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“I want to approach every game as if it is a final and I am confident we have the depth,” he said. ‘That is why I am focussing only on Minnesota. I’m not close to thinking about Edmonton or anyone else.”

Minnesota is a club with high-flying intentions. In March it was awarded Major League Soccer’s 23rd franchise. It will change leagues in 2018 and plans to build a soccer-specific stadium in downtown Minneapolis. For now it is concentrating on building its reputation in the NASL, spending more heavily on players than most clubs, Ottawa included.

Major players to watch are the midfield duo of Brazilian Ibson and American Miguel Ibarra. Ibson has Spartak Moscow on his resume and Ibarra is coming off playing for the U.S. team that beat Mexico 2-0 on Wednesday.

And Ottawa fans should keep an eye on forward Christian Ramirez who scored in all four games against the Fury in 2014.

“Minnesota has arguably the best players in the league,” Dos Santos said. “They are a very skilled team and very oriented to a good possession game. But we do also and I’m confident on good days we can beat anyone in this league.”

Ottawa fans can expect to catch their first glimpse of De Guzman in a Fury shirt.

Earlier in the week the Canadian national team captain spoke at length about how excited he is to be playing for a Canadian team in general and the Fury in particular.

He has played 78 times for his country and featured in many major games for leading clubs in Spain, German and in the MLS. But he admitted he expects to have butterflies in his stomach when he takes the field for the home opener.