Canadian defender Didic makes Sporting Kansas City debut in CCL

Amer Didic PHOTO: SWOPE PARK RANGERS

On the same day the Eddies announced that a deal had been reached to send academy prospect Amer Halilic to German side TSV Wacker 90 Nordhausen, Amer Didic, another FC Edmonton product, made his Sporting Kansas City debut.

Didic and fellow Canadian Tyler Pasher were called up from the USL’s Swope Park Rangers to Sporting Kansas City for Tuesday’s CONCACAF Champions League clash in Trinidad and Tobago against Central FC.

Didic played the full 90 minutes; it wasn’t all rosy for the Canadian, as he was the defender closest to the play when Kenwyne Jones scored for Central FC. The game ended in a 2-2 draw.

Didic, a centre back, is one of four Canadians playing for Canadian coach Marc Dos Santos at Swope Park Rangers. It’s an odd situation — as outlined in issue 9 of Plastic Pitch, out now; even though they play for an American team, Didic and his three Canadian teammates do not take up international roster spots. That’s because the USL treats all Canadians as domestics, no matter if they play for Canadian or American teams.

But, in MLS, a Canadian who plays for an American team must take up an international roster spot; meanwhile Americans are treated as domestics no matter which side of the border their employer is located. It’s a bizarre situation where the affiliated feeder league has different designations than the parent league — if it is indeed fair to call MLS a parent league.

So, while Didic got the call for a CONCACAF Champions League match, it would be much more difficult for him to earn an MLS contract.

Dos Santos is leaving Swope Park at the end of the season to become the coach of NASL expansion side, San Francisco Deltas.

Still, Tuesday was a great day if you were an Edmontonian named Amer.