CANADIAN HYPOCRICY

[zeelaw]

Canada gives opportunity to one, they play for us.

Canada gives opportunity to another, they don't.

Seems pretty straightforward to me - or is this like simpleton logic or something.

[Robert]

1 hour ago, BradMack said:

I agree that it is not entirely different in theory, but the circumstances are different. On one hand Scotty tried and waited for Scotland until he was like 27. The manager told him good luck, go to Canada. Whereas we needed OH and wanted him and he jumped ship as soon as he could. 

The blame for the whole Owen Hargreaves affair can be placed squarely on the shoulders of Holger Osiek, of glorious "Holger's Heroes" fame. In an interview just prior to Mr. Hargreaves making his now infamous decision, which was broadcast during the half-time break of a Canada vs. Jamaica World Cup qualifier, the more lucky-than-wise Mr. Osieck goes on national television and informs the nation that Owen Hargreaves is a defensive mid-fielder, and that Canada already had lots of defensive mid-fielders and didn't need another one. He also claimed in that same interview that he knew exactly what kind of limited talent Canada had at it's disposal. Now Mr. Osieck may have been a world class joe-boy on Kaiser Franz Beckenbauer's bench at the 1990 World Cup, but he was certainly no managerial genius outside of winning the odd coin-toss. Now if you hear the coach of the Canadian National Team, who at the time was being perceived as the Saviour of Canadian soccer by the CSA and fans alike, talking about your future like that on national television, I can really understand why Owen said "Fuck it! I am going to play for England! And play he did!!!

[Robert]

The CSA's shrouding of the truth is partially unveiled in the following article, with Tony Taylor taking the fall for Holger, as it was Holger who publicly cut Owen from the Canadian national team. And for this Owen is vilified as "Whoregreaves" by those less qualified to pass such condemnation! 

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/canadian-rejection-spurred-player-to-top/article4142197/

Canadian rejection spurred player to top

 

PETER KENNEDY

PUBLISHED MAY 31, 2002UPDATED MARCH 29, 2017

He may be a born and bred Calgarian and the best soccer player that Canada has ever produced.

But as they prepare to watch Owen Hargreaves play for England in the World Cup against Sweden on Sunday, rueful Canadian coaches will be reminded that he was considered too timid to play for his own country in 1996.

"Hindsight is always 20-20," said Tony Taylor, the coach who decided not to pick Hargreaves for the Canadian under-17 World Cup team because he wasn't thought to be physically strong enough to compete against bigger players.

"I said to his dad I think the boy could play for Canada, but not at that time," Taylor said. "He just wasn't ready."

He was 16 at the time, and coaches in the Calgary soccer community said he was so upset by his failure to make the under-17 squad that it may have affected his decision to play for England rather than Canada. There is speculation that Hargreaves will start on Sunday.

"He felt that he was better than at least four other guys on the team," said Larry Poirier, a Calgary youth development coach who discovered Hargreaves when he was 11.

"His attitude was that he was going to go back the following year and shove it down their throats."

He never got the chance. In October of 1996, Hargreaves flew to Germany to try out for Bayern Munich, where he was later offered a professional contract after catching the eye of Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer.

Thomas Niendorf, the Calgary coach whose German contacts paved the way for Hargreaves's move to Germany, said Beckenbauer was impressed by his versatility and a mental toughness that has enabled him play at the highest level.

He proved that last year when he kept his composure after allowing Portuguese superstar Luis Figo to score when Bayern was playing Real Madrid in the European Champions Cup semi-final.

With Hargreaves in midfield, Bayern went on to win the Champions Cup after beating Valencia in a penalty shootout.

Niendorf believes that financial considerations may have played a role in Taylor's decision not pick him for the under-17 squad.

Sources familiar with the Canadian soccer system say a lack of funding forces top Canadian coaches to pick the more physically developed players, who they hope can bring immediate success, instead of the lighter, more skillful players like Hargreaves, who need time to mature.

That's because coaches at the national level face the prospect of having their budgets slashed if they don't qualify for major international tournaments such as the World Cup and Olympics.

"It would have been a financial challenge for the national team to bring in such a young player who could not be of immediate value to the team because of his physical immaturity," said Niendorf, who coaches a North American A-League team, the Calgary Storm.

In an interview, Taylor said the issue of Hargreaves's playing for England instead of Canada has been the subject of much misinformation.

