I have come up with a new moto for Toronto FC. It is that if you can't be good you should at least be exciting. They lived up to that moto against DC United in what had to be one of the most exciting games in recent memory. The game was a 3-3 draw in the end but along the way to that final scoreline there were talking points left right and centre.
The game kicked off with DC United's keeper being sent off in the 7th minute thanks to a nasty two legged tackle that sent Avila flipping through the air. After chatting with his assistant the ref decided that the right move was to send Hamid for a very early shower, if he even needed one after only 7 minutes played, and I think it was the correct move. Watching the game I knew that things were only going to get more lively from there. The stage was set for TFC to go on and get their first road win of the season but we all knew it was never going to be straight forward like that. TFC found a way to commit three major mistakes, one by Frei and two by Iro that allowed Dwayne De Rosario to net one of the easiest hat tricks you will ever see. TFC answered back with goals from Marosevic, Koevermans, and even one from Julian De Guzman.
If you want a nice summary of the match then you came to the wrong place. Instead I want to focus on the emotional roller coaster that TFC took me on last night. Coming in to the game I just had that feeling that DeRo was going to put in a performance and i guess he did just that last night even though one of his goals was a penalty, one was misplayed by the keeper, and the other was basically gifted to him by Iro. I will give credit where credit is due and say that DeRo did well to take advantage of the gifts that were being given to him by his former side. I do not agree with the sentiment that I am coming across today that this game shows why TFC should have paid up and kept DeRo. Instead I still think that letting him leave was the right move for a club that is looking to rebuild. He is a very good MLS player and a proven goal scorer but Toronto needed to take that one step backwards so that they might one day to able to move a lot further forward. The fact that DeRo scored a hattrick left me with a bad taste in my mouth but the one positive that I can take from it would be the fact that if DeRo is on form come the fall it will be a massive boost for the CMNT. So I guess we can thank Andy Iro and the rest of TFC for giving him a confidence boost.
At the exact other end of the emotional roller coaster that was this match was watching Julian DeGuzman score a screamer of a long range goal. The only thing wrong with his first goal for TFC was the fact that the ref should have never allowed it to happen since DCU were in the midst of making a change when JDG decided to take a quick freekick. Again if you look at this from a Canadian perspective it is great news. JDG will be a key member of the team and if he discovers any sort of his form from before he joined TFC then Canada will be in much better shape. The end result of JDG's goal was DCU coach Ben Olsen being dismissed from the sidelines having just flipped his lid in reaction to the goal being allowed to stand.
The last part of the game that I want to cover is how I felt about Iro and his performance. He was complete shit but I do not give him the entire blame for that. TFC played much of the second half with basically only 2 actual defenders on the field and Iro was not getting much help at all. He is a decent MLS defender but he needs to have a stronger partner in centre back. He is not strong enough or confident enough to control the middle of the pitch without somewhere better there to help him. He needs to play better then he did last night as the second goal was all his fault with him failing to clear the ball but the penalty he conceded was a real team effort. He was not the only one in the box that was failing to clear the ball, just happened to be the one who got caught bringing the man down. So blame him for one goal if you will but blame the entire team for the lack of defending that was going on in this game.
So like I said if you can't be good at least you should be exciting and at the moment TFC seem to have that covered. I like the fact that they are scoring more goals, I have been impressed by some of the new additions to the side, not just Frings and Koevermans either and I think that even if the results are not coming in yet the team is going to be better once things settle down. Games like this are giving me lots of reasons to be excited for 2012 and the chances of the team being in a position to be more competitive but before that I am just pleased that TFC are going to be a more entertaining team to watch down the stretch even if the playoffs are quickly fading from reach.
Showing posts with label Canadian Men's National Soccer Team. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canadian Men's National Soccer Team. Show all posts
Sunday, August 07, 2011
Friday, August 05, 2011
Let there be no Excuses!
So yesterday I posted about how supporters tickets are going on sale now and that regular ticket sales for Canada's home games will begin sometime early next week. With tickets about to go on sale it is time for the people who care about the Canadian men's national team to stand up and do there part. The CSA has done there part by promising that they will be turning all of their spare focus to contacting clubs and other organizations to try and market the game. This move seems to come as a direct response to the calls that came out from a lot of Canadian fans, including the guys over at Canadian Soccer News, following the friendly against Ecuador. At that match, also in Toronto, there was a clear lack of youth soccer teams at the game. Personally I only noticed one team and they came from Oakville which is a club where Jason DeVos is heavily involved so the fact that they were at the forefront was no surprise at all. This time around there should be no excuse for more clubs not coming out. Yes only one of the three games is going to be on a weekend night with that being a Friday so there will still be the excuse of being unable to make it.
