Canadian Soccer History (and Where Are They Now) Thread

[Joe MacCarthy]

I thought maybe we should have a catch all thread for Canadian soccer history, players, events etc.

I was going through some old posts and wanted to see an old MOACA

Now it's not the earliest available but it was one I found relatively easily, I'll post earlier ones that I find.

What strikes me now is how we still have the hopes that young players we follow will become the next big thing and how very seldom it occurs.  On this list (from 2005) three names stand out for me:

Jacob Lensky - Glasgow Celtic (Scottish Premier League) (1) Youth
Julian Uccello - Savona (Serie D Girone A) (5) on loan from AC Milan Juniores Youth
Kerr McLeod - Vitesse A1 (Holland Casino Ere Divisie) (1)

The first two represent the ever constant parent boosting their child trying to convince us of their impending superstardom with those big club trials.

The third name was more curious, (the anointed one)  IIRC, Kerr was from Saskatchewan and none less than Holger the Great said he would be "The Next One".  Almost gives one images of a young Cruyff rising out of the prairie wheat fields.  Unfortunately, it didn't pan out but another nobody Holger showcased as a scrawny teenager ended up doing ok, so well he's still going today.

Edited November 8, 2021 by Joe MacCarthy

[yomurphy1]

7 minutes ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

I thought maybe we should have a catch all thread for Canadian soccer history, players, events etc.

I was going through some old posts and wanted to see an old MOACA

Now it's not the earliest available but it was one I found relatively easily, I'll post earlier ones that I find.

What strikes me now is how we still have the hopes that young players we follow will become the next big thing and how very seldom it occurs.  On this list (from 2005) three names stand out for me:

Jacob Lensky - Glasgow Celtic (Scottish Premier League) (1) Youth
Julian Uccello - Savona (Serie D Girone A) (5) on loan from AC Milan Juniores Youth
Kerr McLeod - Vitesse A1 (Holland Casino Ere Divisie) (1)

The first two represent the ever constant parent boosting their child trying to convince us of their impending superstardom with those big club trials.

The third name was more curious, (the anointed one)  IIRC, Kerr was from Saskatchewan and none less than Holger the Great said he would be "The Next One".  Almost gives one images of a young Cruyff rising out of the prairie wheat fields.  Unfortunately, it didn't pan out but another nobody Holger showcased as a scrawny teenager ended up doing ok, so well he's still going today.

Julian Uccello has MS.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-pitching-in-former-soccer-player-raises-money-for-research-into/

Lensky had huge issues with depression.

There's a bit more to these stories than "parent boosting". 

[RS]

13 minutes ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

Unfortunately, it didn't pan out but another nobody Holger showcased as a scrawny teenager ended up doing ok, so well he's still going today.

Atiba!

[Joe MacCarthy]

33 minutes ago, yomurphy1 said:

Julian Uccello has MS.

Lensky had huge issues with depression.

There's a bit more to these stories than "parent boosting". 

Yes, I am aware.  In no way was this thread meant to or mean to demean any player, for me it is a snapshot in time.  However, there are lessons that can be learned from someone such as Lensky whose saga is out there for the world to see.

While we hope the players we post about and carry hopeful thoughts for succeed, we don't know what can be around the corner and not every story can have a happy ending.

Edited October 18, 2021 by Joe MacCarthy

[Unnamed Trialist]

https://modoyoga.com/vancouver/teacher/kerr-mcleod/

[Joe MacCarthy]

2 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

https://modoyoga.com/vancouver/teacher/kerr-mcleod/

I wonder if he really had the potential to be great and did the injuries derail him.  It's kind of ringing a bell that they did.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Can you imagine something like this happening now

March 31 2006

Marcel De Jong has signed with Roda JC

Wow, it looks like two Canadians on the same day have signed with top tier Dutch clubs. First Will Johnson with a successful trial at Heerenveen and now earlier rumours look to be true (pending Dutch translation); it looks as though Marcel De Jong has signed with Roda JC.

Rob Friend signs four year deal with Heerenveen

Pending his medical. Rob Friend has signed a four year deal with Heerenveen joining Will Johnson.

