CMNT: October Call Ups

It is still fairly early for the official announcement of who will be playing for the Canadian Mens National team in their two matches this October but in the day and age of social media and the internet we often learn a lot of the names that will be on that roster long before it is announced.  The news can break in any manor of ways including team sites, family members, or twitter posts.

 We have now started to get a few names coming out that are confirmed to have been called up for the October squad.  The first name that I came across was Olivier Occean.  Occean is a 29 year old native of Quebec who currently plays in Germany for SpVgg Greuther Fürth where he has been scoring at an impressive rate.  Occean has been with the Canadian national team and was supposed to be part of the squad in September but had to pull out with an injury.  This time around Canada will be hoping for him to stay fit and that his league scoring form will carry over to the national team.

 The second call up we have so far is probably the most surprising and exciting one that we have had in a while.  It is being reported on the site of FC Krylia Sovetov Samara, a Russian Premier League club, that 19 year old midfielder Joseph di Chiara has been called up by coach Stephen Hart.  This call up will likely come as a surprise to many who have never heard of di Chiara which is understandable considering that this will be his first chance to represent Canada at any level.  The 19 year old was over looked at the youth levels but for fans who have kept an eye on his progression he is someone they have been hoping would get a call.  He has the potential to one day be a difference in the midfield for Canada and by calling him now, and hopefully cap tying him Hart has ensured that the idea of playing for another country does not get the chance to cross his mind.  This last 4 games will give coach Hart a chance to have a closer look at a number of the young talents as well as cap tying them so hopefully di Chiara is not the last surprise name we hear on the October and November rosters.  For more discussion on di Chiara head over to the Voyageurs Message Boards for 20 pages of fun times!

A third name is now making the rounds and this time it is a young player from our very own Toronto FC.  Sources are suggesting, nothing I can link you to yet, that Ashtone Morgan will be getting a call up to play this fall.  The source is said to be a family member so this might just be credible enough to get excited.  The call would make sense considering that Mike Klukowski is likely to be out with an injury having only last 10 minutes in his last match.  Morgan would not be likely to get a start for the CMNT but getting him involved in the setup and possibly giving him a sub appearance that would cap tie him are all positives.  Toronto FC almost never announces who is leaving before the official roster comes out so I do not expect any confirmation coming from the club. 

I will update this post with more names as they come out so keep an eye on this page for all the latest news concerning the roster for October.