So the CSA has promised to do there part, they even tweeted me saying: "No worries, we got that covered! we'll be turning our office into call central so that we can reach as many cubs as humanly possible!" This tweet came in response to my slightly cynical remarks about the CSA announcing that it would be offering discounts and group packages for clubs. I for one might have felt well that is nice but the problem is that who is going to tell that clubs about this since last time many of them claimed to know nothing about the match and their options. This time the CSA has gone on the record and promised that they will do everything in their power to promote this game and I am ready to applaud them for that but will wait until September 2nd when we get to see the fruits of this labour.
The commitment of the CSA is nice and that is a great start but lets face it at the end of the day a lot of pressure is still coming to be on the people who call themselves supporters of the national team. I am not just referring to the normal names and faces who do their best to promote the games any time they happen since that is not where new fans are going to come from. They are all ready fans and in a lot of cases they have already exhausted their friends and family with attempts to win them over. I trust that despite that though they will all once again do their best to fill up at least the south end of BMO for each game. The pressure now will actually fall on the more casual fans. The ones that say they support the team, or want to support it, but have yet to do anything really tangible about that. These are the fans that we need to get on board if we are going to fill the rest of the stadium, at least part of the way. I am not going to be the first or the last person to make a plea to these fans and I acknowledge that most of them will not be reading this post since my audience is generally the more hardcore fans. So I hope that people with a much bigger audience and reach then I have will also echo what I am saying. Today i was glad to hear that on Tim and Sid Uncut (A Score program) Sid Seixeiro
gave a very impassioned plea to fans to get out and support the team. If you want to check it out head over to:
http://blogs.thescore.com/timandsid/2011/08/04/tim-and-sid-uncut-august-4/
The podcast is basically an hour long and talks about all kinds of sports but the important part is how fired up Sid gets about this issue. The thing is though that The Score is already among the leaders in promoting CMNT and the sport of soccer in general around this country so I am not sure how much more they can do. They worked hard to increase the profile of the Gold Cup and the friendly leading up to it. So maybe this plea from Sid is just going to end up reaching people who have already heard it all before and decided not to respond. I hope though that it does reach at least few people and gets just a couple more butts in the seats.
Let me add to what Tim had to say and stress that if you have the chance to get to Toronto for at least 1 game, can afford a 20 or 30 dollar ticket, and care about sports in the country over even just like soccer then you have no excuse here. You can spend all day trying to reason with me about why you wont be at these games but I will be hearing none of it. I have no excuse for not trying to bring the people that I know to the game and promoting it where I can so you have no excuse to not try your best to be there. If I get to BMO on September 2nd and the crowd is as disheartening as it was earlier this summer I will be more then a little disappointed. I know that people who really care about the CMNT are putting in the effort and now I just want to see some sort of reward for that! So please get out and do something real to support your national soccer team. We won't be in the World Cup with out it!
So the CSA has promised to do there part, they even tweeted me saying: "No worries, we got that covered! we'll be turning our office into call central so that we can reach as many cubs as humanly possible!" This tweet came in response to my slightly cynical remarks about the CSA announcing that it would be offering discounts and group packages for clubs. I for one might have felt well that is nice but the problem is that who is going to tell that clubs about this since last time many of them claimed to know nothing about the match and their options. This time the CSA has gone on the record and promised that they will do everything in their power to promote this game and I am ready to applaud them for that but will wait until September 2nd when we get to see the fruits of this labour.
The commitment of the CSA is nice and that is a great start but lets face it at the end of the day a lot of pressure is still coming to be on the people who call themselves supporters of the national team. I am not just referring to the normal names and faces who do their best to promote the games any time they happen since that is not where new fans are going to come from. They are all ready fans and in a lot of cases they have already exhausted their friends and family with attempts to win them over. I trust that despite that though they will all once again do their best to fill up at least the south end of BMO for each game. The pressure now will actually fall on the more casual fans. The ones that say they support the team, or want to support it, but have yet to do anything really tangible about that. These are the fans that we need to get on board if we are going to fill the rest of the stadium, at least part of the way. I am not going to be the first or the last person to make a plea to these fans and I acknowledge that most of them will not be reading this post since my audience is generally the more hardcore fans. So I hope that people with a much bigger audience and reach then I have will also echo what I am saying. Today i was glad to hear that on Tim and Sid Uncut (A Score program) Sid Seixeiro
gave a very impassioned plea to fans to get out and support the team. If you want to check it out head over to:
http://blogs.thescore.com/timandsid/2011/08/04/tim-and-sid-uncut-august-4/
The podcast is basically an hour long and talks about all kinds of sports but the important part is how fired up Sid gets about this issue. The thing is though that The Score is already among the leaders in promoting CMNT and the sport of soccer in general around this country so I am not sure how much more they can do. They worked hard to increase the profile of the Gold Cup and the friendly leading up to it. So maybe this plea from Sid is just going to end up reaching people who have already heard it all before and decided not to respond. I hope though that it does reach at least few people and gets just a couple more butts in the seats.
