/19/77

Tyler Hughes DF Toronto Lynx A-League 11/11/80

Nevio Pizzolitto DF Montreal Impact A-League 8/26/76

Marco Reda DF Sogndal Norwegian First Division 6/22/77

Tony Menezes DF Greentown Chinese Second Division 11/14/74

Gabriel Gervais DF Montreal Impact A-League 9/18/76

Mesut Mert MF Calgary Mustangs A-League 3/18/78

Terry Dunfield MF Bury English Third Division 2/20/82

Kevin de Serpa MF Penafiel Portuguese First Division 5/21/80

Josh Simpson MF Boulder Rapids PDL 5/15/83

Jamie Peters MF Kaiserslautern Bundesliga Youth 5/4/87

Alfredo Valente MF Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps 11/6/80

Mauro Biello MF/F Montreal Impact A-League 8/8/72

Adrian Serioux DF/M Toronto Lynx A-League 5/12/79

Olivier Occean F Olde Grenland Norwegian First Division 10/23/81

Chris Lemire F Edmonton Aviators A-League 3/11/83

Staff

Frank Yallop Head Coach

Dale Mitchell Assistant Coach

Paul Dolan Goalkeeper Coach

Morgan Quarry Team Manager

Kevin Wagner Equipment Manager

Greg Bay Physiotherapist

For more information please contact:

Morgan Quarry

(613) 237-4580 ext: 230

media@soccercan.ca

Visit our web site at www.canadasoccer.com

[Champs]

holy cow.....what a surprise...i really like this roster the only thing that bothers me is not seeing Ali Gerba and Sandro Grande there other then that i am very pleased with his selection

[sstackho]

They found Menezes!

[Mimglow]

MENEZES!!!!!

[Timotas]

Seems like a very solid team, with a good amount of depth. Pretty impressed with the selection by Yallop! Little surprised to see Jaime Peters in the squad, its funny because I just turned 18, and I was only playing against him a few months ago in the Ontario Youth Soccer League. He was quite unstanding, especially when I was playing against him on the wing, definitely was the fastest player in the league. All I can ever do was foul him .

[Guest Jeffery S.]

I am also impressed by the heterogenity of the call-up, with many surprises. Very pleased by this.

Just off the cuff this seems to suggest that a few players will miss club dates, will have to take a closer look at who and what.

Funny that he calls up Menezes but has effectively now closed the door on Corrazin, other former nats like Nash, Dasovic. So the squad is essentially a younger developmental side, with a mind to the future. Though Biello would be an exception. Surprised to see Menezes is coming on thirty.

Also pleased to see Josh Simpson in there, considering he is technically still NCAA.

As for those not called who everyone here vouches for (Gerba), I suppose it was a matter of balancing the calls from different clubs, as well as maybe looking for a mix. If he knows how Ali plays I guess he is a future consideration.

[David C.]

Wow! No Corazzin, Xausa, Nash, Sulentic, Rhian Dodds, Canizalez, Nsaliwa, Kojic or Pozniak? Interesting...

Would have really liked to see Gerba and Brilliant invited.

Glad to see Menezes back, he should be the main addition from this squad.

[Loud Mouth Soup]

As a related aside, I have a question for anyone who can answer it.

Will these matches have any affect (as minimal as it might be) on FIFA rankings? While not FIFA sanctioned matches (or are they, since they are pre-season friendlies?), they still involve our 'national squad' playing recognized teams in a full 90 minute match. I was thinking of asking this when we played San Jose, but I forgot to.

Me so lazy.

[snake]

corazzin is still injured thats why he isnt on the squad,would have liked to have seen ali gerba and jason jordan,finally get to see oliver occean up close,as well as josh simpson,also surprised that nik ledgerwood and rob friend were not called up.

[Jarrek]

No, this match will not apply to FIFA rankings.

[Jarrek]

Can someone tape these matches if they're going to be on TV ???

[ray]

Good picks. Please to see Euro-based players in the squad. Glad to see Menezes too. Jamie Peters ... wow. A bit of everything.

[Free kick]

When I first looked at the squad it looked pretty good. Then I realized that there are several players that I have seen play whom I thought were far better than some of the players selected. Overall most of Yallops selections in the past were very good. I am not sure I like this one. I will only speak for the players I have seen live or on TV at least once. And, you can't convionce me that Biello, dunfield is better than Grande, Nash. Or that canizales and Gerba doesn't belong there. Valente must be a hell of a MF'er, to be selected over Grande and I am looking forward to see him play when Vancouver comes to town. Cause I cannot think of an a-leaguer (off hand) that has impressed me this year. Good selection of keepers though

[Gordon]

In terms of who was and was not selected, you have to recall that different players are in different club situstions and may not have been available or in a good position to come. Also, I don't think clubs have an obligation to release for a B Friendly. So players like Nsaliwa who is seeking a team, and Canizalez, who is trying to impress a new team would be really wouldn't be in the mix for selection.

Surprised at the ommission of Sulentic, who played very well in the Whitecaps game against Toronto, and whom I believe Yallop had identifed as impressing from the earlier B camp/game against Barbados. It may be that he is looking a little further down the pecking order in terms of looking past some of the guys he has seen already.

Reda, Menezes get looks, which I am pleased about, given the current state of our centrebacks. Sutton advocates have to be pleased, I think, if one takes the view that Yallop is wanting to see as many "possibles" as he can, a good selection. There are undoubtedly guys further up the depth chart who were ommitted, but I think that Yallop has had a chance to see all of them thus far (perhaps not Kojic, but release might be a problem here)

[DarnCherry]

Sulentic is a suprise not being on the squad, he's certainly better than Valente. I'm not suprised that Nash isn't there, he has been crap this season. I'm guessing thast there's only one Whitecap on the squad because the Caps are in a heavy part of their schedule that week.

