Julian Bobby de Guzman (born March 25, 1981) is a Canadian

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

executive and former professional player and coach who currently serves as the Sporting Director for the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

. A

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, De Guzman was the first Canadian to play in the Spanish

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

. While playing in Spain, he was voted 2007–08

Deportivo La Coruña ''Deportivo'' (Spanish, 'sporting') may refer to: * Deportivo de La Coruña, commonly known as simply Deportivo, a Spanish football club * Déportivo, a French rock band * Deportivo (Mexicable) Mexicable is an aerial lift line in Ecatepec de ...

Player of the Year. De Guzman has played at both the Canadian U-20 and Senior level, he was awarded the Canadian Player of the Year in 2008 and in 2007 became only the second Canadian international to be awarded the

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

Most Valuable Player. He was the all-time cap leader of the Canada national team from November 2015, when he surpassed

Paul Stalteri Paul Andrew Stalteri (born October 18, 1977) is a Canadian former professional soccer player who played as a defender or midfielder. He spent most of his professional career in Germany, winning the league and cup double with Werder Bremen in t ...

's previous record of 84 appearances, to November 2021, when

Atiba Hutchinson Atiba Hutchinson (born 8 February 1983) is a former Canadian professional Association football, soccer player. Considered an iconic figure of North American soccer and a Canada soccer legend, with 105 international appearances in the span of 20 ...

surpassed De Guzman's final tally of 89 caps. From 2013 to 2016, he was captain of the Canadian men's national team.

Club career

Europe

De Guzman was discovered by representatives of

Olympique Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; , ), also known simply as Marseille, or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional football club based in Marseille which competes in Ligue 1, the top flight of French football. Founded in 1899, OM has ...

while playing for the North Scarborough youth soccer club in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. After playing with Marseille's reserve side, de Guzman became a first-team player with

1. FC Saarbrücken 1. Fußball-Club Saarbrücken () is a German Football in Germany, football club based in Saarbrücken, Saarland. The club plays in the 3. Liga, which is the third tier of football in Germany. History The club began its existence as the footbal ...

in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

2. Bundesliga in the 2000–01 season, where he made two appearances, and in the 2001–02 season, where he made 19 appearances. In 21 appearances he never scored. In 2002, he joined newly promoted

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...

, becoming only the third Canadian to play in the German First

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

. He made 20 appearances during 2002–03 season and 32 appearances in both 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons. De Guzman's contract with Hannover expired in 2005 allowing him to move to any team with no transfer fee. He was heavily linked with a move to

Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...

where he would have joined Canadian captain

. He decided against the move to London due to the depth in the centre of mid-field, and instead chose to join

in Spain becoming the first Canadian to play in

. After playing a starring role in the club's remarkable turnaround in the 2007–2008 season to avoid relegation and gain a spot in the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

, de Guzman was named the team's player of the season. In 95 appearances he scored one goal. His only goal with Deportivo came in 2005 against the Spanish giants

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

. His contract with Deportivo expired in the summer of 2009.

Toronto FC

In September 2009 an agreement was reached with

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

for de Guzman to sign as a

designated player A designated player may refer to: *Designated Player Rule, a Major League Soccer rule for players over the salary cap *Designated player (NBA), a National Basketball Association exemption for contract extensions * Designated player (softball), a so ...

, becoming the first ever Canadian Designated Player in league history. His contract was worth $1,910,746 annually. The Canadian midfielder signed a three-year deal to play in MLS. De Guzman made his debut for the club in an away game against the

Los Angeles Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

on September 19, 2009. He finished the 2009 season with five appearances. De Guzman was able to convince former Deportivo teammate and friend Mista to join Toronto in July 2010. De Guzman was heavily criticized for his inconsistent performances as a designated player in the 2010 season making 36 appearances in all competitions. Much doubt was left over the future of de Guzman and Toronto on November 23 when the club failed to protect him for the 2010 MLS Expansion Draft, meaning

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

could select him if they were willing to take on a Designated Players Salary. However, he was untouched going through the sixth round when Vancouver selected

O'Brian White O'Brian White (born 14 December 1985) is a Jamaican former footballer who played as a forward. White played for Toronto FC and Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer (MLS) and appeared internationally for the Jamaica national football team ...

which allowed Toronto to protect one player for the remaining four rounds in which they protected de Guzman . On January 5, 2011, de Guzman revealed that he would be undergoing knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus which might have plagued his performance for the last quarter of the season. In January 2011, Toronto hired