Let me add to what Tim had to say and stress that if you have the chance to get to Toronto for at least 1 game, can afford a 20 or 30 dollar ticket, and care about sports in the country over even just like soccer then you have no excuse here. You can spend all day trying to reason with me about why you wont be at these games but I will be hearing none of it. I have no excuse for not trying to bring the people that I know to the game and promoting it where I can so you have no excuse to not try your best to be there. If I get to BMO on September 2nd and the crowd is as disheartening as it was earlier this summer I will be more then a little disappointed. I know that people who really care about the CMNT are putting in the effort and now I just want to see some sort of reward for that! So please get out and do something real to support your national soccer team. We won't be in the World Cup with out it!
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
CSA confims WCQ Schedule
Earlier today the Canadian Soccer Association confirm what most of us were already assuming to be true. That is that all 3 home games in the second round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying will be played at Toronto's BMO field. The games are St. Lucia on Sept. 2, Puerto Rico on Oct. 11 and St. Kitts and Nevis on Nov. 15. These dates and locations come as no real surprise since it had been speculated for weeks that the games would all be at BMO and following the drawing of the groups the dates had been released on the CSA site. Now there is no speculation left and we all know how the road to Brazil is going to look for at least the first round of matches.
This news was greeted by a very mixed reaction by loyal fans across the country. The fans in Toronto were of course very pleased by the news that all 3 games will be taking place in our back yard. The issues came from the fans across the rest of the country who felt that this was some sort of snub to them and favoritism towards the GTA area. I am not going to get in to the wild debates that were taking place on my twitter feed throughout the afternoon but instead I will try to lay out why I think that this is the best move for the national team and will actually help the team in the long run as well as the CSA.
1. BMO field is the only stadium in Canada that is good enough to host these matches. It is up to date, has over 20 K seats, and most importantly it has a grass surface. That along with the fact that having the games in Toronto puts it in the middle of Canada's largest population area increases the chances of getting a large pro-Canadian field. Cities like Montreal, Edmonton, and Vancouver would also be more then capable of hosting a game but they do not have grass fields and at this stage putting down a temporary surface for one match is not worth the hassle that it brings, just ask Whitecap fans.
2. It is what the players want. A lot of them are from the GTA area, they like spending time in the city of Toronto and again it comes back to the issue of playing surfaces. If you did a survey of the players I guarantee that they would all say that playing on a grass surface is one of the most important factors. The players are the ones who go out and play the game, not the fans, so it is key to keep the players happy since last I checked that helps them to play better.
3. It is the easiest thing for the CSA to do. By having all the games in one city they have less to do in terms of making arrangements for player travel, training grounds, and promoting the games. At this stage I think that anything that makes the CSA's job easier is a good thing since they have proven to struggle when they try and do to much.
4. Having all the games in one place will allow the Canadian players to develop a comfort level on the field and in the stadium which is a big part of a home field advantage. That advantage might not be as crucial in this first round but if Canada is going to push far into qualifications then it will eventually be crucial.
5. This debate is not about what we want as fans. It is about what is going to give the team the best chance of advancing to the next round and eventually moving on to the World Cup. That means that we have to accept that it might not be convenient for some of the fans, it might not help to grow the fan base, and it may even make Toronto a bit more hated but at the end of the day none of that matters when this is a World Cup qualifying campaign. At the end of the day this is not a fan making campaign and the best way for the CMNT to make new fans will be having success. Who knows where the games will be in the third round but for now this is the best move.
For all those reasons I think that the CSA has done the right thing by placing all the games in Toronto. IT is all about making the World Cup and this gives us the best chance to do that. I will though admit that if the shoe had been on the other foot and all the games were in other places I would have been very annoyed so I understand how fans around the rest of the country are feeling. All in how you look at it at the end of the day.
