Jacob Lensky...?

[Canadian Pride]

What does Lensky's trial mean for the whitecaps and his international future? Will he go back to the Czech assuming he fights off his inner demons or will he consider a switch back to Canada. If he gets back to form, would we welcome him back the way we are certainly welcoming JDG2? Would he even consider a switch back given his isolation in Europe?

[brandon]

He is no longer available to Canada i'm pretty sure.

[youllneverwalkalone]

Based on the interview I saw after training, I'm not sure this is really even a trial. Bart Charfour knows his dad, and he (presumably) asked Rennie if Jacob could train with the squad. He's apparently totally out-of-shape and I doubt this is anything more than a last attempt by his parents to get him to play professional soccer -which will inevitably fail before he is able to move on and do whatever it is that he really wants to do.

[zeelaw]

Sorry about his personal demons but, what the **** whitecaps. ********** now him.

[ThiKu]

He isn't eligible for Canada having already switched nations once.

EDIT 1: FYI the Whitecaps FC official twitter feed announced it as a "trial" with an accompanying link to a picture of him at training at BC Place.

EDIT 2: I've been wrong before yomurphy! And if the lad can sort his issues out and be a committed fella, meets the required technical standard, then great....let him into the MLS and subsequently the CMNT. Certainly an upgrade in squad considerations for guys like JBB or Ledg even though he plays a different position. Select the best players available then put them in spots...

[yomurphy1]

^ I think you're right, but this article thinks otherwise. (Bobby Zamora completed the paperwork to play for T&T, then ended up playing for England)

http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/2012/04/20/mls_whitecaps_vancouver_jacob_lensky/

[A_Gagne]

Based on the interview I saw after training, I'm not sure this is really even a trial. Bart Charfour knows his dad, and he (presumably) asked Rennie if Jacob could train with the squad. He's apparently totally out-of-shape and I doubt this is anything more than a last attempt by his parents to get him to play professional soccer -which will inevitably fail before he is able to move on and do whatever it is that he really wants to do.

Which interview... can you provide a link? Cheers!

[youllneverwalkalone]

[ThiKu]

Again...the Whitecaps Twitter feed called it a trial.

Vancouver Whitecaps ‏ @WhitecapsFC Reply Retweeted Favorite · Open

Vancouver, BC, native Jacob Lensky on trial this week with #WhitecapsFC

Accompanying picture which was included in the tweet: http://yfrog.com/kjt0qocuj

[Lord Bob]

Obviously Lensky would never come back to Canada since the Whitecaps hate Canada. Bob Lenarduzzi would probably lock him in the basement during World Cup qualifying and laugh.

Also, regarding a potential re-switch: bear in mind that Zamora never got on the field for Trinidad and Tobago at any level. Lensky did play for the Czech U-21s. I don't know if that makes a difference.

[finchster]

Even if we could get Lensky back (which I am not sure of), would we want Lensky back? The guy is a head case and to be honest he isn't of high enough talent to displace any other left footed players (Simpson, Klukowski, De Jong). It never hurts to have depth and more MLS talent, but this guy might be more trouble than what he is worth from the MNT perspective.

[A_Gagne]

Even if we could get Lensky back (which I am not sure of), would we want Lensky back? The guy is a head case and to be honest he isn't of high enough talent to displace any other left footed players (Simpson, Klukowski, De Jong). It never hurts to have depth and more MLS talent, but this guy might be more trouble than what he is worth from the MNT perspective.

True but for both Caps and Country depth in the middle of the pitch is a serious problem... or... Right Back?... maybe? Haven't seen much of him, but from the sounds of it I would imagine he probably has a versatile enough skill-set to be groomed into either of those positions; but there's a hell of a lot of what-ifs that would need to be sorted out first before things like that can even start being considered. And even if he does sort his life/career/mental health out, and even if he does somehow have a change of HEART with respect to his international allegiances, there's another HART in this equation. Never mind all the what-ifs on Lensky's side of things, I somehow doubt Steven Hart has forgotten how things went the last time he called Lensky up, and I'm guessing he won't exactly be bending over backwards to get the guy into the side.