This is probably the greatest Canadian signing day in history. Looks like three Canadians (Will Johnson, Marcel DeJong and Rob Friend) have signed with top tier Dutch clubs in one day.

In addition to DeGuzman, DeJong, Friend and Johnson, former Canadian U20 keeper Josh Wagenaar signed with ADO Den Haag about a month ago and I just read yesterday where ADO released two of their keepers, so he will get a shot.

 

 

 

[johnyb]

1 hour ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

I thought maybe we should have a catch all thread for Canadian soccer history, players, events etc.

I was going through some old posts and wanted to see an old MOACA

Now it's not the earliest available but it was one I found relatively easily, I'll post earlier ones that I find.

What strikes me now is how we still have the hopes that young players we follow will become the next big thing and how very seldom it occurs.  On this list (from 2005) three names stand out for me:

Jacob Lensky - Glasgow Celtic (Scottish Premier League) (1) Youth
Julian Uccello - Savona (Serie D Girone A) (5) on loan from AC Milan Juniores Youth
Kerr McLeod - Vitesse A1 (Holland Casino Ere Divisie) (1)

The first two represent the ever constant parent boosting their child trying to convince us of their impending superstardom with those big club trials.

The third name was more curious, (the anointed one)  IIRC, Kerr was from Saskatchewan and none less than Holger the Great said he would be "The Next One".  Almost gives one images of a young Cruyff rising out of the prairie wheat fields.  Unfortunately, it didn't pan out but another nobody Holger showcased as a scrawny teenager ended up doing ok, so well he's still going today.

Julian's father's handle was Bigbird. IIRC he never tried convincing us of his children's greatness (if i'm not mistaken he had 2 or 3 sons at various clubs). If anything he was tempering our expectations and used a lot of terms like "he still has a lot of work ahead of him" and "if he keeps training hard" etc. I remember him being being pretty level headed and a big fan of the CMNT (not just his sons' involvement with them).

[Shway]

3 hours ago, johnyb said:

Julian's father's handle was Bigbird. IIRC he never tried convincing us of his children's greatness (if i'm not mistaken he had 2 or 3 sons at various clubs). If anything he was tempering our expectations and used a lot of terms like "he still has a lot of work ahead of him" and "if he keeps training hard" etc. I remember him being being pretty level headed and a big fan of the CMNT (not just his sons' involvement with them).

This part is very rare.

[Joe MacCarthy]

I guess I had better respond to what I see now as a poorly worded sentence on my part,  I'm gonna try not to move the goal posts or double down.  What I wrote was not really what I meant and that was really driven home by my being prompted to remember the name Bigbird and the good online relationship I had with him.  He was one of the good ones and for that my memory was definitely faulty.  Twenty some years of posting can do that to you.

Even though I meant to portray a "snapshot in time" at the same time I did want to address the number of "stage fathers" and there have been a few of those.  I take ownership of being a hypocrite on that one.  It's not what I wanted the focus to be when I started the thread and that poorly worded sentence seems to have done just that.  Mea culpa

[Buchta]

Here is a list of Canucks Abroad from September 2003.

United States

Dwayne De Rosario - San Jose (MLS)

Frank Yallop (coach) - San Jose (MLS)

Pat Onstad - San Jose (MLS)

Mark Watson - Charleston (A-League)

Alvin Hudson - Minnesota (A-League)

Semir Mesanovic - Indiana (A-League)

Kyle Fletcher - West Mass (D3 Pro)

Jim Larkin - Milwaukee (A-League)

Carl Fletcher - Atlanta (A-League)

England

David Edgar - Newcastle (EPL - youth)

Tomasz Radzinski - Everton (EPL)

Jim Brennan - Norwich(1st div)

Elliot Godfrey - Watford (1st div - reserves)

Ryan Gyaki - Sheffield United (1st div - youth)

Tom Lindley - Sheffield United (1st div - youth)

Paul Peschisolido - Sheffield United (1st div)

Jason Bent - Plymouth (2nd div)

Marc Bircham - QPR (2nd div)

Jason De Vos - Wigan (1st div)

Lars Hirschfeld - Tottenham (EPL)