This news was greeted by a very mixed reaction by loyal fans across the country. The fans in Toronto were of course very pleased by the news that all 3 games will be taking place in our back yard. The issues came from the fans across the rest of the country who felt that this was some sort of snub to them and favoritism towards the GTA area. I am not going to get in to the wild debates that were taking place on my twitter feed throughout the afternoon but instead I will try to lay out why I think that this is the best move for the national team and will actually help the team in the long run as well as the CSA.
1. BMO field is the only stadium in Canada that is good enough to host these matches. It is up to date, has over 20 K seats, and most importantly it has a grass surface. That along with the fact that having the games in Toronto puts it in the middle of Canada's largest population area increases the chances of getting a large pro-Canadian field. Cities like Montreal, Edmonton, and Vancouver would also be more then capable of hosting a game but they do not have grass fields and at this stage putting down a temporary surface for one match is not worth the hassle that it brings, just ask Whitecap fans.
2. It is what the players want. A lot of them are from the GTA area, they like spending time in the city of Toronto and again it comes back to the issue of playing surfaces. If you did a survey of the players I guarantee that they would all say that playing on a grass surface is one of the most important factors. The players are the ones who go out and play the game, not the fans, so it is key to keep the players happy since last I checked that helps them to play better.
3. It is the easiest thing for the CSA to do. By having all the games in one city they have less to do in terms of making arrangements for player travel, training grounds, and promoting the games. At this stage I think that anything that makes the CSA's job easier is a good thing since they have proven to struggle when they try and do to much.
4. Having all the games in one place will allow the Canadian players to develop a comfort level on the field and in the stadium which is a big part of a home field advantage. That advantage might not be as crucial in this first round but if Canada is going to push far into qualifications then it will eventually be crucial.
5. This debate is not about what we want as fans. It is about what is going to give the team the best chance of advancing to the next round and eventually moving on to the World Cup. That means that we have to accept that it might not be convenient for some of the fans, it might not help to grow the fan base, and it may even make Toronto a bit more hated but at the end of the day none of that matters when this is a World Cup qualifying campaign. At the end of the day this is not a fan making campaign and the best way for the CMNT to make new fans will be having success. Who knows where the games will be in the third round but for now this is the best move.
For all those reasons I think that the CSA has done the right thing by placing all the games in Toronto. IT is all about making the World Cup and this gives us the best chance to do that. I will though admit that if the shoe had been on the other foot and all the games were in other places I would have been very annoyed so I understand how fans around the rest of the country are feeling. All in how you look at it at the end of the day.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
The Time is Here
Brazil 2014 might seem like a long ways off but the fact of the matter is that 32 teams have already been eliminated from the running for qualifying. The teams already out include the likes of India, Philippines, Yemen, Palestine, Hong Kong, Laos, and Maldives. So they are not the traditional powers in the sport by any means which is why they had to take part in the earliest round of qualifying but as Grant Wahl pointed out the 32 teams already knocked out compromise 29% of the world's population. So for a quarter of the people living on planet earth the dream of making the World Cup ended before it ever really began.
For the other 175 nations that are competing for the 31 spots up for grabs in Brazil (the hosts have the 32nd spot already) the dream will begin in earnest today. So in case you did not know the World Cup qualifying draw is upon us and by the middle of the afternoon (EST) we will know the CONCACAF draw shakes out and that includes who Canada will take on in its opening round. So from here on in this post we will shift our focus to CONCACAF since that is all that matters in Canada's road to the World cup.
It really is not the easiest thing to try and explain the qualifying road and how the draw is going to shake out but I will do my best to try and highlight the basics. If you want some more info that is probably laid out better then I could do feel free to check out http://www.tropigol.com/2011/07/30/world-cup-qualifying-draw-procedure-for-concacaf-teams/
So CONCACAF has already had one round of play for the lowest ranked teams in the confederation. This round saw Belize, Dominican Republic, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Aruba and Bahamas all advance as winners. They will now join the next 19 teams in terms of rank in the second round of play. It is in this second round that Canada enters the fun and will be drawn in to a group with 3 other teams. As one of the higher ranked teams in this round of qualification Canada will be looking to get a favorable draw that will allow them to advance. For round 2 CONCACAF has the 24 teams drawn in to 6 groups of 4 teams each with one team coming from each of the pots, which are determined based on FIFA rankings. The winner of each group will advance to the third round where they will join the top 6 teams that have advanced straight to this stage. The second round matches will all take place in the fall.
