Mitchell Announces U-20 for Brazil Series

Ian Kennett · May 10, 2006

Men’s U-20 Team

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

U-20 Roster Announced for Three-game Series Against Brazil

Dale Mitchell

Ottawa, Ontario – Canada’s U-20 Head Coach, Dale Mitchell, has released his 22-man roster for the upcoming three-game, tri-city series against arguably the World’s best youth team – Brazil.

Canada will host the Brazilians at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, AB on May 19th, at Centennial Stadium in Victoria, BC on May 22nd, and at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, BC on May 25th.

Mitchell’s squad could be the most experienced of any U-20 team he has assembled in recent years.

Ten of the 22-man roster is currently with a professional club and over 60% of the squad has played in either a World Championship or a CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament at the U-17 or U-20 level.

Three members of the Canada roster- Will Johnson, Jaime Peters, and Asmir Begovic - have also been involved with Canada’s senior team over the past year and will certainly be looked to for their experience.

One of the players that impressed Mitchell and his staff during last month’s Porto Tournament, Glasgow Celtic’s Jacob Lensky, will not be attending the three game series. The talented midfielder requested that he be left off the squad to rest after his first full season of professional soccer.

Nonetheless, Mitchell is pleased with the squad he has assembled and is also quite happy with the timing of the three-match series.

'The Brazil series comes at a time when most all of our players are available, which doesn’t happen too often. It will give us a chance to gauge ourselves against the top nation in world soccer in front of pro-Canadian crowds.”

But Mitchell is also well aware of the challenge ahead of his young squad.

“There will be some countries possibly as good as Brazil next year but very few, if any, that will be better. Obviously for us, players that can show well in this environment take a big step towards being involved in 2007.'

Tickets for the two of the three matches are still available.

Victoria has already sold out for the May 22nd match.

Edmonton has already sold over 8,000 tickets for the May 19th match since going on sale on April 1st.

Since tickets went on sale to the general public in the second week in April in Burnaby, approximately 4,000 tickets have been sold for the May 25th match.

Ticket prices range from $15.00-25.00 for Edmonton and are available through Ticketmaster at (780) 451-8000, and $20.00-30.00 for Burnaby which are also available through Ticketmaster by calling (604) 280-4400. Both can be purchase online via ticketmaster.ca. Please note that tickets purchased through Ticketmaster are subject to taxes and surcharge.

The matches between Canada and Brazil in Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium and Burnaby’s Swangard Stadium will both be broadcast live on all Rogers Sportsnet channels.

Game and Ticket Information

May 19 @ Commonwealth Stadium – Edmonton, AB – 20:00 MT

$10.00-25.00 - Available through Ticketmaster at 780-451-8000 or visit ticketmaster.ca

May 22 @ Centennial Stadium – Victoria, BC – 14:00 PT - Sold Out

May 25 – Swangard Stadium – Burnaby, BC – 19:00 PT

$20.00-30.00 - Available through Ticketmaster at 604-280-4400 or visit ticketmaster.ca.