Iain Hume - Tranmere (2nd div)

Terry Dunfield - Bury (3rd div)

Mark Rogers - Wycombe (2nd div)

Asmir Bergovic - Porstmought (EPL) - Youth

John Murphy - Bury (3rd Div) - Youth

Andrea Lombardo - Manchester City (EPL) - Youth

Germany

Maycoll Canizalez - Werder Bremen (Bund) - reserves

Julian de Guzman - Hannover 96 (Bund)

Jeremy Shepherd - Hertha Berlin (Bund) - U19 team

Paul Stalteri - Werder Bremen (Bund)

Tam Nsaliwa - Jahn Regensburg (Ger 2nd)

Victor Oppong - Saarbrucken II(4th div)

Nik Ledgerwood - 1860 Munich (Bund.) - reserves

Dylan Hughes - FC Kaiserslauten - U19 team

Amir Haroon - Energie Cottbus (Youth)

Scotland

Paul Fenwick - Hibs (SPL)

Kevin McKenna - Hearts (SPL)

Davide Xausa - Falkirk (1st Div)

Emilio Botiglieri - Greenock Morton (3rd div)

Rhian Dodds - Kilmarnock (SPL)

Northern Ireland

Vince Stewart - Glentoran

France

Dimy Garbe - Lorient (Le Championat) youth

Norway

Marco Reda - Sogndal (Premier)

Patrice Bernier - Moss (1st div)

Rob Friend - Moss (1st div)

Milan Kojic - Haugesund (1st div)

Kevin Harmse - Tromso (Premiere)

Rob De Faveri - Kvik Halden (2nd Div)

Sweden

Atiba Hutchison - Osters IF (Premier)

Chris Pozniak - Orebro SK (Premier)

Adam Braz - Vasteras (1st div)

Kenny Stamatopoulos - Enkopings (Premier)

Nikki Budalic - Orebro SK (Premier) - Reserves

Denmark

Nils Binstock, AB Copenhagen (Youth)

Portugal

Fernando Aguiar - Benfica (Portugal 1st)

Marco Brás - Naval (2nd div)

Nílton Terroso - Lourinhanense (3rd div)

Spain

Daniel Fernandes - Celta Vigo II - out on trial?

Austria

Ante Jazic - Rapid Vienna (Austria 1st div)

Belgium

Mike Klukowski - La Louvière (Belgium 1st div)

Greece

Stathios Kappos - AEK (Greece 1st div)

Holland

Richard Hastings - MVV 1st Division

Jonathan de Guzman - Feyenoord (youth)

Marcel de Jong - Eindhoven (youth)

Troy Gardezy - Gronigen (youth)

Graham Ramalho - Gronigen (youth)

Italy

Andrea Bellisomo - Inter Milan (youth)

Carlo Schiavoni - Padova (Serie C1)

Rocco Placentino - Avellino (Serie 

Franco Lalli - Avellino (Youth - Serie 

Niels Dekker - Massa Lombarda - (Serie D)

Gianluca Saggesse - Salernitana?

Basi Seminara - Salernitana?

David Masciantonio - Sora (Serie C)

Julian Uccello - AC Milan Primavera (Youth)

Switzerland

Daniel Imhof - St Gallen (1st div)

Croatia

Justin Kozjak - Dinamo Zagreb Reserves

Ryan Thompson - Hadjuk Split (Top Division)

Waldemar Dutra - Osijek (Top Division)

Serbia & Montengro

Srdjan Djekanovic - Zeleznicar Bara Venecija (3rd Div)

Igor Prostran - FK Rad (1st Div)

Hungary

Sasha Boscovic - MTK (1st Division)

Nicola Servedio - MTK (1st Division)

Poland

Wyn Belotte - Wisla Krakow (1st Division)

Turkey

Rasih Pala - Istanbul B.B.Spor (2nd Div)

Argentina

Manny Gomez - River Plate (Argentina) youth

Chile

Carmello Rago (Puerto Montt - Chile 1st)

China

Tony Menezes - Gansu

[beachesl]

Man, how much would they like to be 18 years younger now?

