TORONTO – BMO Field has been very good to David Edgar. It was there that the Kitchener, Ont.–born defender led Canada out in its opening game of the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. In 2011, he played for the senior team on home soil for the first time in a World Cup qualifier against Puerto Rico. The following year he scored his first goal for Canada versus Cuba.
Edgar, now 27, has come full circle. Seven years ago when he stepped onto the pitch at BMO Field, he was one of Canada’s brightest prospects, the talk of Canadian soccer after scoring that amazing goal against Manchester United in his home debut for Newcastle United.
Tuesday programming alert: Watch Canada vs. Jamaica in an international friendly from Toronto’s BMO Field live on Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet World. Coverage begins at 7:30 pm ET/4:30 pm PT. || Sportsnet World NOW || TV schedule
When he steps onto the BMO Field pitch in Tuesday evening’s international friendly against Jamaica, he’ll do so as a national team veteran. Edgar has 23 caps to his credit, and has proven to be one of Canada’s most consistent players and loyal servants during a low point in the national team’s history.
He played the full 90 minutes in the infamous 8-1 loss to Honduras in San Pedro Sula, and has watched as Canada has gone 16 consecutive games without a win—the Reds last tasted victory in a 3-0 decision over Cuba in a World Cup qualifier on Oct. 12, 2012 when he scored and registered an assist.
These are tough times for Canada, currently listed at No. 112—sandwiched between Central African Republic and Guinea-Bissau—in the FIFA world rankings. Edgar remains as committed as ever to the program. He plans to keep on representing Canada whenever he gets called up to the national team.
“I’ve always loved playing for Canada. It’s always been a dream of mine, since going through the provincial system in Ontario. I watched Canada growing up and that was always what I wanted to do. I got a chance to play with some of the guys I watched when I first broke in, which was great,” Edgar told Sportsnet.
His first break may now be a distant memory, but retirement is a long way off for Edgar, who signed with Birmingham City in the off-season and was named the English Championship club’s player of the month for August. But he is already thinking about his post-playing career involvement in the Canadian soccer scene.
“My goal is to play as many games for Canada as I can while seeing the country succeed. I’ve always said that and it’s even more so now,” Edgar offered. “As a father and coming back her so often, I would love to have a part in Canadian football for many years, even after playing, and help the game develop in this country the way it should. We’ve got everything to do.”
Canada is winless (with four losses) in the six games it’s played under since Spanish coach Benito Floro took over the reins last summer.
The former Real Madrid coach, recently said that he has completed the first stage of his rebuild—evaluating the Canadian talent pool—and now he is trying to “define the 18 most important players” to the national team in order to gain positive results on the field.
Despite the lack of wins, Edgar has been impressed with Floro, explaining that the Spaniard focuses far more on tactics in training sessions than previous Canadian coaches
“When we get in, he wants us to set up a certain way and play a certain way. He’s been quite clear about the way he wants us to play and there’s no wavering from that. He wants to implement through the entire Canadian system, which is what we need—we need to build from the grassroots and in the men’s national team,” Edgar stated.
For a limited time get Sportsnet Magazine’s digital edition free for 60 days. Visit Appstore/RogersMagazines to see what you’re missing out on.
The Birmingham defender has also been impressed with how Floro has integrated younger Canadian players into the mix as he attempts to rebuild the national team program.
“It takes time to adapt but I think he’s building a good, young group of players here with a mix of veterans. That’s key—building that core group that you can work with. International football is tough when you can’t work the players every day; he does a really good job of gelling of the group when we get together and getting the most tactically out of us,” Edgar stated.
Edgar believes Canada is starting to turn the corner under Floro’s guidance, pointing to the team’s two most recent outings—a pair of 1-1 draws against Bulgaria and Moldova in May—as proof that progress, be it ever so slow, is being made.
“It’s never going to be an overnight process when a new manager comes in, but I feel things are starting to turn. We had good team and individual performances in our last two outings, and you see the work that’s going behind the scenes come to fruition on the pitch,” Edgar said.