SoccerThe other side of the Asmir Begovic story

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Asmir Begovic, the Portsmouth goalkeeper currently on loan with Ipswich Town, has been vilified in certain quarters for "turning his back" on the Canadian national team in order to play for the country of his birth, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Begovic was born in Trebinje, Yugoslavia - what is now Bosnia-Herzegovina - but grew up in Edmonton. He has previously played for Canada at the U-20 level, and he has been involved with the Canadian Olympic team, as well as the senior national team.

However, he never played in a competitive fixture for the senior team, which allowed him to switch his allegiance to Bosnia-Herzegovina.

If you believe some of the things that have been written about Begovic, you would think he should be hung, drawn and quartered for committing high treason.

More than one side to this story

Yet I had the chance to speak with Begovic on Monday, and he tells a very different story - one that sounds very familiar when it comes to talented Canadians playing abroad.

According to Begovic, he wanted nothing more than to play for Canada, and often went against the wishes of his club over the years in order to do so.

That has become part and parcel of being a Canadian international. European clubs don't want you to fly halfway around the world to play for an inferior soccer nation such as Canada. They would prefer that you didn't play international soccer at all and instead focus all of your attentions on playing for your club.

After the firing of coach Dale Mitchell in March, Begovic said that he was told that the Canadian Soccer Association was going to start planning ahead by giving the younger players an opportunity to gain valuable experience by playing games, something that hasn't really happened. Canada has only played two friendlies in addition to four games at the Gold Cup in the last 12 months.

I asked Begovic if he felt as though the CSA made an effort to convince him that his international future should involve wearing a Maple Leaf on his jersey, and he replied that he has had very little contact with anyone from Canadian soccer. He also said that in the past, he has gone over a year without hearing anything from anyone involved with Canadian soccer.

Lack of communication

Now, you might be of the opinion that it is down to Begovic to stay true to his word, as he has previously stated that he had no intention of playing for anyone other than Canada - and you wouldn't be alone in that opinion.

You may also believe that the CSA gave Begovic every opportunity over the years to don the Canadian jersey, and that his decision to play elsewhere is down to no one but himself - that is certainly the answer that you will get from anyone involved with the national side.

But here is an interesting piece of information that might influence your opinion - the CSA was warned about Begovic's situation months ago.

I received a phone call from my former agent in the U.K. prior to Canada's game against Cyprus in May. He gave me some information about one of his clients - Asmir Begovic - who hadn't been called up for the Cyprus game.

He told me that the English FA had asked him whether there was a possibility that Begovic could obtain English citizenship. At the time, Begovic was regarded as the best goalkeeper under the age of 21 in the U.K., and if he were to obtain an English passport, he would very likely be selected to play for the England U-21s.

I passed that information on to the Canadian national team through the necessary channels, and it was met with relative indifference. There was certainly no urgency to seek a commitment from Begovic, nor was there any real fear that Canada was in danger of losing one of its players.

Not an ideal world

Now, I'm not suggesting that we roll out the red carpet for every talented player that has a link to our country. If the player doesn't want to play for Canada, no amount of coddling will change the player's mind.

I also don't think that players should be dictating terms to the national team. It should be an honour to wear the jersey of your country, and in an ideal world, players would be lining up to join our national team program.

But we don't live in an ideal world, and playing for the Canadian team is more of a hardship and a hindrance to a career in Europe than it is a benefit.

We don't have enough talented players in our system to let the ones we do have slip through our fingers. Begovic wanted to play for Canada and is exactly the kind of player that we should have done more to keep hold of.

Talented goalkeepers are very hard to come by, and since the retirement of Craig Forrest in 2002, Canada has struggled to find someone even remotely capable of filling his boots.

Perhaps Begovic could have been that someone. But that depends on which side of the story you've heard.

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