[jordan]

Rasih Pala was a midfielder/Goalie which is pretty cool

[El Hombre]

8 hours ago, Buchta said:

Here is a list of Canucks Abroad from September 2003.

United States

Dwayne De Rosario - San Jose (MLS)

Frank Yallop (coach) - San Jose (MLS)

Pat Onstad - San Jose (MLS)

Mark Watson - Charleston (A-League)

Alvin Hudson - Minnesota (A-League)

Semir Mesanovic - Indiana (A-League)

Kyle Fletcher - West Mass (D3 Pro)

Jim Larkin - Milwaukee (A-League)

Carl Fletcher - Atlanta (A-League)

England

David Edgar - Newcastle (EPL - youth)

Tomasz Radzinski - Everton (EPL)

Jim Brennan - Norwich(1st div)

Elliot Godfrey - Watford (1st div - reserves)

Ryan Gyaki - Sheffield United (1st div - youth)

Tom Lindley - Sheffield United (1st div - youth)

Paul Peschisolido - Sheffield United (1st div)

Jason Bent - Plymouth (2nd div)

Marc Bircham - QPR (2nd div)

Jason De Vos - Wigan (1st div)

Lars Hirschfeld - Tottenham (EPL)

Iain Hume - Tranmere (2nd div)

Terry Dunfield - Bury (3rd div)

Mark Rogers - Wycombe (2nd div)

Asmir Bergovic - Porstmought (EPL) - Youth

John Murphy - Bury (3rd Div) - Youth

Andrea Lombardo - Manchester City (EPL) - Youth

Germany

Maycoll Canizalez - Werder Bremen (Bund) - reserves

Julian de Guzman - Hannover 96 (Bund)

Jeremy Shepherd - Hertha Berlin (Bund) - U19 team

Paul Stalteri - Werder Bremen (Bund)

Tam Nsaliwa - Jahn Regensburg (Ger 2nd)

Victor Oppong - Saarbrucken II(4th div)

Nik Ledgerwood - 1860 Munich (Bund.) - reserves

Dylan Hughes - FC Kaiserslauten - U19 team

Amir Haroon - Energie Cottbus (Youth)

Scotland

Paul Fenwick - Hibs (SPL)

Kevin McKenna - Hearts (SPL)

Davide Xausa - Falkirk (1st Div)

Emilio Botiglieri - Greenock Morton (3rd div)

Rhian Dodds - Kilmarnock (SPL)

Northern Ireland

Vince Stewart - Glentoran

France

Dimy Garbe - Lorient (Le Championat) youth

Norway

Marco Reda - Sogndal (Premier)

Patrice Bernier - Moss (1st div)

Rob Friend - Moss (1st div)

Milan Kojic - Haugesund (1st div)

Kevin Harmse - Tromso (Premiere)

Rob De Faveri - Kvik Halden (2nd Div)

Sweden

Atiba Hutchison - Osters IF (Premier)

Chris Pozniak - Orebro SK (Premier)

Adam Braz - Vasteras (1st div)

Kenny Stamatopoulos - Enkopings (Premier)

Nikki Budalic - Orebro SK (Premier) - Reserves

Denmark

Nils Binstock, AB Copenhagen (Youth)

Portugal

Fernando Aguiar - Benfica (Portugal 1st)

Marco Brás - Naval (2nd div)

Nílton Terroso - Lourinhanense (3rd div)

Spain

Daniel Fernandes - Celta Vigo II - out on trial?

Austria

Ante Jazic - Rapid Vienna (Austria 1st div)

Belgium

Mike Klukowski - La Louvière (Belgium 1st div)

Greece

Stathios Kappos - AEK (Greece 1st div)

Holland

Richard Hastings - MVV 1st Division

Jonathan de Guzman - Feyenoord (youth)

Marcel de Jong - Eindhoven (youth)

Troy Gardezy - Gronigen (youth)

Graham Ramalho - Gronigen (youth)

Italy

Andrea Bellisomo - Inter Milan (youth)

Carlo Schiavoni - Padova (Serie C1)

Rocco Placentino - Avellino (Serie 

Franco Lalli - Avellino (Youth - Serie 

Niels Dekker - Massa Lombarda - (Serie D)

Gianluca Saggesse - Salernitana?