Aron Winter Aron Mohammed Winter (born 1 March 1967) is a Dutch football manager and former player who most recently managed Suriname. A midfielder, he played for Ajax and Sparta Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and for Italian sides Lazio and Inter Milan. Born ...

as the head coach of the club to bring in a new style of possession soccer, many pundits believed that this new style would benefit de Guzman's abilities and allow him to succeed within the MLS. Ten days before the new season kicked off it was revealed that de Guzman would miss this first game against Vancouver and potentially a few more, due to Winter not wanting to aggravate the recent successful surgery. De Guzman scored his first goal for Toronto in

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

play against

Tauro FC The Tauro Fútbol Club is a professional soccer club based in the district of Pedregal east of Panama City, Panama. It was founded on 22 September 1984 and has participated in the Panamanian Football League (LPF) since 1988. Its founder, Gianca ...

August 18, 2011, the game ended in a 2–0 away victory.

FC Dallas

On July 13, 2012, de Guzman was traded to

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

in exchange for forward Andrew Wiedeman. De Guzman made his debut for Dallas against

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

on July 18, the game ended in a 2–1 away defeat. De Guzman scored his only goal for Dallas on September 15 against

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, a left footed volley more than 20 yards out six minutes into second half stoppage time. De Guzman remained with FC Dallas through the 2012 season. His contract expired after 2012 and the club made him available for the

2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft The two-stage 2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 7, 2012 (Stage 1), and December 14, 2012 (Stage 2). All 19 Major League Soccer clubs were eligible to participate. The Stage 1 and Stage 2 Drafts were conducted in the same order as th ...

in December 2012. de Guzman became a free agent after he went undrafted in both rounds of the draft.

Jahn Regensburg

On the last day of the 2012–13 winter transfer window, de Guzman joined

SSV Jahn Regensburg Sport- und Schwimmverein Jahn Regensburg e. V., commonly known as SSV Jahn Regensburg, Jahn Regensburg, SSV Jahn or simply Jahn, is a German football club based in Regensburg, Bavaria. The club plays their home games at Jahnstadion Regen ...

. He made his debut for the team on February 3, playing all 90 minutes in a 1–5 loss against

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...

. At the end of the season Jahn Regensburg was relegated from 2. Bundesliga, when De Guzman signed in January he had a clause that if they were relegated he would automatically become a free agent. He had made 15 appearances for the club.

Skoda Xanthi

Following the

2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 12th CONCACAF Gold Cup competition and the 22nd CONCACAF regional championship overall in CONCACAF's fifty years of existence. The United States was the host nation. The competition began on July 7, 2013, at the ...

in late July, de Guzman signed for

Skoda Xanthi Xanthi Football Club () is a Greek Association football, football club based in Xanthi, Western Thrace. They play their home matches at Skoda Xanthi Arena Founded in 1967, Xanthi is well set up in terms of their financial support and youth set ...

in the

Superleague Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repl ...

. His debut came in a third round

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

match against

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...

on August 1. He scored in the second leg of the series on August 8, but Skoda Xanthi would lose 4–2 on aggregate. He made his league debut for the club on August 17 in a 3–0 loss to

P.A.O.K. PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

After his contract expired, he looked for a club in or near Germany to be closer to his family, but he has not found anything as of yet.

Ottawa Fury

After several months without a club he was rumoured to be signing with

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

following a training spell with the MLS club, however a week later de Guzman signed with Ottawa Fury of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

on March 27, 2015. He made his debut on April 4 against the

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Carolina Railhawks. On December 6, 2016, the RailH ...

. On December 16, 2015, de Guzman re-signed with Ottawa for the 2016 season. He was subsequently named captain of the club on March 9, 2016.

International career

De Guzman played at the

2001 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Argentina between 17 June and 8 July 2001. The 2001 championship was the 13th contested. The tournament took part in six cities, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Mendoza, Rosario, Salta, and Mar del ...

in Argentina, alongside

and Mike Klukowski among others. He made his senior debut for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in a January 2002

match against

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

. By July 2015, he earned a total of 82 caps, scoring 4 goals. He has represented Canada in 22

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...

matches. In Canada's opening match of the

2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the ninth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF), and was won by the United States over Mexico. It was contested in the United States from J ...

, de Guzman scored twice to help defeat

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

2–1. After the conclusion of the

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...

, de Guzman was named tournament MVP. De Guzman was also chosen in the 23-man roster for the

2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the tenth edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition, and the twentieth soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). It was played from July 3 to 26, 2009 in the United Stat ...

