Jonathan De Guzman - Canada or Holland?

[fulhamfan]

has anyone heard of his decision yet? i know his brother wants him to play with him for canada but jonathan is leaning on playing for dutch..any updates?

[soniq]

I was surprised when i heard canada has players in some good clubs, no offense to canadians though, im living in canada myself, it shows how hard working they are.

[Splatypus]

I did not know a "decision" was eminent. He's made it clear that he does not want to play for Canada and thus has not been selected.

[fulhamfan]

thanks...but is he officially dutch yet? last i heard is that julian is working hard on getting him to commit to canada....would really improve our team..i still dont think we are selection our best 11 in most friendlies....
atiba hutchinson, both de guzman's would make a pretty impressive midfield

[narduch]

Jonathan De Guzman hasn't made a decision yet. He hasn't become a dutch citizen yet either, but he would have no problems becomming one. He speaks the language and has been living in Holland long enough (since he was 12 I believe). He would have no problems passing their citizenship test.

The optimist in me still wants to believe that this could go either way. But the way that Jonathan has been so diplomatic about his decision leads me to believe that he will go Dutch. At least I won't begrudge him for it. He's lived in Holland for a long time now, and if he honestly feels a part of that nation I can't really get mad at him for leaving. This is entirely different then the Whore from Calgary.

Mind you, if he start to claim that he is a 'proud' Canadian, but still chooses Holland, I may have a different opinion of him.

[fulhamfan]

thanks for the info....just frustrating to lose out on good talent..i still believe that we can eventually mount a qualifying challenge..got a decent core at the moment so de guzman would definitely help...

[indomitable_lion]

He should do like Fredi Kanoute. Kanoute is a French citizen but he's the #1 striker for Mali. If DeGuzman likes life on the bench, the dutch team is for him. Is he the one who plays for Deportivo La Coruna and used to play for Hannover?

This is entirely different then the Whore from Calgary. and who might that be?

[narduch]

He should do like Fredi Kanoute. Kanoute is a French citizen but he's the #1 striker for Mali. If DeGuzman likes life on the bench, the dutch team is for him. Is he the one who plays for Deportivo La Coruna and used to play for Hannover?

No, this is his younger brother. Jonathon DeGuzman is a young starter for Feeyonord, he is the one that the Dutch might steal. Julian DeGuzman is at Deportivo. Julian is cap-tied to Canada. I can't believe Jonathon wouldn't want to play with his brother.

and who might that be?

Owen Whoregreaves. You might know him as England's best performer in the most recent World Cup. Although, that's not saying much.

We've also lost keeper Dani Fernandes to Portugal. He plays for PAOK in Greece. He was involved in a bunch of youth camps/games with Canada, but was never officially capped. Portugal cap-tied him in the most recent Euro U-21 competition.

Another player we might lose is Marcel DeJong, again to the Dutch, who seem to have no shame at all in pillaging the rest of the world for its national team. Marcel has played about 30 U-17 and U-20 games for Canada. He is now at Roda JC.

FIFA needs to step in and stop this kind of highway robbery. This is making national team football seem more and more like club football, which completely defeats the purpose.

I often wonder if there is anything more futile than being a fan of Canadian soccer.

[fulhamfan]

agree with u narduch..not easy being a canada fan but i still havnt given up hope..we do need to find a well respected manager once this interim guy is gone...knowing the CSA though, they will probably keep him on if we beat jamaica in october....

[sirmax858]

Oh shut up Narduch.. Ill give you one fucking word ROSSI


ROssi is probably the best striker under 20 in the prem:D . He is a stud, and I love him on United, but he should be playing for the USA, a decent footie nation, unlike my neighbors to the north! Rossi has no chance of making an impact on the Italian national side, just hope he eventually decided to come back to the old Red White and BLUE!