Basi Seminara - Salernitana?

David Masciantonio - Sora (Serie C)

Julian Uccello - AC Milan Primavera (Youth)

Switzerland

Daniel Imhof - St Gallen (1st div)

Croatia

Justin Kozjak - Dinamo Zagreb Reserves

Ryan Thompson - Hadjuk Split (Top Division)

Waldemar Dutra - Osijek (Top Division)

Serbia & Montengro

Srdjan Djekanovic - Zeleznicar Bara Venecija (3rd Div)

Igor Prostran - FK Rad (1st Div)

Hungary

Sasha Boscovic - MTK (1st Division)

Nicola Servedio - MTK (1st Division)

Poland

Wyn Belotte - Wisla Krakow (1st Division)

Turkey

Rasih Pala - Istanbul B.B.Spor (2nd Div)

Argentina

Manny Gomez - River Plate (Argentina) youth

Chile

Carmello Rago (Puerto Montt - Chile 1st)

China

Tony Menezes - Gansu

Some solid players in this list.  It really takes me back:

Jason Bent - Legend whose career was cut way too short.

Ryan Gyaki - He was going to be the next big thing after U20 qualification.  Another career cut too short.

Andrea Lombardo - He was with Man City?  I had no idea.  I remember him being with Atalanta.  His youth pedigree and his professional career did not match up.  Good cautionary tale for the younger Voyageurs around here.

Dany Fernandes - The one that got away.  Alim Karim played well in the U20 World Cup, but Fernandes had a heckuva career.  Karim is a doctor now, I think.

Tony Menezes - Another legend.

It's fun to look back on all this.

[canadianbacons]

Seems like a pretty solid list of players, just not the same level of elite talent that we have now (Davies, David, Buchanan, Larin, Eustaquio, etc.) Our depth is much better now as well, which is why we can grind out some results when we don't have all our best playing.

 

[BrennanFan]

We had a very good first 11 back in those days, though goals were still hard to come by even with Radzinski in the lineup.  Not much depth, of course.

[El Hombre]

7 minutes ago, canadianbacons said:

Seems like a pretty solid list of players, just not the same level of elite talent that we have now (Davies, David, Buchanan, Larin, Eustaquio, etc.) Our depth is much better now as well, which is why we can grind out some results when we don't have all our best playing.

 

Young JdG was a monster.  Radzinski was a pretty dynamic player at this time too.  Stalteri was winning Bundesliga championships around this time and defense was pretty solid with JdV, Brennan, McKenna, Jazic and Klukowski.  And never forget that a young Friend was like Davies, David, Buchanan and Larin all rolled into one.

We were able to put together a solid 11 at that time, but that's as far as it went.  Injuries destroyed us, which is why we dropped the first WCQ against Guatemala.

[BrennanFan]

3 minutes ago, El Hombre said:

Young JdG was a monster.  Radzinski was a pretty dynamic player at this time too.  Stalteri was winning Bundesliga championships around this time and defense was pretty solid with JdV, Brennan, McKenna, Jazic and Klukowski.  And never forget that a young Friend was like Davies, David, Buchanan and Larin all rolled into one.

We were able to put together a solid 11 at that time, but that's as far as it went.  Injuries destroyed us, which is why we dropped the first WCQ against Guatemala.

Yes, the infamous 2004 WCQ campaign.  

I think Yallop only had 1 friendly to prep before WCQ started.  He couldn't test any new guys out so he had to go with who he knew.  Playing Watson at the back over Nsaliwa was controversial, and deRo at left wing over Brennan led to Brennan opting out of WCQ.  I recall Aguiar was still at Benfica at this time and never got a sniff.  But without our captain and defensive lynchpin deVos, and without Brennan and Radzinski, we really didnt have much to offer in the first game against Guatemala.  I think a 17 year old Jamie Peters saw the field in that game.

Then, in the next game against Honduras, we got screwed epically by the ref, twice, which led to the infamous Stalteri bottle throw at the ref incident, which is really the only positive from that campaign. 

