The Canadian Soccer Association announced today that Nana Attakora-Gyan and Jonelle Filigno have been named Canadian U-20 Players of the Year for the 2008 soccer season. The two stars were honoured in a vote shared by national-team coaches (50%) and Canadian coaches who have taken the Canadian Soccer Association’s national course at the B and A levels (50%).
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\u200bAttakora-Gyan is a member of the Canadian U-20 team that has begun preparations for next year’s CONCACAF Men’s Under-20 Championship. He took part in all three U-20 camps, the first of which featured the anniversary rematch against Argentina at BMO Field in Toronto (a 1:1 draw on 11 May).
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\u200bThe Orangeville, ON defender is also a member of Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC. In 2008, he played five games with the big club, making his MLS debut on 5 August 2008. He also took part in the inaugural 2008 Nutrilite Canadian Championship, although he did not feature in Toronto FC’s four games.
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\u200bFiligno, meanwhile, split the 2008 season between the senior and U-20 teams. With the women’s U-20 team, whose title sponsor is Winners, she helped Canada win a gold medal at the 2008 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship. She scored four goals in the tournament: a hat trick against Costa Rica in the group phase and the winning goal in the semi-final against Mexico. She then helped Canada win the Torneo 4-Naciones in Chile, scoring the lone goal in the final match of the round-robin tournament. Finally at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Chile 2008, she scored one goal in two matches after missing the opener because of a knee injury.
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\u200bWith the Canadian national team, whose title sponsor is Winners and whose presenting sponsor is Teck, Filigno made 20 appearances as a 17-year old rookie. She helped Canada win the Cyprus Cup in March, finish second at the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualification Tournament in April, finish second at the Peace Queen Cup in June (albeit she left midway to join the U-20s), and reach the quarter-final stage of the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament. She started 12 of her 20 games and scored her first-ever goal against Trinidad & Tobago in April.
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\u200bYesterday, the Canadian Soccer Association announced that Russell Teibert and Monica Lam-Feist were both named the Canadian U-17 Players of the Year. Later this week, the Canadian Soccer Association will announce the 2008 adidas Canadian Players of the Year.
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\u200bFan voting for the 2008 CanadaSoccer.com Fan’s Choices, meanwhile, runs through 9 January 2009. Fans can still make their two selections (one male, one female) to rscott@soccercan.ca.
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\u200bFINAL LIST
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\u200bMale Nominees (born 1989 or later) / Nominés masculins (né en 1989 ou après)
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\u200b1. Nana Attakora-Gyan (25.5)
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\u200b2. Brandon Bonifacio (17.4)
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\u200b3. Ethan Gage (15.0)
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\u200b4. Adam Street (13.6)
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\u200b5. Shaun Saiko (9.7)
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\u200b6. Marcus Haber (8.2)
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\u200b7. Derek Gaudet (2.1)
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\u200b7. Adam Straith (2.1)
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\u200b9. Mozesh Gyorio (0.4)
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\u200bFemale Nominees (born 1988 or later) from the Winners \u0096 Women’s U-20 team / Nominées féminines (né en 1988 ou après) de l’équipe féminine Winners U-20
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\u200b1. Jonelle Filigno (30.4)
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\u200b2. Allysha Chapman (20.7)
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\u200b3. Kaylyn Kyle (16.9)
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\u200b4. Sophie Schmidt (9.3)
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\u200b5. Erin McNulty (6.7)
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\u200b6. Jodi-Ann Robinson (5.6)
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\u200b7. Myriam Bouchard (4.4)
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\u200b8. Chelsea Stewart (4.3)