In the lead-up to the men's national team's upcoming World Cup qualifiers, we'll be taking a look at who should be getting the start for Canada in each area of the field. Agree? Disagree? Join the conversation in the comments section below. We'll be starting things off in the most natural of spots: Between the posts.
Since the retirement of Pat Onstad, the position of goalkeeper has been in flux for the Canadian team. Lars Hirschfeld is the presumptive #1, but since being unearthed by head coach Stephen Hart, Milan Borjan has made a strong case that he should be Canada's top choice. And let's not forget Kenny Stamatopoulos, who's been with the Canadian program (albeit sporadically) since 2001.
So, when it's all on the line, who gets the call?
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Lars Hirschfeld: In the same way that Onstad was the natural #1 once Craig Forrest retired, Hirschfeld has been biding his time behind Onstad for years. Many years. Believe it or not, he's been with the Canadian program since 2000, picking up 38 caps along the way. The 33-year-old has made 16 appearances for Valerenga in Norway this year, and is in mid-season form (the Norwegian league, like MLS, begins play in March).
Milan Borjan: It's been a tumultuous year for the 24-year-old, who first burst onto the Canadian scene last year. He transferred to Sivasspor in Turkey late last year but, after not winning the starter's job, was loaned out to Vaslui in Romania. There, he took control, recording a number of clean sheets to propel his team to a remarkable season-ending winning streak and a berth in next year's Champions League.
Kenny Stamatopoulos: After several years of being loaned out to several teams (including Toronto FC), Stamatopoulos has found a relatively stable spot with AIK in Sweden. Unfortunately, the 32-year-old has yet to feature prominently for his club side during that time.
What will Hart do?
As Ric Flair used to regularly pronounce, "to be the man, you've got to beat the man." While that hopefully doesn't mean a training-ground dust-up between Hirschfeld and Borjan, it does mean that, by virtue of his experience with the national team, the job is Hirschfeld's to lose. While Borjan has opened many eyes since joining the Canadian team -- particularly with his club-team momentum as of late -- you have to imagine Hart is going to dance with the one who brung him. Hirschfeld's likely the starter.
Squizz says:
Stamatopoulos puts them both in figure-four leglocks and steals the spot. Seriously, though, it's a tough one. The old cliche is that you've got to play the hot hand, especially when it comes to goalkeepers, so it's very tough not to lean towards Borjan. My heart says the momentum aspect would probably (hopefully) compensate for any drop-off in talent or experience between Hirschfeld and Borjan.
What do you think? Have I gotten it totally wrong? Let me know. Tomorrow, it's on to the back line.