.jpg) De Guzman with Simcoe County Rovers in 2023 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Julian Bobby de Guzman | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1981-03-25)March 25, 1981 (age 44) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Toronto,Ontario, Canada | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1997 | North Scarborough SC | ||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2000 | Marseille | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | 1. FC Saarbrücken II | 30 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | 1. FC Saarbrücken | 21 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2002–2005 | Hannover 96 | 78 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2009 | Deportivo La Coruña | 97 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2009–2012 | Toronto FC | 65 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012 | FC Dallas | 12 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Jahn Regensburg | 15 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Skoda Xanthi | 26 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Ottawa Fury | 26 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 370 | (11) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2001 | Canada U20 | 13 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2002–2016 | Canada | 89 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Ottawa Fury (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Ottawa Fury (caretaker) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Ottawa Fury (general manager) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | New York Red Bulls (sporting director) | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Julian Bobby de Guzman (born March 25, 1981) is a Canadiansoccer executive and former professional player and coach who currently serves as the Head of Sport for theNew York Red Bulls inMajor League Soccer.
Amidfielder, De Guzman was the first Canadian to play inLa Liga. While playing in Spain, he was voted2007–08Deportivo La Coruña Player of the Year.
De Guzman has played at both theCanadian U-20 andSenior level, he was awarded the Canadian Player of the Year in 2008 and in 2007 became only the second Canadian international to be awarded theCONCACAF Gold Cup Most Valuable Player. He was the all-time cap leader of the Canada national team from November 2015, when he surpassedPaul Stalteri's previous record of 84 appearances, to November 2021, whenAtiba Hutchinson surpassed De Guzman's final tally of 89 caps. From 2013 to 2016, he was captain of theCanadian men's national team.
De Guzman was discovered by representatives ofOlympique Marseille while playing for the North Scarborough youth soccer club inToronto.[2] After playing with Marseille's reserve side, de Guzman became a first-team player with1. FC Saarbrücken in the2. Bundesliga in the 2000–01 season, where he made two appearances,[3] and in the 2001–02 season, where he made 19 appearances.[4] In 21 appearances he never scored.[5]
In 2002, he joined newly promotedHannover 96, becoming only the third Canadian to play in theBundesliga. He made 20 appearances during2002–03 season[6] and 32 appearances in both2003–04[7] and2004–05 seasons.[8]
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 toTottenham where he would have joined Canadian captainPaul Stalteri. He decided against the move to London due to the depth in the centre of mid-field, and instead chose to joinDeportivo La Coruña in Spain becoming the first Canadian to play inLa Liga.[9] After playing a starring role in the club's remarkable turnaround in the 2007–2008 season to avoid relegation and gain a spot in theUEFA Cup, 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 giantsReal Madrid. His contract with Deportivo expired in the summer of 2009.
In September 2009 an agreement was reached withToronto FC for de Guzman to sign as adesignated player, 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.[10] De Guzman made his debut for the club in an away game against theLos Angeles Galaxy on September 19, 2009. He finished the2009 season with five appearances.[11] De Guzman was able to convince former Deportivo teammate and friendMista 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 the2010 MLS Expansion Draft, meaningVancouver Whitecaps FC orPortland Timbers could select him if they were willing to take on a Designated Players Salary.[12] However, he was untouched going through the sixth round when Vancouver selectedO'Brian White which allowed Toronto to protect one player for the remaining four rounds in which they protected de Guzman .[13] 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.[14]
In January 2011, Toronto hiredAron Winter 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.[15] 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 inCONCACAF Champions League play againstTauro FC August 18, 2011, the game ended in a 2–0 away victory.[16]
On July 13, 2012, de Guzman was traded toFC Dallas in exchange for forwardAndrew Wiedeman.[17] De Guzman made his debut for Dallas againstSan Jose Earthquakes on July 18, the game ended in a 2–1 away defeat.[18] De Guzman scored his only goal for Dallas on September 15 againstVancouver, a left footed volley more than 20 yards out six minutes into second half stoppage time.[19]
De Guzman remained with FC Dallas through the 2012 season. His contract expired after 2012 and the club made him available for the2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft in December 2012. de Guzman became a free agent after he went undrafted in both rounds of the draft.
On the last day of the 2012–13 winter transfer window, de Guzman joinedSSV Jahn Regensburg.[20] He made his debut for the team on February 3, playing all 90 minutes in a 1–5 loss againstHertha BSC.[21] At the end of the season Jahn Regensburg was relegated from2. Bundesliga, when De Guzman signed in January he had a clause that if they were relegated he would automatically become a free agent.[22] He had made 15 appearances for the club.[23]
Following the2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup in late July, de Guzman signed forSkoda Xanthi in theSuper League Greece.[24] His debut came in a third roundUEFA Europa League match againstStandard Liège 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 toPAOK[25] 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.[26]
After several months without a club he was rumoured to be signing withColumbus Crew following a training spell with the MLS club, however a week later de Guzman signed withOttawa Fury of theNorth American Soccer League on March 27, 2015.[27] He made his debut on April 4 against theCarolina RailHawks.[28]
On December 16, 2015, de Guzman re-signed with Ottawa for the2016 season.[29] He was subsequently named captain of the club on March 9, 2016.[30]
He came out of retirement during the pandemic to play amateur soccer with local sideGloucester Celtic FC. He helped the team win the 2021 Ontario Cup.[31]
De Guzman played at the2001 FIFA World Youth Championship in Argentina, alongsideAtiba Hutchinson andMike Klukowski among others.
