As the European calendar slows over Christmas, few Canadians are making news on the pitch. Off of it however, Dwayne De Rosario has created a shitstorm of such epic proportions that he's probably done more to enhance TFC's profile among average Toronto-area sports fans than the club would by actually winning the MLS Cup.
Long Balls was never associated closely with phrases such as "strong analytical skills" and "detail oriented" while growing up, so despite spending the afternoon reading numerous reports about De Rosario's adventures, we remain unsure whether he is training with Celtic, whether he's on some kind of trial with Celtic, or whether he's just loitering around their training ground looking for photo ops with Freddie Ljungberg and chatting with Sun reporters desperate for stories over the Christmas holidays.
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Whatever it is Dwayne De Rosario is doing in Glasgow, it's a small shame that it overshadows yet another goal on Wednesday afternoon by Canada's ageless (well, actually he's 37) Tomasz Radzinski for Lierse in the Belgium top flight. That's 5 goals in 19 appearances this season.
On the subject of Canadian footballers abroad in 2011, here are the questions I'm interested in getting answers to.
What will happen with DeRo at Celtic? Is he good enough - both mentally and technically - to enjoy success in Scotland?
When will Simeon Jackson score again? (Last goal was October 23.) And when he does will he be able to keep it up and earn a regular spot in the first team at Norwich?
Will Tomasz Radzinski keep scoring in Belgium? And if he does will he be called to represent Canada at the Gold Cup or against Greece in February?
Will David Hoilett get more playing time under the new coach-slash-regime at Blackburn?
Can Jonathan de Guzman keep up his great start to the season with Mallorca in Spain?
Three Canadian national team regulars play on the top three teams in Bundesliga 2: Adam Straith, Rob Friend, Marcel de Jong. How many of them will win promotion to the Bundesliga and how many of them will get regular playing time there if they do?
Will Josh Simpson earn a transfer to a "big" club in Turkey like Fenerbahce? He's among the Süper Lig scoring leaders while his club Manisaspor occupies 12th spot.
Can Kevin McKenna bounce back from injury and get regular playing time again with Koln in the Bundesliga? (He's come on as a sub in their last two matches.)
Will Serb league regular Milan Borjan become a Canada regular in goal?
Will goalkeeper Haidar Al-Shaibani break his string of 19 subs bench appearances for Nimes in Ligue Deux and finally play some minutes?
Can striker Iain Hume maintain the form he's shown with Preston North End in the Championship? Will his loan be extended in the January transfer window or will he return to Barnsley?
Will Atiba Hutchinson get minutes in his natural central midfield position with PSV Eindhoven, or is he slowly becoming a rightback? (A position Canada needs help at.)
Will Isidro Sanchez finally break through with Puebla in the Mexican Primera League? And by "break through," I mean sit on the subs bench instead of being left off the team sheet entirely as he has been since September 19.
My beating-a-dead-horse routine with Sanchez aside, are there any Canadians playing in Mexico or Central/South America who will make us notice them in 2011? This excellent list on the Voyageurs' board shows a handful of Canada-eligible players on youth/reserve teams throughout South America.
Thanks to everyone who's read Long Balls so far this year. My apologies for being all over the map in terms of which players I'm writing about. It's been a work in progress as I try to make this column informative and at least mildly humorous. All the best in 2011~
Photo credit: Jean Farrugia