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Any football coach will tell you that chemistry between players is crucial to success. With their shared history, mutual respect and enduring friendship, Canada U-20 centre back David Edgar and jet-heeled winger Jaime Peters have more chemistry than most and will be eager to put it to good use at the FIFA U-20 World Cup on home soil.

Edgar is tall, pale and of decidedly Anglo extraction while Peters is stocky, shortish and first-generation Grenadian-Canadian. In truth, the two are a visual study in stark contrast. But their similarities run deep, as do their pasts and understanding out on the pitch.

 

"Jaime (Peters) is a defender's nightmare," towering Canada captain Edgar, who had a breakout 2006/7 with Premiership side Newcastle United, told FIFA.com. "He always seems to get the better of me in training too... he knows just how to wind me up."

 

The admiration works both ways, as Peters - third in the running for Championship side Leicester City's player of the year fan poll - gushed about his mate Edgar. "He's our leader out there and the rest of us look to his example... he brings the best out of his team-mates and if we are to have any success here (U-20 World Cup) it will be down in large part to him."

 

From foes to bros

Such obvious fondness among athletes bred to be tougher-than-most and competitive-to-the-end is a bit special, and a look back at the pair's long history offers some insight into their relationship both on and off the pitch.

 

"I'm from Pickering and he's from Kitchener (neighbouring Ontario suburbs near the provincial capital of Toronto)," Peters says. "We were playing against each other when we were eleven years old and went head-to-head for many years after that."

 

Edgar sees those early days on opposite sides of the pitch as critical to the duo's current understanding. "We used to knock heads all the time because he was a striker and I was a defender...but eventually we both landed in the Provincial select team and from there we became best of friends."

 

After excelling at Provincial level, Edgar and Peters then graduated to the National Team program, became room-mates on the road (they still are to this day) and the pair then landed on English shores - Edgar at Newcastle and Peters at Leicester.

 

"We're in contact all the time over in England," Edgar remarked. "We see each other whenever we can too."

 

Tough love

Heart-warming as their long friendship is, all generous sensibility and affection is left to one side when the pair get out on the training pitch. "During practice, we really try to dig it out hard. We're both really competitive and we push each other a lot in training. Sometimes it gets a little rough, like it used to in the old days," Peters says with a wry smile and a half chuckle.

 

"Having been on the opposite side of the pitch so many times together, we now know each others' instincts without having to think," Edgar added. "I know what he's going to do before he does it - his runs and his moves. He can say the same about me I'm sure."

 

The two will be linking up for their second consecutive FIFA U-20 World Cup together when Canada open their account against Chile in their home province at Toronto's National Soccer Stadium on 1 July. And both will be keen to make their history, chemistry and competitive spirit ring out

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poland beat brazil 1-nil, in u-20,they were down to 10 men shortly after the goal at the 30 min. mark,the poles played a great game,and always looked like they could score another, argentina plays the czech rep in an hour,can't wait for that match,cheers.

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poland beat brazil 1-nil, in u-20,they were down to 10 men shortly after the goal at the 30 min. mark,the poles played a great game,and always looked like they could score another, argentina plays the czech rep in an hour,can't wait for that match,cheers.

 

Any stand out players from the U20 tournament?

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Didn't know Edgar was their U20 captain.

 

I think Edgar can potentially make it with us, he looks a lot more composed and confident than Huntington in my view. After the hype about Huntington I have to say I was a bit disappointed and I don't think he's ever going to cut it in the Premiership. Edgar might though.

 

It might sound a bit harsh on Huntington as he was thrown in too early because of an injury crisis, but I just don't see how he's going to make the step up. He looked very nervous and I suppose that could be solved with experience (a loan move would help) but I think he needs an awful lot of work. I think he's been hyped up by the local media because he plays for England U18s.

 

The two of them need to go on loan this season, hopefully we can find Championship or League One clubs who will give them regular games.

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us and south korea are playing to 1-1 draw,korea should 've won the match.they are streaming the matches here

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/fifau20/  enjoy.

 

Cheers for the link. Just been on the FIFA site & saw the US had drew. Adu was playing for the US.

 

Nothing to do with this, but I saw that South Park episode for the first time last night. Bwaahahaha! 'Ah am the derg! The big bad derrrrerrrerrrg.' :lol:

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Nothing to do with this, but I saw that South Park episode for the first time last night. Bwaahahaha! 'Ah am the derg! The big bad derrrrerrrerrrg.' :lol:

 

"SHOW ME YOUR HALL PASS!!!"

 

That episode is my top 3, along with the one when the hippie jam fest happens & the World Of Warcraft episode.

