Radzinski to captain Canada against Hungary in soccer friendly

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This article was published 14/11/2006 (6913 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

(CP) – Canada is hurting ahead of Wednesday’s soccer friendly in Hungary, leaving acting coach Stephen Hart scrambling to find players to fill the bench.

Captain and defender Kevin McKenna has pulled out because he is recovering from a bout of flu. And attacking midfielder Dwayne De Rosario (foot) and defender-midfielder Adrian Serioux (knee) stayed at home after picking up injuries Sunday while helping the Houston Dynamo win the MLS Cup.

With only 17 players called up for the game, that meant Hart found himself with only one goalie and two outfield players as subs.

“We’ve gone through a little rough period,” Hart said Tuesday from the team hotel in Budapest.

“Quite frankly, everybody here is just stunned at how many injuries people have all of a sudden run into.”

Ipswich midfielder Jaime Peters has been called in and Hart was hoping to overcome resistance from German club Kaiserlautern to bring in midfielder Josh Simpson.

Several other possible reinforcements have been ruled out by injury.

Hart’s hands are further tied by a demand from FC Copenhagen that midfielder Atiba Hutchinson only play 45 minutes. The Danish club plays Portugal’s Benfica in Champions League play next Tuesday.

With McKenna out, Hart has given 32-year-old Fulham striker Tomasz Radzinski the captain’s armband.

“In the last few games under Frank (Yallop) he showed excellent leadership in the dressing room,” said Hart. “He showed leadership through his performance.

“This has continued under myself as interim (coach) and I think he deserves the opportunity.”

Said Radzinski: “I guess I’m the oldest guy on the team and probably with the most experience … I’d be really happy to contribute (as captain).”

The captaincy speaks volumes for how Radzinski’s relationship with the national team program has evolved. Former coach Holger Osieck barred the forward from the national team when he failed to show up for Gold Cup qualifying in’99. Osieck later relented and Radzinski has gone on to become a loyal member of the squad.

The Hungary game marks the third and last outing of Hart’s stint as acting coach. Canada split the first two games, against Jamaica.

The Canadian Soccer Association is looking for a permanent coach with Hart and under-20 manager Dale Mitchell seen as leading domestic candidates.

One new face on Hart’s roster is Issey Nakajima-Farran, a 22-year-old midfielder from Calgary who plays for Vejle Boldklub in Denmark.

The Hungary game marks a return for midfielder Tam Nsaliwa, now playing for Palonius in Greece. Nsaliwa has 10 caps for Canada but has not suited up for the national team since 2003.

“He’s smiling, he’s buzzing round. It’s good,” Hart said of Nsaliwa.

Incumbent Greg Sutton and Josh Wagenaar are the goalies in camp, but Hart says expect to see former No. 1 Lars Hirschfeld back in the future.

Hart said Hirschfeld had been called up for the Hungary game and would probably have started if he had not been forced to drop out with a nagging injury.

Defender Richard Hastings is another possible veteran who may return to the fold down the line, Hart said. Hastings, who has 36 caps, has also not played for Canada in three years but is interested in making a comeback.

Hart said he decided not to use the rash of injuries to call up Hastings because he did not want to make it look like a last-minute decision to have the Inverness Caledonian Thistle player rejoin the national team program.

Hungary is ranked 76th in the world, compared to No. 71 for Canada.

The Hungarians are sixth in their European qualifying group with three points from four games, having lost 2-1 to Malta, 1-0 to Turkey, 4-1 to Norway and beaten Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-1.

Peter Varhidi, manager of the Hungarian under-19 squad, will coach the Hungarians against Canada in the wake of Peter Bozsik’s resignation last month following the loss to No. 111 Malta.

Varhidi named 11 uncapped players in his squad for Canada. The roster includes striker Zoltan Gera (West Brom, England) and midfielder Attila Filkor (Inter Milan, Italy).

The last time the two met was at the’86 World Cup finals in Mexico in a game won 2-0 by Hungary.