Canadian soccer has once again come out on the wrong end of the club vs. country conundrum.
The latest instance occurred on Monday when Canada U-20 men’s coach Rob Gale released his roster for this month’s CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Jamaica. Absent from the Canadian squad was influential midfielder and team captain Dylan Carreiro.
The Canadian coach had come to an agreement with Carreiro’s pro club, Scottish Premiership outfit Dundee, to release the Canadian for the CONCACAF tournament even though FIFA rules stipulate that teams are not required to let players go for youth tournaments.
Gale explained on the day Carreiro was set to fly out and join his Canadian teammates that Dundee changed its mind and decided to keep him, thus denying the Canadian coach of the services of his captain for the U-20 tournament.
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“It was a very late decision. I can’t say I was best pleased with the club and the way they handled it. They ended up issuing an apology and their assistant coach ended up accepting a phone call from me and apologized. The club felt a little bit embarrassed about how they handled it,” Gale told Sportsnet.
Carreiro was on loan at Arbroath in the Scottish third division before being recently recalled by Dundee, which had a hand in sealing his fate regarding the CONCACAF U-20 Championship.
“We’ve tried to build relationships with the clubs for the purpose of having the best opportunity to get them when we need them. Dylan returned from his loan and I don’t think that helped our cause,” Gale said.
Carreiro wasn’t the only player whose Scottish club refused to release him to play for Canada. Midfielder Fraser Aird, like Carreiro one of Canada’s brightest prospects, will remain with Glasgow Rangers in the Scottish Championship.
Gale contacted Rangers, but couldn’t convince them to release Aird for the CONCACAF competition.
“They’re experienced players… (and) we don’t have many players playing senior football in professional environments,” Gale explained.
“To lose two of them, and a character like Dylan who I’ve known since he was 10 and has been our captain, it’s a big loss. But on the same hand, it’s the reality of under-20s, and thinking long term for Canada you want guys to play first team club football so they can go on and crack the Canadian senior team. That’s the end game.”
Gale ended up filling the hole in the roster left by Carreiro by calling up Vancouver Whitecaps youth team member Jackson Farmer.
“Jackson has come in and he gives us great cover (in defence),” Gale says. “The balance of the squad is very good, and we have attacking players who can fill in for Dylan, so we don’t need to dwell on his absence.”
The 12-team CONCACAF event, scheduled for Jan. 9-24 in Kingston and Montego Bay, will send four teams to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand later this year.
Canada has been drawn into Group B with Cuba, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras and defending CONCACAF champion Mexico.
The other pool includes Aruba, Guatemala, Jamaica, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and the U.S.
Group winners advance to the tournament final and automatically qualify for the World Cup. The second- and third-placed teams from each group will square off in playoff games for the other two World Cup berths.
Canada begins play on Jan. 10 against Haiti.
Canada has not qualified for the FIFA U-20 world Cup since 2007 when it hosted the event. The Reds’ best showing was in 2003, when they made it to the quarterfinals of the tournament.