When he began to prepare his under-17 team for the qualifying round, he said he expected to be working with a budget of $185,000, but that was cut to $115,000 by the time he got around to selecting the squad.

He also said funding was in such short supply that the team had to prepare for the World Cup by playing a warm-up tournament in Bermuda because the organizers were prepared to pay for the meals and the accommodation.

"My whole thing is to try and qualify," said Taylor, a respected coach who played for the English First Division club Crystal Palace in the early 1970s. When it didn't, his budget for the next season was cut to $10,000.

Taylor, now involved with player development with the Ontario Soccer Association, said a lack of funding is something top coaches have to accept. "That's just Canada," he said. "The [Canadian Soccer Association]can't raise the money because they have so many programs to fund."

Niendorf said Taylor should not be criticized for cutting someone who has turned out to be Canada's best homegrown soccer player. "He recognized the talent, but he was restricted by the system we have in place," Niendorf said.

Other coaches agree. "I can understand to a certain extent where he is coming from," Poirier said. "Owen was probably smaller than most of the other guys who were trying out."

After he was rejected for the Canadian under-17 team, Hargreaves had invitations to play for both the Welsh national team and for Canada when it was preparing to play in the Youth World Cup in 2000. Later that year, he was approached by Canadian national team coach Holger Osieck.

"We were told that he was going to focus on playing for Bayern Munich," said Morgan Quarry, a spokesman for the CSA.

"Nothing else mattered," Poirier said. "The question of whether he could play on the national team for Wales or England wasn't on his mind. Neither was Canada. . . . It just wasn't a priority for him."

After moving to Germany in 1997, Hargreaves was finally offered a professional contract in the summer of 2000 after Beckenbauer noticed him while he was playing for Bayern during an off-season exhibition tournament in China.

He was later approached by England's coach, Sven-Goran Eriksson, after Bayern won the European Champions Cup, and he made his debut for England in an exhibition game against the Netherlands in August of 2001.

Poirier said choosing to play for England was a brave decision because Hargreaves's mother was born in Rhyl, Wales, so he also had the opportunity to play for the Welsh team. He qualifies for England because his father, Colin, was born in Bolton, England.

"It was a gutsy decision because he knew he could play for Canada," Poirier said. "When he made the decision to play for England, he knew there were no guarantees and he might not end up playing for any country."

Still, Hargreaves didn't commit himself until he came on as a substitute during a vital World Cup qualifying game when England beat Germany 5-1 in Munich in September. "Once he stepped onto the field, that was it," Poirier said.

Hargreaves's mother, Margaret, said she and her husband are very proud of Owen, "as any parents would be."

However, after making a decision not to give any formal interviews, she would not say what her son's rise to stardom means to the family or Canadian soccer in general.

"We don't even know if he is going to be playing," she said. "Only Sven knows that."

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @GLOBE_SPORTSOPENS IN A NEW WINDOW

[BradMack]

1 hour ago, Robert said:

The blame for the whole Owen Hargreaves affair can be placed squarely on the shoulders of Holger Osiek, of glorious "Holger's Heroes" fame. In an interview just prior to Mr. Hargreaves making his now infamous decision, which was broadcast during the half-time break of a Canada vs. Jamaica World Cup qualifier, the more lucky-than-wise Mr. Osieck goes on national television and informs the nation that Owen Hargreaves is a defensive mid-fielder, and that Canada already had lots of defensive mid-fielders and didn't need another one. He also claimed in that same interview that he knew exactly what kind of limited talent Canada had at it's disposal. Now Mr. Osieck may have been a world class joe-boy on Kaiser Franz Beckenbauer's bench at the 1990 World Cup, but he was certainly no managerial genius outside of winning the odd coin-toss. Now if you hear the coach of the Canadian National Team, who at the time was being perceived as the Saviour of Canadian soccer by the CSA and fans alike, talking about your future like that on national television, I can really understand why Owen said "Fuck it! I am going to play for England! And play he did!!!

Canada never played Jamaica in WCQ under Holger. You must either be mistaking the team they played against or misremembering the facts. We did play them in a friendly in '99 but by that time OH was already playing for Wales for a full year. It also strikes me as odd that he would talk down about a player playing for his buddy Franz's team. Are you sure this interview happened? Just to recap, Osiek comes in and plays Jamaica a full year after OH has decided to play for Wales, rips him for not being good as a highly touted teenager at the biggest club in Osieks home country and one of the biggest in the world, this causes some sort of time ripple that makes past version Hargreaves switch to Wales... It seems unlikely, but hey, so did our Gold Cup win right?