So all you Canadians quit your bickering! one young gun wont qualify you, even in the concacaf

[Dogme]

No, this is his younger brother. Jonathon DeGuzman is a young starter for Feeyonord, he is the one that the Dutch might steal. Julian DeGuzman is at Deportivo. Julian is cap-tied to Canada. I can't believe Jonathon wouldn't want to play with his brother.



Owen Whoregreaves. You might know him as England's best performer in the most recent World Cup. Although, that's not saying much.

We've also lost keeper Dani Fernandes to Portugal. He plays for PAOK in Greece. He was involved in a bunch of youth camps/games with Canada, but was never officially capped. Portugal cap-tied him in the most recent Euro U-21 competition.

Another player we might lose is Marcel DeJong, again to the Dutch, who seem to have no shame at all in pillaging the rest of the world for its national team. Marcel has played about 30 U-17 and U-20 games for Canada. He is now at Roda JC.

FIFA needs to step in and stop this kind of highway robbery. This is making national team football seem more and more like club football, which completely defeats the purpose.

I often wonder if there is anything more futile than being a fan of Canadian soccer.


Well i'm English, and as far as i'm concerned Hargreaves should be playing for Canada. He was born there, right? His next choice, should of course have been Germany, but he picks us as a third choice :( It would be great if Canada could get a good side, and qualify for the World Cup :)

I don't think someone playing for a Nations Under 21 side, disqualifies them from playing for another countries full International team. If i'm not mistaken, Ryan Giggs played for the England Under 21's and now of course plays for Wales.

[narduch]

Oh shut up Narduch.. Ill give you one fucking word ROSSI


ROssi is probably the best striker under 20 in the prem:D . He is a stud, and I love him on United, but he should be playing for the USA, a decent footie nation, unlike my neighbors to the north! Rossi has no chance of making an impact on the Italian national side, just hope he eventually decided to come back to the old Red White and BLUE!

So all you Canadians quit your bickering! one young gun wont qualify you, even in the concacaf

Hey man, I feel your pain.

The Rossi story depresses me even more. Because if the US, who is miles ahead of Canada in soccer at the moment can't keep these types of players, there is very little hope for Canada.

FIFA needs to remove the grandfather rule. The only thing that should qualify a player are place of birth and/or citizenship.

[Splatypus]

So all you Canadians quit your bickering! one young gun wont qualify you, even in the concacaf

We are not talking about "one young gun". Four players have been mentionned in this thread alone and there are others.

No one is saying that we would have qualified for the WC just by having Hargreaves or Jonathon DeGuzman step on the pitch, but the chances would be certainly be greater. Some of the others who are contemplating this choice might be swayed in Canada's favour as they percive us having a chance to due to the inclusion of the afore mentionned players.

How can we ever get better if we keep losing top youngsters to other countries?

[sirmax858]

We are not talking about "one young gun". Four players have been mentionned in this thread alone and there are others.

No one is saying that we would have qualified for the WC just by having Hargreaves or Jonathon DeGuzman step on the pitch, but the chances would be certainly be greater. Some of the others who are contemplating this choice might be swayed in Canada's favour as they percive us having a chance to due to the inclusion of the afore mentionned players.

How can we ever get better if we keep losing top youngsters to other countries?


true that I was on a rant...you still got stalteri:D :p ...


I know canadians lose alot of players... If they had "whoregreavess" and Dajong, and Deguzman they would instantly become contenders for that third automatic qualification in the concacaf....

[malicia]

Hey man, I feel your pain.

The Rossi story depresses me even more. Because if the US, who is miles ahead of Canada in soccer at the moment can't keep these types of players, there is very little hope for Canada.

FIFA needs to remove the grandfather rule. The only thing that should qualify a player are place of birth and/or citizenship.

yeah, but you're coming from a US/Canada perspective. Birth shouldn't always matter. In the US birth qualifies you for citizenship, but it's not like that in other countries. You can be born there and your children born there and you're still a foreigner (like the Turks were in Germany tho' they've finally amended this some).