Roster

# Pos. Name Club DOB Hometown Prov.

1 GK BEGOVIC, Asmir La Louviere (Belgium) 20-Jun-87EdmontonAB

2 D LORETH, Joey Oregon State University (USA) 19-Jan-VictoriaBC

3 D O’CONNOR, Kent 1860 Munich (Germany) 5-Mar-87North VancouverBC

4 M BOURGAULT, Jonathan St. Pauli FC (Germany) 27-Sep-88Ile BizardQC

5 D LUMLEY, Stephen National Training Centre - ON 16-Apr-87MississaugaON

6 D EDGAR, David Newcastle United FC (England) 19-May-87KitchenerON

7 M PETERS, Jaime Ipswich Town FC (England) 04-May-87PickeringON

8 M NUNEZ, Cristian National Training Centre - QC 07-Jul-88MontrealQC

9 F ELLIOTT, Alex University of Portland (USA) 24-Apr-87VancouverBC

10 F JOHNSON, Will Heerenveen (Holland) 21-Jan-87WoodridgeIL

11 M BABINEAU, Olivier University of Montreal 12-Jul-87DieppeNB

12 M BALDE, Ibrahim National Training Centre - QC 24-Dec-87MontrealQC

13 M CONTRERAS, Hector National Training Centre - QC 24-Jun-87MontrealQC

14 M AYRE, Keegan Hibernian FC (Scotland) 4-Jul-88 CoquitlamBC

15 F LOMBARDO, Andrea Perugia Calcio (Italy) 23-May-87TorontoON

16 F JACKSON, Simeon Rushden & Diamonds FC (England)28-M-87MississaugaON

17 M McCALLUM, Gavin Yeovil Town FC (England) 24-Aug-87MississaugaON

18 D GALA, Gabe National Training Centre - ON 29-Jun-89BramptonON

19 M D’AGOSTINO, Mike University of Kentucky (USA) 1-Jul-87LangleyBC

20 D TURNBULL, Masumi University of Kentucky (USA) 30-Mar-87RichmondBC

21 D HABER, Marcus National Training Centre - BC 11-Jan-89VancouverBC

22 GK MONSALVE, David National Training Centre - ON 2-Feb-88BramptonON

Staff

MITCHELL, Dale - Head Coach

DASOVIC, Nick - Assistant Coach

MULDOON, Kevin - Equipment Manager/GK Coach

CANNON, Eddie - Physiotherapist

LAING, Dwayne - Physiotherapist

CELEBRINI, Randy - Fitness Coach

NUTT, Dave - National Teams Administrator

This website is the official website of the Canadian Soccer Association. Copyright

youllneverwalkalone · May 10, 2006

With the exception of Lensky and that other kid who needs his rest, it looks like everybody who should be there, will be there.

I guess Mitchell will play some sort of 4-5-1 or 4-3-3, but I think it would be nice to see Johnson and Lombardo paired together, with Jackson & Peters on the wings, and McCallum and Ayre in the middle. Regardless, if O'Connor joins Edgar in the centre, who are the fullbacks?

El Hombre · May 10, 2006

Disappointed Lensky won't be there. I wanted to see him in action. Glad to hear he impressed in Portugal.

Should be exciting. Lombardo better start scoring.

My lineup (I know nothing about our defenders mind you):

<center>Begovic

Loreth--O'Connor--Edgar--Turnbull

Ayre

Peters----Bourgault?

Johnson

Jackson----Lombardo</center>

Not sure if Bourgault plays outside mid or not. Maybe D'Agostino can play there instead. As I said, I know nothing about the positioning of the defenders, but those are the guys I want to see (in whatever order).

Ivan · May 10, 2006

Nana Attakora-Gyan is missing, but may still be hurt. He missed the Portugal tournament due to injury. I think Lumley has played in the middle of the back with Edgar the most, recently. I thought Bourgault played in the middle and Ayre on the wing in reference to El Hombre's lineup.

El Hombre · May 10, 2006

quote:Originally posted by Ivan

Nana Attakora-Gyan is missing, but may still be hurt. He missed the Portugal tournament due to injury. I think Lumley has played in the middle of the back with Edgar the most, recently. I thought Bourgault played in the middle and Ayre on the wing in reference to El Hombre's lineup.

You may be right. I'm woefully uneducated about some of these kids.

Whatever the formation, those are the guys that I actually want to see playing.

matthew · May 10, 2006

Bourgault is definitely a d-mid and can play in the centre of defence. I would pair him with Edgar, but he’s listed as a mid, so I’m assuming that’s where we will see him.

O’Connor is a leftback I believe. Loreth seems the best bet on the right. No Kyle Oliviera which surprises me. So maybe we’ll see some other options at RB too.

Has Marcus Haber been with this team at all recently? Wasn’t he a stud on the last U17 team? Wasn’t he a mid before, he’s listed as a back? Curious.

I think we’ll see Johnson up top. He played right mid at times as a need for the Fire and I gathered that’s where he lined up in Porto with Peters out. Does Ayre play on the left? Without Lensky I’m not sure who would fill in there. No Mayard or McLeod who are both possible left mids.

I too wonder if Nana Attakora-Gyan and Kerr McLeod are both still hurt.

It’ll be good to see these guys in action and get a feel for what they look like. I’ve been lucky enough to see a lot in person or on TV, but there are a lot of guys I haven’t seen.

cheers,

matthew

Ivan · May 11, 2006

I don't ever remember Haber with this group, although he was a force for the U17s. Interesting the "name" 89s a year or two ago were Attakora, Maras and Perreira. Now they aren't here and Haber and Gala are.

Shane Lammie seems to have fallen off the map as well.

