Apologies for this severely late edition of Long Balls, blame it on the rain. There is not much to report related to Canadian footballers on the European front. All the big what if? promotion and relegation questions had already been answered heading into last weekend, with the exception of whether or not Blackburn would stay in the Premiership. And that was only a question that pertains to this column because Brampton-born David Hoilett's European future hung in the balance.
As you know, Hoilett scored the goal against Wolves that ultimately kept Blackburn in the Premiership. Watch it here at about the 1:00 mark.
As it stands, Canada can look forward to next season with the possibly of having Simeon Jackson playing in England's Premier League, and Rob Friend, Marcel de Jong and Kevin McKenna in the German Bundesliga. Throw in Atiba Hutchinson, who already plays for PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Eredivisie and that's potentially five players in the starting eleven playing at the top level of European competition. The aforementioned David Hoilett remains a wildcard.
That's where Canada stands. Below is some information on players who represent Canada's Concacaf rivals (outside the Big Two of USA and Mexico) and how their top European exports compare.
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Honduran midfielder Wilson Palacios has been placed on a list of 14 players made available for transfer this summer by Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp. That doesn't necessarily mean he'll depart from White Hart Lane, but the Honduran media is already speculating that he could end up in Serie A with Napoli.
Scottish player of the year Emilio Izaguirre has been linked with several big European clubs following his breakout year with Celtic. He told Honduran reporters earlier this week that he remains "100% with Celtic" and if something happens to change that it will be because the club decided to take action. Liverpool already declared interest on its official website, something which strikes Long Balls as being a bit odd.
Honduran duo Hendry Thomas and Maynor Figueroa will likely remain with Wigan in the Premier League next season. Thomas has already told the Honduran press as much and considering that Figueroa was also a regular performer Long Balls sees no reason why he wouldn't stay too.
And of note, the club Wigan beat on the last day of the season to stay in the Premier League? Stoke City, home of 26-year-old Trinidadian striker Kenwyne Jones. He managed nine goals in 34 appearances for 13-placed and FA Cup finalist Stoke this season, and Long Balls couldn't find even the flimsiest of Internet rumours to suggest he's going anywhere.
Hotshot Costa Rican and Twente striker Bryan Ruiz has been linked recently with moves to Villarreal CF and Seville FC in Spain, while Liverpool reportedly also covets the 25-year-old. He had nine goals in 27 appearances with second-place Twente this year.
Costa Rican Keeper Keylor Navas, who recently saw his Spanish club Albacete plunge into that country's third division, is reportedly being eyed up for a move to join countryman Ruiz at Twente.
The players mentioned above represent a rudimentary list of Central American/Caribbean players at the highest levels in Europe. The "highest levels" in this case being the arbitrarily-chosen leagues mentioned, with no slight intended to the leagues in Turkey, Portugal, Belgium or wherever else Concacaf players may be.
A quick glance through the Gold Cup rosters of El Salvador, Jamaica, Trinidad and a recent roster for Guatemala show that these countries simply don't have a whole heck of a lot of European representation. Does that make Canada a shoo-in to beat them? History has clearly shown that it does not.
On paper at least, Long Balls feels Canada's Euro-based players rank a fairly solid fourth in Concacaf behind those of Mexico, the USA and Honduras. Have we missed anyone? Please drop suggestions in the comment section.