|
|
Men’s Canadian National Team Head Coach has announced his 19-man roster for Canada’s first two World Cup qualifying matches as Canada begins the long road of attempting to qualify for Brazil 2014. The Canadian national team will begin its qualifying campaign against St. Lucia at BMO Field in Toronto on September 2nd and will then head to Puerto Rico for their second fixture on September 6th.
Hart has called up sixteen players who were involved in Canada’s 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup squad, as well as strikers Iain Hume and Olivier Occean and defender Ante Jazic.
“There were some complications in picking the squad. I wanted to pick players who were playing, but it really didn’t work out that way because a number of positions could not be filled. But with those that were available I thought we got the best possible squad together,” said Hart on a conference call with members of the media on Wednesday afternoon.
As he has done in advance of every fixture Canada has played since he took over as Head Coach for the National Team, Hart provided his thoughts on his selections and the matches that Canada will play in the coming weeks.
On the selection of Ante Jazic, who did not play at the Gold Cup:
Ante was sort of a unique situation. I think that he has been exceptional this season. He has played very, very well. Last season he was very consistent as well. And it is a matter of him coming in and giving us some more depth at certain positions and, of course, his leadership qualities and experience.
On the absence of Rob Friend and Marcel de Jong from the roster:
Rob had a slight injury and he has a family situation, as well as Marcel. It would have been very complicated to bring them in, in that they might have had to return home at any time for an emergency situation. So it was better not to bring them in.
On whether or not there were any players that he was unable to get for Canada’s first two World Cup qualifying matches:
There were players that had injuries. I also considered bringing in some young players, but overall I think I am happy with the squad that is here.
On what he expects from the opposition in the first round of World Cup qualifying:
Some reports on St. Lucia state that they do a lot of running and that they are physical. And the main thing about the opponents will be about how we approach the away games because, from all accounts, the fields are not the best and that could be an equalizer.
On the return of Iain Hume to the National Team fold:
The door is open for Iain to come in and I am bringing him in to play at certain positions and hopefully he does his best and will put his best foot forward, which he has always done. Every time he has come in he has been very professional and he has worked very hard. There were some unfortunate situations, but I think he is getting very close to being back to his best and I expect a lot from him.
On the formation and tactical approach he plans to use against St. Lucia, Puerto Rico and St. Kitts and Nevis:
I don’t think we will tinker too much. We have basically three shapes that we like to play in based on the players that are available. And the players are well aware of that and know their roles. We will not change too much. There are a few things that I would like to see the squad do, especially in the attacking third, but we will work on that in training in the few days that we have and hopefully it will come off.
On the surprise selection of Atiba Hutchinson, given that it had previously had been reported that he would not be fit for the first few World Cup qualifying matches:
I don’t really want to talk too much about the injury. He returned to full training and he has been keeping me up to date almost every two days or so on his training. He is back training with his club and, as you know, on Saturday he got twenty minutes in a match and PSV think that he can come and contribute. But we have to keep an eye on him and make sure that he is 100% and we have promised to do so.
On whether or not the MLS players selected will form the core of the starting eleven given that those players are in mid-season form while others are just beginning their club campaigns:
It’s going have to be about how well things come together in training. I will look at the squad in the training sessions and will sort of take it from there. Of course I am quite aware that some of the players have not even started their season yet. They are playing exhibition schedules and, in some cases, are still training twice a day in a preseason sort of training. So we have to be careful that we don’t overextend those players too much.
On how the Turkish match fixing scandal might affect the Canadian squad given that three of his players (Josh Simpson, Mike Klukowski and Milan Borjan) play their club football in Turkey:
I think it is a concern (that they won’t start playing matches until September 9th), but they have been playing quite a good exhibition schedule against a lot of a variety of different clubs. As I said, I will see them in training, but they have been playing a pretty heavy schedule even though it has been exhibition.
On the difficulties inherent in playing against teams that have barely played this year and for whom there has been little opportunity for advance scouting:
It is difficult. I would have liked it if we would have been in a position where Tony Fonseca and I could have seen them live, but that hasn’t been the case. The big thing, as I said before, is basically having to go into those countries to play. In terms of the facilities we only very recently found out what stadiums we will be playing in and sometimes it can a big equalizer, especially when our players come from such different playing environments.
