THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — Nick Dasovic’s road to Canada’s Soccer Hall of Fame, took him across the country and to clubs in Croatia, France, Sweden and Scotland.
Playing for Canada, his journey stretched around the globe, from Mexico City to Niigata, Japan.
Looking back, the former midfielder says he cherishes every one of his 63 senior national team appearances from 1992 to 2004.
"It might sound kind of corny but any time I put a shirt on for the country, it really did mean a lot for me. … to put the Maple Leaf over your chest, and on your heart and go play, it meant a lot," the 42-year-old Toronto FC scout said Thursday from Vancouver.
Dasovic is joined in the Hall’s 2011 induction class by fellow former Canadian internationals Lyndon Hooper and Victor Kodelja, and Canadian-born Jimmy Nichol, who went on to win 73 caps for Northern Ireland.
Heading to the Hall in the builder’s category are Bill Hoyle and Bert Goldberger.
The late Len Peto earns the Pioneer Award while the 1979 Vancouver Whitecaps have been named this year’s Team of Distinction. Toronto Ulster United was selected the Organization of Distinction.
Dasovic, who served as Toronto FC’s interim coach last season when Preki was fired, acknowledges that his national team duty caused problems with his overseas clubs.
In Scotland, however, his club St. Johnstone knew it was a necessary evil to help Dasovic maintain his work permit.
"It was a double-edged sword," he said. "I had to play for Canada, at the same time I would miss time playing for my Scottish team. They understood fairly well but at the end of it, my last little stint there, it did cause an issue with the club.
"As my time (with Canada) in Sweden caused an issue with (Trelleborgs FF) and the same with France (St-Brieux) … But I don’t regret it. Playing for my country’s always been a huge honour. It was never ever a question to go play for them."
Dasovic is no stranger to Hooper, who won 67 caps from 1986 to 1997.
"We’ve played most of our games together so it’s kind of a nice thing to go in with him," Dasovic said. "It’ll be fun."
Hooper, a defender and midfielder, played across Canada and the U.S. and spent one season with England’s Birmingham City.
Kodelja, a winger turned defender, won 10 caps for Canada and played on the 1984 Chicago team that won the NASL championship. His NASL resume also includes time with the Vancouver Whitecaps, San Antonio Thunder, Team Hawaii, San Jose Earthquakes, Calgary Boomers, and Toronto Blizzard. In total, he played 185 regular season games and 12 playoff games in the NASL, scoring 17 goals.
The Hamilton-born Nichol played for Manchester United, Glasgow Rangers, Toronto Blizzard, Sunderland, West Bromwich Albion, Dunfermline Athletic and Raith Rovers before moving full time into management. He is currently manager at Scottish First Division club Cowdenbeath.
Hoyle, a longtime referee, official and former president of the Ontario Soccer Association, was instrumental in the creation of the Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum.
Goldberger was the first technical director of the Alberta Soccer Association and coached Canada to a berth in the FIFA U-16 finals in Scotland in 1989, and again in Japan in 1993.
Peto, who died in 1985, turned to the management side of the sport after injuring a knee. In 1923 he was one of the key figures behind Montreal Carsteel, considered one of the greatest teams in Canadian soccer history.
He went on to become the first president of the National Soccer League and president of the Dominion of Canada Football Association, known today as the Canadian Soccer Association.
Peto also had ties in hockey, becoming involved with the Montreal Canadiens in the 1940s.
The ’79 Whitecaps enter the Hall the same year their namesake joins Major League Soccer — and 32 years after winning the NASL championship.
The Whitecaps defeated the Tampa Bay Rowdies 2-1 to win the Soccer Bowl before 66,843 fans at Giants Stadium in New York, eight days after dispatching the star-studded New York Cosmos in the semifinal.
Coached by Tony Waiters, the ’79 Whitecaps included Canadian stars Bob Lenarduzzi and Carl Valentine as well as internationals Alan Ball, Phil Parkes, Roger Kenyon, Ray Lewington, Kevin Hector, Trevor Whymark and Willie Johnston.
Toronto Ulster United won national championship in 1925, 1946 and 1951 and was a finalist in 1922 and 1937. It also won the Ontario Cup in 1927, 1929 and 1937.
The team folded in 1963.
The 2011 Soccer Hall of Fame inductee banquet will be held May 28 in Toronto.