Canada announces roster for upcoming Florida camp

Canada’s men’s national team announced the roster today for their upcoming camp trip to Florida. Coach Dale Mitchell named 19 players to the squad, mostly selecting a group of players from North American-based clubs. The Canadian team departs for Fort Lauderdale, FL this weekend.



“The January training camp is largely about working with players who are in their off season,” says head coach Dale Mitchell. “Ultimately, we are looking to see who amongst the group could play a part in the qualifying process of our senior men or Olympic team during 2008.”



Goalkeeper Pat Onstad (51 caps) and midfielder/forward Dwayne De Rosario (44 caps) are the most experienced players in this camp. Both Onstad and De Rosario are coming off their second-straight MLS Cup championship season with Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer. De Rosario was recently named a co-winner of the adidas Canadian Players of the Year award with Christine Sinclair of the Winners – women’s national team.



The camp also features a few new names. There are seven players hoping to impress Mitchell and his staff for a chance to earn their first-ever cap with the senior team. The six young stars are Adrian Cann (USL/ Vancouver Whitecaps), Charles Gbeke (USL / Impact de Montréal), Dejan Jakovic (NCAA / University of Alabama Birmingham), Paris Nakajima-Farran (DEN / Næstved BK), Tyler Rosenlund (NCAA / UC Santa Barbara), Dave Simpson (CZE / SAID Most) and Chris Williams (unattached).



The four youngest players in camp – Jakovic, Nakajima-Farran, Rosenlund and Joshua Wagenaar (unattached) – will also be trying to catch the eye of senior-team assistant coach Nick Dasovic. Dasovic will be in charge of Canada’s U-23 team for the upcoming CONCACAF Under-23 Championship in March.



Mitchell is currently assessing talent for the upcoming run to the FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010. While CONCACAF’s first phase of 2010 World Cup Qualification begins in February, Canada will wait until the second phase to play their first game on 15 June in Saint Vincent & the Grenadines.



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CANADA

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Cann, Adrian – D – USL / Vancouver Whitecaps – Thornhill, ON

De Rosario, Dwayne – M/F – MLS / Houston Dynamo – Scarborough, ON

Friend, Rob – F – GER / Borussia Mönchengladbach – Kelowna, BC

Gbeke, Charles – F – USL / Impact de Montréal – Montréal, QC

Harmse, Kevin – D/M – MLS / Los Angeles Galaxy – Vancouver, BC

Jakovic, Dejan – D/M – NCAA / University of Alabama Birmingham – Etobicoke, ON

Nakajima-Farran, Issey – M – DEN / FC Nordsjælland – Calgary, AB

Nakajima-Farran, Paris – D – DEN / Næstved BK – Calgary, AB

Nash, Martin – M – USL / Vancouver Whitecaps – Victoria, BC

Onstad, Pat – GK – MLS / Houston Dynamo – Vancouver, BC

Pozniak, Chris – D/M – MLS / San Jose Earthquakes – Aurora, ON

Reda, Marco – D – unattached – Woodbridge, ON

Ribeiro, Antonio – M – USL / Impact de Montréal – Montréal, QC

Rosenlund, Tyler – M – – Port Coquitlam, BC

Serioux, Adrian – D/M – MLS / FC Dallas – Scarborough, ON

Simpson, Dave – F – CZE / Sparta Praha – Scarborough, ON

Sutton, Greg – GK – MLS / Toronto FC – Hamilton, ON

Wagenaar, Josh – GK – unattached – Grimsby, ON

Williams, Chris – D/M – unattached – Toronto, ON



Head Coach / Entraîneur-chef : Dale Mitchell

Assistant Coach / Entraîneur adjoint : Stephen Hart

Assistant Coach / Entraîneur adjoint : Nick Dasovic

Video coach / Entraîneur video : Vic Mendes

Goakeeping Coach / Entraîneur des gardiens : Paul Dolan

Manager / Gérant : Morgan Quarry

Equipment manager / Gérant d’équipements : Mike Moretto

Physiotherapist / Physiothérapeute : Ted Tilbury

Massage Therapist / Massothérapeute : Garret Kusch