Damar Dixon

[Aird25]

1 hour ago, InglewoodJack said:

 

Posts like that are hilarious because we spend so much time talking about this player or that and who will be the first Canadian to play in Série A only for a player to come completely out of nowhere and it turns out that actually, this is the guy who might be really special for us pretty soon.

 

Only if you consider a teenager from L1O to be coming ‘completely out of nowhere’. Given the amount of decent pros that come from the league, that’s not how I see it. I don’t know if it’s the case here, but I also imagine in many cases top division teams in Canada are likely aware of these players and even trying to sign them, but many players see pathways overseas as being more beneficial and don’t want to get tied up contractually. 

[InglewoodJack]

1 minute ago, Aird25 said:

Only if you consider a teenager from L1O to be coming ‘completely out of nowhere’. Given the amount of decent pros that come from the league, that’s not how I see it. I don’t know if it’s the case here, but I also imagine in many cases top division teams in Canada are likely aware of these players and even trying to sign them, but many players see pathways overseas as being more beneficial and don’t want to get tied up contractually. 

Yeah, I would consider that out of nowhere. Thread created 6 days ago. No youth call ups so far.  Doubt many of us were aware of him or tracking a Série D player very closely and definitely no one thought this time last week that this guy might be our best bet to see a Canadian in Série A this season. 
 

We can pretend everyone tracks every interesting prospect in L1O, but that just isn’t true. Compared to our other youth prospects we always talk about, JMR, Saliba, Rea, Tahid, De Fougerolles, Jebbison, etc., yeah, this is pretty out of nowhere. 

[Aird25]

24 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

Yeah, I would consider that out of nowhere. Thread created 6 days ago. No youth call ups so far.  Doubt many of us were aware of him or tracking a Série D player very closely and definitely no one thought this time last week that this guy might be our best bet to see a Canadian in Série A this season. 
 

We can pretend everyone tracks every interesting prospect in L1O, but that just isn’t true. Compared to our other youth prospects we always talk about, JMR, Saliba, Rea, Tahid, De Fougerolles, Jebbison, etc., yeah, this is pretty out of nowhere. 

That’s kind of my point though. I follow the resources available to me quite closely, but I wasn’t aware of these players based on the information available to the average fan. However, in footballing terms it sounds like they’re already drawing attention in Canada, Italy, and Jamaica at a minimum. To me that shows they’re not necessarily coming out of nowhere from a sporting sense but that we don’t have the same level of coverage as we do for say hockey, where we hear about every young promising player. We have a few wonderful and committed people providing updates where available. 

[InglewoodJack]

6 minutes ago, Aird25 said:

That’s kind of my point though. I follow the resources available to me quite closely, but I wasn’t aware of these players based on the information available to the average fan. However, in footballing terms it sounds like they’re already drawing attention in Canada, Italy, and Jamaica at a minimum. To me that shows they’re not necessarily coming out of nowhere from a sporting sense but that we don’t have the same level of coverage as we do for say hockey, where we hear about every young promising player. We have a few wonderful and committed people providing updates where available. 

This is what I was getting at- it's out of nowhere for us. We spend so much time discussing this or that prospect who might be good or might not even commit for Canada when in reality, we don't have close to the full picture of our prospect pool, and often times, it's the player we know nothing about that becomes the real deal. Same deal with Kone- he was very well known in soccer circles for years before he blew up, but to fans it was out of nowhere, and I doubt many people without professional resources to scout our players would've guessed even 3 months before his Montreal debut that within a year he'd be a national team player at the world cup. We've spent pages upon pages discussing Justin Smith and hoping that somewhere along his journey down the french pyramid he becomes our CB saviour and then all of a sudden we learn about this player we've never heard of before who is younger, bigger, might even start in 2. Bundesliga and is apparently fully committed to playing for Canada when the time is right. It's super exciting to know that with all the time we spend talking about these players, lamenting the ones who commit elsewhere or simply don't pan out, there are even more players we know nothing about and they might actually be the players who we're going to care about in a few years. It's very possible and even likely that our best young player at the 2026 world cup doesn't have a thread here yet or any sort of social media buzz, but behind the scenes, scouts already know that the player has top european league quality.

