FC Edmonton has announced that standout defender Amer Didic will be returning to the club for 2020. The 25-year-old had been out of contract, and recently travelled back to Edmonton after a pre-season trial with the Vancouver Whitecaps of MLS. Didic was one of the CPL's best centre backs in 2019, looking solid in 20 total games for the Eddies. He played 1,674 minutes in total for Edmonton, impressing with his ability on set-pieces and his last-ditch defending in the box (according to Sportlogiq, he averaged more clearances per game than anyone else). "Any manager in this league would be excited to have Amer in their lineup and when added to the players already here I believe this puts our back line right there amongst the league's best," FCE coach Jeff Paulus said. "Amer brings an extremely rare quality to his position, combining strong defending, a dominant aerial presence, and incredibly good feet to go with his (big) frame. I consider myself fortunate to be able to work with him again." RELATED READING: Amer Didic excited to return to ‘hungrier’ FC Edmonton for 2020 The Bosnia-born, Edmonton-raised defender was the second CPL player ever to receive a Canadian national team call-up, which he earned in October for the Concacaf Nations League camp. Didic was also the first CPLer to make an appearance for Canada's national team, playing 90 minutes against both Barbados and Iceland at Canada's January camp in California, scoring a goal in his debut – another first by a CPL player. Paulus told CanPL.ca in late 2019 that he would've loved to see the defender in MLS, but that he'd also be happy to have him back in his hometown for another year. "There's one thing really on my mind, and everyone else's mind here at the squad, and that's to compete for a championship," Didic told CanPL.ca. "Just looking back at last year, we're obviously going to be hungrier and more driven to be able to improve on last year." Didic came to FCE from San Antonio FC in the USL, where he had only a cameo appearance after three years in the Sporting Kansas City system. Paulus described him as an "incredible piece" when Didic's arrival was first announced. "For me, we are adding an incredible piece to our roster," Paulus said. "Any time you can add a player of his ability to the squad, you have to jump at it, and we reacted quickly to get this done." FC Edmonton now have 15 players confirmed to be returning from last year's squad, with another six new faces joining them. Didic joins fellow defenders Kareem Moses, Allan Zebie, Jeannot Esua, and Mélé Temguia, as well as former HFX Wanderers centre-back Duran Lee, to form the Eddies' backline for 2020.

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