So Canada gets involved in things before the confederations top teams and we will just have to hope that they do not mess up and actually make it to the third round. If they do they will be drawn into one of three groups of 4 from which the top two teams will advance. This is the point in qualification is going to be tough as some of the top teams will start getting knocked out. By the end of the third round there will only be 6 teams left. The round will again be drawn based on pots, they will again be based on FIFA rankings but this time based on the ones coming out in March as this round will not take place until the spring.
So assuming that your team is able to get past the third round by finishing in the top 2 of its group then you can really start to dream as making the World Cup as at least 3 of the final 6 teams will be going on to play in Brazil. For the final round there will be only one group and all 6 teams will be placed in it as they compete to finish in the top 3 spots and automatically advancing to Brazil. For the fourth placed team their fate will be decided by an intercontinental playoff while 5th and 6th place will have to join over 100 other countries dreaming of 2018.
So for Canada who start play in the second round the road is going to be a long one. They will have to win their group in the second round, come top 2 in the third round, and top 3 in the final round if they want to be playing in Brazil but one thing is clear to me now. Today is the kind of day where you just can't help but hope that some sort of miracle happens and come 2013 Canada will be in that final group. Just that would be a great achievement in my eyes as actually making the World Cup is still probably a distant dream. Just want to see them take a step forward and do well against teams that they should be doing well against.
The other big news leading in to World Cup qualifying is that Bob Bradley is out as the American head coach and has been replaced by Jürgen Klinsmann who was the clear favourite to land the job and will now almost certainly have more control then any of his predecessors. It was thought that the chances of Klinsmann taking over were becoming slim as he had a fair few differences with the US governing body as he wanted almost total control but someone must have caved for this hiring to be allowed to take place.
For the other 175 nations that are competing for the 31 spots up for grabs in Brazil (the hosts have the 32nd spot already) the dream will begin in earnest today. So in case you did not know the World Cup qualifying draw is upon us and by the middle of the afternoon (EST) we will know the CONCACAF draw shakes out and that includes who Canada will take on in its opening round. So from here on in this post we will shift our focus to CONCACAF since that is all that matters in Canada's road to the World cup.
It really is not the easiest thing to try and explain the qualifying road and how the draw is going to shake out but I will do my best to try and highlight the basics. If you want some more info that is probably laid out better then I could do feel free to check out http://www.tropigol.com/2011/07/30/world-cup-qualifying-draw-procedure-for-concacaf-teams/
So CONCACAF has already had one round of play for the lowest ranked teams in the confederation. This round saw Belize, Dominican Republic, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Aruba and Bahamas all advance as winners. They will now join the next 19 teams in terms of rank in the second round of play. It is in this second round that Canada enters the fun and will be drawn in to a group with 3 other teams. As one of the higher ranked teams in this round of qualification Canada will be looking to get a favorable draw that will allow them to advance. For round 2 CONCACAF has the 24 teams drawn in to 6 groups of 4 teams each with one team coming from each of the pots, which are determined based on FIFA rankings. The winner of each group will advance to the third round where they will join the top 6 teams that have advanced straight to this stage. The second round matches will all take place in the fall.
So Canada gets involved in things before the confederations top teams and we will just have to hope that they do not mess up and actually make it to the third round. If they do they will be drawn into one of three groups of 4 from which the top two teams will advance. This is the point in qualification is going to be tough as some of the top teams will start getting knocked out. By the end of the third round there will only be 6 teams left. The round will again be drawn based on pots, they will again be based on FIFA rankings but this time based on the ones coming out in March as this round will not take place until the spring.
So assuming that your team is able to get past the third round by finishing in the top 2 of its group then you can really start to dream as making the World Cup as at least 3 of the final 6 teams will be going on to play in Brazil. For the final round there will be only one group and all 6 teams will be placed in it as they compete to finish in the top 3 spots and automatically advancing to Brazil. For the fourth placed team their fate will be decided by an intercontinental playoff while 5th and 6th place will have to join over 100 other countries dreaming of 2018.
So for Canada who start play in the second round the road is going to be a long one. They will have to win their group in the second round, come top 2 in the third round, and top 3 in the final round if they want to be playing in Brazil but one thing is clear to me now. Today is the kind of day where you just can't help but hope that some sort of miracle happens and come 2013 Canada will be in that final group. Just that would be a great achievement in my eyes as actually making the World Cup is still probably a distant dream. Just want to see them take a step forward and do well against teams that they should be doing well against.