In the end, I don't know where all of this is going to go, but I'm mildly interested.

[Cheeta]

[Lord Bob]

Even if we could get Lensky back (which I am not sure of), would we want Lensky back? The guy is a head case and to be honest he isn't of high enough talent to displace any other left footed players (Simpson, Klukowski, De Jong). It never hurts to have depth and more MLS talent, but this guy might be more trouble than what he is worth from the MNT perspective.

I think that a fit, sane Lensky beats what's left of Michael Klukowski, and as we know neither Kluko nor De Jong's health is ever a sure thing. He was doing thunderously well in the Eredivisie there for a while.

[Toje]

Article from a few weeks ago about Lensky.  The article in Czech, but google translate works ok.

 

http://fotbal.idnes.cz/jacob-lensky-o-problemech-s-alkoholem-a-konci-kariery-pcr-/fot_zahranici.aspx?c=A150403_133236_fot_zahranici_dc

[BrennanFan]

"Life of a Rock Star Destroyed His Career"

 

Article barely scratches the surface on any addiction issues Lensky faced.  Too bad he threw his career away, but he's not a Canadian player anyway. 

[nolando]

Could someone please send this article to Boakai?

[Ruud]

Well - he did represent Canada - and he is a human being.  Seems to me the kid is figuring life out and being honest about it all.  Decent article - the kind of thing that we forget about all the time - the human aspect of players.  plenty don't make it, and even those that do can mess up.  These guys are fallible.  And sometimes they are reminded that they are just assets to be traded and sold and bought.

 

goes to show you how much mental strength is needed to succeed at highest levels.  Would love to hear more about his attempt at a comeback with the Caps.

[nolando]

https://voetbalprullaria.wordpress.com/2018/02/26/jacob-lensky-van-droom-tot-nachtmerrie/

 

A Dutch article on Lensky from about a year ago.  Wonder what he's doing these days?

[An Observer]

Google translate of that article:  It goes to show that people that are different don't really have an easy time in football (or team sports in general).  I can certainly sympathize with him and understand why he turned to the bottle. 

For many boys and girls around the world it is their big dream: to become a professional football player. Every week thousands of children run into the field, encouraged or not encouraged by fanatical parents, hoping to be discovered by a scout of a professional football club. And in the evening in their room they look dreamily at posters by Neymar or Lionel Messi. Jacob Lensky was also such a dreamer, but he ended up in a nightmare.

The career of Jacob Lensky (1988) started as that of any other talented footballer. The born Canadian ended up at the age of eight in the youth training of Blackburn Rovers, but nostalgia brought him back to his native country after three years. Four years later, Lensky crossed the big lake again and after a successful internship he ended up in Celtic's youth academy. In January 2007 he made the transition to the youth academy of Feyenoord. A month later, he made his debut in the 3-0 away match against FC Twente, when he fell for Jonathan de Guzmán. However, it remained with one performance and on 5 August 2008 he made it a surprise to many people at the age of 19 to stop playing football.

He did not make this decision because of a serious injury, but because of a growing alcohol problem. For Lensky, a place in the locker room of Feyenoord, the Nirvana of a lot of Rotterdam boys, turned out to be a hell: "I was a spontaneous and open boy, but teammates consciously damaged me. Even those of whom I thought they were my friends used me. Every day, I was only whined away while I tried to prove myself. By famous players, boys with a great track record. Every ball they found shit, and again and again they asked why I could not just leave. Then they were away from me. "Violent words of a gentle boy. A dressing room with vedettes such as Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Roy Makaay, Kevin Hofland and Michael Mols would be an intimidating environment for every youth, let alone when it comes to a teenager in a foreign country that is deliberately thwarted by thirties. It was an environment where a stiff trainer like Gertjan Verbeek would die a year after Lensky's departure.

