The Footie Fool

The preliminary 30 man Gold Cup roster for Canada has been posted by CONCACAF. This roster will be trimmed before the actual tournament, so not all players listed will be making the (loooooong) trip to the Gold Cup.

Some names not on the list that I might have expected are Thomasz Radzinski and David Edgar. Radzinski I can understand. After all, he did (kinda) retire from the MNT after WCQ. And there is specualtion he is professionally in play and may not be with Lierse for much longer.

But Edgar? Seriously, what is it going to take to cap the kid? And with the new FIFA eligibility rules that give players the option to switch countries at any age unless they have been capped in a major competition, there is a bit of urgency behind my desire to see him called to the squad. After all, he could choose England. Granted, it’s a tough struggle to crack the England international team. But it is still a possibility.

Mind you, Edgar is also reportedly in play and speculation has him moving to Birmingham City. The Gold Cup has the unfortunate timing of overlapping with the English pre-season, a time when many new players are trying to impress for a crack at the starting lineup. That probably has something to do with Edgar’s lack of participation.

At any rate, the longer he goes uncapped the more I have this little tingling feeling in the back of my mind. Never mind being once bitten – we all know a few talented footballers who have slipped through our fingers before. Not that I think Edgar is the be all and end all for Canuck footie, but c’mon already. Ease my fears and cap the kid.

Okay, off Edgar and back to the roster. No Rob Friend due to injury. I would like to have seen Friend in action again as he has yet to make a mark for me internationally with Canada. He did score a cracker against Brazil, but so far his run with the MNT has been, for me, unspectacular. But I hold hope that he is due for something big internationally and was hoping this would have been the moment.

So far, the roster looks good, but it is hard to read much more into the rest of the list as it still needs to be finalized and trimmed. For example just how many of those MLS players will actually take the mid season pause to play in the Gold Cup? Will Ali Gerba leave TFC just after the acquire him? And, despite my hope, I suspect we won’t see Dwayne De Rosario’s name on the final list. Will the German’s (who, like the English, will be in pre-season) also make the trip? Already FC Cologne Manager Zvonimir Soldo has moaned about the fact that Kevin McKenna will miss 3 weeks for the Gold Cup. So, I am expecting quite a few names that I would hope to be on the final list won’t be there when the CSA releases the final roster.

Gold Cup Roster