The other big news leading in to World Cup qualifying is that Bob Bradley is out as the American head coach and has been replaced by Jürgen Klinsmann who was the clear favourite to land the job and will now almost certainly have more control then any of his predecessors. It was thought that the chances of Klinsmann taking over were becoming slim as he had a fair few differences with the US governing body as he wanted almost total control but someone must have caved for this hiring to be allowed to take place.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Canadian Women's National Team: Lessons the Men Should Learn
I have recently come to the conclusion that there are many things that the Canadian Men's National team could benefit to learning from their Women's equivalent. Having monitored the women in the run up to their World Cup competition later this month I have noticed that the team does a lot more to create a greater public image. Just a quick search of twitter shows that many of the ladies are on there and often are willing to reply to fans and present themselves as very nice girls. They do not have the issues that many other pro athletes have come across while using twitter, at least not in what I have seen, they don't send out inflamatory and offensive tweets like Rashard Medenhall of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers nor do they send out tweets that are barely in the English language like Rio Ferdinand. They all do well to come across as nice ladies who truly appreciate their fans. This is sort of effort by the team, even if it is informal, makes them seem more human and you can connect with them better. The men's team on the other hand does have a maybe a handful of players on twitter but most of them rarely tweet and when they do they are often quite useless and just updating us on the games that they are playing soon or their teams results a few days late, thanks for those ones De Ro. The players on the men's team do not put that effort in to connect with their fans and as such i think they are less popular than the Ladies team in many circle.
I am just using twitter as one illustration of the difference between the two teams. For me the ladies do many things that help them relate to Canadians and they do more to connect with people at the grass roots level. You are more likely to see the Women's team members going to their local soccer club where they used to play and being well known in their community then the men. I will attribute a lot of this to the fact that the men have a more rigorous professional schedule throughout much of the year which requires them to spend more time away from home and several of the players play over seas. So the women do have a bit more time to spend at home and being connecting to their communities but a part of it is also a conscious effort on their parts.
Another illustration of how the Ladies team does more to relate is their efforts to raise funds for breast cancer research. If you follow a number of them on twitter then I am sure that you have seen earlier today a lot of them tweeted pictures of sports bras which they have added their own unique designs to and made available for auction following the women's World Cup. This is the kind of initiative that can only improve the popularity of the team and to be honest it was probably fun bonding that did not take that much time or effort on their parts. In the end they will have done good by raising some funds for research and also done good for their perception throughout the country.
This is a lesson that the men's team needs to learn. These small little things may not win them loads of new fans but it can help to make them more popular and well liked and at this stage every little bit is going to help to grow the program. The men's team is not very well connected to its fans and does not do much in the community so they feel distant and like they do not really belong to us as a country in the same way that the Women's team does. It is not often that you hear of Canada's top male players staying connected to the clubs where they grew up and being hugely supported by them but you hear that about almost every female player. They are not going to be able to change this perception over night, and like I said due to restraints I do not expect them to do as much as the Women do, but there is a lot of room for improvement and any little bit would help.
There are other areas that the men could learn from the women but I am not going to really get into the idea of searching for a coach overseas in hopes of getting the best possible candidate or the idea of holding training camps to help the player build a better connection because those things just are not really possible. But let me just wrap up by pointing out that there is a reason that the women are ranked 6 in the world and arguably better supported.
I am just using twitter as one illustration of the difference between the two teams. For me the ladies do many things that help them relate to Canadians and they do more to connect with people at the grass roots level. You are more likely to see the Women's team members going to their local soccer club where they used to play and being well known in their community then the men. I will attribute a lot of this to the fact that the men have a more rigorous professional schedule throughout much of the year which requires them to spend more time away from home and several of the players play over seas. So the women do have a bit more time to spend at home and being connecting to their communities but a part of it is also a conscious effort on their parts.
Another illustration of how the Ladies team does more to relate is their efforts to raise funds for breast cancer research. If you follow a number of them on twitter then I am sure that you have seen earlier today a lot of them tweeted pictures of sports bras which they have added their own unique designs to and made available for auction following the women's World Cup. This is the kind of initiative that can only improve the popularity of the team and to be honest it was probably fun bonding that did not take that much time or effort on their parts. In the end they will have done good by raising some funds for research and also done good for their perception throughout the country.
