No Euro 2008 for “Judas” de Guzmán

Marco van Basten has named his 30 man provisional squad for Euro 2008 and Jonathan de Guzmán is nowhere to be seen. Maybe not a huge surprise, but when the 20 year old midfielder pledged his future to the Netherlands (where he plays for Feyenoord, and is now a citizen through residence) instead of Canada (country of his birth, and the national team his older brother Julián plays for.)

De Guzmán’s decision wasn’t greeted too warmly by Canadian fans, and saw him labelled “Judas” de Guzman on more than one Candaian soccer messageboard. It’s obvious why De Guzmán chose the Netherlands (the Canadian Soccer Association couldn’t organize is a piss-up in a brewery) and he’ll probably go on to have an impressive international career (the boy’s got skills) but I still think he was hoping to play this summer.

It can’t be fun to make a big decision like switching nationalities, get vilified for it and then not get to play anyway.

The full 30 man squad looks like this:

Goalkeepers: Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United), Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax Amsterdam), Henk Timmer (Feyenoord), Sander Boschker (Twente Enschede)

Defenders: Wilfred Bouma (Aston Villa), Tim de Cler (Feyenoord), Urby Emanuelson (Ajax Amsterdam), John Heitinga (Ajax Amsterdam), Kew Jaliens (AZ Alkmaar), Joris Mathijsen (Hamburg SV), Mario Melchiot (Wigan Athletic), Andre Ooijer (Blackburn Rovers).

Midfielders: Ibrahim Afellay (PSV Eindhoven), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Feyenoord), Orlando Engelaar (Twente Enschede), Nigel de Jong (Hamburg SV), Denny Landzaat (Feyenoord), Hedwiges Maduro (Valencia), Clarence Seedorf (AC Milan), Wesley Sneijder (Real Madrid), Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburg SV), Demy de Zeeuw (AZ Alkmaar).

Forwards: Ryan Babel (Liverpool), Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Ajax Amsterdam), Danny Koevermans (PSV Eindhoven), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid), Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Arjen Robben (Real Madrid), Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (Celtic).

Still, it’s not quite curtains for de Guzmán. Marco van Basten cuts the squad down to 26 on May 16th and then to 23 on May 28th, but he hasn’t ruled out making changes.

For more on the Dutch team, visit Jan over at the Netherlands Euro 2008 Blog.