Canada prepares January U-20 camp in Florida http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/index.asp OTTAWA (ONTARIO) – Canada’s January men’s U-20 camp is set to open this week in Sunrise, Florida. Coach Dale Mitchell will have 20 players in camp from Jan. 10-22 at Las Palmas Hotel & Suites. Mitchell and his team is gearing up for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup which will take place in Canada this July. “The purpose of the January training camp is to continue to work with players who are currently out of season or on a winter break in the case of a few with European clubs,” says coach Mitchell. “I am interested to see how five players who have not had an opportunity with this team yet perform during the camp.” The five new invitees are Matt Lam (Edmonton) of AFC Ajax, Fabrice Lassonde (Mont-Saint-Grégoire) and Sean Rosa (Montréal) of the National Training Centre in Québec, Isidro Sanchez Macip (Puebla, Mexico) of Puebla de Zaragoza, and Shaun Saiko (Edmonton) of Middlesborough FC. Fourteen of the other 15 players were all at Mitchell’s December camp in Florida, including Andrea Lombardo who is a holdover from Canada’s U-20 team at the 2005 World Youth Championships. Keegan Ayre (Coquitlam, BC) of Hibernian FC is the other player who was not at the December camp. Along with the training, the Canadians will also play the United States’ U-20 team before the Americans head off to their CONCACAF qualifying tournament in Panama on Jan. 14. The Canadians, meanwhile, are planning to host their first two international matches of the 2007 season on home turf in March against Scotland: Mar. 24 in Burnaby and Mar. 27 in Victoria. FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007 – It’s gonna be huge In 2007, the world’s biggest game is coming to Canada. Canada will host the World’s finest under-20 players in six cities across the country – Victoria, Burnaby, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal – June 30 - July 22, 2007. The biennial event is second only to the FIFA World Cup™ in size and scope and will showcase the most talented under-20 soccer players in the world. The tournament has been the coming-out party for some of the game’s top players - Maradona, Saviola, Raúl, Marco Van Basten, Luis Figo, Ruiz Costa, Thierry Henry, Adriano, Roberto Carlos, Bebeto and Dunga as well as Canada’s Craig Forrest and many members of the current Men’s World Cup Team including Julian de Guzman, Paul Stalteri, Atiba Hutchinson and Iain Hume. Last held in CONCACAF in 1983 in Mexico, Canada’s most recent participation in this event occurred last June in the Netherlands from June 10 - July 2, 2005. Canada enjoyed its best ever finish in a World Championship in December 2003, losing to eventual silver medalist Spain on a golden goal in the quarter finals in the United Arab Emirates. For more information regarding the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007 and to purchase your tickets please visit www.FIFA.com Roster / Liste des joueurs : D / ATTAKORA-GYAN, Nana / National Training Centre - Ontario / Orangeville, ON M / SAIKO, Shaun / Middlesborough FC (England) / Edmonton, AB M / AYRE, Keegan / Hibernian FC (Scotland) / Coquitlam, BC M / D’AGOSTINO, Michael / University of Kentucky (USA) / Langley, BC F / ELLIOTT, Alex / University of Portland (USA) / Vancouver, BC D / GALA, Gabe / National Training Centre - Ontario / Brampton, ON M / GRAY, A.J. / National Training Centre – Ontario / Brampton, ON G / KALTHOFF, Zach / Unattached / Calgary, AB F / LAMMIE, Selvin (Shane) / National Training Centre - Ontario / Toronto, ON F / LOMBARDO, Andrea / FC Rieti SRL (Italia) / Toronto, ON M / ROSA, Sean / National Training Centre - Québec / Montréal, QC D / LUMLEY, Stephen / National Training Centre - Ontario / Mississauga, ON G / MONSALVE, David / University of Mobile (USA) / Brampton, ON M / NUNEZ, Cristian / National Training Centre - Québec / Montréal, QC M / LAM, Matt / AFC Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands) / Edmonton, AB M / SANCHEZ MACIP, Isidro / Puebla de Zaragoza (Mexico) / Puebla, Mexico D / RICKETTS, Tosaint / University of Wisconsin - Green Bay (USA) / Edmonton, AB F / DI IOIA, Massimo / Impact de Montréal / Montréal, QC D / LASSONDE, Fabrice / National Training Centre – Québec / Mont-Saint-Grégoire, QC D/M / TURNBULL, Masumi / University of Kentucky (USA) / Richmond, BC G = Goalkeeper / Gardien. D = Defender / Défenseur. M = Midfielder / Milieu de terrain. F = Forward / Attaquant. Staff / Personnel : Head coach / Entraîneur-chef : Dale Mitchell Assistant coach / Entraîneur-adjoint : Nick Dasovic Equipment manager / Entraîneur des gardiens : Kevin Muldoon Athletic therapist / Physiothérapeute: Chris Franks Strength and conditioning coach / Massothérapeute: Randy Celebrin National Teams Administrator / Gérant: Dave Nutt
