Cheeta Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 Well here it is, lads. A copy of the media release on the Home Page and being forwarded to the various contacts on file. Thanks to everyone who participated and helped with this little project up to this point. Keep reading we need some further feedback and input on the process. Julian de Guzman named Voyageurs Canadian International Player of the Year for 2007 January 7, 2008 @ 15:47:24 Winnipeg, MB - The Voyageurs, Canada’s largest community of soccer supporters, is proud to name CONCACAF Gold Cup MVP Julian de Guzman the winner of the Canadian International Player of the Year award for 2007. Polling conducted online on The Voyageurs message board (www.canadian-soccer.com/forum) throughout the month of December 2007 confirmed that the starting midfielder for Deportivo la Coruna of Spain’s La Liga was clearly the marquee player in the minds of Canadian soccer supporters for this past year. Mr. de Guzman appeared on an incredible 97% of all ballots submitted and was the first place selection of 66% of voters. Already highly regarded prior to last year, Mr. de Guzman’s popularity among Canadian fans soared in 2007. Currently the only Canadian footballer playing in Spain, he firmly established himself as a key member of the Deportivo la Coruna starting roster. However, his most memorable performances in 2007 came at the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament, where his inspired play and crucial goals helped lead Canada to a strong third place finish and resulted in being named MVP of the tournament. Most importantly for Canadian fans, Julian and his Team Canada teammates sent a clear message that they are a team to be taken seriously in the CONCACAF region and real contenders to qualify for World Cup 2010. Considering all of his achievements in 2007, his on-field qualities and his outspoken dedication to his sport and his country, it is quite natural and appropriate that Julian de Guzman should win so strong an acknowledgment from Canadian supporters Julian de Guzman, The Voyageurs Canadian International Player of the Year for 2007. Born: Scarborough, Ontario. March 25th, 1981 Height: 169 cm (5' 6”) Weight: 75 kg (165 lbs) Position: Midfield Footed: Right Senior team caps: 28 Senior team goals: 2 Professional Clubs: FC Saarbrucken, 2000-2002 Hannover96, 2002-2005 Deportivo la Coruna, 2005-present Houston Dynamo midfielder Dwayne de Rosario enjoyed yet another championship winning season in Major League Soccer and earned another MLS Cup Most Valuable Player award in 2007. As a result, he has the runner up to Julian de Guzman for the 2007 Voyageurs Canadian International Player of the Year award, appearing on over 89% of the submissions. This marks the second consecutive year in which Mr. de Rosario has finished in the top three in polling for the Voyageurs award. This highly skilled, crafty and always entertaining attacking midfielder continues to prove his quality and appears to be a text book example of a “late blooming” footballer whose best days may yet be ahead of him. Two of the most intriguing stories for Canadian soccer in 2007 belonged to Pat Onstad and Lars Hirschfeld so it is appropriate that these two goalkeepers tied for third place in this year’s balloting. Both men won equal numbers of first, second and third place selections, something which has never occurred before. Mr. Onstad was pressed into emergency international service for Canada at the Gold Cup tournament due to an injury to original starter Greg Sutton and showed why goalkeepers are often like fine wine and improve with age. He provided leadership and confidence to the Canadian side throughout the Gold Cup and made some highlight worthy saves. Furthermore, he enjoyed another stellar year at the club level with Houston Dynamo of MLS, combining with Dwayne de Rosario to lead them to their second consecutive MLS Cup title. Mr. Hirschfeld, the acrobatic shot stopper for the Norwegian club Rosenborg BK, drew international praise in 2007 with his stellar UEFA Champions League performances and, to the delight of Canadian supporters, he recommitted himself to the Men’s National Team after having stepped aside for a few years as he sought to secure his position at the club level. 2007 was an exciting year for Canadian soccer and 2008 looks to be potentially even more memorable as the Canadian Men’s National Team seeks to make positive progress towards the ultimate goal of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. ************************************************************************** Final voting results for the 2007 Voyageurs Canadian International Player of the Year. Julian de Guzman 1st Place Votes: 49 2nd Place Votes: 19 3rd Place Votes: 5 Total: 312 pts. Appeared on 97.3% of ballots Dwayne de Rosario 1st Place Votes: 23 2nd Place Votes: 36 3rd Place Votes: 8 Total: 239 pts. Appeared on 89.3% of ballots Pat Onstad and Lars Hirschfeld (tie) 1st Place Votes: 1 2nd Place Votes: 5 3rd Place Votes: 14 Total: 48 pts. Appeared on 26.7% of ballots Robert Friend 1st Place Votes: 1 2nd Place Votes: 5 3rd Place Votes: 11 Total: 42 pts. Appeared on 22.7% of ballots ***** Here is the more thorough data; # of submissions</u> public; 74 e-mail; 1 (Peter Mallett of Major League Soccer Magazine. He was having login issues otherwise he'd have voted publicly) #submissions by ranking</u>; 1st) 75 2nd) 73 3rd) 72 submission by posters</u> 0-99 posts; 26 for 35% of submissions 100-499; 20 for 27% of submissions 500-999; 10 for 14% of submissions 1,000-2,499; 11 for 15% of submissions 2,500+; 6 for 8% of submissions Five players would receive 1st place selections Eight players would receive 2nd place selections Thirteen players would receive 3rd place selections ***** Julian de Guzman 49/19/5 for 312 pts appearing on 97.3% for a /sub average of 4.3 pts Dwayne de Rosario 23/36/8 for 239 pts appearing on 89.3 % for a /sub average of 3.6 pts Pat Onstad AND Lar Hirschfeld 1/5/14 for 48 pts appearing on 26.7% for a /sub average of 2.4 pts Robert Friend 1/5/11 for 42 pts appearing on 22.7% for a /sub average of 2.5 pts Atiba Hutchinson 0/1/10 for 23 pts appearing on 14.7 % for a /sub average of 2.1 pts Ali Gerba 0/0/3 for 6 pts appearing on 4% for a /sub average of 2 pts James Brennan 0/1/1 for 5 pts appearing on 2.7% for a /sub average of 2.5 pts Olivier Occean 0/0/2 for 4 pts appearing on 2.7% for a /sub average of 2 pts Erin McLeod 0/1/0 for 3 pts appearing 1.3% for a /sub average of 3 pts Richard Hastings, Martin Nash, Tomasz Radzinski & Paul Stalteri 0/0/1 for 2 pts appearing 1.3% for a /sub average of 2 points. 