Canada has announced its 23-player roster eligible for the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup which runs this 5-25 June. The Canadian team opens the competition this 7 June in Detroit against USA following a home send-off match in Toronto on 1 June against Ecuador. The team departs for USA on 5 June and national head coach Stephen Hart is expected to select 20 players for travel to the biennial continental championship.
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\u200bThis will be coach Hart’s third trip to the CONCACAF Gold Cup, with a combined competition record of 5 wins, one draw and three losses from 2007 and 2009. In 2011, Hart will use the CONCACAF Gold Cup as a springboard to the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers which are expected to begin this fall. The 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup also serves as the official qualification route to the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013.
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\u200bCoach Hart’s selections come from professional clubs in North America and Europe. Three of the four Canadian teams from the Nutrilite Canadian Championship are represented (Vancouver, Toronto and Montréal). Seventeen of the 23 players have previous CONCACAF Gold Cup experience under Hart, with six players potentially new to the competition. All 23 players have competed for Hart in international matches at least once over the past 18 months.
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\u200bNew to the CONCACAF Gold Cup could be Milan Borjan, Nik Ledgerwood, Pedro Pacheco, Tosaint Ricketts, Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault and Haidar Al-Shaïbani. Borjan and Ricketts are both 23 while Beaulieu-Bourgault is 22, making them the youngest players on the potential Canadian squad. Borjan is also the newest player added to the Canadian program, having only made his debut in February of this year.
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\u200bDwayne De Rosario, Atiba Hutchinson and Kevin McKenna are all taking part in their fifth CONCACAF Gold Cups. De Rosario and Hutchinson have 14 competition matches under their belts while McKenna has 13. De Rosario is Canada’s last holdover from the country’s CONCACAF Gold Cup victory in 2000.
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\u200bAlso of note on the Canadian roster, Gerba is the country’s all-time leading scorer at the CONCACAF Gold Cup with six goals. He and De Rosario are also the country’s active leading goal scorers in all international matches, with 15 goals apiece (ranked fourth on the all-time list including retired players).
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\u200bCanadian Players of the Year from each of the last four seasons are featured on the squad: Hutchinson (2010), Simeon Jackson (2009), Julian de Guzman (2008) and De Rosario (2005-2007). De Guzman and Mike Klukowski were CONCACAF Gold Cup All-Stars in 2009 while de Guzman was both an All-Star and Most Valuable Player in 2007. Lars Hirschfeld was the Most Outstanding Goalkeeper in 2002 while McKenna was an All-Star that same year.
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\u200bAt the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Canada will face USA, Guadeloupe and Panama. Canada faces USA on 7 June at Ford Field in Detroit, MI; Guadeloupe on 11 June at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL; and Panama on 14 June at Sporting Park in Kansas City, KS.
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\u200bAs for Canada’s send off, it will be the Men’s International Friendly match on 1 June at BMO Field in Toronto, ON (19.00 local kick off). The match, presented by Nutrilite, will be featured live on Rogers Sportsnet (19.00 ET / 16.00 PT). Tickets to the Canada-Ecuador match can be purchased at the BMO Field box office or via Ticketmaster at 1.855.985.5000 / Ticketmaster.ca. Group rates are available via the Ontario Soccer Association (tickets@soccer.on.ca).