[MikeD]

Well, the selection Menezes sure brought a smile to my face! Now it's up to Tony to win back his place. Come on Tony! You just need to be 10 times as good as Watson to win back your spot!

[An Observer]

By the looks of the side, a few things spring to mind:

(1) Players like Canizales, Kapos, Marcina may have not been invited at they are trying to make an impression with their club sides;

(2) Players like Bent, Nsaliwa are left out as they are looking for teams (and hopefully on trials)

(3) Players like Pozniak, Kojic are left out because they won't be released

(4) He is focusing on weaknesses in the current squad by calling in the back mostly central defenders and in the midfield creative wing players. This may explain the omission of DiTullio, Grande, and Dodds.

That still leaves players like Sulentic and Gerba. With Gerba, I think he has been blackballed by the CSA for some reason or another that goes back to being left off the side after qualifying for U-20 2001 World Cup in Victoria. At the time, someone on this site posted it was because he lied about his age. I wonder if that is the reason.

[matthew]

This is the best Canadian roster I've ever seen. I've been harsh in the past, but hail Frank!

Sure we could have Nash, Xausa, etc, etc, but what do we need? central defenders, a target forward and a third string keeper.

So we get all of the central defenders I wanted to see - Pizzolitto, reda, Menezes, Gervais. I don't think they'll go from here to starting against Guatemala, but they're all in the mix.

Then we get two long looks at Occean. Fantastic. Plus three midfield prospects that we need to get a look at - DeSerpa (vivo la conspircy anti-Portugues ), Peters and Simpson. I don't think there's a lot of room in the midfield or up front for people to win spots. I didn't expect the likes of Nsaliwa or Bent to be invited, so we hit some good target areas with some guys we've been clamoring for, for ages.

cheers,

matthew

[Gian-Luca]

Last we heard from Sandro Grande he didn't want to play for Canada so I think that has to be taken into consideration when asking why he wasn't included.

Pleased to see Menezes back in the fold & Reda finally get a cap - fingers crossed that he doesn't get injured in camp again.

The absence of Gerba sucks (he must be the leading Canadian scorer in the A-league right now) especially when there are so few strikers being called to the team. Have to wonder if the Lynx refused to release him or he is being black-listed for some reason. Especially if the placing of Adrian Serioux in the team list (with the strikers) suggests that he will play striker on this team, which would be a first as far as I'm aware. Perhaps I'm reading too much into that grouping however.

I though I had read in WFP's article by Ian Kennett that Yallop was interested in looking at Cann & Brilliant, so I have to figure the MLS teams in question may have told Yallop to piss off in this regard.

Timotas, would you be able to describe what Jamie Peters looks like? I'm trying to figure out if he's the un-identified player I saw with David Edgar at the Belize matches in Kingston.

Jeffrey, now that he's called De Serpa, will you lay off the "Yallop is anti-Portugese" shtick?

Above all, greatly irritated that Hearts vs. Millwall will be broadcast by Canadian television but not the matches featuring Canada. A complete, 100%, total disgrace.

[Gian-Luca]

Few more thoughts - re: Dasovic & Corazzin, Yallop knows what they can do (they were teammates for a while with Canada) so no need to call them - if he has closed the door on these players I can't really see it being a tremendous catastrophe at this stage in their career. Perhaps surprised that Nash & Xausa weren't called but other responses here suggest the reasons why. I would agree with the other suggested answers re: Pozniak, Canizalez, Nsaliwa & Bent though in the case of the latter we aren't sure if he's recovered properly from his surgery yet in any case.

Re: Kapos & Marcina, would they really have a club conflict at this stage? Has Greek pre-season started already or are they still partying?

Also disappointed (but given previous indications, not surprised) that Bartolomeu wasn't called, given that Yallop tried to call him last time when citizenship issues (which have now been resolved) got in the way. On the bright side, still no sign of Hastings & Fenwick.

We have been talking about a hell of a lot of players though. Can't ever recall a time when we've been talking about this many players as being in consideration for a national team call up, even if it is a "B" team. Hopefully they perform well.

[David C.]

Hey Gian-Luca, have you really found Bartholomeu to be that great, so far this season?

Other than his "I played in the MLS" tag, I haven't been THAT impressed with him. Maybe it's just me? I think that Jamie Dodds has been better, both in offensive support and in helping track back.

Curious to hear your (and other's) thoughts.

[Gordon]

If Frank were in attendance at the Whitecaps-Lynx game, he would have crossed Nash and Bartolomeu off his list. The former was invisible and the latter, while active, didn't impress as much as Serioux. Of course, one game does not a career make... I wonder how many times Yallop might have seen the Lynx this year?

[DarnCherry]

Hey Gordon, you were at the Whitecaps-Lynx game?

[Gordon]

quote:Originally posted by Krammerhead

Hey Gordon, you were at the Whitecaps-Lynx game?

Yes I was, with the Spouse, kids, sister and her kids. I was going to wander down to the Southsider's area at halftime and look you up (the spouse wasn't too eager for "atmosphere" or potential rainfall so we sat under cover), but the various kidlets "needed" munchies, souveniers (sorry guys, I broke down and bought four "ferners" for the brats, but only one of them could figure out how to make them work), tickets on an autographed soccer ball etc. I think I paid the rent on the Stadium at that game through food, jerseys, scarves and "ferners".

[Blue and White Army]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

Above all, greatly irritated that Hearts vs. Millwall will be broadcast by Canadian television but not the matches featuring Canada. A complete, 100%, total disgrace.

Will the two Canada matches be shown in the UK? I've not heard a peep.