Less than a year later, however, Lensky returned to his decision. He resurfaced at FC Utrecht and got a one-year contract there. Why? Out of love for the game, because his teammates could be stolen: "Tactically it is interesting, moreover, there is a lot of speed and full stadiums are cool. But I hate the world around it terribly. It is completely sick. Almost everyone behaves conservatively, you can not be different. I am different and people find that strange. I am closing off from the rest at the club. Nobody really knows me. But footballers are not my types. My biggest annoyance? Everyone is the same. They all love video games, they have the hair neatly with gel in model and if one has something, the other wants that too. Pure herd behavior. I think it's terrible. "

Within the lines it went fine with Lensky. The multifunctional Canadian was a valued force and played 55 games in two seasons. Outside the lines, however, the problems increased. For an intelligent and sensitive boy like Lensky, life as a footballer was far from satisfying: "You go to the training in the morning, come home at one o'clock or one in the afternoon. And then it starts. All that time you have to fill. Boredom. It was, I immediately say, all to myself. I did not adjust well, I did not deal with people enough. I regret that. "Lensky grabs the bottle more and more often in an attempt to drive away the boredom:" At one point I lived like a rockstar. I was a VIP, I was that famous football player, I got privileges. Now I know: the people with whom I celebrated parties at the time were just looking for entertainment. "

However, this did not happen automatically: "When I went back to Canada, I thought I would solve everything there. But the first years after my return I just spent my most difficult time. "It took a few years before he was in good physical and physical condition. In 2015, Lensky said in an interview with the FC Utrecht club site: "Now, for a number of months, I have reached the point where I have put my ego aside. I'm fine with me. No, it is even very good. I have a girlfriend, enjoy life. And of the time I spend with my friends and family. In the meantime I am working on starting up my own company. I'm pretty excited. "

Not surprisingly, Lensky is no longer interested in football. "I do not follow football at all anymore. My father does. When I visit him, the television is always on football. England, Spain, Germany, probably also the Netherlands. He follows everything. But I do not look anything. I do not have any contacts there either. I occasionally accept a friendship request from the Netherlands on Facebook, but I do not know those people at all. Hopefully it goes well with them. I no longer have contact with players from my time at Feyenoord or FC Utrecht. "

What remains are the unhelpful 'what if' thoughts: "Becoming a pro. Always been my goal. I reached it, I thought: I will do this for the rest of my life. What else has happened ... I soon wondered: what is the use of this existence? Then I also asked myself everything: why? Why football? Why here? Why me? Why this life? If I could redo it all, I would do it differently. Now I accept more things as they are. But sometimes I think: I could put on my FC Utrecht training suit again and go on the field with the boys, on Zoudenbalch. I would like to see if I could still handle the level. I am fit, I play football at a local amateur club and I think I can. But that opportunity has been. I messed it up. Nobody else than I is guilty of that. That's still a hard pill to swallow. "

[Lord Bob]

Interesting article, thanks for sharing. Glad he's finding his way.

[BrennanFan]

Only 30 years old.  Perhaps he is Pacific FC's next signing?

[BCM]

8 hours ago, BrennanFan said:

Only 30 years old.  Perhaps he is Pacific FC's next signing?

Um...

Not surprisingly, Lensky is no longer interested in football. "I do not follow football at all anymore. My father does. When I visit him, the television is always on football. England, Spain, Germany, probably also the Netherlands. He follows everything. But I do not look anything. I do not have any contacts there either. I occasionally accept a friendship request from the Netherlands on Facebook, but I do not know those people at all. Hopefully it goes well with them. I no longer have contact with players from my time at Feyenoord or FC Utrecht. "

[nolando]

Another article mentioned he is working for a local moving company. There is a hint of him online playing briefly for a local college, Douglas, I think, which didn't amount to much it seems. Crazy he is only 30.