I'm just playing around with you.

Look maybe Holger did say something (lets not forget he's never been great on the mic... video below), but Hargreaves was long gone, and apparently seether at the CSA and Tony Taylor by this time for him being cut as an undersized u-17 player. To be fair to Taylor his job at the time was to win and many coaches have defended his decision. If you can find that interview I'd love to see it though, in fact if you have access to any old games I'd love to see them.

love 

[Cheeta]

Blah, blah, blah. too quiet around here, blah, blah, blah. 

Jets beat the 'yotes tonight without shifting above 3rd gear.  Blah, blah, blah.

What if it it smells like fish but tastes like chicken?  Huh?  Answer me that one?

Blah, blah, blah.

Okay, is Moe the fully functional chain saw arm and Larry the sawed off shotgun or the other way around?  I always get them confused.

https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/80049277

 

 

[Markus]

No points to OP for spelling or being concise but I do take your point. I've always maintained that the rules are what they are and I don't blame any player for acting in their best interest. I can see why players like Hargreaves and Begovic made the decisions they did. They got to play in the World Cup and raise their profile. Players have a short time to make the most of their career.

I think it's unfair since lower countries usually only get players turned down by better teams while the better teams get players that would be stars for the lower ranked teams. I blame the rule, not the players.

With that being said, this is a place for the biggest supporters of this team so I can see why people are so passionate about this topic. 

God, when do we play another meaningful game? 

[Robert]

4 hours ago, Markus said:

No points to OP for spelling or being concise but I do take your point. I've always maintained that the rules are what they are and I don't blame any player for acting in their best interest. I can see why players like Hargreaves and Begovic made the decisions they did. They got to play in the World Cup and raise their profile. Players have a short time to make the most of their career.

I think it's unfair since lower countries usually only get players turned down by better teams while the better teams get players that would be stars for the lower ranked teams. I blame the rule, not the players.

With that being said, this is a place for the biggest supporters of this team so I can see why people are so passionate about this topic. 

God, when do we play another meaningful game? 

Most of your points are valid, however, I don't agree with blaming the rules, as they are the same for all FIFA associations, and in this case, actually work in Canada's favour. Suppose the rules were to change, restricting players to play only for the country in which they were born. In that case the current Canadian National Team would be reduced by 14 players, and I seriously doubt that there are currently 14 Canadian born players that are representing other national football associations. Hence the title of this thread.

[ted]

16 hours ago, dsqpr said:

My whole point is that it is indeed hypocritical and a double standard to cheer for Scotty Arfield while hating Owen Hargreaves. However, I do not say that it is wrong. That is up to each individual to decide for himself.

Apparently you also need to review the definition of the word.

Cheering for people who play for your team and hating people who do not play for your team - national, professional, amateur, whatever - is by no reasonable or generally agreed definition of the word, hypocritical.

There is LITERALLY no "double-standard" in Canadians supporting those who choose to play for Canada and vilifying those who do not. There is ONE SINGLE STANDARD applied by national team fans everywhere. Even if they can understand and sympathize with someone who chooses to not play for the country of their birth or homeland or however you want to phrase it, it does not involve a double-standard to say that Whoregreaves and Arfield are a traitor and a hero respectively, FOR CANADA. 

What boggles the mind is who actually gives a fuck? What is the point to bringing this tired, boring argument up over and over and over again? Does it help support our national team in any way? Does it contribute positively to the culture of soccer in Canada? Is it simply a bit of trolling because someone is bored?

I know my answer to that last question.

[Rheo]

If people feel the need to hate, let them hate.  There's no talking sense to them because they won't listen and will attack you (in my experience) for disagreeing with them.  Not worth the time or effort.

[Markus]

52 minutes ago, Robert said:

Most of your points are valid, however, I don't agree with blaming the rules, as they are the same for all FIFA associations, and in this case, actually work in Canada's favour. Suppose the rules were to change, restricting players to play only for the country in which they were born. In that case the current Canadian National Team would be reduced by 14 players, and I seriously doubt that there are currently 14 Canadian born players that are representing other national football associations. Hence the title of this thread.

Yeah, that's a fair point. It is what it is. I'll just support the guys who want to wear the shirt. 

