De Guzman enriches Dutch Football

September 16th, 2007 | By: Jan | 5 Comments »

When asked whether Feyenoord midfielder Jonathan de Guzman should decide to play for Holland or Canada, Feyenoord coach Bert van Marwijk said De Guzman would be an absolute enrichment for Dutch football.

“No doubt about it. Although he hasn’t asked me for advice on the matter,” Van Marwijk said after Feyenoord’s victory over Roda JC.

Van Marwijk highly enjoyed the way the 20 year old Canadian born played. “He finally showed what he’s capable of. The big difference with other talents is that Jonathan doesn’t seem to realize how good he is. It told him during the half time break to really go for it. To show more, to be more dominant. And he was…”.

De Guzman scored twice for Feyenoord in the second half. He plays for Feyenoord since his twelfth year and speaks fluent Dutch. Still, he refuses to comment on the choice he is bound to make. His older Julian, playing for Deportivo in Spain, chose for the Canadian national team.

“Whatever I decide, he will support me. I don’t want to talk about it now, and I can’t talk about. I’m waiting. On what? Well, on myself. The level of Oranje is much higher than the level Canada plays, but playing for Canada with my brother is attractive too. The pros and cons of my choice are still hovering around in my head.”

Tags: Bert van Marwijk, Jonathan De Guzman, The Netherlands

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Comments

By tjeerd | September 16th, 2007 at 9:21 pm

Jan, he is very close to his brother. I saw Julian interviewed last week on Canadian TV, he said he is very close and talks to him every day on the phone, often two or three times. If Jonathon plays for Canada, it will be a huge shot in the arm. We (Canada) need him for any remote chance of World Cup qualification.

By Jan | September 16th, 2007 at 9:54 pm

I feel Jon should go for Canada to be honest. I think Holland has more than enough good midfielders and it would be terrible if Jon’d go for Oranje only to be bypassed by Afellay or others.

He’s Canadian and should use his talent to put Canadian football on the map! There’s already sooo many great Canadian actors/comedians in the US that are called “americans”, I feel that you should invest in your country. Inspire, lead and maybe one day make it to the big podium.

It would be fantastic for Oranje if he’d choose Oranje – I like him as a player a lot!! – but I’d say: let Oranje do it themselves and build up your own country’s football culture.

Posted from Australia

By Caleb | September 17th, 2007 at 8:17 am

Just for the record, Canada has made it to the big podium once, the Mexico World cup in 1986. They didn’t win or even score, but they made it once. I’m Dutch Canadian, so I know about the Canadian team, but I still support Holland, not Canada.

I remember seeing Julian de Guzman playing for Canada, he seemed to be one of their best players. If his brother is even better, that would be a big boost.

Posted from Japan