Charity friendly at Birchmount Stadium on Sunday

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Julian de Guzman, who was named player of the year for Deportivo la Coruna in Spain's top league this past season, has one more important game before tossing the cleats aside for some well deserved rest - and that's his charity game which he is holding this Sunday in his hometown of Scarborough in conjunction with the renowned Robbie International Soccer Tournament.

Incidentally, de Guzman, while growing up in Scarborough and starring for the North Scarborough soccer club, which his dad Bobby coached, won a Robbie title, not to mention an Ontario Cup.

The Julian de Guzman and Friends Celebrity Charity Game is being held this Sunday, June 29, at Birchmount Stadium. Kick off is 7:30 p.m., autograph signing is slated from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and gates are open at 5 p.m.

Tickets are only $2 and are available in advance and at the door, while supplies last.

To find out how to purchase tickets in advance, or for more information on the charity game or the huge Robbie tournament, log on to www.robbiesoccertournament.com.

De Guzman, on June 20, helped Canada win the second leg of its 2010 World Cup qualifer 4-1 against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in Montreal at Saputo Stadium.

With the previous week's 3-0 win in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Canada easily advanced on total aggregate (7-1) to the next qualifying stage, which is a knockout tournament stage with Mexico, Jamaica and Honduras that will take place from August to November.

Scarborough actually has a trio of players with key roles with the Canadian team. Along with de Guzman, Adrian Serioux, a key defender, and Dwayne De Rosario, an important offensive cog, are part of the national team. De Rosario scored two goals ain Friday's 4-1 win, and also added an assist to earn man of the match honours.

De Rosario (who is also a former Robbie champion) moved into third place on the Canadian list with six career goals in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. He is fourth all-time with 15 goals in all senior "A" matches.

While de Guzman has wrapped up his season in Europe, both De Rosario and Serioux are in the midst of their Major League Soccer season in North America, De Rosario with Houston Dynamo and Serioux with Dallas FC.

All three players went to local high schools and played their local rep soccer in Scarborough.