Music: {allcanada} Canada on back burner for de Guzman

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

{allcanada} Canada on back burner for de Guzman

Jonathan de Guzman still might one day play for the Canadian national team.

But like David Hoilett, he won't consider pledging his international allegiance to Canada until he signs a contract with a new pro club. That's the message from Julian de Guzman, the veteran Toronto FC midfielder and Jonathan's older brother.

"It's kind of on the backburner right now. He wants to see where he settles in terms of his new team and then he'll decide about the next step," Julian de Guzman told sportsnet.ca.

He later added: "It's getting really complicated for him and I think at one point he just realized he wants to figure out what he's going to do with his club before he decides what he wants to do at international level."

Jonathan, 24, was sold by Real Mallorca to fellow La Liga outfit Villarreal last August. He made 19 appearances for Villarreal this past season, and he scored against Bayern Munich in a group stage game of the UEFA Champions League. But he couldn't prevent Villarreal from being relegated to Spain's second division, as the Yellow Submarine finished in 18th place in the Spanish topflight.

As a result of their demotion, Villarreal is looking to sell Jonathan's rights to another club, and according to Julian his brother has had offers from clubs in Germany and England.

"He won't stay at Villarreal, that's for sure," Julian said.

Jonathan was born in Scarborough, Ont., and spent significant time as a youth player for Dutch club Feyenoord before making his senior team debut in 2005. In 2008, he formally announced he would represent the Netherlands internationally after he became Dutch citizen that same year.

It was a major loss for a Canadian side lacking depth and quality. Canada could have certainly benefited from having a player of Jonathan's calibre on its roster.

Although he's played for his adopted country's under-21 side, Jonathan has yet to be capped by the Netherlands at senior level, and he let it be known earlier this year through his brother that he would consider playing for Canada. But there are not only immigration issues to be sifted through, but also FIFA rules regarding players who wish to switch nationalities.

Julian explained that his brother must first renew his Dutch passport before he can even begin the process to regain Canadian citizenship, and that takes time. The other options Jonathan could explore in order to speed things up would be to either move back to Canada or to give up his Dutch passport. But Julian explained his brother is not prepared to do either.

And so, Canadian coach Stephen Hart must wait until Jonathan renews his Dutch passport and signs with a new pro team before he can even consider playing for Canada.

If any of this sounds familiar, that's because it's the same situation with Hoilett.

A native of Brampton, Ont., Hoilett has been non-committal about what nation he will play for internationally, Canada or Jamaica, the birth nation of his father. He could also eventually be eligible to play for England.

Hoilett, 22, has been one of the brightest young players in the English Premiership the past few years. This past January, he was named one of the 13 players to watch in 2012 by FIFA, soccer's world governing body.

He scored seven goals for Blackburn this past season, but that wasn't enough to help Rovers avoid relegation. Now out of contract, Hoilett is being pursued by a number of high-profile clubs.

Hoilett told Sportsnet reporter Arash Madani this past weekend that he is waiting until his pro club situation is settled and being comfortable there before making a decision about his international future.

With Canada set to compete in the semifinal round of COCNACAF qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, Hart is firmly focused on his current squad, and not on Canadian-born players such as Hoillet and Jonathan de Guzman who have yet to commit to Canada.

"I've sent (Hoilett) some texts; he hasn't responded. Maybe he's busy with (a potential) transfer. But right now my mind is not on those guys. They know where I stand, I've met with them -- if they want to come in, they call me. I'm not doing it anymore," Hart told sportsnet.ca.

"I did everything possible. It's up to them now to make the phone call. Otherwise I'm just focusing on my (current) players."