TORONTO – Jonathan de Guzman didn’t win any public relations points in his native Canada on Tuesday, but that doesn’t appear to bother him much anymore.
After reports had indicated he was looking to suit up for his birth country after so far failing to break into the Dutch national team, de Guzman announced on Tuesday that he has no intentions of playing for Canada in the future.
De Guzman was spotted at BMO Field during Canada’s World Cup qualifying match against Honduras and gave an interview with The Score television network in which he revealed he only has eyes for the Netherlands. The 24-year-old has been involved in the Dutch youth set-up in the past, but has yet to feature for the senior team. However, he feels he's still in the mix and could receive the call after the conclusion of the European Championship.
Oddly enough, de Guzman gave the interview while wearing a Canada team warm-up jacket, a move that may burn bridges with the Canada faithful that hoped to one day see him suit up for the Canucks with older brother and Toronto FC stalwart Julian.
"My goal is to make the [Netherlands] team for the World Cup in 2014," de Guzman told The Score. “I am very confident in my skills, and I know I have quality to make the national team and I stick by my [decision].”
Canada head coach Stephen Hart traveled to Spain to court de Guzman’s favor earlier this year, but the Villarreal youngster said he still wasn’t swayed by the effort.
"Stephen Hart was kind enough to fly out to Spain to try to convince me or even just talk about it," de Guzman continued. "We had good conversation, but ... I made it clear that I chose the Dutch national team."
