Randy Edwini-Bonsu is back.
The speedy 23-year-old striker impressed many Canadian fans in Olympic qualifying back in 2012, but failed to catch on with the senior national team and fell into a bit of career purgatory.
After having last played with Eintracht Braunschweig last year, Edwini-Bonsu – a product of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency – has found a new German club, the third-tier Stuttgarter Kickers. He made his debut on Saturday, coming in as a late sub in a 0-0 draw with Holstein Kiel.
Given Canada’s goal-scoring woes in 2013, it’s never bad news to have another Canadian striker earning professional playing time in Europe. The question is, will REB do enough to catch the eye of Canadian head coach Benito Floro?
Iain Hume, one of the few players to actually score for Canada in the past 18 months, also featured as a late sub this weekend, coming on late for Preston North End in their 0-0 FA Cup result Saturday with Nottingham Forest. As the scoreline would suggest, he didn’t find the back of the net that day, and was an unused sub for PNE in another 0-0 draw, against Bradford on Tuesday.
While Edwini-Bonsu and Hume got late entrances, Julian de Guzman got an early exit for Skoda Xanthi on Sunday. Earning yellow cards shortly before and after halftime, JDG was sent off in the 48th minute, in a game his side lost 2-0 to Olympiakos. That might sound familiar to fans in his hometown; de Guzman was shown 19 yellows in 65 MLS appearances with Toronto FC.
His fellow Canadian midfield stalwarts saw their respective games to conclusion this week. Atiba Hutchinson went the full 90 for Besiktas in 1-1 draw with Trabzonspor on Saturday, while Pedro Pacheco did likewise for Santa Clara in a 3-1 loss to Farense.
Pacheco’s side now sit just three points from the bottom of Segnda Liga, Portugal’s second tier league, and are once again in danger of relegation after a brief resurgence.
