Born in Brampton, Canada, the 20-year-old speedy right winger has been on a tear since January, scoring four goals and adding one assist. As promising as Hoilett’s future appears, one question remains: will he play for the Canadian soccer team in the Gold Cup?
New York Red Bulls attacking midfielder and fellow Canadian Dwayne De Rosario believes that the talented youngster should be proud to represent the country where he’s from and that joining the national team would be huge for the future of Canadian soccer.
“It’s his country, it’s where he’s from. I don’t think you need anything more than that,” explained De Rosario exclusively to Goal.com. “I think he would bring inspiration to the youth. They would aspire to be picked by the national team. He brings experience of playing overseas, a young guy growing through the youth development. He can be the future.”
Hoilett hasn’t been involved with the Canadian soccer youth program and he has the option to play for the Jamaican national soccer team as well. While Jamaica isn’t a traditional power in international soccer, one major claim that it has over Hoilett’s home country is that it has qualified for the World Cup in his lifetime back in 1998. Canada’s only appearance in the tournament came in 1986, four years before Hoilett was born.
Still, if Hoilett were to join the Canadian Men’s National Team for the Gold Cup it could be a potentially lucrative decision. Canada will be covered by major media outlets ranging from TSN to Rogers Sportsnet. Jamaica doesn’t have the resources to compete and Hoilett would have the chance to become a marketable star.
Despite those factors, De Rosario says there are no guarantees that Hoilett will join the Canucks. He admits he was a little surprised when Teal Bunbury turned down the chance to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“It’s not easy, we played against another guy today, whose dad played for the national team and yet he decided to play for the US,” said De Rosario. “That’s a big statement especially considering the competitive nature of both countries. In the end, these guys do what’s best for them and their careers.”
De Rosario hasn’t been involved with recruiting the young Blackburn player but he says that Canada’s coaching staff has been aggressive in their pitch. The 32-year-old believes that in order for the country to make significant improvements, it has to revamp its organizational structure. De Rosario admits that the lack of investment is hindering the country in making progress.
“We need to create an environment for the youth where they want to stay,” De Rosario. “We’ve got to create camps and things like that. We need proper facilities, all of those things where the players come back and feel like they haven’t left much behind as compared to their club’s facilities. Sometimes when you go back to Canada, you feel like you’ve gone down a couple of levels. It shouldn’t be like that on the national level. “
De Rosario points to the immense progress that the United States has had over the past decade as a model that Canada should emulate. He remembers when the United States used to be irrelevant on the international level. Once the investment came, the team now consistently qualifies for the World Cup. De Rosario would like to see the Canadian Soccer Federation implement the same changes. If they succeed, he believes that talents like Bunbury won’t slip through the cracks.
“It’s never been a thing of talent. It’s always been a thing of the organization stepping up and really facilitating the Men’s National Team and taking the sport seriously in our country,” said De Rosario. “That’s what we have to do, like the US has. They’ve taken the sport really serious and they’ve put a lot of money into it and you see the benefits from it. Canada needs to wake up and do the same.”
He added, “We have to continue to grow our national team and grow these guys in our country. There are a lot of other Hollets and Bunburys growing up in cities like Toronto, we need to tap into those kids and get them as early as possible. “
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Dwayne De Rosario: Junior Hoilett can be the future of Canadian soccer