As we cross the midway point of December, the winter break begins to loom for several leagues in Europe. A handful of Canadians are nearing a significant respite from playing in the cold as the likes of Milan Borjan, Atiba Hutchinson and Stefan Cebara will all be away from the pitch for over a month, added to the small contingent of players in Germany who will also have time off.
In England
Despite no player making real headlines in the UK as we’ve seen in the past there are discussion points for each player currently competing in England. Simeon Jackson has been nailed to the bench at Norwich City and it has become clear that regardless of the opponent he is not getting into the starting eleven. With the month winding down, his situation will be one to watch whether he gets transferred to another BPL or Championship side. Wigan would have been a good side to see him get minutes against this weekend, but he was not on the pitch at Norwich bounced back from their 4-1 loss midweek to win 2-1.
David Edgar has been in and out of the Burnley starting eleven of late but got the nod Saturday as they drew with Watford 1-1. The Clarets are going through an uninspiring run of form where they’ve only won once in their last five and find themselves in the bottom half of the Championship table but comfortably ahead of the bottom three.
While as prestigious, it is in League One that some should keep an eye on as two Canadians are currently in positions to gain promotion up a division. Iain Hume at Doncaster and Marcus Haber at Stevenage are both in the top six, with Hume going the full ninety for Doncaster who lost 4-1 this weekend to Coventry City, but sitting tied for third. Marcus Haber also has been getting ninety minutes each week and Saturday was no exception as Stevanage also lost, 2-1 to Crawley Town and barely hold on to sixth spot, a point ahead of Swindon Town.
In Netherlands
Atiba Hutchinson was named the 2012 Canadian Men’s Player of the Year and unfortunately with the good new came a minor slip-up in his Eredivisie fixture on Saturday. Having won a critical home game last weekend against FC Twente to regain top spot in the table, PSV went on the road and could not hold off NEC and had to settle for a 1-1 draw. The tie, coupled with a Twente win, has both sides level at 37 points. However, both teams need to be wary that Ajax have won five on the bounce and are only one point behind them on 36. Of their two closest opponents, PSV have the easiest fixture next weekend before a month long break as they travel to NAC Breda. Twente will be away to AZ, while Ajax are visiting Utrecht. A win is a must for PSV to not slip in the standings.
Olivier Occean's Eintracht Frankfurt have now won two on the bounce with a 2-0 victory over Wolfsburg:
The onslaught did not let up for Milan Borjan (at 3:00 as well as 4:40) as his Sivasspor side could not level the score in a 1-0 loss to Gaziantepspor:
Here's how the rest of Canada's Internationals did Across the Pond:
Issey Nakajima-Farran – AEK Larnaca (CPR – D1):
Sunday, December 16, did not play in a 2-0 victory over Alki..
Mike Klukowski – APOEL (CPR – D1):
Saturday, December 15, did not play in a 1-0 victory over Enosis.
Simeon Jackson – Norwich City (ENG - D1):
Saturday, December 15, did not play in a 2-1 victory over Wigan.
David Edgar – Burnley (ENG - D2):
Saturday, December 15, played all 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw with Watford.
Iain Hume – Doncaster Rovers (ENG – D3):
Saturday, December 15, played all 90 minutes in a 4-1 loss to Coventry City.
Marcus Haber – Stevenage (ENG – D3):
Saturday, December 15, played 81 minutes in a 2-1 loss to Crawley Town.
Haidar Al-Shaibani – Nimes (FRA - D2):
Friday, December 14, did not play in a 1-1 draw with Monaco.
Olivier Occean – Eintracht Frankfurt (GER - D1):
Saturday, December 15, played 87 minutes in a 2-0 victory over Wolfsburg.
Rob Friend – Eintracht Frankfurt (GER - D1):
Saturday, December 15, did not play in a 2-0 victory over Wolfsburg.
Marcel De Jong – FC Augsburg (GER - D1):
Saturday, December 15, did not play in a 1-1 draw with Greuther Furth.
Kevin McKenna – FC Koln (GER – B2):
Monday, December 10, played all 90 minutes in a 2-2 draw with Eintracht Braunschweig.
Friday, December 14, played all 90 minutes in a 0-0 draw with Sandhausen.
Randy Edwini-Bonsu – Eintracht Braunschweiger (GER - D2):
Monday, December 10, subbed in at the 76th minute in a 2-2 draw with FC Koln.
Next match, Monday December 17 v Union Berlin.
Adam Straith – Saarbrucken (GER - D3):
Saturday, December 15, match postponed v Arminia Bielefeld.
Atiba Hutchinson – PSV Eindoven (NED - D1):
Satruday, December 15, played all 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw with NEC.
Pedro Pacheco – Santa Clara (POR – D2):
Sunday, December 16, played 89 minutes in a 2-0 victory over Penafiel.
Stefan Cebara – NK Celje (SLV – D1):
Next match, March 1, 2013 v Gorica.
Milan Borjan – Sivasspor (TUR – D1):
Tuesday, December 11, played all 90 minutes in a 1-0 victory over Gaziantepspor in CUP play.
Sunday, December 16, played all 90 minutes in a 1-0 loss to Karabukspor.
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