On the mood and mindset of the players going into a set of matches against teams that most pundits are assuming Canada will defeat:
In theory, you should win the games. Unfortunately, the game is not played theoretically. You have to go into the games and be mentally prepared to do your best and to also understand that a lot of things that are not in your control could disrupt what you would like to do. And we have tried to learn and condition ourselves to deal with those conditions as best as possible as they come up. When it comes to a World Cup qualifier everything becomes a little bit magnified and we need to keep our heads on and not panic.
On whether or not he will bring in more young players later on if Canada find itself comfortably in a position to advance to the next round of qualifying:
I think I have in all honesty been willing to do that and I will continue to do that if the situation allows me to.
On how vital psychologically it will be for Canada to assert its dominance against three lower ranked sides and to get off to a strong start in World Cup qualifying:
We try to conditions the players mentally as much as possible that when things are not going your way that that is the time for experienced players to step and to sort of show their leadership. It is very important for us to go into these games mentally prepared and understanding that things may not end up going your way, but that you still have to contribute and do everything possible to get the result. Our job is to remind the player that this is not one or two or even a three game situation and it is over. They have to be willing to sustain and go the distance in this first round.
On Josh Simpson and his role on the national team:
Josh has been going from strength to strength. I think that in the Gold Cup he was a little bit fatigued, not so much physically, but mentally. He played a lot of games in Turkey in high pressure situations, but I think he will come good. He is always a person that gives everything and plays with good spirit. And really that’s all you can ask of a player. Of course they will have good days and bad days and they have got to recognize that.
On whether or not the team talks about the fact that Canada has not qualified for a World Cup since 1986:
The players themselves individually want to be in a World Cup. For anybody that plays the game it is sort of an ultimate dream. I don’t want to say that ’86 is a sort of monkey on their backs – that team achieved and went to the World Cup – but these individual players want to get to a World Cup and want to be remembered for being a team that got there and hopefully they will do everything to achieve that.
On whether he received any resistance from any of the player’s clubs given that Canada is playing against opponents of a relatively low stature:
Not really. It doesn’t matter who you play. Once the players have to travel a lot and when they are fighting for the playoffs or when their team is not at its best, the coaches grumble a bit. But in general they have been very cooperative.
On the challenge inherent in facing a Puerto Rico national side whose players play together regularly at the club level via the Puerto Rico Islanders:
I think that is a good question and a huge factor because a lot of the teams in the Caribbean – and even in Central America – are in a position to spend a lot of time together. So the playing relationships among their players - whether it is the midfielders or two strikers - are usually well coordinated and they can get into a good rhythm and, of course, that’s going to be telling when you play teams in that sort of situation.
On his concerns around his players getting enough playing time with their clubs:
It remains a huge concern. It’s unfortunate, but that’s the situation – they are in professional environments where they have to fight for selection and, in many instances, they are not playing as much as I would like or as much as they would like. It remains a concern for a few of the players.
CANADA
1- GK- Lars Hirschfeld | NOR / Vålerenga Fotball
2- D- Nik Ledgerwood | GER / SV Wehen Wiesbaden
3- M- Mike Klukowski | TUR / Manisaspor
4- CB- Kevin McKenna | GER / FC Köln
5- D- André Hainault | USA / Houston Dynamo
6- M- Julian de Guzman | CAN / Toronto FC
7- M- Terry Dunfield | CAN / Toronto FC
8- M- Will Johnson | USA / Real Salt Lake
9- M/F- Tosaint Ricketts | ROM / FC Politehnica Timiþoara
10- M- Simeon Jackson | ENG / Norwich City FC
11- M- Josh Simpson | TUR / Manisaspor
12- D- Ante Jazic | USA / Chivas USA
13- M- Atiba Hutchinson | NED / PSV Eindhoven
14- F- Dwayne De Rosario | USA / DC United
15- D- Dejan Jakovic | USA / DC United
16- F- Olivier Occean | GER / SpVgg Greuther Fürth
17- M/F- Iain Hume | ENG / Preston North End FC
20- D- Jaime Peters | ENG / Ipswich Town FC
22- GK- Milan Borjan | TUR / Sivasspor.
|