Ivan · May 11, 2006

I don't ever remember Haber with this group, although he was a force for the U17s. Interesting the "name" 89s a year or two ago were Attakora, Maras and Perreira. Now they aren't here and Haber and Gala are.

Shane Lammie seems to have fallen off the map as well.

matthew · May 11, 2006

Where is Marinko Maras? He was one of the 89s I expected to push for a spot and I haven't seen hide or hair of him in years.

cheers,

matthew

matthew · May 11, 2006

Where is Marinko Maras? He was one of the 89s I expected to push for a spot and I haven't seen hide or hair of him in years.

cheers,

matthew

Ivan · May 11, 2006

quote:Originally posted by matthew

Where is Marinko Maras? He was one of the 89s I expected to push for a spot and I haven't seen hide or hair of him in years.

cheers,

matthew

Kaiserslautern youth system.

Matthew, is Bourgault a big, tough destroyer type or is he small & skilled?

Thanks.

Ivan

Ivan · May 11, 2006

quote:Originally posted by matthew

Where is Marinko Maras? He was one of the 89s I expected to push for a spot and I haven't seen hide or hair of him in years.

cheers,

matthew

Kaiserslautern youth system.

Matthew, is Bourgault a big, tough destroyer type or is he small & skilled?

Thanks.

Ivan

matthew · May 11, 2006

quote:Originally posted by Ivan
Kaiserslautern youth system.

Matthew, is Bourgault a big, tough destroyer type or is he small & skilled?

Thanks.

Ivan

Bourgault is tall (around 6-feet, maybe a little under). He was in the centre of the Quebec defence when I saw him. He was smooth and did the organizing. Very vocal and read the game well and was composed and smart. I wouldn't call him a destroyer. Plus he was playing beside Lumbreras who can handle that side of the game.

cheers,

matthew

loyola · May 12, 2006

I'm looking forward to see those young men next week against Brazil, it will be a tough test for them.

BTW, GK David Monsalve will be playing at UAB (University of Alabama Birgmingham) in the NCAA next year. UAB had another great canadian goalkeeper in the late 90's, David Clemente, Canada's keeper during the 1995 U-17 World Cup in Ecuador.

kelownaguy · May 12, 2006

disappointed Lensky decided to sit this one out.. most kids would relish the opportunity to go up against the best in the world.. How many chances in their lifetime are they gonna get a chance to play Brazil?? You also have to figure this 3 game series will go along way to deciding who makes the final squad..

RDA · May 12, 2006

Loreth can play either side, but I would bet he'd be on the right. He's a solid fullback.

quote:Originally posted by matthew

Bourgault is definitely a d-mid and can play in the centre of defence. I would pair him with Edgar, but he’s listed as a mid, so I’m assuming that’s where we will see him.

O’Connor is a leftback I believe. Loreth seems the best bet on the right. No Kyle Oliviera which surprises me. So maybe we’ll see some other options at RB too.

Has Marcus Haber been with this team at all recently? Wasn’t he a stud on the last U17 team? Wasn’t he a mid before, he’s listed as a back? Curious.

I think we’ll see Johnson up top. He played right mid at times as a need for the Fire and I gathered that’s where he lined up in Porto with Peters out. Does Ayre play on the left? Without Lensky I’m not sure who would fill in there. No Mayard or McLeod who are both possible left mids.

I too wonder if Nana Attakora-Gyan and Kerr McLeod are both still hurt.

It’ll be good to see these guys in action and get a feel for what they look like. I’ve been lucky enough to see a lot in person or on TV, but there are a lot of guys I haven’t seen.

cheers,

matthew

CanadasBest · May 12, 2006

Here's Brazil's squad for the games. I apologize if it's been posted already.

Antonio Cleilson da Silva Feitosa (AMARAL) 05.09.87 Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras

ANDERSON Luis de Azevedo Rodrigues Marques 10.03.87 Fluminense Football Club

Alberto Antonio de Paula (BETO) 31.05.87 Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras

