With Dwayne De Rosario and Dejan Jakovic set to play in an upcoming friendly against Trinidad and Tobago, two more key players have been confirmed for Canada’s final warm-up match prior to two imortant World Cup qualifying fixtures against Panama in September.
Canada’s all-time leading scorer, De Rosario is expected to continue to play a vital role in the Canadian attack as coach Stephen Hart’s squad continues its quest to qualify for Brazil 2014.
Jakovic has not played as prominent a role as De Rosario recently due to injury, but the 27-year-old defender is undoubtedly an important squad player and his participation in the Trinidad game on Aug. 15 will likely be a positive for the Canadian team going forward.
If all of his players are fit in September, it is unlikely that Hart will be making any changes to the starting back four (David Edgar, Kevin McKenna, Andre Hainault, Ante Jazic) that earned clean sheets in a pair of World Cup qualifying matches in June. However, if one of those players is unavailable against Panama, Jakovic will step in for a Canadian side that has made defensive solidity its primary jumping off point towards earning positive results.
When the Trinidad contest was announced last month, Hart highlighted it as a good opportunity to give some minutes to players who had not seen action in recent matches. Jakovic fits that mold to a tee and his call-up for the friendly gives him a chance play some very valuable competitive minutes at international level.
Due to an unfortunate run of injuries in 2010 and 2011, Jakovic has not appeared often for Canada since forming a very effective central defensive partnership with Kevin McKenna at the 2009 Gold Cup. A broken clavicle and a hamstring injury limited his appearances for both Canada and D.C. United. However, when he is match fit, Jakovic has all of the qualities to be a very versatile and impactful defender for both club and country.
The 6-foot-3 centre-back is intelligent, strong and positionally sound, and his height makes him particularly effective defending aerial attacks and crosses sent into the box. Jakovic is also arguably Canada’s most athletic central defender and his pace puts him in good stead in terms of matching up against lightning quick attackers. Lastly, the D.C. United defender is a strong passer who is exceptionally good on the ball, both qualities that make him ideal for Hart’s system, which emphasizes possession and patient buildup play.
It’s recently come out that several MLS clubs in the United States have previously declined to sign Canadians because they did not want to use one of their limited international roster spots on them.
As one of the few Canadians playing for one of the non-Canadian MLS clubs, Jakovic takes up an international spot on D.C.’s roster. But talk to anyone with D.C. and they will tell you he is a key part of their team’s present and future, and that he has the potential to be one of the most highly rated defenders in the North American top flight.
Interestingly, while De Rosario deservedly received many of the accolades for spearheading United’s resurgence last season, Jakovic was actually an equally important player for the one of the original MLS clubs. While he only played in fifteen matches for D.C. in 2011, it deserves noting that his team was in a playoff position until he went down with an injury that basically ended his campaign.
Jakovic has been equally effective playing for Canada. Now entering his prime years, Jakovic will be expected to be part of a core group of defenders who will have to further step up their games and assume leadership roles when McKenna inevitably ends his illustrious national team career at some point in the not too distant future.
Expect Jakovic play at least 45 minutes against Trinidad. He may be flying a little bit under the radar for Canada at the moment, but don’t doubt for a second that Hart isn’t fully cognizant of how much quality Jakovic is capable of bringing to the squad.
And if the unfortunate run of injuries are now fully in the rear-view mirror, Jakovic will provide Canada’s chances of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup a considerable boost.
Steve Bottjer is a Toronto-based writer, podcaster and editor for RedNation Online, on online magazine covering all aspects of Canadian soccer. Follow RedNation Online on Twitter.