One of the coolest things about this forum is you get threads like this where someone well connected to the game can come in and shed some light on players we know nothing about and share information that would've been impossible for us to find out on our own. People like this who help our young players get opportunities abroad and guide them through the early stages of their careers are doing the lord's work. It's cool we get to occasionally get a peak into how all of that works.

[trc2014]

14 hours ago, Junkie said:

I've been a member here since maybe 2008. I'm getting old and don't really remember. 

This is my first post. I do not post because it will just lead to problems but I do stay tuned on this site regularly. 

Damar, Micah Chisholm are the real deal.

They have been spending time in Europe since 15 years old. Training  with big clubs, playing in friendlies and making contacts.

They have been coached by people like Norbert Duwel,  9 years Bundesliga head coach and 6 year German women's National team head coach and Manchester United senior scout. Also,  Marco Desisti UEFA A pro and 15 years Manchester United senior scout.

Their Development has been calculated a long with Ruben Silva and a couple of others that will sign in Europe in near future all these players have been playing together since 8 years old and with the same coach. Stats say he is one of the best coaches in Canada.

Damar is special, swift , athletic,  with a high football IQ and most importantly the ability to learn. 

Damar is the youngest on his team. Not sure how much playing time he will get but he is making it very difficult for coach Defrancesco (a coaching legend in italy) to send him down to Primavera 1. He will play some games in Primavera but train with the first team. He already has about 4 teams in Europe asking g for a loan deal in January. 

He plays mid outside left and is an attacking player but the coach has also used him at left back. He is going to turn heads. The fans in Frosinone are already asking about him.

I know this Info because I am the guy who has signed Damar and Micah. I live next door to Damar in Italy and travel to Hannover to visit Micah.  These are young players who need support.  It is an investment for my company,  the clubs and communities they play for and Canada Soccer to guide them.

They both can play for Jamaica and Jamaica has called but there hearts are 100 percent for Canada. They dream to play for Canada.  In a few years time they will be both offered a German and Italian passport.

Sorry for the long post but at Alcorso Sports Management are super excited for these player's.

You can follow both Damar and Micah on Instagram as they go through their ups and downs.

You can follow me on Instagram at to @alcorsosports to keep up with these players and others.

Thanks for your time and noticing these players. They are fantastic human beings and an asset to their communities. 

They truly appreciate any support they can get!

Sempre Avanti 

Great post - thanks for this.  Your point on Jamaica reaching out makes it sound like Canada hasn’t.  Is that the case?  Thanks again!

[Junkie]

1 hour ago, trc2014 said:

Great post - thanks for this.  Your point on Jamaica reaching out makes it sound like Canada hasn’t.  Is that the case?  Thanks again!

Canada has not reached out. We have reached out to Canada the last couple of years. They say they have better players playing at higher levels. 

Italy has reached out for Damar. When Damar turns 23 he will be in Italy for 5 years and gets an Italian passport. 

We will continue to reach out.

I keep all correspondence with Canada on record. 

 

[Junkie]

6 hours ago, InglewoodJack said:

Posts like that are hilarious because we spend so much time talking about this player or that and who will be the first Canadian to play in Série A only for a player to come completely out of nowhere and it turns out that actually, this is the guy who might be really special for us pretty soon.

Hope they stay committed to Canada, super exciting if things pan out the right way. 

How aware of these players would you say Canada soccer is? Are they in contact with them about future youth/senior (if Dixon even plays a minute of Série A I would hope he’s at least considered for a senior call) opportunities for them? 
 

As someone who is involved with youth players behind the scenes, would you say that Canada does a good job at monitoring these players and encouraging them to play for our national teams? I think that’s always been a concern of ours, however with guys like Tom McGill or Dieu-Merci Michel being called into camps before, I have always wondered whether Canada soccer is a lot more connected than we give them credit for.

Thank you for the posts, this is all really exciting to hear about. 

