Kickin’ It With David - Blog Entry #2

STAND UNITED


As you know I'm in Toronto, more specifically Brampton where my family lives now. Coming home after being away for a while is always nice and I'm enjoying every second of it. From my sister's birthday and celebrating it with my whole family and close friends to seeing my friends play with the national team.
This past Tuesday Canada played against Puerto Rico at BMO field. I don't want to talk to you guys about the result or what I thought about the game, I just want to tell you guys about the feeling I get every time I step in that stadium. It's the field where I made my professional debut, the first time I stepped onto the pitch of a sold out stadium. I get reminded of that every single time I'm there. When I see guys playing it makes me want to suit up and jump in, the crowds vibe gets me hyped up and ready to go every single time. For those of you who have been to an FC Edmonton game, remember how loud it gets and the emotion you feel when one of our guys scores. Now imagine what it's like when you multiply that by 10, it's an overwhelming sound and sight. It's an amazing feeling.



Its been a while since I was that nervous 18 year old kid making my debut against Aston Villa (of the English Premiership). Luckily since then I've experienced playing in a few stadiums with 10,000 plus spectators. Having a crowd behind you in a facility more suited for a professional environment makes a big difference. For me I'd best describe the feeling as... motivating. Having all the supporters scream the team's name with such passion and belief gives me a sense of urgency to do well and not let my team or supporters down. I'm confident in saying that this is something my teammates and I would really like to have in our home. And this is what I'm getting to, Edmonton is set to be one of the host cities for both the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014 and the full Women's World Cup in 2015. With those announcements came the expressed interest of mayor Mandel to work with FC Edmonton to build a soccer specific facility for the world cups that eventually will become our home. This obviously got me excited and eager to be a part of the whole process. I just hope you guys share my excitement and Stand United to help us get to where we can continue to be a good example of pro soccer in Canada. This I can very easily say can become a dream come true. Growing up I always thought playing professionally would take me away from Canada and now thanks to the growth of soccer, it's no longer the case.

Doing this blog is something I enjoy and im sure everyone can enjoy. Find out what's going on on a day to day basis by following me on twitter @davidamonsalve. This week will be an interesting one, as I'm working on a few projects and as I'll be starting my training soon. Feel free to send me feedback, suggestions, questions or anything at all to my twitter. I'll make sure I respond personally or answer any questions in the upcoming entry.

Kick it wit you next time.....



@davidamonsalve

Kickin’ It With David - Blog Entry #1

A LITTLE SOMETHING...

Hey everyone, I'm David. A goalkeeper for FC Edmonton. And the Canadian National team. I love the game of football, I love what I do and this a little something for you guys to read, I want everyone to know a little more about myself and give you guys a bit of an insight of what really happens with the team and more specifically ME.

I've been with the team for almost 3 months and since then I've been a part of wins, losses, draws and all in order to battle for a playoff spot. I even got to play the last game of the regular season against the Montreal Impact despite my late arrival to the team. Playing that game in front of 12,000 plus people is always fun and one of the reasons why I love what I do. This experience has been nothing but good so far and I have no doubt it'll only get better.

Like I was telling you, we made the playoffs. The first game had us playing an away game in Fort Lauderdale. We went on to the pitch with confidence and excitement. Unfortunately our playoff run was cut short after losing our first game. It was tough for us to swallow after feeling like we had the potential to win it all. But even though it was tough we quickly brushed it off and looked forward to the upcoming season.

We regrouped days later to discuss the vision and our plans for the near future. But like all things, a new year means many changes. This of course means some guys were let go as they didn't fit in to what the club has planned for the upcoming season. This is never a fun situation and never in my 5 years of playing professionally have I felt so attached to a group than I do to the players and staff we had this past season. Even though my time with the team has been short, I quickly got along with all the guys. I want to wish the guys who won't be with us next season the best of luck wherever this wonderful game takes them (except against us).

Now that the season's behind us, we've been given some time off to relax and prepare for next year. This for me means I get to have some fun away from football. I've already left Edmonton and very quickly got back into the fast paced life Toronto has to offer. Toronto is a beautiful city where a lot happens. I invite you to keep checking up on me through this blog, it's going to be fun. I plan on including pictures and videos along with my blog entries. I'll be talking about everything from what I do during the week to what's going on with FC Edmonton and the national team. I look forward to sharing my life with you, stick around and I promise you'll be entertained.

Also follow me on twitter for a day to day look of what I'll be up to. Now I have to go as I have to cheer on my friends and fellow teammates as they take on St.Lucia in World Cup Qualifications.

Kick it with you next time.....

DM

Update...

I was suppose to do this a long time ago, but I get a bit lazy haha.
well here is the latest with "How I'm Living" and how I was living during my break at home...... Enjoy

Comming soon....