He made his senior debut forCanada in a January 2002CONCACAF Gold Cup match againstMartinique. By July 2015, he earned a total of 82 caps, scoring 4 goals.[32] He has represented Canada in 22FIFA World Cup qualification matches.[33]
In Canada's opening match of the2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, de Guzman scored twice to help defeatCosta Rica 2–1. After the conclusion of thecompetition, de Guzman was named tournament MVP.[34]
De Guzman was also chosen in the 23-man roster for the2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Canada won group A with seven points before being knocked out byHonduras in the quarter finals. He was later chosen in the all-tournament team along with fellow CanadianMichael Klukowski, this was the second time in a row he has been selected for this competition.
On June 1, 2011, in a friendly againstEcuador 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 toTosaint Ricketts who put in the net for his first ever international goal leading the Canadian team to a well earned draw.[35] De Guzman earned his fiftieth cap for Canada's senior men's team on October 7, 2011, in a dominating 7–0 victory overSaint Lucia in a2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match atBeausejour Stadium.[36]
On November 17, 2015, de Guzman started for Canada againstEl Salvador in a2018 World Cup qualifying match and overtookPaul Stalteri as Canada's most capped player in history earning his 85th cap.[37]
On January 30, 2017, de Guzman announced his retirement from soccer and his transition to an assistant coaching position with theOttawa Fury.[38] On August 15, 2017, de Guzman was named interim head coach until the end of the2017 season after the resignation of head coachPaul Dalglish.[39]
On December 21, 2017, de Guzman was appointed general manager of the Ottawa Fury, alongside new head coachNikola Popovic.[40] He held the role until the Fury ceased operations at the end of 2019, following not receiving sanctioning to play in the US-basedUSL Championship.[41]
In 2020, it was announced that he was joining the newly formed club1812 FC Barrie, where he will serve as president and co-owner.[42][43] 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 namedSimcoe County Rovers.[44][45] Serving as co-owner and Technical Director of the club, Simcoe County won the2023 League1 Ontario title.[46]
In February 2024, he was named Sporting Director of theNew York Red Bulls inMajor League Soccer.[47]
On October 27, 2025 he was announced as the Head of Sport of theNew York Red Bulls[48] as part of a succession plan, succeeding Jochen Schneider.
De Guzman is of Filipino and Jamaican descent.[49] Before his career, he attendedCardinal Newman Catholic High School from 1994 to 1997.[50] His younger brotherJonathan de Guzmán also plays professional soccer for Dutch clubSparta Rotterdam and previously atVillarreal CF,Napoli,[51] andSwansea FC,Eintracht Frankfurt[52] and plays internationally for theNetherlands.[53] His nephewJaden de Guzmán is also a professional footballer.[54]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| 1. FC Saarbrücken II | 2000–01 | Oberliga Südwest | 30 | 5 | — | — | — | 30 | 5 | ||||
| 1. FC Saarbrücken | 2000–01 | 2. Bundesliga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | [3] | ||
| 2001–02 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 0 | [4] | ||||
| Total | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | — | ||
| Hannover 96 | 2002–03 | Bundesliga | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 0 | [6] | ||
| 2003–04 | 30 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 2 | [7] | ||||
| 2004–05 | 30 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 0 | [8] | ||||
| Total | 78 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 84 | 2 | — | ||
| Deportivo La Coruña | 2005–06 | La Liga | 22 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 30 | 1 | [11] | |
| 2006–07 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 0 | [11] | ||||
| 2007–08 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 0 | [11] | ||||
| 2008–09 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 28 | 0 | [11] | |||
| Total | 97 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 116 | 1 | — | ||
| Toronto FC | 2009 | MLS | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | [11][55] | ||
| 2010 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 34 | 0 | [11][55] | |||
| 2011 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 28 | 3 | [11][55] | |||
| 2012 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | [11][55] | |||
| Total | 65 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 90 | 3 | — | ||
| FC Dallas | 2012 | MLS | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 1 | [11][55] | ||
| Jahn Regensburg | 2012–13 | 2. Bundesliga | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | [23] | ||
| Skoda Xanthi | 2013–14 | Super League Greece | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 1 | [11][55] |
| Ottawa Fury | 2015 | NASL | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 17 | 0 | [11][55] | |
| 2016 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | [11][55] | ||||
| Total | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 0 | — | ||
| Career total | 370 | 11 | 29 | 0 | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 426 | 13 | — | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 2002 | 4 | 0 |
| 2003 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2008 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2009 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 89 | 4 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | June 6, 2007 | Miami Orange Bowl,Miami, U.S. |  Costa Rica | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 2 | 2–1 | |||||
| 3 | May 31, 2008 | Qwest Field,Seattle, U.S. |  Brazil | 2–2 | 2–3 | Friendly |
| 4 | August 20, 2008 | BMO Field,Toronto, Canada |  Jamaica | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification |
Canada
Canada squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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