Canada’s men’s national team has announced its extended 23-player roster for the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Coach Stephen Hart and his team will meet this week near Los Angeles, CA to begin preparations for the confederation championship which runs this 3-26 July in 13 different American cities.

'I am looking forward to the challenge of another CONCACAF Gold Cup,' says head coach Stephen Hart. 'We will have a strong midfield and strong backline.'

In the opening group phase, Canada plays 3 July in Los Angeles against Jamaica, 7 July in Columbus against El Salvador, and 10 July in Miami against Costa Rica. Of the 12 teams in the competition, eight teams advance to the elimination phase. Should Canada advance, it will play in the quarter-final stage on 18 or 19 July in Philadelphia or Dallas, the semi-final stage on 23 July in Chicago, and the final on 26 July in New York.

Two years ago at the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Canada reached the semi-final stage before falling to the eventual champions USA. Canada previously reached the semi-final stage in 2002 and was confederation Gold Cup champions in 2000.

Canada’s extended roster features 11 players from that 2007 team, including 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup most valuable player Julian de Guzman. Three other players have taken part in previous editions of the CONCACAF Gold Cup while nine players could make their CONCACAF Gold Cup debut this July. The “new” players, however, have international experience including the most recent cycle of FIFA World Cup™ Qualifiers.

Paul Stalteri is the most experienced player on the team with 73 career international appearances. Stalteri and Richard Hastings are Canada’s all-time co-leaders with 17 appearances at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Hastings is the second oldest player on the team, one month younger than goalkeeper Greg Sutton.

Jaime Peters, 22, is the youngest player on the 2009 team. While he didn’t take part in the 2007 edition, he did take part in the 2005 edition when he became Canada’s youngest player at a CONCACAF Gold Cup (he was 17 at the time). Simeon Jackson (also 22), Dejan Jakovic (23) and Joshua Wagenaar (24) come into the tournament with one national appearance to date. Of note, Jackson scored in his debut on 30 May 2009 in Larnaka, Cyprus (a 1:0 win over Cyprus).

Stephen Hart is taking part in his second CONCACAF Gold Cup as coach of the men’s national team. Including the most recent 1:0 victory over Cyprus, his record as coach of the national team is six wins, one draw and four losses.

CANADA
1- G- Greg Sutton | unattached / sans club
2- D- Adrian Cann | DEN / Esbjerg fB
3- D/M- Mike Klukowski | BEL / Club Brugge KV
4- D- André Hainault | USA / Houston Dynamo
6- M- Julian de Guzman | ESP / Deportivo La Coruna
5- D/F- Kevin McKenna | GER / 1. FC Köln
7- D/M- Paul Stalteri | GER / Borussia Mönchengladbach
8- M- Marcel de Jong | NED / Roda JC
9- F- Ali Gerba | CAN / Toronto FC
10- M/F- Willi Johnson | USA / Real Salt Lake
11- D- Richard Hastings | SCO / Inverness CT
12- M- Issey Nakajima-Farran | DEN / FC Nordsjælland
13- M- Atiba Hutchinson | DEN / F.C. København
14- D- Dejan Jakovic | USA / DC United
15- M/F- Josh Simpson | GER / FC Kaiserslautern
16- F- Simeon Jackson | ENG / Gillingham FC
17- D/M- Jaime Peters | ENG / Ipswich Town FC
18- G- Joshua Wagenaar | ENG / Yeovil Town
19- D/M- Kevin Harmse | CAN / Toronto FC
20- M- Patrice Bernier | DEN / FC Nordsjælland
21- M- Chris Pozniak | SCO / Dundee FC
22- G- Kenny Stamatopoulos | NOR / FC Lyn Oslo (on loan from Tromsø I.L.)
23- F- Charles Gbeke | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Head Coach / Entraîneur-chef : Stephen Hart
Assistant Coach / Entraîneur adjoint : Tony Fonseca
Goalkeeper coach / Entraîneur des gardiens : Paul Dolan
Manager / Gérant : Morgan Quarry
Physiotherapist / Physiothérapeute : Ted Tilbury
Equipment Manager / Gérant des équipements : Mike Moretto
Head of delegation / Chef de délégation : Victor Montagliani