Hargreaves never stepped foot in England until he was called up to the England sqaud. He got citizenship through his grandfather. He had no real connection to England. I would understand if England was a big part of his life....like if he went back often to visit relatives or something, but this guy had nothing. It wouldn't surprise me if the English NT coach showed him around so he would have some recognition of the country he was about to play for, can't have him completely ignorant of England afterall. Hargreaves was as Canadian as they come. If u can get this guy to flip flop, it won't be hart to entice kids who are 1st generation canadians.
What a load of crap. I guess the pictures I have of Hargreaves in England when he was 14 were products of an active imagination and an early version of Photoshop. And his very English grandfather who lived with the family in Calgary until his death in 2001 was not a 'real connection to England'? This article written at the time of his first cap for England offers some insight into his 'Englishness' which is apparently news to you. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1027389041155_22798241//
The kid is gonna play for Holland if he's capable. The chance to realistically consider yourself a World Cup contender will definitely outweigh the chance to qualify. I just hope he doesn't get stars in his eyes, get capped for Holland once, then find out guys like Maduro, Affelay, Sneider, and Van der Vaart are preferred to him, and his international career is basically over. The situation is a piss-off, no doubt. But some blame once again has to go to the Canadian coaching/scouting setup, for letting another talent slip through their fingers. And the way some folks are talking, this could be a HUGE gaffe, as opposed to Hargreaves who is tremendously overrated (obviously, he's English now), although would still help Canada.
Jon DeGuzman has been spending most of his time in Holland since he was 12, iirc. As much as I want him to play for Canada, I would understand if he played for Holland, but only if he stated that he felt more Dutch now that he spent so much time there. If he starts to spout off stuff like, 'I'm a proud Canadian', but still chooses Holland, than he is essentially the football/soccer equivalent of a Khadr, just like the Whore already is.
That's just tasteless comparing a kid playing football to some murdering bastards. I suggest you get out more and perhaps join a dating service, in other words, get a f*ing life.
I never compared Mr. DeGuzman to anything. I gave a hypothetical situation. Jon DeGuzman hasn't made his decision yet, and I won't judge him until he does. Perhaps you should get a life if annonymous internet forums piss you off so much.
The Canadian coaching & scouting staff have been aware of Jonathan for years. He has not accepted any national team call ups, preferring to focus on his career at Feynoord, for reasons of his own. Now, there might be some blame to the CSA in general for running such a poor national team set up that its used an a potential reason/excuse not to play for Canada & to play for Holland instead, but that's a bit different than the suggestion that CSA scouts failed to realize that he existed. With his older brother on the national team, it wasn't hard for them to find out about Jonathan.
There was nothing "annonymous" [sic] about this statement: "If he starts to spout off stuff like, 'I'm a proud Canadian', but still chooses Holland, than he is essentially the football/soccer equivalent of a Khadr, just like the Whore already is." Where you very clearly suggest a pending soccer playing decision by Jonathan de Guzman or one already made by Owen Hargreaves puts them in the same camp as the Khadrs. I am sure the de Guzman family will be pleased to read that BS.
Is 'Canadian when its convenient' PC enough for you? Or are you just mad because I insulted your little loverboy from FC Hollywood?
Lets keep the rhetoric down please. This will be an emotional issue for many, particularly if de Guzman picks holland. Respect that people have different opinions and keep some perspective on what is really at stake.
You're suggesting I should not respond negatively to the notion that playing national team soccer for a country you were not born in is equivalent to supporting terrorist activity? Give me the red now please.
I am suggesting that you have made you have made your point clearly and now it is time for you and narduch and anyone else who might want to get involved to keep your sticks down.
You missed the entire point of the analogy. I was simply comparing War and Soccer. If you have a problem with that comparison, that's fine. But based on your logic, if I called Sidney Crosby the LeBron James of hockey, I would be calling Sidney Crosby a basketball player.