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\u200bCANADA
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\u200b1- GK- Lars Hirschfeld | NOR / Vålerenga Fotball
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\u200b2- D/M- Nik Ledgerwood | GER / SV Wehen Wiesbaden
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\u200b3- D/M- Mike Klukowski |
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\u200b4- CB- Kevin McKenna | GER / FC Köln
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\u200b5- CB- André Hainault | USA / Houston Dynamo
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\u200b6- M- Julian de Guzman | CAN / Toronto FC
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\u200b7- M- Terry Dunfield | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
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\u200b8- M- Will Johnson | USA / Real Salt Lake
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\u200b9- F- Rob Friend | GER / Hertha BSC
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\u200b10- F- Ali Gerba | CAN / Impact Montréal
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\u200b11- M- Josh Simpson | TUR / Vestel Manisaspor
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\u200b12- M- Pedro Pacheco | POR / CD Santa Clara
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\u200b13- M- Atiba Hutchinson | NED / PSV Eindhoven
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\u200b14- F- Dwayne De Rosario | USA / New York Red Bulls
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\u200b15- D- Dejan Jakovic | USA / DC United
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\u200b16- M/F- Tosaint Ricketts | ROM / FC Politehnica Timiþoara
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\u200b17- M- Simeon Jackson | ENG / Norwich City FC
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\u200b18- GK- Milan Borjan | SRB / FK Rad
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\u200b19- M- Marcel de Jong | GER / FC Augsburg
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\u200b20- D- Jaime Peters | ENG / Ipswich Town FC
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\u200b21- M- Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault | GER / SC Preußen Münster
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\u200b22- GK- Haidar Al-Shaïbani | FRA / Nîmes Olympique
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\u200b23- M- Issey Nakajima-Farran | DEN / AC Horsens
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\u200bCANADA A-Z
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\u200bAl-Shaïbani, Haidar | 1984 | London, ON, CAN |
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\u200bBeaulieu-Bourgault, Jonathan | 1988 | Montréal, QC, CAN |
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\u200bBorjan, Milan | 1987 | Hamilton, ON, CAN |
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\u200bde Guzman, Julian | 1981 | Scarborough, ON, CAN |
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\u200bde Jong, Marcel | 1986 | Toronto, ON, CAN |
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\u200bDe Rosario, Dwayne | 1978 | Scarborough, ON, CAN |
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\u200bDunfield, Terry | 1982 | Vancouver, BC, CAN |
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\u200bFriend, Rob | 1981 | Kelowna, BC, CAN |
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\u200bGerba, Ali | 1981 | Montréal, QC, CAN |
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\u200bHainault, André | 1986 | Hudson, QC, CAN |
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\u200bHirschfeld, Lars | 1978 | Edmonton, AB, CAN |
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\u200bHutchinson, Atiba | 1983 | Brampton, ON, CAN |
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\u200bJackson, Simeon | 1987 | Mississauga, ON, CAN |
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\u200bJakovic, Dejan | 1985 | Etobicoke, ON, CAN |
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\u200bJohnson, Will | 1987 | Toronto, ON, CAN |
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\u200bKlukowski, Mike | 1981 | Oshawa, ON, CAN |
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\u200bLedgerwood, Nik | 1985 | Lethbridge, AB, CAN |
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\u200bMcKenna, Kevin | 1980 | Calgary, AB, CAN |
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\u200bNakajima-Farran, Issey | 1984 | Calgary, AB, CAN |
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\u200bPacheco, Pedro | 1984 | Toronto, ON, CAN |
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\u200bPeters, Jaime | 1987 | Pickering, ON, CAN |
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\u200bRicketts, Tosaint | 1987 | Edmonton, AB, CAN |
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\u200bSimpson, Josh | 1983 | Victoria, BC, CAN |
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\u200bCANADA
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\u200bHead of Delegation / Chef de délegation : Dominic Maestracci
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\u200bHead of Delegation / Chef de délegation : Victor Montagliani
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\u200bHead Coach / Entraîneur-chef : Stephen Hart
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\u200bAssistant Coach / Entraîneur adjoint : Tony Fonseca
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\u200bGoalkeeper Coach / Entraîneur des gardiens : Paul Dolan
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\u200bGoalkeeper Coach / Entraîneur des gardiens : Andrew Olivieri
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\u200bVideo Coordinator / Vidéaste : Victor Mendes
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\u200bTeam Manager / Gérant d’équipe : Morgan Quarry
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\u200bEquipment Manager / Gérant de l’équipement : Mike Moretto
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\u200bEquipment Assistant / Adjoint de l’équipement : Ryan Bedic
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\u200bDoctor / Docteur : Dr. Mike Campbell
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\u200bDoctor / Docteur : Dr. John Philpott
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\u200bPhysiotherapist / Physiothérapeute : Dave Foley
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\u200bPhysiotherapist / Physiothérapeute : Ted Tilbury
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\u200bPhysiotherapist / Physiothérapeute : Paul Fenwick
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\u200bPhysiotherapist / Physiothérapeute : Garret Kusch
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\u200bPhysiotherapist / Physiothérapeute : Scott Fenwick
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\u200bHeads of delegation, goalkeeper coaches, doctors and trainers will come in and out at different times