I've been slacking when it comes to blogging. It's been because I've only been in Finland a week now and since my arrival I've been really busy settling in.
Any ways, soon I will be posting up pictures and stuff about my time at home and the many events that took place during that time. I'll also be talking about my first game with the mens national team and my whole experience as well as writing about how I'm looking forward to the beginning of the season. so don't forget to CHECK IT OUT!
-David

vs Jamaica

CSA Release

Canada announces roster for January match against Jamaica

Canada's men's national soccer team announced its roster today for the upcoming camp in USA and Jamaica. The camp runs 18 January through 1 February and includes the international friendly match against Jamaica on 31 January. Coach Stephen Hart has selected 17 players for this first camp of the 2010 season.

"We brought in many young players for a number of reasons," said head coach Stephen Hart. "We want them to experience an international senior camp and become familiar with our methods. We also want to observe them in an international match."

Canada's lineup features players whose clubs are currently on a winter break. A number of players were not available for selection because of ongoing club seasons in Europe as well as winter tournaments during the break. Canada is expected to add another goalkeeper to its lineup before the start of camp.

Of those 17 players selected, six of them come from Canadian clubs - five from Toronto FC of MLS and one from the Impact de Montréal of the newly-formed USSF-2 NASL division. Beyond the 11 players on North American clubs, there are five players from European clubs and one player from a South American club.

Of note, four players have received their first call to the full national team: goalkeeper David Monsalve of FC Inter Turku, defender Nana Attakora of Toronto FC, midfielder Carlo Rivas of Club Deportivo Universidad de Concepción, and midfielder Massih Wassey of FC Schalke 04 II.

Canada's national team will be in Ft. Lauderdale, FL from 18-29 January and then in Kingston from 29 January to 1 February. Coach Hart hopes to see as many players as possible in the 31 January match against Jamaica.

"Jamaica at home is very strong, as it demonstrated two years ago in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers," said coach Hart. "The opportunity to view our players in such a match is ideal."

In 2008, Jamaica won all three of its home matches in the semi-final stage of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, including a 3:0 win over Canada. Like Canada, Jamaica did not advance beyond the so-called CONCACAF "Group of Death". In 2009, Canada and Jamaica again faced each other as group opponents, this time at the 2009 CONCACAF
Gold Cup in Carson, CA. Canada won that match 1:0 on a goal by Ali Gerba. This time, Canada advanced to the quarter-final stage while Jamaica failed to advance beyond the group phase.

CANADA

G- Monsalve, David | FIN / FC Inter Turku | Brampton, ON, CAN
D- Attakora, Nana | CAN / Toronto FC | North York, ON, CAN
D- Cann, Adrian | DEN / Esbjerg fB | Thornhill, ON, CAN
D- Hainault, André | USA / Houston Dynamo | Hudson, QC, CAN
D- Hemming, Tyler | CAN / Impact de Montréal | London, ON, CAN
D- Sidra, Eddy | GER / FC Energie Cottbus | Edmonton, AB, CAN
D/M- Jakovic, Dejan | USA / DC United | Etobicoke, ON, CAN
D/M- Jazic, Ante | USA / Chivas USA | Bedford, NS, CAN
D/M- Serioux, Adrian | CAN / Toronto FC | Scarborough, ON, CAN
M- Ribeiro, Antonio | USA / San Jose Earthquakes | Montréal, QC, CAN
M- Rivas, Carlo | CHI / Club Deportivo Universidad de Concepción | Toronto, ON CAN
M- Wassey, Massih | GER / FC Schalke 04 | Calgary, AB, CAN
M- de Guzman, Julian | CAN / Toronto FC | Scarborough, ON, CAN
M- De Rosario, Dwayne | CAN / Toronto FC | Scarborough, ON, CAN
F- Johnson, Will | USA / Real Salt Lake | Toronto, ON, CAN
F- Gerba, Ali | CAN / Toronto FC | Montréal, QC, CAN
F- Ademolu, Stephen | LTU / FK Ekranas | Windsor, ON, CAN


Head of delegation / Chef de délégation : Steve Reed

Head Coach / Entraîneur-chef : Stephen Hart
Assistant Coach / Entraîneur adjoint : Tony Fonseca
Goalkeeper coach / Entraîneur des gardiens : Paul Dolan
Video Coordinator / Coordinateur de vidéo : Vic Mendes
Manager / Gérant : Morgan Quarry
Equipment Manager / Gérant des équipements : Ryan Bedic
Doctor / Docteur : Dr. John Philpott
Physiotherapist / Physiothérapeute : Garret Kusch
Physiotherapist / Physiothérapeute : Dave Foley

Toronto snow fall timelapse

This Video via 1LOVETO

Toronto Pre-Winter Storm Timelapse, at Annette and Runnymede Streets from Torontoist on Vimeo.

Boxing Day Tournament

For More Info CLICK on the picture for more info