Canadian brothers in arms

Julian de Guzman (above) is a Canadian international. His brother Jonathan meanwhile declared for the Netherlands. What’s the story there? Making his debut for Just Football, Tom Victor reports on the very different paths of this intriguing football brotherhood.

This weekend will see the biggest game in the short life of Toronto’s BMO Stadium, as the MLS Cup Final comes to Canada for the first time.

When the city was awarded the game back in March, it looked as though the season was set up for Julian de Guzman. The Canadian international was embarking on his first full season with his hometown club Toronto FC, having made a surprise move to the MLS after leaving Deportivo la Coruna at the end of the 2008/09 season.

But the 29-year-old holding midfielder will be watching on enviously as FC Dallas and Colorado Rapids take to the field in search of the American league’s biggest prize, having seen a disappointing season end in October when Toronto were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.

At the same time, de Guzman’s younger brother Jonathan will look to continue his impressive start with Real Mallorca as Michael Laudrup’s side visit fifth-place Sevilla in a Primera Division encounter.

He turned down an offer of a new contract at Feyenoord, with whom he made his name as a free-kick maestro (one strike against Twente stands out in particular), after being captivated by Laudrup’s vision for the club.

The younger of the two brothers is enjoying life in the Balearics, filling the attacking midfield role vacated by Borja Valero in the summer and starting all 11 games this campaign, scoring once and creating two goals for his team-mates.

His presence has helped financially-stricken Mallorca remain in mid-table for the time-being, despite early-season predictions that the loss of the likes of Valero and Aritz Aduriz would see the club propping up the table at this stage.

And as Jonathan’s star has risen, his brother’s has fallen significantly. Plenty of eyebrows were raised when Julian returned to Canada, not least because of the unrealistic levels of expectation placed on a player of his ilk.

High expectations

Toronto’s problems in the last two years have stemmed from a lack of firepower, with club captain Dwayne de Rosario receiving minimal assistance from a supporting cast comprised of overextended youngsters and headed by a big-name forward in Mista whose heart clearly lies elsewhere.

Many fans have used de Guzman’s notoriety and substantial wages (as the club’s two ‘Designated Players’ both he and Mista earn more than 20 times as much as many of their team-mates) as justification to expect heroics from him every week, but his impact in the deep-lying midfield role is noticed less when the team is lacking so much in other areas.

The most relevant observation has – ironically – come from the player Toronto released to make way for de Guzman in their squad. Rohan Ricketts, the Moldova-based former England under-21 midfielder, explained the situation in an open letter to Toronto FC fans earlier this year:

“Playing in Spain is a whole different ball game where the value of possession, technique and tactical acumen is on another level. So to ask him to come and do what he has done over in La Liga is not so simple.

“He has become a victim of his own success, because what he is brilliant at does not equate to a Designated Player status in the eyes of the masses.”

Jonathan, on the other hand, has never really had to deal with the same pressure imposed on his brother by these ‘masses,’ albeit his failure to fill a Salomon Kalou-sized hole at De Kuip left some fans wanting, and one significant career move may mean he never has to.

In 2008, after three years in the first team with Feyenoord (a club which he joined at the age of 12), Jonathan de Guzman angered the Canadian soccer community by announcing he wished to play for the Dutch national team.

Despite appearing for the Oranje at under-21 level and then representing them at the 2008 Olympics, he is yet to receive full international recognition. This means he could still represent his homeland, but such a situation seems unlikely.

This is a familiar situation for the Canadian FA, with Owen Hargreaves and Asmir Begovic rejecting call-ups in favour of England and Bosnia respectively. And old wounds were reopened this week as Kansas City striker Teal Bunbury – one of Canada’s brightest prospects and the son of former talisman Alex – made his international debut for the United States in Cape Town.

As well as the contrasts in decision-making between the de Guzman brothers, their respective career trajectories may have been influenced by their managers at club level.

Jonathan was brought through the Feyenoord ranks by established international player Erwin Koeman and has found a like-minded individual in Laudrup to further his development after injury frustrations dominated a frustrating last two years in Rotterdam.

Julian, on the other hand, arrived in la Coruna too late to reap the benefits of Javier Irureta’s enigmatic management. First the unpopular Joaquin Caparros and now the inexperienced Miguel Angel Lotina have stepped up to the plate, doing their best with the tools at their disposal, but neither had the time or the presence to help the likes of Julian de Guzman really develop as players.

And it has gone from bad to worse for him in Toronto, with former boss Preki seen by many to be stunting the club’s natural progress. Fans will hope the recent appointment of Jurgen Klinsmann as a consultant helps reinvigorate the club, while the players will surely be keen for whoever replaces interim coach Nick Dasovic to bring new ideas and a new impetus to a flagging franchise.

As he watches his brother light up games against top opposition at the Iberostar Stadium, or even when he sees former Toronto frontman Jeff Cunningham lead the line for Dallas on Sunday, Julian de Guzman may wonder what he might have achieved with a little more luck and one or two different decisions.

Still, whether at BMO Field or elsewhere, he must know he still has time to resurrect a career which is far from over.

Tom Victor is a freelance journalist and new contributor to Just Football. To read more visit his personal site Pele Confidential.

(photo via drowcliffe on Flickr)

Canada, Jonathan de Guzman, Julian de Guzman, Major League Soccer, Real Mallorca, Toronto FC, USA