Rossi's parents were Italian if I remember correctly. Therefore, it seems kinda up for grabs where he feels most allegiance to and it's his decision.

Or look at Mexico. You can see two different cases on the same WC squad -- Sinha, born in Brazil but came to Mexico at an early age to play and married to Mexican etc etc. Or then Guille Franco. Argentine who came to Mexico something like 5 years ago, naturalized super quickly and then has moved on to play in Spain. Personally, I would take the first, but not the second.

In Canada it's kinda harder because so many seem to decide to leave since there's not a fabulous football program there. And the Dutch do seem pretty slutty...they were trying to fast track Salomon Kalou from Ivory Coast, whose brother plays for Ivory Coast. He'd barely been in the Netherlands...

[a_scone]

You should play for whichever country you feel allegiance to.

Hargreaves considers himself a brit? Then let him play for england.

If I was presented with a choice like this and I had to choose between Canada (where I was born and live) vs Ukraine (where my entire family is from and where I have visited), it would be a tough choice. My family is patriotic :)

So I can understand them. Also, would you rather play for a team that has no financial support and no real chance (USA and Canada) or play for a side that has unlimited support and is a legitimate contender (Italy and England). Tough choice.

Plus, the dude's name is Giuseppe Rossi...I mean come on.

[AloneSoul]

maybe the reason Canada loses their youth is because they go to play overseas and prefer to stay and play for that country. Seeing how Canada doesn't have a decent national championship, no real infrastructure, lack of good stadiums, training grounds, coaches... it is no wonder that this is happening.

[emma_my_girl]

Being selected to play for the national squad means that you "represent" your country. Now, Hargreaves being a prime example, was born in Calgary, VERY SHORTLY after his parents emigrated to Canada from Great Britain. Being a Canadian, I know that all Canadians who call themselves Canadians, feel a very strong patriotic allegiance to our country. Hargreaves, who lived in Canada until he was 15, obviously had always felt a strong pull from his parents' native land.
Although he moved to Germany to play for Bayern Munich, he still did not avail himself to Canada for international selection, and before he became eligible to play for Germany, he snatched the opportunity to appear for the country his parents called home for so long, England. He has said that he had always dreamed of playing for England, playing in the finals of the European Championship or World Cup finals. I can appreciate this; although i have been born and raised in Canada, my family originates from Scotland. As I am not first or second generation Scottish, i have not really had close ties to the family members of mine who came from there. However...if I was able to hear about my family's life in Aberdeen, hearing first hand about how they lived, where they lived, and exactly what life was like for them, I am sure being part of a recent addition to Canada, I would consider myself Scottish as well.
I know my situation is far from similar to Owen's situation, but the bottom line is, even though he has never lived in, or played in England, I believe that if he feels in his heart that he is connected to England through his roots, who should stop him from living his dream??

In the case of Jonathan De Guzman, I myself have had the pleasure of playing football in France. Mind you it was only for one year, but in that year I developped such a bond with the guys on my team, I can only imagine that after 7 or 8 years of playing with them, moving from team to team til I reached the first team, I would feel like I belonged, and my heart still lies partially in France. It is one thing to play for a nation out of convenience..... but if ones heart truly is compelled to represent the country they want to identify themselves with, then who are we to question their motives??

As much as I would have loved to see Hargreaves and De Guzman suit up for Canada, perhaps earning them a couple of better results, in the long run, a player plays better for who HE wants to play for....

[narduch]

It is one thing to play for a nation out of convenience..... but if ones heart truly is compelled to represent the country they want to identify themselves with, then who are we to question their motives??

I wouldn't hate Whoregreaves so much if he didn't apear on Soccer Central on Sportsnet and tell the interviewer that he was going to play for Canada. At least Jonothan DeGuzman has the decency to not dick anyone around.

[emma_my_girl]

oooh geez....it appears as though I missed THAT one.....