This is a lesson that the men's team needs to learn. These small little things may not win them loads of new fans but it can help to make them more popular and well liked and at this stage every little bit is going to help to grow the program. The men's team is not very well connected to its fans and does not do much in the community so they feel distant and like they do not really belong to us as a country in the same way that the Women's team does. It is not often that you hear of Canada's top male players staying connected to the clubs where they grew up and being hugely supported by them but you hear that about almost every female player. They are not going to be able to change this perception over night, and like I said due to restraints I do not expect them to do as much as the Women do, but there is a lot of room for improvement and any little bit would help.
There are other areas that the men could learn from the women but I am not going to really get into the idea of searching for a coach overseas in hopes of getting the best possible candidate or the idea of holding training camps to help the player build a better connection because those things just are not really possible. But let me just wrap up by pointing out that there is a reason that the women are ranked 6 in the world and arguably better supported.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Player Profile: Doneil Henry
Position: Central Defender
Age: 18
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 180 lbs
Born: Brampton, Ontario
Doneil Henry is the first graduate of the Toronto FC Academy when he signed a pro contract in 2010. He started his career last season as a 17 year old playing in 3 matches but none in the league. His most notable appearance last season was in a friendly against Bolton Wanderers where Henry impressed so much that he was selected Man of the Match against the Premier League opponent. Henry was one of Toronto FC's top youth prospects through out his whole time while playing the academy and strong performances with the side soon paid off with first team opportunities.
A member of the Canadian U20 team, Henry has cracked the Toronto FC starting line up this season due to injuries at the back. Henry made his first start on the weekend in the 2-2 draw with L.A. Galaxy. Manager Winter showed his trust in the 18 year old by letting him play the full 90 minutes. It was his first start of the season and his career but was his second appearance of the season following a short substitute appearance against Sporting Kansas City.
Doneil Henry has broken into the squad because of injuries to Nana Attakora and Adrian Cann leaving TFC thin at the back, but the 18 year old Brampton native has taken his opportunity very well making a claim for further appearances with both Toronto and Canada. Henry was very impressive in tonight's 0-0 draw with New England Revolution. His age never showed as he kept things tidy at the back and kept the Revolution attack away from goal.
With impressive performances with the Toronto FC first team at the young age of 18 years old, the tall, lanky central defender is one of the most promising players in TFC squad. What's good for Toronto is also good for Canada in this circumstance. Henry has the potential to be a good defender in the MLS and given the chance should do a fine job at the back with the Canadian men's national team.
Gold Cup: Day 9 (End of Canada)
So on Tuesday night there were two games in the Gold Cup but I trust that most of my readers watched the Canadian game. With that in mind I am not overly going to discuss the events of the game but will instead focus on my feelings and reaction to the game, and Canada's Gold Cup effort as a whole.
The short version is that Canada needs to be better then they were the last three games. The team that we saw against Ecuador showed potential and showed the ability to get forward but the team that showed up the last 3 matches looked completely unthreatening and at times they seemed lost for what they were doing. The 4-5-1 seemed to me to be the root cause of the problems because when Hart was forced to make changes, mainly not playing Jackson alone up top, things picked up a bit. It is actually a bad thing that Canada was at its very best in the second half of the US game because Ali Gerba was brought on. If we are counting on Ali Gerba, still, to score goals then this world cup qualifying campaign is going to be a tough one.
The fact is that Canada played 3 matches in the Gold Cup and the only time that they scored was from 2 soft penalties. They created very little from open play and maybe it was the game plan, or Atiba Hutchinson missing two matches, or maybe it is that Canada continues to lack a constant scoring threat from the striker position. The teams leading scorer on the current roster is Dwayne De Rosario, with 15 goals, and he so often gets lost in games going long stretches without making any impact. There is no one on this current team that you can count on to score with any regularity. We have some decent midfielders, good enough to compete with out teams in CONCACAF I would say but the other areas need to be improved. I have high hopes for Jackson but the truth is that he has a lot to learn and the system in place under Stephen Hart is not the right fit for him. If you watch how Norwich use him, which works well, you can see how he is capable of being an effective attacker but for Canada he was often isolated and out matched by larger defenders. Rob Friend and Ali Gerba on the other hand I do not have any confidence in at all. I hear Friend can be good but have limited exposure to him for his club but again he is poorly used in Hart's tactics. There is also Ricketts but I am going to reserve judgement on him since I have seen almost nothing of him and his few appearances for Canada have seemed decent but not enough to get a true sense.