[El Hombre]

31 minutes ago, BrennanFan said:

Yes, the infamous 2004 WCQ campaign.  

I think Yallop only had 1 friendly to prep before WCQ started.  He couldn't test any new guys out so he had to go with who he knew.  Playing Watson at the back over Nsaliwa was controversial, and deRo at left wing over Brennan led to Brennan opting out of WCQ.  I recall Aguiar was still at Benfica at this time and never got a sniff.  But without our captain and defensive lynchpin deVos, and without Brennan and Radzinski, we really didnt have much to offer in the first game against Guatemala.  I think a 17 year old Jamie Peters saw the field in that game.

Then, in the next game against Honduras, we got screwed epically by the ref, twice, which led to the infamous Stalteri bottle throw at the ref incident, which is really the only positive from that campaign. 

But boy did we ever dismantle Belize over two legs in Kingston in June......

[Spungi]

1 hour ago, El Hombre said:

But boy did we ever dismantle Belize over two legs in Kingston in June......

The first of those games was my first CanMNT match in person...

[RS]

1 hour ago, El Hombre said:

But boy did we ever dismantle Belize over two legs in Kingston in June......

What a shit hole that stadium was.

[VinceA]

19 hours ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

Can you imagine something like this happening now

March 31 2006

Marcel De Jong has signed with Roda JC

Wow, it looks like two Canadians on the same day have signed with top tier Dutch clubs. First Will Johnson with a successful trial at Heerenveen and now earlier rumours look to be true (pending Dutch translation); it looks as though Marcel De Jong has signed with Roda JC.

Rob Friend signs four year deal with Heerenveen

Pending his medical. Rob Friend has signed a four year deal with Heerenveen joining Will Johnson.

This is probably the greatest Canadian signing day in history. Looks like three Canadians (Will Johnson, Marcel DeJong and Rob Friend) have signed with top tier Dutch clubs in one day.

In addition to DeGuzman, DeJong, Friend and Johnson, former Canadian U20 keeper Josh Wagenaar signed with ADO Den Haag about a month ago and I just read yesterday where ADO released two of their keepers, so he will get a shot.

 

 

 

I never understood the deal with guys like Friend and Occean. They were decent strikers at their clubs in Europe but were pretty barren for Canada and didn't get that many caps.

Why didn't they play more? And were we just abysmal at giving them service?

[Joe MacCarthy]

3 hours ago, El Hombre said:

Alim Karim played well in the U20 World Cup, Karim is a doctor now, I think.

IIRC he broke his leg and that may have severely damaged his career trajectory

[JamboAl]

1 hour ago, RS said:

What a shit hole that stadium was.

Richardson Stadium wasn’t really a soccer stadium.  It was more like a park with a few temporary bleachers if I recall.  Probably the last time Kingston will ever host a World Cup qualifier.

[Obinna]

6 minutes ago, VinceA said:

I never understood the deal with guys like Friend and Occean. They were decent strikers at their clubs in Europe but were pretty barren for Canada and didn't get that many caps.

Why didn't they play more? And were we just abysmal at giving them service?

Friend and Occean had pretty solid pro careers by concacaf standards. They gave us a solid one-two punch at the 9 position, while Gerba would come in and out of the team and outperform them both (despite playing at a much lower club level).

There really isn't a good answer to this question, just our own theories I guess.

I think what happened was that Gerba was the best out of the 3, but he was a bit of a nomad and could have/should have gone further in his club career. Perhaps fitness prevented him from sticking around at any one club for a long time. I recall him being chronically injured and once you gain that reputation it's hard to shake, I think.

Friend should have scored more for Canada. Maybe part of it was the players around him for the national team. He probably would have scored buckets of goals with Davies, Hoilett and Buchanan providing service.

Occean's goal ratio was reasonable for Canada in relation to his club career. At times it felt he should have been playing more for Canada, but again there was competition from Friend and Gerba (plus wasn't there some issue with him being out of the picture - I can't recall if he walked away or was frozen out, but something happened).

He finished with 28 caps and 6 goals, but was only active for 8 years with Canada. 

He played like 17 club seasons - in fact it looks like he's still playing as a player-coach in the lower leagues of Norway.