We have to deal with Canada soccer in the future. I am limited on what I can say. It has not been the easiest thing to do. They do know these players exist but again as of last few years they were not good enough. Even tho they never watched them play. Wolfsburg and Freiburg u23 are a sexier name that Cartigliano Serie D.  

I don't want to get into this too much but

Does Canada have a head scout?

Do they have a scouting system?

With many more Canadians playing in Europe now and more to come, who is their head scout in Europe?

Do they scout players or just use names of teams to rank players?

We will continue to work hard to get on the Canadian National team and we if we are lucky enough to be there we will make sure others players on the fence or duels will join us because we hate to lose more that we like to win!

 

Sempre Avanti 

 

[Junkie]

5 hours ago, Dominic94 said:

Thanks for the intel, looking forward to watching them grow. 
 

can you tell us who the other players heading to Europe are ? 

Sorry, I do not want to put pressure on anyone. We concentrate on 15 to 19 year olds. The players that are here are 2005 and 2004.

18 years old is a magic number for us. This is the first time an international player can get Visas and work permits.

20 years old is also a magic number because youth football is over and all those u19 have to find a mens team. This is the first time when you see the cream rise to the top. Many players quit because they can not find teams or go down to the 5th and 6th division to get playing time and hopefully get time to develop. 

The smaller teams want to sell to the big teams and the big teams buy off the lower divisions and smaller teams. The market speaks.

Thanks for the question

[El Hombre]

26 minutes ago, Junkie said:

Does Canada have a head scout?

Do they have a scouting system?

With many more Canadians playing in Europe now and more to come, who is their head scout in Europe?

Dare to dream.  This would be a really good investment in my opinion.

Imagine carving out funds for two guys and a (significant) travel budget to bop around Europe and Canada actually watching players not in the big three MLS academies?  I guarantee there are more Ismael Kones and Alistair Johnstons out there.  I think the CSB investment in the League 1s across Canada is a good start, but would be great to have a better overall scouting system.

[Borjans Sweatpants]

48 minutes ago, Junkie said:

Canada has not reached out. We have reached out to Canada the last couple of years. They say they have better players playing at higher levels. 

Italy has reached out for Damar. When Damar turns 23 he will be in Italy for 5 years and gets an Italian passport. 

We will continue to reach out.

I keep all correspondence with Canada on record. 

 

As you've said, they'll force Canada to reach out with their play, so I definitely look forward to that. Surely we cant fumble this!

Granted if we keep stalling, and Italy wanted Damar when he's eligible, cant blame him for going that route (if thats what he wanted). 

[InglewoodJack]

57 minutes ago, Junkie said:

We have to deal with Canada soccer in the future. I am limited on what I can say. It has not been the easiest thing to do. They do know these players exist but again as of last few years they were not good enough. Even tho they never watched them play. Wolfsburg and Freiburg u23 are a sexier name that Cartigliano Serie D.  

I don't want to get into this too much but

Does Canada have a head scout?

Do they have a scouting system?

With many more Canadians playing in Europe now and more to come, who is their head scout in Europe?

Do they scout players or just use names of teams to rank players?

We will continue to work hard to get on the Canadian National team and we if we are lucky enough to be there we will make sure others players on the fence or duels will join us because we hate to lose more that we like to win!

 

Sempre Avanti 

 

I hope at the very least that Canada Soccer reads this forum, because a lot of what you are saying are things that I think many people here say, and it's disappointing to hear that Canada is still not taking their scouting as seriously as they could. For the teams you mention, Wolfsburg and Freiburg, if they're the players I'm thinking of, I'm not even sure if they're even willing to commit yet, so I really hope that they don't let some of your guys fall through the cracks in favour of players who are a lot more motivated to get their second citizenship

1 hour ago, Junkie said:

Canada has not reached out. We have reached out to Canada the last couple of years. They say they have better players playing at higher levels. 

Italy has reached out for Damar. When Damar turns 23 he will be in Italy for 5 years and gets an Italian passport. 

We will continue to reach out.

I keep all correspondence with Canada on record. 