[johnyb]

17 hours ago, Robert said:

The blame for the whole Owen Hargreaves affair can be placed squarely on the shoulders of Holger Osiek, of glorious "Holger's Heroes" fame. In an interview just prior to Mr. Hargreaves making his now infamous decision, which was broadcast during the half-time break of a Canada vs. Jamaica World Cup qualifier, the more lucky-than-wise Mr. Osieck goes on national television and informs the nation that Owen Hargreaves is a defensive mid-fielder, and that Canada already had lots of defensive mid-fielders and didn't need another one. He also claimed in that same interview that he knew exactly what kind of limited talent Canada had at it's disposal. Now Mr. Osieck may have been a world class joe-boy on Kaiser Franz Beckenbauer's bench at the 1990 World Cup, but he was certainly no managerial genius outside of winning the odd coin-toss. Now if you hear the coach of the Canadian National Team, who at the time was being perceived as the Saviour of Canadian soccer by the CSA and fans alike, talking about your future like that on national television, I can really understand why Owen said "Fuck it! I am going to play for England! And play he did!!!

I don't remember it that way. I recall an Interview that Osiek made before OH had committed to England and according to him he met with OH and tried to sway him to play for Canada. His line was "Do you want to sit on the bench for England or be a star for Canada?" We all know which one he chose and to alot of peoples surprise, he went on to be much more than a bench warmer.

[Grizzly]

4 hours ago, johnyb said:

I don't remember it that way. I recall an Interview that Osiek made before OH had committed to England and according to him he met with OH and tried to sway him to play for Canada. His line was "Do you want to sit on the bench for England or be a star for Canada?" We all know which one he chose and to alot of peoples surprise, he went on to be much more than a bench warmer.

Yes I also don't remember Holger ever doing anything other than trying his hardest to convince Hargreaves to play for us. If Robert has evidence otherwise he should produce it. Hargreaves made his decision on his own, I don't remember anyone else that would have influenced him negatively other than the Taylor incident and I suspect that is mostly BS as well, he would have chosen England anyway whether or not he got cut from that team, he just uses that as an excuse.

[Robert]

3 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Yes I also don't remember Holger ever doing anything other than trying his hardest to convince Hargreaves to play for us. If Robert has evidence otherwise he should produce it. Hargreaves made his decision on his own, I don't remember anyone else that would have influenced him negatively other than the Taylor incident and I suspect that is mostly BS as well, he would have chosen England anyway whether or not he got cut from that team, he just uses that as an excuse.

When I moved from Vancouver to Victoria last May, I threw out my collection of Canadian soccer VHS tapes. I didn't want to bring any DownTown-EastSide bed-bugs with me. So, the evidence I had is gone. You can choose to believe or claim that I'm making it up, not that it's a big deal to me. For those who profess to have insider connections,. maybe someone could actually contact Owen directly and find out his side of the story, before basing their judgments on biased second or third-hand information and disappointed emotions.

[jpg75]

1 minute ago, Robert said:

When I moved from Vancouver to Victoria last May, I threw out my collection of Canadian soccer VHS tapes. I didn't want to bring any DownTown-EastSide bed-bugs with me.

Why didn't you take them to Walmart and have them convert them to DVD?

[Robert]

31 minutes ago, jpg75 said:

Why didn't you take them to Walmart and have them convert them to DVD?

I guess hindsight is 20/20. Also, whenever I watched all the matches I taped over the years, it was evident how little progress the CSA had made during that time. The results of these matches showed no improvement, actually results got worse over time, as it has been more than two decades since I had recorded a HEX match that feature the Canadian national team. In the end, I just didn't feel they were worth saving. Like who would want to watch matches like the 8-1 San Pedro Sula slaughter over and over again, unless your a Honduran supporter? As far as I'm concerned, it's a history that wasn't worth preserving.

[Unnamed Trialist]

So the definitive documentation that would remove Owen from the annals of shame and put an end to his villification has been lost, thrown into the dustbin.

By the very person most interested in clearing his name and denouncing his unjust ostracism. 

If that is not HYPOCRICY I don't know what is.

[dbailey62]

7 hours ago, dsqpr said:

I really don't think there is any detail that would change anybody's mind now. At the end if the day it was OH's career and his decision, nobody else's.

