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Edmonton Radzinski Send-Off


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The Mexico game in Edmonton may very well be Tomasz Radzinski's last game on Canadian soil with the National Team. There may be a couple of other players too that will play their last game at home, but Radzinski turns 35 in December. What kind of send-off can we give Radzinski?

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That's total bunk. Radzinski has risked the same as any other Canadian player.

He could have chosen Poland, but he didn't. He's suited up for the Maple Leaf and is proud to represent Canada.

Radzinski has 43 caps, and 9 goals.

That deserves our respect, and he deserves a proper send-off of sorts.

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The Gold Cup, I don't know.

All I can say is that I was in Belgium during that period and he had some circumstances in his favor (club pressure) and that he always has good words for Canada, even if he didn't play for the national team at that moment.

There's also an article in a Belgian magazine I receive each week, and he says he could have been South African (when the immigrated, the family had to make a choice between SA and Canada) but that that choice has had a very important influence on his career, so he's very happy about it.

He also explains that with the rules now, as he came to Europe very young, he could have chosen between lot of national teams, but that it doesn't change anything for him : Canada has brought him a lot.

He speaks about some special travels with the team. One in Honduras where the players needed the special police intervention force to escort them, even in malls. Another in Jamaica where almost everyone in the stand was smoking marijuana, so all the players where high... and very happy afterwards there wasn't an anti-doping control because there would have been lot of positive cases ! Very very funny !

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Hey!

This is a good fu'king idea.

Forget 2000. Holger and Radz eventually kissed and made and since then no one can deny he hasn't put 100% into the Canadian teams he's been selected for. He's a good soilder in my books and more than deserving of a worthy send off.

I like this idea.

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I know a couple of Greek words (evidently more than Mr T R himself) and a few Polish ones. But my vocab is entirely from opposing players. Don't know if Mr TR would want to hear them. One rhymes with tabacca.

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Radz comments on this being his last game. Honestly, this was the best I've seen him for Canada (the qualifying run). He was the playmaker and it seemed any good chances came from a pass from his foot. We really need to send him off in style. Let's make Edmonton a tribute to this fine player. (The writer of the article obviously reads the forum...

http://www.edmontonsun.com/Sports/Soccer/2008/10/14/7074431-sun.html

By DEREK VAN DIEST

It could be argued that Canada's chances of playing at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa went south after Tomasz Radzinski slammed into an advertising board in Montreal.

The veteran striker shredded his hand and had to be substituted early into Canada's second game of the current qualifying round.

The Canadians lost the contest 2-1 to Honduras, and for all intents and purposes, were eliminated from World Cup contention. Losses in Mexico and Honduras just made it official.

"I've heard those comments too, but I'm just one player," Radzinski said.

ONE OF THOSE GAMES

"We have a fantastic group of players. We have 20 top-quality players. It was just one of those games where we had to win it.

''You have to win your home games and if we had won our game against Honduras at home, perhaps everything would be different.

"But unfortunately it didn't happen. Going into Mexico is never easy and then (Saturday) we were missing so many key players, it was just one of those things."

Heading into tomorrow's game against Mexico at Commonwealth Stadium, Canada has nothing left to play for. Once again the national team was eliminated with games to spare in the qualifying round.

Radzinski, 34, is the best player Canada has produced. And the game against Mexico will most likely be his final with the national team. Knowing that, he's expected to get a rousing send-off by the organized group of Canadian soccer supporters attending the contest.

"Tomasz is a top-quality player," said Canadian head coach Dale Mitchell.

"If you go back the last 15 years and looked at his career and what he's done at a quality level, it's very impressive. He still has a lot to offer and you don't see too many players within the Canadian system with that type of quality come around."

Radzinski is one of the most successful Canadians to earn his living kicking a soccer ball.

His career started in the defunct Canadian Soccer League. From there, he went on to star with Belgian club giants, Anderlecht and became the most expensive Canadian player ever when he transferred to Everton in the English Premier League. Currently Radzinski is back in Belgium after a brief stint in Greece.

He has nine goals for the Canadian national team, but never played in a World Cup.

So when Canada was eliminated from contention with a 3-1 loss in Honduras on Saturday, the realization that he never would hit Radzinski hard.

DISAPPOINTED

"I was so disappointed after the game because this is going to be the last time I play in (World Cup) qualifiers," he said.

"I was absolutely gutted. I couldn't believe we were out. I sat on the field for five minutes, I couldn't believe that was it for me.

"In a way being with the national team for 15 years I can definitely say for me as a person, I underachieved. The goal was to go to the World Cup and I never made it, so it was very disappointing from my point of view."

Those following Canada's progress through the latest qualifying stage could see the determination in Radzinski's game.

He was one of the best players on the field in the opening 1-1 tie against Jamaica in Toronto, and would have scored if not for a great save by the opposing goalkeeper.

He was the most dangerous player against Honduras prior to getting hurt, and then was unable to play in Mexico due to the injury.

"For whatever reason it was a momentum shift," Mitchell said of Radzinski's injury.

"It took a long time to make the sub because we weren't sure if he was going to have to come out for the better part of five minutes.

"During those five minutes Honduras started to get control of the game and we lost a little bit of the momentum we had with him there."

ONE POINT

Having only secured a point in their opening-game with Jamaica, Canada needed to beat Honduras at home to have a realistic chance of moving on to the final stage of qualifying.

The loss forced the Canadians into attaining victories on the road.

Nobody beats Mexico in Mexico, and by the time they played the return game in Honduras, injuries, suspensions and team dissension left Canada with a depleted lineup.

"This could be my last game for now, because my girlfriend in Belgium is expecting a baby and it'll be right around the time we'll be playing Jamaica," Radzinski said.

"And because it's a game that won't mean anything, I might pass on that. But I'll speak to Dale after the game on Wednesday and make my decision after that."

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quote:Originally posted by gwallace76

Anyways i've got a "Thank You Tomasz" banner made up along with another one i'll be bringing to the game. It's not great, but it's fairly big.

Tomasz is the best. There is nobody close, not even close to Radz' quality coming along. (If anybody mentions Peters again I think I'll laugh out loud.) It'll take twenty years minimum. Maybe sixty. Meanwhile we've got DeRo the ZeRo and party animal DeGuz- let's just call him pun'kinhead (or maybe just 'head'). . .

Enjoy watching WC2010!

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Guest Jeffery S.

I think it is a great idea guys. A simple Thanks Radz would be enough, he would definitely appreciate it. Because he "knows" this is it.

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I hope Radzinski stays involved in Canadian soccer at some level.

No question in my mind that he has been the best, most consistent Canadian player through World Cup Qualifying and last year as well.

I enjoyed watching him as a teenager with the North York Rockets in the CSL. Then on to Germinal Ekeren where he won the Belgian Cup. The rest is history.

Give him a loud send off from the V's !

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quote:Originally posted by gwallace76

I'm also having a plaque made-up today from the V's.

We need to get him over to our side of the stands after the game so we can present it to him. Worst comes to worst if he doesn't we can mail it to him through Morgan Quarry.

Ha! We'll get him over or die trying.

Oh. And on the subject of turning what is going to be a **** night on the field into a memorable one in the stands it's Marcel de Jong's 22nd birthday October 15th.

I'm gonna bring a cake :)

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