The arrival of Julian De Guzman in Ottawa will surely make waves around the Canadian soccer world, and so it should. The signing after all is the largest Fury has ever made, and it will bring a current Canadian Men’s National Team player to Lansdowne Park, helping bring Ottawa Fury into the Canadian soccer fold.

Two weeks ago Fury coach Marc Dos Santos dropped hints of a deal being in the works, suggesting that perhaps a roster spot could be open if the right player came along, following the departure of Omar Jarun, who was likely on fairly high wages. Last Friday, Steve Sandor had an article in which De Guzman said he had some offers on the table from NASL clubs, and it was a safe guess from there that Ottawa was likely one of them. It seems as though the midfielder will join the club after a failed trial at Columbus.

De Guzman will be the eight Canadian player to sign with the squad for this year, following a 2014 where Fury had 11 Canadians and led clubs globally in Canadian players minutes played. The eleven from last season include players such as Chad Bush, Zakaria Messoudi, Kenny Caceros and Andres Fresenga, all of whom play little to no games for Fury FC. This season things are much different, with last season’s most consistent starting Canadians, Mason Trafford and Drew Beckie, battling for starting positions and Mauro Eustaquio and Patyrk Misik both battling for more time. De Guzman will likely be the leading Canadian in minutes played this season.

Marc Dos Santos had said last season that he felt the Canadian Men’s National Team coaching staff, and perhaps Floro himself, were ignoring Ottawa Fury and had yet to reach out to anyone at the club.

Just this past month, Canadian Soccer News reporter Namu Yoon captured a photo of Floro and Dos Santos chatting following a preseason friendly between Fury and Toronto FC II. This is, as far as anyone can tell, the first communication between the two coaches.

In a February interview with Marc, he told me “If you would tell me Marc, just fill a team with only Canadians to give opportunities to play at the highest level, it would be great. But for that to happen you really need to feel you are 100% supported. It’s important to have Canadian content, but at the end of the day I think fans want the team to be successful and do well.” The De Guzman signing will likely help Fury FC earn from support from the CSA, an organization Dos Santos has said he has nothing but the utmost respect for.

The signing of De Guzman will certainly force Floro and his Canadian coaching staff to look at Ottawa, with the midfielder being recently being named captain to the National Team roster for upcoming friendlies. De Guzman was the only player named to the roster who remained unattached. Nana Attakora, who recently signed with San Antonio, failed to make the roster, as did FC Edmonton’s Hanson Boakai, meaning De Guzman will be the only NASL player in the Canadian National Team.

Dos Santos will be proud to bring in not only a top player with a big name and experience, but also a Canadian who plays internationally. The ambitions of Dos Santos have always been to grow the game as much as he can, and by bringing in Canadians he hopes to not only give them a chance to play professionally and succeed for the club, but also in return for their country. Attention drawn to De Guzman may also get the likes of Misik, Mauro and Haworth looked at as well.

Dos Santos is dedicated to building the beautiful game in Canada both from a club level and a national level. When I asked about his desire to coach the Canadian National Team one day, Dos Santos simply replied “There is no doubt in my head.” He then very confidently said “I am very truthful in what I say about Canadian soccer, and where it is. But it has to be clear to everyone, it’s a dream, a passion, and almost an obsession (of mine) to coach Canada. No doubt in my mind.”

De Guzman will bring experience that will no doubt help the team on the pitch and help the squad chase a spot in the NASL Championship. His presence will also help Fury bring in fans and put names on the back of jerseys; as supporters will no doubt be excited to see the Canadian midfielder play. But perhaps most importantly, De Guzman will help keep Ottawa Fury in line with Dos Santos’ vision of being a proud Canadian club with a strong Canadian roster. There is a lot of importance put on foreign players and their limited number of spots in the squad, but what Dos Santos is doing is targeting Canadians equally, if not more so than Americans for his roster, in a league where both nationalities are considered domestic for roster positions.

Dos Santos is an extremely well planned out individual who knows what he wants, and plans how to get it. There is no doubt he will be very happy to metaphorically kill several birds with one stone by bringing in a player who is Canadian, will improve the team and will draw attention to the club for all the right reasons. Well played Dos Santos