And it was now a generation ago. And anybody who thinks this one defensive midfielder would have turned our MNT into world beaters is living in some kind of parallel universe. Looking at the bigger picture, this one decision means nothing. We have been useless for many reasons and OH is not one of them.

While I agree, don't doubt what one player can do to make the difference. Canada has missed out on the last two hexes by one goal! Two cycles ago we needed one goal at home vs Honduras and we are into the next round. In the last cycle we needed one more goal against El Salvador on the road. We win instead of draw against their reserves (their starters were on strike) and Floro would have had us in the hex and actually would still have a job!

Two consecutive hexes missed by one goal each time!

One player can make the difference!

[Robert]

1 hour ago, dbailey62 said:

While I agree, don't doubt what one player can do to make the difference. Canada has missed out on the last two hexes by one goal! Two cycles ago we needed one goal at home vs Honduras and we are into the next round. In the last cycle we needed one more goal against El Salvador on the road. We win instead of draw against their reserves (their starters were on strike) and Floro would have had us in the hex and actually would still have a job!

Two consecutive hexes missed by one goal each time!

One player can make the difference!

Yet, despite "the one-player can make a difference" argument, one can go all the way back to Canada's 1970 World Cup qualifying campaign, in the era prior to so-called "traitors & defectors," and see that if Canada had scored one more goal in either the October 20th match against Bermuda, or the October 26th match against the United States, we would have been through to the next round.

In both your examples and the one just pointed out, Canada came up one goal short. Hence, in World Cup qualifying, our Achilles heel has always been the fact that we have never produced an international caliber goal-scorer. The closet we ever came to producing a striker was Alex Bunbury, and I'm afraid with the minimalist approach with which the CSA has historically managed the game in Canada, that if we ever did produce such a striker, the chance would be great that he would be the next in an ever-increasing list of "traitors & defectors." 

 

First Round[edit]

Group 1[edit]

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	United States	6	4	3	0	1	11	6	+5
2	Canada	5	4	2	1	1	8	3	+5
3	Bermuda	1	4	0	1	3	2	12	−10

6 October 1968	Canada	4–0	Bermuda	[show]Toronto, Ontario, Canada

---

13 October 1968	Canada	4–2	United States	[show]Toronto, Ontario, Canada

---

20 October 1968	Bermuda	0–0	Canada	[show]Hamilton, Bermuda

---

26 October 1968	United States	1–0	Canada	[show]Atlanta, United States

---

2 November 1968	United States	6–2	Bermuda	[show]Kansas City, United States

---

11 November 1968	Bermuda	0–2	United States	[show]Hamilton, Bermuda

United States advanced to the Semifinal Round.

[Robert]

5 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

So the definitive documentation that would remove Owen from the annals of shame and put an end to his villification has been lost, thrown into the dustbin.

By the very person most interested in clearing his name and denouncing his unjust ostracism. 

If that is not HYPOCRICY I don't know what is.

Ah yes, my HYPOCRICY is almost as great a sin as that of the CSA's, which as one would reasonably expect to have preserved the "definitive documentation" and have had the integrity to fully disclose its own shortcomings. However, let us stick to your agenda and focus solely on Robert. I have sinned. I was wrong. I am sorry. I hope you can find it in your kind heart, almighty Unnamed Trialist, to forgive my HYPOCRISY? God what a sin, and I'm not even Canadian. 

[Bison44]

I'll take it one step further, one player can make a posostive difference and a NEGATIVE one...  Growing up for me in 70's and 80's, cheering for Canadian soccer wasnt the negative, fatalistic enterprise it has become. The whitecaps and Blizzard in NASL, the 86 WC, close calls in 94 etc, it wasnt all doom and gloom.  Hearing CBC stories about this phenom from Calgary I was excited, and then super dissapointed.  But even then, the lucky coin toss/team of destiny in the 2000 GC put the wind back in my sails.  But the whole time I was wondering what if OH had been on those squads?  And dismal performances, painful player losses (ABeg and JDEG) beat me down as a fan,  And by the time 2012 came around the little voice in my head knew we were going to blow it.  But it all started with OH, he is the reason I think "CAP-TIE" any kid that shows promise.  For alot of us OH made the difference in a bad way.  

[Robert]

23 hours ago, ted said:

Cheering for people who play for your team and hating people who do not play for your team - national, professional, amateur, whatever - is by no reasonable or generally agreed definition of the word, hypocritical.