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Guest Morph

Nothing to do with this, but I saw that South Park episode for the first time last night. Bwaahahaha! 'Ah am the derg! The big bad derrrrerrrerrrg.' :lol:

 

"SHOW ME YOUR HALL PASS!!!"

 

That episode is my top 3, along with the one when the hippie jam fest happens & the World Of Warcraft episode.

 

what is that derrrg thing bout?  and yer, the wow episode is mint.

 

errm, go Edgar!

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Big advert with him(Edgar) on the back page(Sports section) of our national paper The Globe & Mail.  Done well for our U20's, hopefully we can pull out some sort of Greek like upset in the tourney. 

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Guest keego_nufc

The article says Peters plays for Leicester but Peters actually plays for Ipswich and was voted Most Improved Player and 3rd in the overall player lol 

 

Iain Hume on the men's team plays for Leicester and was voted fans player of the year so I think they got mixed up.

 

 

Edgar unfortunately didn't get captaincy even though for me I think he is our captain and leader out there.

 

Will Johnson (Heerenveen) and Asmir Begovic (Portsmouth) were given captaincy, I think they rotate

 

 

Edgar for sure is our best player though followed by Peters, Johnson and Begovic

 

I would post a video of Edgar's volley vs. Brazil and penalty vs. Argentina but its illegal.  :idiot2:

 

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well the argentina is starting ...

 

No stream to the UK.

 

 

 

Free live video on Fifa's site plus video highlights too.  No copyright problems either.  Argentinians should have won by a hatful, would have done if the strikers had been able to kick the ball straight!

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Didn't know Edgar was their U20 captain.

 

I think Edgar can potentially make it with us, he looks a lot more composed and confident than Huntington in my view. After the hype about Huntington I have to say I was a bit disappointed and I don't think he's ever going to cut it in the Premiership. Edgar might though.

 

It might sound a bit harsh on Huntington as he was thrown in too early because of an injury crisis, but I just don't see how he's going to make the step up. He looked very nervous and I suppose that could be solved with experience (a loan move would help) but I think he needs an awful lot of work. I think he's been hyped up by the local media because he plays for England U18s.

 

The two of them need to go on loan this season, hopefully we can find Championship or League One clubs who will give them regular games.

 

Huntington had 14 games to make some mistakes, Edgar only 3. I suspect, as with most kids, the more games you give them at an early age the more chance of a cock up. To play them both out of position, in a crap defence would have doen neither much good. If Huntington has been head and shoulder above his contemparies then I still hold out hope. Tay lor made some right cock ups at the same age, it wasn't correct to write him off then. From 14 and 3 games form Huntington and Edgar it isn't really correct to say they're great or crap.

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Guest keego_nufc

West Ham and Newcastle are set for a £3m battle to land FC Copenhagen's Canadian utility player Atiba Hutchinson. (Daily Star)

 

Would be quality.  Him and Julian De Guzman of Deportivo la Coruna run our midfield and Atiba was pretty good in the champions league last season getting MoM against Man U i believe and scoring vs. Celtic

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Huntington had 14 games to make some mistakes, Edgar only 3. I suspect, as with most kids, the more games you give them at an early age the more chance of a cock up. To play them both out of position, in a crap defence would have doen neither much good. If Huntington has been head and shoulder above his contemparies then I still hold out hope. Tay lor made some right cock ups at the same age, it wasn't correct to write him off then. From 14 and 3 games form Huntington and Edgar it isn't really correct to say they're great or crap.

 

All fair points, although with Taylor I think many of us knew he was going to make it from the off. There was that Arsenal game where he had Pires in his pocket playing at right back, which I think was one of his first starts for us. His form made him difficult to drop. It might be that these lads are slower developers, or that they might still develop into useful squad players, who knows.

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I wouldn't call Kitchener a suburb, exactly.

 

I was at the opening game of the U-20, and Canada was terrible. The only good point was that I hung out with some Newcastle fans in the beer garden behind one of the goals for the second half, and they turned out to be Edgar's family. They were really nice folks, but they couldn't stop talking about how Edgar scored that goal against Man United.

 

I had never really watched an U-20 tournament before, but I was pleasantly surprised with the high quality of football. The Gambian squad was great to watch (even though they ended up getting beat bad by Mexico), and Portugal look really good as well.

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Guest Miler

My personal opinion, when Hunty was playing centre back for a few games, I thought he looked the part; committed and composed. The only times he made me cringe were his times at left back (most notably that shite night vs AZ)

 

Edgar's not really played enough (for us) to warrant a fair assessment, but he did score a screamer vs the Mancs :D

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