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With the Canadian Men’s National Team playing in another Gold Cup tournament, Canadian soccer fans will get a glimpse of the progress that the Canadian National Team has made under Head Coach Stephen Hart over the last couple of years. With Hart being clear that the World Cup is his only priority, this CONCAFAF tournament is really more of a tuneup and final player audition for Canada’s upcoming World Cup qualifying matches than a final end game. And in that sense, every player on the Canadian roster is one to watch closely in terms of assessing their possible contributions to a World Cup Qualification. That said, five players with intriguing storylines stand out as particular Canadian players to watch in the 2011 Gold Cup.
Julian de Guzman
The Toronto FC Designated Player has long been one of the Canadian Men’s National Team’s most faithful servants, as well as one of the team’s core players. That said, simply put, De Guzman has not looked anywhere close to the player who won the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup Most Valuable Player in his last couple of years with TFC. While he has shown flashes of his considerable talent and technical ability with Toronto’s MLS side, almost no one considers him to have been the Designated Player quality player that TFC fans thought they were getting back when he signed with Toronto in 2009. Many have speculated that De Guzman is the type of player who needs to be surrounded by other quality players in order to play at his highest level and that the dearth of genuine quality players on Toronto FC has been the source of his recent poor performances at club level. That theory will likely be put to the test at the Gold Cup as De Guzman will be back playing with a very talented and refined group of players with Canada. With that idea in mind, one of the most interesting stories at the 2011 Gold Cup will surround how the one time best Canadian player in the world performs when surrounded by players like Hutchinson, Simpson, McKenna and Johnson.
Milan Borjan
He hasn’t been with the Canadian side for long, but Borjan has already become one of the most loved players on the Canadian squad. As likeable as he is talented, the 23 year keeper is a player to watch for a couple of reasons. In terms of the off the pitch story, the Gold Cup represents an opportunity to cap-tie a player who is also eligible to play for Serbia and, with that seemingly a certain move by Stephen Hart, the 6’4 keeper immediately becomes the antithesis to all of the Canadian players who have turned their backs on Canada to play for other countries in recent years. In terms of his on the pitch story, the physically imposing and catlike quick keeper will team with veteran CMNT keeper Lars Hirschfeld to give Canada a pair of top notch keepers just as the team enters a busy couple of years of play with the Gold Cup and a heavy duty schedule of World Cup qualifiers.
Atiba Hutchinson
The reigning Canadian Player of the Year has taken his game to another level recently. At the club level, he plays a crucial role in the middle of the pitch for one of the top clubs in Holland in PSV. The Brampton, Ontario native has been one of the Canada’s top performers for years now, but he has recently assumed more of a leadership role with the team and at 28 years old is firmly in the prime of his career. Hutchinson certainly has the talent to play a dominant role in a successful Gold Cup run for Canada and it is well within the realm of possibility that he could follow Julian de Guzman into the record books as a Canadian who has been named a CONCACAF Gold Cup Most Valuable Player.
Simeon Jackson
The English Premier League bound striker has pace, an undeniable star quality and has shown a remarkable propensity to score dramatic important goals at the club level in England. The next step for the 24 year old striker is to bring his knack for scoring huge and timely goals to the Canadian Men’s National Team. There are no questions about Jackson’s talent, desire or dedication. With Stephen Hart having used some of the team’s friendly matches last year to experiment with playing the Norwich City striker as a winger for Canada, it will be interesting to see just where he lines up in the Canada starting eleven at the Gold Cup. That said, the most interesting question concerning Jackson is whether this Gold Cup will be the venue in which he truly puts his stamp on the national team and scores a goal of vital importance for Canada.
Jaime Peters
With all-time caps leader Paul Stalteri not called up for this Gold Cup and his club situation in Germany suggesting that a possible scenario in which he no longer plays a centrals role with the Canadian National team, the starting right back spot for Canada is up for grabs. And while Nik Ledgerwood has received the starting assignment in Canada’s last two matches, it’s not a stretch to suggest that Stephen Hart and the entire national team coaching staff would like nothing more than for the uber-talented Peters to grab the fullback position by the throat and make it his own. Hart has been candid in previous interviews as saying that he sees the Pickering, Ontario native’s future at right back and no less an authority than Manchester United legend and former Ipswich Town Manager Roy Keane saw the talented and versatile Canadian as a fullback. A January, 2011 Ipswich Town Carling Cup win over Arsenal showed just how effective and influential Peters can be as a right back at the highest level of play and his superb pace could add another dimension to the Canadian back line for the next ten years. Will Jaime Peters grab the right back position on Canada and make it his own?
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