Edivelton Feliciano Moreira (CAÇAPA) 15.02.87 Grêmio Football Porto Alegrense

Carlos Eduardo Dutra Oliveira (CARLÃO) 19.07.87 Coritiba Foot-ball Club

DIOGO Luis Santo 26.05.87 Associação Portuguesa de Desportos

EDSON Henrique da Silva 06.07.87 Figueirense Futebol Clube

ELISSON Aparecido Rosa 26.03.87 Cruzeiro Esporte Clube

FERNANDO Franciso Regel 25.07.87 Vila Nova Futebol Clube

Junior Felício Marques (JI PARANÁ) 11.06.87 Sport Club Corinthians Paulista

KERLON Moura Souza 27.01.88 Cruzeiro Esporte Clube

LEYRIELTON Moura de Moraes 22.06.88 Goiás Esporte Clube

LUIZ ADRIANO de Souza da Silva 12.04.87 Sport Club Internacional

Luiz Eduardo Amaral Serra Pereira (LUISINHO) 09.03.87 Fluminense Football Club

MURIEL Gustavo Becker 14.02.87 Sport Club Internacional

RAMON Gonçalves 28.10.87 Santos Futebol Clube

Renato Carlos Martins Junior (RENATINHO) 14.05.87 Santos Futebol Clube

TAIANAN Imberê Linhares Welker 13.03.87 Sport Club Internacional

Canuck Oranje · May 12, 2006

http://www.canadian-soccer.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9302

El Hombre · May 18, 2006

Story on one of the Brazilian players:

http://home.skysports.com/list.asp?hlid=388117&CPID=103&clid=1&lid=2&title=United+eye+new+Ronaldinho

United eye new Ronaldinho

Manchester United are reportedly in talks to sign Brazilian starlet Kerlon.

The 18-year-old, full name Kerlon Moura Souza, is Cruzeiro's prized asset and is one of the hottest young properties in Brazil.

He came to the fore last year during the South American Under-17 championship where he helped his country lift the title in Venezuela - whilst also winning both the top-scorer and player of the tournament awards.

It was during the junior competition that Sir Alex Ferguson is believed to have been tipped off about the boy, whose genius is compared to that of Ronaldinho.

His party trick - which he employs regularly during a game - is something called the 'seal dribble', as he flicks the ball onto his head and runs with it past the opposition, who cannot challenge him without committing a foul.

Kerlon admits it is something he has always been able to do: "It's just a skill I have, though it's not meant to be a mark of disrespect to my opponents.

"Opponents say they will snap me, but this doesn't scare me, it just motivates me even more."

United, having missed out on Ronaldinho, are keen to secure the player who is being tipped to succeed him with the national side and Cruzeiro admit he is available.

"We are always ready to listen to offers for Kerlon," Cruzeiro vice-president Zeze Perrella told The Times and he confirmed a deal was close with a Premiership club - believed to be United.

"We have had a lot of interest in him and we have been in close contact with an English team, but right now we are not there on the money."

One problem for Ferguson and United, is that Kerlon may not immediately qualify to play in England - as at the moment it appears he has no European relatives from whom he could draw an EU passport.

Should Kerlon arrive in England, who would have to be loaned out until he could secure a permit to play in The Premiership.

Winnipeg Fury · May 18, 2006

Whether there's 10,000 or 20,000, I really don't care. What matters is that Canada has a strong pro-Canadian crowd, wherever they play.

Jack Warner can go f*ck himself. Of course he prefers Toronto over Edmonton. Calling Toronto an "international city," is just another way of saying weak support for Canada. I'm sure Jack Wanker would love to see all of Canada's games played in TO. With TO's huge Caribbean population, it insures homefield advantage for T&T and Jamaica everytime they come north.

Canuck Oranje · May 18, 2006

Kerlon is definitely the star of the Brazilian team playing Canada, but he is not ready for the Premiership. In fact, he is not even a regular with Cruzeiro and that is one of the reasons he was available to play for Brazil against Canada. Kerlon will likely follow the lead of Diego and Anderson and play in Portugal for a time before going elsewhere in Europe.

Most of the Brazilian U-20s with significant roles with their club teams were left out of the Brazilian team in Canada along with Euro based players.

That, however, does not mean that this team is significantly weaker than it could be. There are so many quality players at the U-20 level in Brazil and many have not even been signed by the big clubs in Brazil. You only have to look at the success of smaller clubs in the Sao Paulo U-20 tournament (in January)as evidence.

At the same time, it seems that this team has had some problems scoring if recent results can be used as a guide.

quote:Originally posted by El Hombre

Story on one of the Brazilian players:

http://home.skysports.com/list.asp?hlid=388117&CPID=103&clid=1&lid=2&title=United+eye+new+Ronaldinho

United eye new Ronaldinho

Manchester United are reportedly in talks to sign Brazilian starlet Kerlon.

