Ottawa Fury FC GM Joins Canada Soccer
Canada Soccer has named Julian de Guzman, the most capped men’s player in the country’s history, to its U17 men’s technical staff ahead of the 2019 CONCACAF Championship. De Guzman joins the soccer federation that is aiming to redirect the development structure in Canada.
Youth Soccer News: Canada Soccer has announced that Ottawa Fury FC General Manager Julian de Guzman will join the U17 technical staff. The appointment comes ahead of the 2019 CONCACAF Men’s U17 Championship that will be held May 2-16 in Bradenton, Florida.
De Guzman is the most capped men’s national team player in Canadian soccer history. The 38-year-old had lengthy international stints in Germany (Hannover 96) as well as Spain (Deportivo La Coruña). The Ontario, Canada, native also played for Toronto FC of MLS as well as Ottawa Fury of the NASL during the latter part of his career.
The upcoming competition will display Canada’s Men’s EXCEL Program, which seeks to lay the foundation for Canada’s cultural and tactical identity on the pathway to the men’s national team.
De Guzman will serve a support role with the team’s technical staff led by Men’s EXCEL U14 to U17 Program Director Andrew Olivieri.
In addition to bringing tremendous experience as a player, de Guzman brings his desire to deepen his connection with the national team program’s vision and its brightest up-and-coming talents.
At the 2019 CONCACAF Men’s U17 Championship, Canada will compete in Group F, consisting of the United States, Guatemala and Barbados. The Canadian squad will face off against the U.S. on Thursday, May 2nd. The team’s second matchup versus Guatemala will be held on Saturday, May 4th. Canada will play its final fixture versus Barbados on Monday, May 6th.
The Round of 16 will consist of 12 teams from the group stage along with four previously-qualified nations through March and April qualifying stages. The Round of 16 matches will be held May 8-9 followed by the quarter-finals on May 12th. The semi-final matches will take place on May 14th, and the Championship Final on May 16th.
At the CONCACAF tournament, four nations will qualify for the 2019 FIFA U17 World Cup held in Brazil. Canada has missed the last two editions of the international youth tournament. Since 1985, Canada has an all-time record of 31 wins, 15 draws and 26 losses at the CONCACAF Men’s U16/U17 level.
Header Photo Credit: Canada Soccer