There is LITERALLY no "double-standard" in Canadians supporting those who choose to play for Canada and vilifying those who do not. There is ONE SINGLE STANDARD applied by national team fans everywhere. Even if they can understand and sympathize with someone who chooses to not play for the country of their birth or homeland or however you want to phrase it, it does not involve a double-standard to say that Whoregreaves and Arfield are a traitor and a hero respectively, FOR CANADA.

Is hate something that is tolerated and promoted in Canadian society? Do we condone those who vilify and persecute others? Are those the values and standards you teach to your kids, if you have any? Is that kind of behavior not illegal in this country? Personally, I would never support any organization, at whatever level, whether the Canadian Men's National Team, the Vancouver Whitecaps or even the Victoria Highlanders, that tolerates any standard of hatred in the stands, and I would certainly not consider taking a young impressionable person into such an environment. Now I'm sure that you don't wear KKK bed sheets Ted, and that you only suffer mildly from a case of misguided- slightly hypocritical-Canadian-trying-to-act-like-a-European-hooligan syndrome, right?  

[Robert]

1 hour ago, Bison44 said:

I'll take it one step further, one player can make a posostive difference and a NEGATIVE one...  Growing up for me in 70's and 80's, cheering for Canadian soccer wasnt the negative, fatalistic enterprise it has become. The whitecaps and Blizzard in NASL, the 86 WC, close calls in 94 etc, it wasnt all doom and gloom.  Hearing CBC stories about this phenom from Calgary I was excited, and then super dissapointed.  But even then, the lucky coin toss/team of destiny in the 2000 GC put the wind back in my sails.  But the whole time I was wondering what if OH had been on those squads?  And dismal performances, painful player losses (ABeg and JDEG) beat me down as a fan,  And by the time 2012 came around the little voice in my head knew we were going to blow it.  But it all started with OH, he is the reason I think "CAP-TIE" any kid that shows promise.  For alot of us OH made the difference in a bad way.  

I believe those sentiments are shared by the majority of fans that have been around that long. The Gold Cup is the perfect opportunity to "CAP-Tie" a crop of young, promising talent every two years, however, the question remains, is the CSA courageous enough to  protect home-grown talent at the expense of results in a secondary competition?  

[jpg75]

Actually Robert that would be a 2 goal difference in '70 qualifiers.

[jpg75]

One player may not make or break, but ALL of the players we've lost could have made a difference. In 2008 can you imagine adding a 27 yr old ManU CM named Hargreaves? Plus a 25 yr old Bundesliga GK? And a 21 yr old RM/CAM at Feyenoord? We would have probably pushed Hutch back to CB because there would have been no room in MF.

[Robert]

1 hour ago, jpg75 said:

One player may not make or break, but ALL of the players we've lost could have made a difference. In 2008 can you imagine adding a 27 yr old ManU CM named Hargreaves? Plus a 25 yr old Bundesliga GK? And a 21 yr old RM/CAM at Feyenoord? We would have probably pushed Hutch back to CB because there would have been no room in MF.

Back in 2008:

Group 2

Team   Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Honduras 6 4 0 2 9 5 +4 12  Mexico 6 3 1 2 9 6 +3 10  Jamaica 6 3 1 2 6 6 0 10  Canada 6 0 2 4 6 13 −7 2

Canada  – 1 – 2 1 – 1 2 – 2 Honduras  3 – 1 – 2 – 0 1 – 0 Jamaica  3 – 0 1 – 0 – 1 – 0 Mexico  2 – 1 2 – 1 3 – 0 –

Okay, would it have made a difference if you added those three players, and gave up the following 12 players:

1) Mike KLUKOWSKI - born in Amstetten, Austria

2) Tomasz RADZINSKI - born in Poznan, Poland

3) Daniel IMHOF - born in Wil, Switzerland

4) Ali GERBA - born in Yaounde, Cameroon

5) Iain HUME - born in Edinburgh, United Kingdom

6) Dejan JAKOVIC - born in Karlovac, Croatia

7) Kevin HARMSE - born in Johannesburg, South Africa

8) Chris POZNIAK - born in Krakow, Poland

9) Charles GBEKE - born in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire

10) Andrzej ORNOCH - born in Warsaw, Poland

11) Simeon JACKSON - born in Kingston, Jamaica

12) Asmir BEGOVIC - born in Trebinje, Bosnia and Herzegovina