 

This is so frustrating to hear. One of the all time soccer powers that could compete for any player tangentially related to them is being more proactive than Canada, who needs to fight for every player. I'd love to see who these better players are, because I think anyone who's had to watch games filled with MLS lifers or hear Herdman talk about the need for Tier 1 players knows we need players like Dixon. Hate to say it, but if Canada allows him to remain uncapped for 5 years, he belongs to Italy. Hell, if they don't start pushing for him this season, I can't say I'd be offended if him or any of your other guys turn their backs. No one has reached out despite his move to Serie A? That's so disappointing.

Thanks for posting- I appreciate that there's a lot of info you can't share for obvious reasons, but really cool to see insight into some new players. Really hope to see them in our jersey soon.

[Aird25]

32 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

One of the all time soccer powers that could compete for any player tangentially related to them is being more proactive than Canada, who needs to fight for every player. I'd love to see who these better players are, because I think anyone who's had to watch games filled with MLS lifers or hear Herdman talk about the need for Tier 1 players knows we need players like Dixon. Hate to say it, but if Canada allows him to remain uncapped for 5 years, he belongs to Italy.

Is Italy interested in them from an international standpoint, and are they eligible? I thought they were just going there for club football

Edited July 21, 2023 by Aird25

[Borjans Sweatpants]

Just now, Aird25 said:

Is Italy interested them from an international standpoint, and are they eligible? I thought they were just going there for club football

He mentioned that when Damar turns 23 he'll have been there for 5 years and can get a passport. 

[Aird25]

1 minute ago, Borjans Sweatpants said:

He mentioned that when Damar turns 23 he'll have been there for 5 years and can get a passport. 

So the answer is no?

[Borjans Sweatpants]

3 minutes ago, Aird25 said:

So the answer is no?

I think the answer is yes to both that you asked, Italy is interested from an international aspect because when he turns 23 he will be eligible to play for them. Maybe thats just inferring from what he posted though.

[Junkie]

22 minutes ago, Aird25 said:

Is Italy interested in them from an international standpoint, and are they eligible? I thought they were just going there for club football

Futbol is a job! 

European Union and the Shengen have rules and regulations about foreigners coming and taking local jobs. The 5 years is for anybody not just for footballers. Once Damar passes his 5 years the Italian government will allow him to get passport.  The the Italian soccer federation , FIGC, can make its move. Government over rules sport and Fifa.

If government and Fifa are happy.........

I am confident we will talk to the CSA soon. They are underfunded and under staffed.

This forum can do a lot to help out the situation. Power in numbers. Think outside the box. You lack coaching and competition in Canada.  How can rectify that?

Just an opinion. 

 

Sempre Avanti 

[TGAA_Star]

14 hours ago, Borjans Sweatpants said:

As you've said, they'll force Canada to reach out with their play, so I definitely look forward to that. Surely we cant fumble this!

Granted if we keep stalling, and Italy wanted Damar when he's eligible, cant blame him for going that route (if thats what he wanted). 

So he could go Italy, Canada or Jamaica but with Italy and Jamaica's talent pools being what they are right now currently, he will definitely get interest from both. But that is why we have to act now.

[Pasta88]

Are we really freaking out that an 18-year-old Canadian, whom to this point has played in Serie D, hasn’t been contacted by Canada yet and might be capped by Italy in five years as a 23-year-old?

Let’s take a breather here. If he gets Serie A playing time it’s not like he will be ignored.

[narduch]

5 minutes ago, Pasta88 said:

Are we really freaking out that an 18-year-old Canadian, whom to this point has played in Serie D, hasn’t been contacted by Canada yet and might be capped by Italy in five years as a 23-year-old?

Let’s take a breather here. If he gets Serie A playing time it’s not like he will be ignored.

Canadian Soccer Fan Dual-National Anxiety Disorder is a real thing.

Edited July 22, 2023 by narduch

[Borjans Sweatpants]

27 minutes ago, Pasta88 said:

Are we really freaking out that an 18-year-old Canadian, whom to this point has played in Serie D, hasn’t been contacted by Canada yet and might be capped by Italy in five years as a 23-year-old?

Let’s take a breather here. If he gets Serie A playing time it’s not like he will be ignored.

