The father of Jonathan de Guzman, one of Canada's most talented soccer players, says the chaos in the Canadian Soccer Association continues to discourage his son from playing for Canada's national team.

"If the CSA wasn't in such a horrible state, he would've played for Canada by now. I don't know that for a fact, but it's just a strong feeling I have," Bobby de Guzman told Tom Harrington of CBC News.

Jonathan de Guzman, left, has been living and playing in the Netherlands since he was 12.
(Getty Images)

De Guzman is a star with Feyenoord in the Dutch first division and last week was named one of the league's best players at the season's midway point. The native of Scarborough, Ont., has been living and playing in the Netherlands since he was 12.

In the past year, the CSA has endured the sudden resignation of its president; became embroiled in a lawsuit over the hiring of a new chief operating officer; was second-guessed after it hired Dale Mitchell as national team coach; and then watched Mitchell lead the team to three straight losses at the FIFA U-20 World Cup last summer, which Canada hosted.

Bobby de Guzman said his son likes to spend free time in Toronto and came home for a brief visit over the New Year but that the 20-year-old midfielder still hasn't decided whether to play for the Netherlands or Canada. A year ago, he declined an invitation to play for Canada at the U-20 World Cup.

The Canadian national team is currently 56th in the FIFA world rankings; the Netherlands is 9th.

Canadian soccer fans are closely following de Guzman's career because they, along with many experts, believe he could be an impact player for Canada's national team as it begins the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign in June. Jonathan's older brother, Julian, a starter with Deportivo La Coruna in Spain's top division, is already a member of the national team and was named top player at the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament last summer.

Meanwhile, another development could raise alarm bells for Canadian soccer officials: Jonathan de Guzman has been approached to don Dutch colours at the Beijing Olympics in August.

"Jonathan will likely get his Dutch passport next week," said his father. "But if he decides to play for the Dutch in China, it wouldn't affect his eligibility to play for Canada or the Netherlands in the future because the Olympics is a junior tournament (under-23)."

Obtaining a European Union passport would make de Guzman eligible to move to other clubs during the current transfer period, which closes at the end of the month. But his father says any move is unlikely.

"We think he should probably finish the season with Feyenoord, and then we'll re-hash his options during the summer," he said.