“In my life, I’ve never said so many bad words in such a short period of time. I should have been arrested, I was that angry. I said it after the Ottawa game and I will say it again, the standard of the officiating has got to be better."

FC Edmonton will be at least two players short of full strength when the club faces the Tampa Bay Rowdies in their NASL opener Saturday.

“The experience in Colorado was one of the best I’ve had. It’s a beautiful place. And when I got there, the team had just won a championship, and there were so many young players. There was so much energy. I knew that I wanted to return (to North America) and play here for the longer term.”

The 17-year-old six-foot-four centre back was announced as the Eddies’ newest player Wednesday at St. Joseph’s High School, the team’s base of operations for its academy program.