One last lap for legend de Guzman
Canadian soccer icon to receive proper sendoff in Fury FC exhibition match
Persistent injuries in his 17th and final professional season robbed Canada’s most decorated soccer player of all time of his grand finale.
Julian de Guzman never had the chance to run onto the field for one last game knowing that was it for his decorated career.
The nagging aches and pains that unceremoniously and prematurely ended his season last July 30 didn’t allow de Guzman to watch the seconds tick down on the clock, then experience the referee’s final whistle knowing things would never be the same.
The Ottawa Fury FC captain was deprived of a victory lap around the field at TD Place with the fans cheering for all he had done for Canadian soccer while de Guzman applauded back before exiting the field and disappearing from sight.
Superstars should always leave on their own terms and de Guzman never had the chance.
That was until a friendly showed up on the Fury FC’s schedule, tonight at TD Place, against the Major Soccer League’s Montreal Impact, the Fury’s MLS affiliate.
That got Fury FC head coach Paul Dalglish and de Guzman thinking and before the pair knew it, the first Canadian player ever to star in Spain’s La Liga with Deportivo La Coruna was up for a comeback, if only for one game.
“The hardest part about retiring was not having that ‘last’ game to thank the fans who have always been there supporting me throughout my career for club and country,” de Guzman said Tuesday before taking the pitch for to prepare for a game for the first time since late last July.
“I’m looking forward to being back out on the pitch and I know the guys are excited to test themselves against another MLS opponent.”
Don’t expect de Guzman to have any pre-game jitters. Players with 89 international caps for Canada under their belt over 15 years and an international dossier that includes four cycles of FIFA World Cup qualifiers and six CONCACAF Golf Cup tournaments won’t be nervous about a friendly of any sort.
So it made for an easy decision for de Guzman to don a Fury FC jersey just one more time.
“We talked about it earlier this season and Paul brought it to my attention again about a week ago and I said ‘why not?’ ” said de Guzman, now 36.
“It’s going to be fun for our fans. It’s good for me. I would do anything for the club. I would do anything for the Fury.”
And with that, for at least for 90 minutes, Fury FC’s assistant coach becomes just one of the players before going back to his current role Thursday to prepare for Saturday’s visit by the Rochester Rhinos.
Dalglish isn’t sure how he’s going to use de Guzman or for how long.
The Fury FC head coach even joked he thought de Guzman playing was a great idea “until I saw him in training the last couple of days.”
“He’s worked his way into some form,” continued Dalglish, still laughing. “So it’s time to give the young lad a chance.”
The expectation is de Guzman is unlikely to start and more likely to see the field in the second half when the Fury FC and Impact youngsters are more likely to open things up in a game all about fun, and just a little about some younger Fury FC players trying to impress the Impact technical staff.
And de Guzman will just try to fit in, making it clear this is a one off. Once that final whistle goes, his playing time will be restricted to filling in during Fury FC training sessions.
“Some of the kids are asking questions and some are making fun of me,” said de Guzman. “But I figure the only way they can make fun of me is if I embarrass myself and I hope I don’t do that.
“Last year, I got injured early, then got into four or five games, then injured myself in a training session.
“It was a frustrating thing, but I had to listen to my body at my age. It all made things much easier on whether I would play again or become an assistant coach.
“I don’t miss playing as much. I don’t mind my rest. And my longterm goals are still to become more effective as a coach and (eventually a) GM.”