The 18-year-old, full name Kerlon Moura Souza, is Cruzeiro's prized asset and is one of the hottest young properties in Brazil.

He came to the fore last year during the South American Under-17 championship where he helped his country lift the title in Venezuela - whilst also winning both the top-scorer and player of the tournament awards.

It was during the junior competition that Sir Alex Ferguson is believed to have been tipped off about the boy, whose genius is compared to that of Ronaldinho.

His party trick - which he employs regularly during a game - is something called the 'seal dribble', as he flicks the ball onto his head and runs with it past the opposition, who cannot challenge him without committing a foul.

Kerlon admits it is something he has always been able to do: "It's just a skill I have, though it's not meant to be a mark of disrespect to my opponents.

"Opponents say they will snap me, but this doesn't scare me, it just motivates me even more."

United, having missed out on Ronaldinho, are keen to secure the player who is being tipped to succeed him with the national side and Cruzeiro admit he is available.

"We are always ready to listen to offers for Kerlon," Cruzeiro vice-president Zeze Perrella told The Times and he confirmed a deal was close with a Premiership club - believed to be United.

"We have had a lot of interest in him and we have been in close contact with an English team, but right now we are not there on the money."

One problem for Ferguson and United, is that Kerlon may not immediately qualify to play in England - as at the moment it appears he has no European relatives from whom he could draw an EU passport.

Should Kerlon arrive in England, who would have to be loaned out until he could secure a permit to play in The Premiership.

hottoddy7 · May 18, 2006

A Brazilian team with trouble scoring? Come on now is that a joke?

Winnipeg Fury · May 19, 2006

(CP) -- He has been dubbed "the next Ronaldinho," a teenage star who can run with a soccer ball seemingly attached to his forehead.

And Manchester United reportedly is ready to spend six million pounds ($12.7 million Cdn) to acquire him.

But for the next few days, the Brazilian midfielder known as Kerlon will have Canada on his mind.

Kerlon Moura Souza and his Brazilian under-20 teammates kick off a three-game series against the Canadian under-20 side on Friday in Edmonton (Rogers Sportsnet, check local listings). The series switches to Victoria on Monday and Burnaby, B.C., on May 25.

For Canadian coach Dale Mitchell, the series is a litmus test for his squad. It will also help give his players a taste of what they can expect next year when Canada hosts the world under-20 championship.

"We're looking at it as a great chance to have a trial run for 2007," Mitchell said Thursday. "Fortunately then we won't have to play Brazil three times in the group stage.

"But you do in the group stage play this type of format where you're playing every third day and it's possible that we could have a little bit of travel between the cities."

The Times of London reported Thursday that a Manchester United delegation flew to South America this week to meet officials from the Brazilian club Cruzeiro about Kerlon. The Times said United hopes to conclude the transfer in the next few days.

"We are always ready to listen to offers for Kerlon," Cruzeiro vice-president Zeze Perrella was quoted by the Times. "We have had a lot of interest in him and we have been in close contact with an English team, but right now we are not there on the money."

The young star is reportedly under contract with the Brazilian side through July 2012.

Kerlon, who turned 18 in January, was named player of the tournament at the South American under-17 championship in Venezuela last year when Brazil went 5-1-2 to win the competition. The attacking midfielder led the tournament in scoring with eight of Brazil's 27 goals but drew headlines for something called "the seal dribble."

The move is described as Kerlon flicking the ball in the air and running with it as if attached to his forehead.

"It is truly inspirational to find a young player with the creative genius to come up with such a move," the BBC enthused on its website in April 2005.

Injury prevented Kerlon from playing at the world under-17 championships in Peru last year. Brazil lost to Mexico in the final.

"We've heard he is a very talented boy," said Mitchell. "Another one that comes out of Brazil. They seem to be able to produce them on a fairly regular basis."<.

Mitchell, who could do a few things with the ball himself in his playing days, will have other concerns. He wants to evaluate his talent.

He has 22 players in camp, led by goalkeeper Asmir Begovic (La Louviere, Belgium), defender David Edgar (Newcastle, England), midfielder Jaime Peters (Ipswich Town, England) and striker Will Johnson (Heerenveen, the Netherlands).

Mitchell hopes to give everyone a game, but plans to pick his starting 11 based on experience for the opener Friday.

The good news is that this squad represents pretty much the best talent available, at least those that have committed to Canada.

Winnipeg Fury · May 19, 2006