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Cheeta Posted January 8, 2008 Author Share Posted January 8, 2008 Some interesting bits with the polling. The Guz's dominance. If he wasn't a 1st choice he was a 2nd or 3rd place selection on almost every ballot. Crazy. Clearly starting with a struggling La Liga side hasn't hurt the positive impression The Guz made this year with his NT play. Big brownie points as well for singing the praises of the NT in public through the media at every opportunity. Two goalies who were out of the NT picture last year, playing completely different styles got exactly the same number of 1st, 2nd and 3rd place votes and managed to tie for 3rd place. Weird or what? And what do you do for a tie-breaker at that point? For the record, as the player with the greater # of caps Pat Onstad gets mentioned 1st in the release. Almost 2/3rds of the votes cast where by posters with under 500 posts and the largest individual block (35%) by posters with under 100 posts. Good and bad. The poll serves a purpose in that it's a useful exercise for giving the silent majority a chance to be heard on an important issue, Player of the Year, and in that function it's working. However, off the top of my head I can rattle off a couple of dozen regular or semi-regular posters on the forum who didn't participate and I have to ask why? Is it just being neglectful? Is it a boycott? And clearly next year we need to separate the POY polling for women and men. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeta Posted January 8, 2008 Author Share Posted January 8, 2008 And this years award will likely just be a plaque. As The Guz is in season we're going to see what we can do about getting the plaque sent to Depor and forwarded to our Mr de Guzman. Bit dull and boring but last year I wanted to wait for Hutch to play in Canada to get him his award and it just didn't come off. Better this year to play it safe and boring. Seeing as how The Guz is overseas I was thinking in addition to a brief letter and the plaque I'd like to post him a "Made in Canada" care package. Suggestions for the package would be welcomed. Please keep in mind this would be sent in the mail so no dangerous goods, fruit or veg or other perishables. My list so-far. Tin of Tim Horton's coffee. A hockey puck. Earmuffs. Coffee Crisp candy bar. 2007 Tax Return. Maybe one of those pine scented air fresheners. (Hey! Did he ever get a Black Wednesday protest tee?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 First off, thanks to Cheeta et al for all your efforts. And massive props to Julian! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VPjr Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Cheeta . (Hey! Did he ever get a Black Wednesday protest tee?) Yes, it was sent. Not sure if it was received. Sent by post to Deportivo's PR department. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SthMelbRed Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Cheeta Seeing as how The Guz is overseas I was thinking in addition to a brief letter and the plaque I'd like to post him a "Made in Canada" care package. Suggestions for the package would be welcomed. Please keep in mind this would be sent in the mail so no dangerous goods, fruit or veg or other perishables. My list so-far. Tin of Tim Horton's coffee. A hockey puck. Earmuffs. Coffee Crisp candy bar. 2007 Tax Return. Maybe one of those pine scented air fresheners. As a Canadian living overseas, the first thing I ask for when I have the opportunity to receive some home comforts is a bottle of Crown Royal. Maybe JDG would enjoy a mickie or a twixer of Crown. Heck, I'd even nominate Crown Royal as the ideal future sponsor of the VCIPoY award. Anybody have any high-level connections with Seagram's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdroze Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 This made the CP article today, including a link to this very board: DE GUZMAN HONOURED — Midfielder Julian de Guzman has been voted Canada's international player of the year in 2007 by the Voyageurs, a Canadian soccer supporter group. The Deportivo la Coruna player finished first in polling conducted online on the Voyageurs' message board (www.canadian-soccer.com/forum) in December. De Guzman was listed first by two-thirds of voters. Good job, folks! http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080108.wsptcdnnotes8/GSStory/GlobeSportsSoccer/home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VPjr Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 quote:Originally posted by rdroze This made the CP article today, including a link to this very board: DE GUZMAN HONOURED — Midfielder Julian de Guzman has been voted Canada's international player of the year in 2007 by the Voyageurs, a Canadian soccer supporter group. The Deportivo la Coruna player finished first in polling conducted online on the Voyageurs' message board (www.canadian-soccer.com/forum) in December. De Guzman was listed first by two-thirds of voters. Good job, folks! http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080108.wsptcdnnotes8/GSStory/GlobeSportsSoccer/home The Press Release was sent out last evening to 115 media outlets in Canada, the US and the UK. I will be sending it to a few soccer sites in Spain today, as well as Deportivo's fan sites. The announcement is starting to appear on quite a few websites but it's definitely nice to get mentioned in the newspapers. Let's see if the TV and Radio shows give it a mention this week. Hopefully this will bring even more people to the V's community...the more the merrier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadasBest Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 Congrats to deGuzman. Really good job with this press release. Quality work all around... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VPjr Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Friend of the V's, Ben Knight, has given coverage to this award. As always, thanks Ben http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/soccerblog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VPjr Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 The outstanding US blogger, Du Nord, has mentioned the award as well. http://dunord.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VPjr Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 this one is cool...Julian must be aware of this now... I sent the press release to Deportivo's PR department last night and the information is now posted on the team's homepage. http://www.canaldeportivo.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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