Men’s National Team off to Florida for Mini-Camp

Ottawa, Ontario – Canadian head coach Frank Yallop has announced a squad of 16 players for a mini-camp in Sunrise, Florida. The camp is scheduled to take place from May 1-8, 2006 and will feature many of those players that played at the FIFA World Youth Championship Holland 2005 and as a result, are eligible for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.



Yallop has also included a handful of players that have been out of the squad for the last while, or are making their first appearance with the senior team.



Dave Simpson, who has made several appearances with youth teams in the past, will be making his first appearance with Yallop’s squad. The 23-year-old Toronto-native is enjoying a good season with Hungarian club Papa Lombard FC and will certainly hope to make a lasting first impression on the Canadian head coach.



Montreal Impact midfielder Antonio Ribeiro, like Simpson, will be making his first appearance with Canada’s senior team although the 26-year-old Montreal-native has been involved in Canada’s youth programs in the past. Ribeiro is coming off what was perhaps his best season with the Impact, playing in 23 games and grabbing six points – all despite undergoing abdominal surgery at the beginning of the 2005 campaign.



Yallop has also included two new names to the fold.



Atlético Bello midfielder Alex Schleer and Chicago Fire defender Jack Stewart will be making their first appearances (at any age) with a Canadian national team.



As mentioned earlier, the mini-camp squad is littered with players who will be eligible for the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008.



Goalkeepers Asmir Begovic and Josh Wagenaar; defenders Andre Hainault and Brad Peetoom, along with midfielder/forward Ryan Gyaki and striker Will Johnson all represented Canada at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in Holland and will in all likelihood be pivotal contributors to Canada’s U-23 team when qualifying for Beijing 2008 begins next year.



The squad, however, is not without veteran leadership.



Jim Brennan, Canada’s goal-scoring hero from the 2-0 victory over Austria on March 1, 2006 along with no-nonsense defender Adam Braz and the versatile Ante Jazic will no doubt provide Yallop’s young squad with experience and leadership.



Yallop will also rely on the veteran experience of Tony Menezes, who is making a long-awaited return to the senior team. Menezes last appeared for Canada in January 2003 and has recently signed with the Toronto Lynx of the USL First Division for the 2006 campaign.



“This is a superb opportunity for the coaching staff to work with some of our younger players who will likely figure in our Olympic squad and some players that have not been in the squad that often,” said Canadian head coach Frank Yallop.



“There is no substitute with working up-close with the players and for me, this is the best way of seeing if they fit into the squad and are the type of players we are looking for to compete at the highest level.”



There is a possibility of one or two additional players being added to the roster over the next few days. Details regarding any additions will be released immediately at migmultidev-canada-soccer.pantheonsite.io.



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