Julián de Guzmán

Infobox Football biography
playername = Julián de Guzmán


fullname = Julian Bobby de Guzman
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1981|03|25
cityofbirth = Toronto
countryofbirth = Canada
height = Height|m=1.69
position = Defensive Midfielder
currentclub = Deportivo
clubnumber = 6
youthyears = 1994-1997
1997-2000
youthclubs = North Scarborough Soccer Club
Olympique Marseille
years = 2000–2002
2002–2005
2005–
clubs = FC Saarbrücken
Hannover 96
Deportivo
caps(goals) = 21 (0)
78 (2)
76 (1)
nationalyears = 2002–
nationalteam = Canada
nationalcaps(goals) = 33 (4)
pcupdate = 8 June, 2008
ntupdate = 20 August, 2008

Julián Bobby de Guzmán (b. March 25 1981, Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian professional football (soccer) player of Jamaican and Filipino descent. In 2005 he signed for Deportivo de La Coruña in the First Division of Spain's La Liga, becoming the first Canadian to play in La Liga.

Biography

Club

The 169-cm, 68 kg de Guzmán, a defensive midfielder, was discovered by representatives of Olympique Marseille while playing for the North Scarborough youth soccer club in Toronto. After playing with Marseille's reserve side, de Guzmán became a first-team regular with 1. FC Saarbrücken in the German Second Bundesliga in the 2001-02 season.

In 2002, he joined newly promoted Hannover 96, becoming only the third Canadian to play in the German First Bundesliga. He played three seasons for Hannover before joining Deportivo. After playing a starring role in the club's remarkable turnaround in the 2007-2008 season to avoid relegation and gain a spot in the Intertoto Cup, de Guzmán was named Depor's player of the season.

Country

Julian is a regular with the Canadian national team. His younger brother Jonathan de Guzmán also plays professional football for Dutch club Feyenoord and has chosen to represent the Netherlands national football team.

In Canada's opening match of the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Julian scored twice to help defeat Costa Rica 2-1. After the conclusion of the competition, de Guzmán was named tournament MVP.cite web | title="De Guzman claims MVP honours" | work= Globe and Mail | url=http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070625.wsptgold25/GSStory/GlobeSportsSoccer/home | accessdate=25 June | accessyear=2007]

International goals

"Updated to games played August 20, 2008."

Honours

Club

Deportivo de La Coruña
*UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2008
*Teresa Herrera: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

Individual

*CONCACAF Gold Cup Most Valuable Player: 2007
*CONCACAF Gold Cup Best XI: 2007
*Deportivo de La Coruña Player of the Season: 2007-2008
*The Voyageurs International Player of the Year: 2007

Country

Canada
*CONCACAF Gold Cup
**Third place: 2002, 2007

References

External links

* [http://www.enblanquiazul.org/deguzman "Julian De Guzman Official Website" ]
* [http://www.deportivo-la-coruna.com/squad/Guzman.html "Deportivo-La-Coruna.com" player page for de Guzmán]
* [http://www.Canadasoccer.com/eng/nationals/profile.asp?id=87&sub=3 "CanadaSoccer.com" national team page for de Guzmán]
* [http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/050303/1/37ub.html "FIFAWorldCup.com" with a player to watch article on de Guzmán]
* [http://www.ad.nl/sport/article28664.ece "www.ad.nl" with caption on Jonathan's roots]
* [http://www.footballdatabase.com/index.php?page=player&Id=6456&pn=Julián_Bobbi_de_Guzmán Footballdatabase.com]