B.C. big at Florida camp Tks to masster at Vs for headsup B.C. big at Florida camp Four players press for spot on under-20 men's national team Dan Stinson Vancouver Sun 01-13-2007 Four B.C. players are aiming to make a positive early impression on head coach Dale Mitchell over the next 10 days in the first training camp of the year for Canada's under-20 men's soccer team. Midfielders Keegan Ayre of Coquitlam, Masumi Turnbull of Richmond, Michael D'Agostino of Langley and Vancouver forward Alex Elliott are among 20 players in camp at Sunrise, Fla., where Mitchell is evaluating potential final-roster candidates for the FIFA under-20 World Cup tournament next summer in six Canadian cities. The Florida camp started last Wednesday and runs to Jan. 22. Mitchell will carry a final roster of 21 players for the World Cup tournament, scheduled for June 30 to July 22 in Burnaby, Victoria, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. "It's tough to say at this point whether any of the B.C. guys will make the final roster," says Mitchell. "It's very early in the [evaluation] process, and we have several more training camps and exhibition games scheduled before the tournament starts. To be honest, it's how the players perform over the next three to four months that will determine their chances." Ayre plays for the reserve team of Scottish Premier League club Hibernian. Turnbull and D'Agostino are with the University of Kentucky Wildcats of NCAA Division I, and Elliott plays for the University of Portland (Ore.) Pilots, also of Division I. Vancouver midfielder Jacob Lensky is another potential B.C. candidate for Canada's final roster. He participated in a December training camp in Florida, but isn't taking part in the current camp due to club commitments with Feyenoord of the Netherlands First Division. He was recently transferred from Scottish Premier League club Glasgow Celtic to Feyenoord. Mitchell says he will have a better idea of the B.C. players' chances for the final roster after Canada plays two exhibition games against Scotland, March 24 at Burnaby's Swangard Stadium and March 27 at Victoria's Royal Athletic Park. Scotland is among 11 nations that have qualified for the 24-team World Cup tournament to date after finishing second in European qualifying to zone winner Spain. The games against Scotland are the start of the Canadian team's 2007 cross-Canada tour and the first major test of the year. Most of Canada's squad of players will be available for the tour. "Jacob will be back for the series against Scotland," says Mitchell. "I've been following his career in Europe, but we'll see how he plays against Scotland and go from there. We've also pencilled in more international exhibition games in May and June, but our opponents haven't been decided. We hope to play games against teams that have qualified for the tournament, but nothing is finalized yet." Mitchell invited five new players to the current camp -- all of them midfielders. They are Matt Lam and Shaun Saiko of Edmonton, Fabrice Lassonde of Mont-Saint-Gregoire, Que., Sean Rosa of Montreal, and Isidro Sanchez Macip, who lives in Puebla, Mexico. GOAL DUST: The draw for the World Cup tournament will be made in March after all of the qualifying nations are known. Teams that have qualified to date are Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Japan, Jordan, Korea Republic, Korea Democratic Republic and Canada . . . Canada qualified automatically as host nation.
The only player on that squad that impresses me is Cristian Nunez. Thanx Jpg For posting that. Canada's Young talent is there, it's Just how they develop that's important.