Jonathan scored again and impressed tonight: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=192190&cc=5901 Feyenoord Rotterdam 2-0 AZ Alkmaar ROTTERDAM, December 26 (Eredivisie) - Feyenoord were quickly out of the blocks to inflict only a third Eredivisie defeat of the season on league leaders AZ Alkmaar. Seeking to make up the three-point gap to AZ and their fellow pacesetters PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord would have been desperate for a good start to this Boxing day encounter. They could hardly have dreamed it would have been this good however. There were only three minutes on the clock when Patrick Paauwe gave Feyenoord the lead and within five minutes of that the Rotterdam outfit were celebrating a second goal, highly-rated Canadian Jonathan De Guzman the scorer. Paauwe's goal came following good work by Feyenoord's star striker Dirk Kuyt who guided the ball into Paauwe's path with his head before the Dutch international placed his finish into the net. Paauwe was also involved in Feyenoord's second goal, although it was only a peripheral role as De Guzman still had plenty to do when he picked up the pass from his team-mate. However, the Canadian youngster highlighted just what a talent he is by dribbling past three opponents before firing home from outside the box. Those two quickfire goals stunned AZ and in response they were only able to create one decent chance in the remainder of the first half, Shota Arveladze seeing his effort saved by home goalkeeper Patrick Lodewijks. In contrast, Feyenoord continued to look dangerous going forward and they almost grabbed a third goal on the stroke of half-time when Salomon Kalou hit the post following a pass from Hossam Ghali. AZ came into the game more as an attacking force in the second half, but as they pushed men forward in search of a goal, Feyenoord were able to create openings of their own. The first opportunity of the half saw Lodewijks divert Arveladze's shot over the bar and the Georgian striker then hit the Feyenoord woodwork with a 70th-minute effort that smashed against the crossbar. That was as close as AZ would come though and Feyenoord could have extended their advantage had De Guzman made the most of the two openings that fell his way.
So are you guys going to sit there and take it, or play hardball - let young MR. DeGuzman know that his decision could affect his brother's status with the CMNT. At soem point don't you have to at least say "If you think you're going to make the world cup with Holland, then you will kill your brother's chances to make it with Canada."
What a great idea! Yes, let's ensure that neither De Guzman plays for us, because after all, Canada has top-notch talent like that coming out of their ears & we can easily afford to do without both of them.
If he doesn't feel anything for the country he was born in then maybe it's best he doesn't play for Canada, no matter how good he is?
This is a joke. If only soccer could be just like Football Manager, the game. De Guzman is capped there for Canada. I capped Geovani dos Santos for Brazil. And Salomon Kalou plays for the Ivory Coast. This is ultimately my problem with football naturalizations and identity. I find it very very hard to believe that some of the players who play for other countries really feel a very strong connection to their adopted country. It takes a long time in my opinion. I look at some of these players like Deco or Trezeguet. Does Deco feel Portuguese after living in Portugual for 5 years. Does Trezeguet even speak French? You know. The Kalou case in the Netherlands really makes me a bit upset. This is yet another example. I think there is still hope for de Guzman. Here are a few examples. Obafemi Martins, for the longest time, refused to play for Nigeria. He was in Italy long enough to gain Italian citizenship but only last year finally decided to play for Nigeria. Then again, I'm sure he realized that the Azzuri fans would go insane if an African player ever suited up for them. And, a more similiar example is Valeri Bojinov for Bulgaria. This boy spent a few years in Malta where his dad was a coach and then he moved to Italy when he was 12 or 13. He played for Lecce's youth team and then became the youngest foreigner to ever play in Italy...at just under 16 years of age. He's since made a big-money transfer to Fiorentina and is also playing for Bulgaria. He turned down an offer to play for Italy. So, I hope that de Guzman makes the right choice. Here's a newer Star article Here is some quotes of his from another article. Man, sure sounds like he has already made his mind. "I believe Canada has been in the World Cup once in its history and Holland goes basically to every World Cup,” he noted. “If you play for Canada, you might miss a (club) game.” “You fly so many hours to Vancouver or Honduras to play one game and then maybe fly back to play a tough game in your league - I'm young and I do need my rest.”
how does this apply to giovanni? he was born and raised in mexico, and also has a mexican mother. he is not a naturalized player.