Guest Dave Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 Perhaps this is a bit of simplistic approach, but it occurred to me that, if I were hired as the new CSA CEO, I would have a friendly chat with the head of the Dutch FA about DeGuzman and DeJong. Perhaps a gentlemen's agreement could be worked out. Obviously DeJong is really Dutch, and it's quite reasonable for him to play for Holland. Likewise, JDG2 is Canadian and should play for Canada. Perhaps a quiet verbal agreement could be made that Holland can call up DeJong anytime, but leave DeGuzman for Canada. Simple. I realize that in a legal and technical sense, Holland are entitled to call on both. However, in real life, most people recognize that the "letter of the law" is not always in everyone's best interest. The Dutch people I have known have always impressed me as being fair and reasonable. Why not appeal to their sense of altruism and fair play on this one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 Say your name is Jon deGuzman. How would that make you feel about representing Canada? Or say you're his lawyer. Would that strike you as a form of tampering? If you can't get players to represent Canada because THEY want to, then it's not worth the effort. Or the legal and moral collapse of values. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VPjr Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 The Dutch might be reasonable but tampering is tampering. Just ask Major League baseball how expensive collusion can be. There is simply no incentive for the Dutch to collude with us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dave Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Points well taken. However I doubt that such a gentlemen's agreement would qualify as collusion, and it certainly wouldn't be cause for any legal action on JDG's part. No one has an "entitlement" to be called to a national side. It is a privelage, and entirely at the discretion of the national association. Players who seem deserving of a cap are left off squads all the time, for unknown reasons. Plus, it's not like anyone would announce such a deal in the media or anything. Also, such an action would cause no financial hardship. I'm not a lawyer, but I don't see much chance of a problem here. Now, obviously if this were done at the club level, thus interfering with a player's ability to earn a living, I think there would be a major problem. At any rate, let me rephrase my original idea: If I were hired as CSA CEO, I would discuss with a good attorney whether it's OK to explore the possibility of a gentlemen's agreement with the Dutch FA. Can't be too careful these days I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 That is precisely the reasoning that led Major League Baseball owners to collude about 20 years ago - and they ultimately paid. That said, I'm not terribly well versed in international or Dutch law, but at the end of the day I don't have to be. If the CSA actually did something like that, then I don't expect it would take deGuzman too long to decide to never play for Canada, Dutch considerations aside. And I, for one, wouldn't blame him. It would represnt a new ethical low in Canadian sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saviola7 Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 De Guzman has far more upside than De Jong. Doesn't sound like a fair trade for the Dutch to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpg75 Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 De Jong may not have a chance with Holland anyways. Roda have moved De Jong to left mid after he made a few blunders at the back...he's out of form at the moment. http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=282616&page=19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyola Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 quote:Originally posted by jpg75 De Jong may not have a chance with Holland anyways. Roda have moved De Jong to left mid after he made a few blunders at the back...he's out of form at the moment. http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=282616&page=19 For us, that's not a bad news at all. Let's hope he continues his average play until next october (when he'll turn 21). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpg75 Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 quote:Originally posted by loyola For us, that's not a bad news at all. Let's hope he continues his average play until next october (when he'll turn 21). I was wondering when his bday was, thanks for reading my mind! Yeah, if he could look average for a while and then break out again that'd be great. Plus, if he sticks at mid he'll be going up against alot more players than Emmanuelson (and V. Bronkhorst for now) for a spot on Holland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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