I think the fear is mostly around Canada Soccer’s incompetence as it doesn’t seem like these guys who are clearly talented haven’t been looked at or incorporated even through youth teams.
 

Hope they’re incorporated into the team soon for sure. 

[Dominic94]

18 hours ago, Junkie said:

Futbol is a job! 

European Union and the Shengen have rules and regulations about foreigners coming and taking local jobs. The 5 years is for anybody not just for footballers. Once Damar passes his 5 years the Italian government will allow him to get passport.  The the Italian soccer federation , FIGC, can make its move. Government over rules sport and Fifa.

If government and Fifa are happy.........

I am confident we will talk to the CSA soon. They are underfunded and under staffed.

This forum can do a lot to help out the situation. Power in numbers. Think outside the box. You lack coaching and competition in Canada.  How can rectify that?

Just an opinion. 

 

Sempre Avanti 

I think there’s an underrated point here:

 

it is hard for a disfunctional organization to take the word of someone when we have little resources and have to go on CV’s right now. Wolfsburg U23 does mean more than Serie D right now.

Italy can afford to bring him into camp to see him, we can’t. 
 

His time will come and ever cracking a bench in Serie A will get him called, and if he plays you’d better believe he will get called up. 

[TOcanadafan]

20 hours ago, Junkie said:

Does Canada have a head scout?

Do they have a scouting system?

 

Hey, Bill Manning uses Transfermarkt as his main scouting source for TFC, so I’m sure Canada must use them and our forums.  But in all seriousness, I’m sure whoever is involved in keeping tabs on Canadians lurks in these forums, and why not?  We’ve developed a pretty extensive database.

But I think we shouldn’t panic here… if he sticks on a Serie A squad this year, he’s on our radar.

[Stoppage Time]

2 hours ago, narduch said:

Canadian Soccer Fan Dual-National Anxiety Disorder is a real thing.

Are you anxious when you read about a new, teen-aged Canadian soccer "star"?   Do you break out in a cold sweat?   Do the random use of the words Mitrovic or Tomori cause you to leave the room and breath deeply for several minutes?   Do you experience sudden feelings of angst, and dislike for the CSA? Do you spontaneously blurt out the words "Cap Him" at inopportune times and draw puzzled looks from members fo the public or even from intimate partners?

If so, you may be suffering from CANSOFDNAD, a debilitating condition experienced by many members of the Voyageurs, a dedicated albeit somewhat helpless group of CMNT supporters. These avid supporters may develop fanatical ideas of staging friendlies against other countries in order to expand the prospect pool of the CMNT.

Treatment for this condition is experimental at this time and no empirical data yet exists upon which any possible cure may be based. There is presently a theory that suggests the capping of one Luca Koleosho may relieve symptoms for a number of weeks; however, the permanence of such a step is not yet established.

[VinceA]

3 hours ago, Stoppage Time said:

Are you anxious when you read about a new, teen-aged Canadian soccer "star"?   Do you break out in a cold sweat?   Do the random use of the words Mitrovic or Tomori cause you to leave the room and breath deeply for several minutes?   Do you experience sudden feelings of angst, and dislike for the CSA? Do you spontaneously blurt out the words "Cap Him" at inopportune times and draw puzzled looks from members fo the public or even from intimate partners?

If so, you may be suffering from CANSOFDNAD, a debilitating condition experienced by many members of the Voyageurs, a dedicated albeit somewhat helpless group of CMNT supporters. These avid supporters may develop fanatical ideas of staging friendlies against other countries in order to expand the prospect pool of the CMNT.

Treatment for this condition is experimental at this time and no empirical data yet exists upon which any possible cure may be based. There is presently a theory that suggests the capping of one Luca Koleosho may relieve symptoms for a number of weeks; however, the permanence of such a step is not yet established.

Mitrovic'd: When your father pushes you to make a decision that you'll regret in 10 years.

"Damn, he didn't like Betsy much but he got Mitrovic'd into marrying her!"

Synonyms: Flores'd

 

Edited July 22, 2023 by VinceA

[narduch]

On the bench again today v a lower division side