John Herdman says he won’t beg players to choose Canada over another country
Confident in the young talent at his disposal, Canada coach John Herdman says he’s not going to beg players to wear the Maple Leaf.
“If you don’t feel it in your heart to come and pull that shirt on, don’t bother,” he told a media conference call Thursday. “I don’t want you here for commercial reasons. I don’t want you here for other reasons, because someone told you it was the right thing to do.
“I won’t beg you to be here. It’s got to be right for you,” he added. “And there’s enough players out there now and there’s enough young players coming through our system that I can be patient. I can be patient because I know there’s going to be another one comes along.”
He said he has had “consistent” talks with former Montreal Impact teenager Ballou Tabla, who is now playing for the Barcelona B team. The 19-year-old Ballou has represented Canada at the under-17 level but is also eligible to play for the Ivory Coast, where he was born.