, Canada won group A with seven points before being knocked out by

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

in the quarter finals. He was later chosen in the all-tournament team along with fellow Canadian Michael Klukowski, this was the second time in a row he has been selected for this competition. On June 1, 2011, in a friendly against

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

in the last minutes of play Canada was down 2–1 when de Guzman played a clever yet controversial quick free kick just outside the 18 yard box to

Tosaint Ricketts Tosaint Antony Ricketts (born 6 August 1987) is a Canadian former professional association football, soccer player who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Club career Early career Ricketts was one of the top short-distance ...

who put in the net for his first ever international goal leading the Canadian team to a well earned draw. De Guzman earned his fiftieth cap for Canada's senior men's team on October 7, 2011, in a dominating 7–0 victory over

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

in a

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA#Structure, FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil national football team, Bra ...

match at

Beausejour Stadium The Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, previously the Beausejour Cricket Ground, is a cricket ground located near Gros Islet, Saint Lucia standard seating capacity of 15,000. It was completed in 2002. Originally named after the Beausejour hills and si ...

. On November 17, 2015, de Guzman started for Canada against

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

in a 2018 World Cup qualifying match and overtook

as Canada's most capped player in history earning his 85th cap.

Coaching and executive career

On January 30, 2017, de Guzman announced his retirement from soccer and his transition to an assistant coaching position with the Ottawa Fury. On August 15, 2017, de Guzman was named interim head coach until the end of the 2017 season after the resignation of head coach

Paul Dalglish Paul Kenneth Dalglish (born 18 February 1977) is a Scottish former professional footballer. Playing career Dalglish, son of former Scotland international Kenny Dalglish, was born in Glasgow though spent his childhood in Liverpool where his fa ...

. On December 21, 2017, de Guzman was appointed general manager of the Ottawa Fury, alongside new head coach Nikola Popovic. He held the role until the Fury ceased operations at the end of 2019, following not receiving sanctioning to play in the US-based

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

In 2020, it was announced that he was joining the newly formed club

1812 FC Barrie 1812 FC Barrie (also known as 1812 FC) was a Canadian semi-professional soccer club that played in League1 Ontario in 2021. In their sole season of operation, the club played home matches at Terry Fox Stadium in Brampton, Ontario. The team was o ...

, where he will serve as president and co-owner. However, in January 2021, a major shift occurred with De Guzman departing the club, along with Peter Raco and the Barrie SC, to form a new club named

Simcoe County Rovers Simcoe County Rovers Football Club is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Barrie, Ontario, that plays in the League1 Ontario Premier men's and women's divisions. The Rovers won the 2023 League1 Ontario championship and qualified ...

. Serving as co-owner and Technical Director of the club, Simcoe County won the 2023 League1 Ontario title. In February 2024, he was named Sporting Director of the

Personal life

De Guzman is of Filipino and Jamaican descent. Before his career, he attended Cardinal Newman Catholic High School from 1994 to 1997. His younger brother

Jonathan de Guzmán Jonathan may refer to: *Jonathan (name), a masculine given name Media * ''Jonathan'' (1970 film), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer * ''Jonathan'' (2016 film), a German film directed by Piotr J. Lewandowski * ''Jonathan'' (2018 ...

also plays professional soccer for Dutch club

Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands. Sparta currently competes in the Eredivisie, the top flig ...

and previously at

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D., usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Villarreal, in the Province of Castellón, Castellón province of easte ...

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

, and Swansea FC,

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

and plays internationally for the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. His nephew Jaden de Guzmán is also a professional footballer.

Career statistics

Club

International

Julian de Guzman photo by Djuradj Vujcic

:''Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each de Guzman goal.''

Honours

Player

Canada *

: 3rd place,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Individual

* CONCACAF Gold Cup Most Valuable Player:

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

* CONCACAF Gold Cup All-Tournament Team:

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:De Guzman, Julian 1981 births Living people Canadian sportspeople of Filipino descent Canadian sportspeople of Jamaican descent Canadian men's soccer players Black Canadian men's soccer players Soccer players from Toronto Men's association football midfielders Canada men's youth international soccer players Canada men's international soccer players 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players La Liga players Major League Soccer players Designated Players (MLS) Super League Greece players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Olympique de Marseille players 1. FC Saarbrücken players Hannover 96 players Deportivo de La Coruña players Toronto FC players FC Dallas players SSV Jahn Regensburg players Xanthi F.C. players Ottawa Fury FC players Canadian soccer coaches Ottawa Fury FC coaches Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in France Canadian expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Simcoe County Rovers FC owners New York Red Bulls non-playing staff 21st-century Canadian sportsmen