HART on BEGOVIC: “IN THE END, HE’LL PLAY FOR CANADA”

Canadian Men’s National Team Interim Coach and CSA Technical Director (longest title ever) Stephen Hart joined us on the July 5th edition of Full-Time. He had some rather interesting thoughts on what will happen with Canadian / Bosnian goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.

Various reports have indicated that Begovic will turn his back on the country he represented at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup and play for the Bosnia and Herzegovina senior squad.

However, Hart thinks that won’t happen. While he acknowledges that in the end it’s Begovic’s decision, Hart doesn’t believe that yet another fine talent will forget Canada and represent another nation.

“We chatted before the Gold Cup. I had invited him in… he had some situations that he had to deal with that would’ve made it very difficult to come in, he explained that to me.

… In his words, he was very happy to be called in and was more than willing to come in if these situations had not occurred. But at the end of the day, the decision is going to be his… I have a feeling he’s going to play for us, he’s played for us since U-17, and I think in the end he’ll play for Canada.”

Hart mentioned that he spoke with Begovic in late May when Canada met Cyprus in a friendly. At that time, Begovic was unable to play after having to fill-in for injured Portsmouth regular David James.

Hart also added that while it’s always been a rumour, Begovic has never said anything to him about playing for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

SEE THE WHITECAPS IN ACTION...

Some slick moves from the 'Caps... including Full-Time favourite, Wes Knight.

WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT?

Many never could have believed that this would ever happen. Michael Owen has signed with Manchester United.

DAVID EDGAR AT BURNLEY

Full-Time reported it earlier in the week about David Edgar moving from Newcastle to English Premier League's newest side, Burnley. Here's a photo with his new manager and teammate.

ZIDANE UPDATE!!

After posting a story about the possibility of the Zidane game being cancelled, got word from Bob Mackin at 24 HOURS that the game will just be postponed to July 12th. The organizers have made this comment.

The game has sold about 8,000 tickets to date and could be moved from BC Place to Swangard Stadium. Details on how you can get a refund for those who cannot make the new date will be available shortly.

In other news, TEAM 1040's Joey Kenward, will be one of the referees for the match. Joey has worked local games around Vancouver along with PDL and USL games.

ZIDANE GAME IN TROUBLE IN VANCOUVER

The Zinedine Zidane charity soccer match scheduled for this weekend at BC Place is in danger of being cancelled after Zidane suffered a back injury.

Nick Smith, a spokesman with the game organizers, said the former French star injured his back after bending down to pick up his child during Wednesday nights fireworks display. The organizers expect to make a decision on Friday about whether the game should go ahead as planned. Smith told the Canadian Press that Zidane's chances of playing were "50-50."

The Zidane is understood to have gone through a physiotherapy session on Thursday, but may have pulled a tendon in his back and recovery usually takes up to a week.

EDGAR IS A CLARET

As we mentioned yesterday on the blog, David Edgar is set to sign with Burnley, now it appears official, as reported by the Burnley website.

Edgar will wear the number 15 shirt for Owen Coyle's squad and looks to be a regular in the squad throughout the season.

The Canadian International will earn close to £10,000 a week at Burnley, for whom he has already completed a medical, and crucially for the Canada international, has been guaranteed first-team football. Edgar was reluctant to sign a deal with Burnley after being at Newcastle since the age of 14 and having come through their academy.

Birmingham City had also shown interest in Edgar but the player opted for Burnley, who will play in England's top flight next season for the first time in 33 years. Despite the fact Edgar is a free agent, Newcastle are entitled to compensation as he is under 23 years of age and has come through their academy. The two clubs will begin discussions on the size of the fee today.

Two things I like about this move. Edgar gets to play regular first team football and he gets to do so, in the premier league. This is going to be fantastic for the Canadian National squad. It is only going to benefit the team down the road as they will now attempt to qualify for the 2014. The young players will have to step up.

The second thing is that it shows that some Canadians that play in a top league will continue to play for Canada. We reported earlier in the week that Asmir Begovic has decided to play for Bosnia and Herzegovina after the manager, Mirolsav "Ciro" Blazevic, told sportsport.ba that he had decided to play for them and not us. Now, I am still holding out hope (because Begovic hasn't played for B&H yet) that Edgar will give his fellow U-20 squad member a call and tell him that the two of them should be the ones to lead Canada to the big time. They are the next generation of players, actually the first generation of players. to truly lead Canada to glory.