The other issue that Canada faces is they lack that killer confidence. They go into games against the USA overwhelmed and play like they are afraid of getting beaten and then when they do get scored on they struggle to find an answer. Then even when we get ahead like we were against Panama there is this sense that the team are not strong enough to know how to hold on to that lead. The best teams know that the easiest way to hold a lead is to push back against the team rather then just packing it in where you are basically just waiting for the other team to create chances and potentially score. The goal that Canada conceded was quite unlucky but it was nothing less then Panama deserved as they had been taking the game to Canada for some time. Would of course not have been an issue if Canada had converted some chances in the first half. Now Canada has an average back line at best so that is never going to help and by the end of this Gold Cup they didn't have 4 players fit to play in their natural positions in the back line which is not going to help but maybe Hart should have brought another defender along for the tournament rather then someone like Pacheco just to pick a name.
The other area of the team that I was most concerned about going into this Gold Cup was in goal. Hirschfeld has had a couple of great performances for Canada in the past but is not consistent enough to rely on in hopefully a long qualification run. I was though pleased with what I saw from Milan Borjan. He displayed good positioning, good judgement, and the ability to stop shots. You can still tell that he has not been around top clubs and can use a fair bit of refinement but he has the potential and I was pleasantly surprised by that.
So Canada is now out of the Gold Cup and the next stop for the Men's National Team is World Cup qualifiers this fall. The draw will almost certainly hand us something easy in the opening round of play but my fear is that we will win that without making the needed changes. For me Hart needs to prove that he can get away from always using the 4-5-1 and have some tactical flexibility. He needs to change something and get the team to the point where it is scoring goals from open play against the Panama's and Guadeloupe's of the world. It is alright to be kept off the score sheet when you are up against a keeper like Tim Howard, who is class, but against other teams we need to find a way to manufacture goals. I can not sit here and offer a solution, if I could I would be coaching at a high level, but I can say that in my opinion if Hart does not show the willingness and ability to mix it up this fall then it should cost him his job. We should be winning these early qualifying games no matter what, that is not good enough though. Canada needs to be using these games to get much better. We have to be in the top 8 teams and CONCACAF and I would like to see us go far in qualifiers, even if the World Cup is still a distant dream, but based on the Gold Cup performance we have a long way to go to prove that we are right with the second tier of teams in the region.
The American team also played last night and to be fair they were terrible. They have been poor all the way through the group stage and seem to be a long way from hitting their stride. For me, and I have heard a few others saying this, they have only made it out of the group stage because of their natural talent and having some of the best players in the tournament. If you look at how Mexico has preformed and look at the States then they have a lot of work to do if they want to overcome Mexico at some point and potentially win this thing. Clint Dempsey was at the centre of the Americans bad play in the group stage as he seemed to just not be sharp at all and wasted chance after chance after chance with him being at his worst last night. Dempsey should have had a hat trick and put the game beyond a doubt for the US but instead he got nothing. Canada may be the team going home but the Americans have underachieved just as much and could be joining Canada in the coming days.
So with no more Gold Cup for Canada what do you have to look forward to? Well Canada is about to enter in to two more competitions in including the U-17's and then the Women's World Cup later this month. Personally I am very excited for the WWC and think that Canada are a team that can turn some heads.
I will try to cover that tournament and preview it in the coming weeks as well as continuing with some Gold Cup coverage and TFC coverage. Going to be a great summer for soccer in this country!
The short version is that Canada needs to be better then they were the last three games. The team that we saw against Ecuador showed potential and showed the ability to get forward but the team that showed up the last 3 matches looked completely unthreatening and at times they seemed lost for what they were doing. The 4-5-1 seemed to me to be the root cause of the problems because when Hart was forced to make changes, mainly not playing Jackson alone up top, things picked up a bit. It is actually a bad thing that Canada was at its very best in the second half of the US game because Ali Gerba was brought on. If we are counting on Ali Gerba, still, to score goals then this world cup qualifying campaign is going to be a tough one.
The fact is that Canada played 3 matches in the Gold Cup and the only time that they scored was from 2 soft penalties. They created very little from open play and maybe it was the game plan, or Atiba Hutchinson missing two matches, or maybe it is that Canada continues to lack a constant scoring threat from the striker position. The teams leading scorer on the current roster is Dwayne De Rosario, with 15 goals, and he so often gets lost in games going long stretches without making any impact. There is no one on this current team that you can count on to score with any regularity. We have some decent midfielders, good enough to compete with out teams in CONCACAF I would say but the other areas need to be improved. I have high hopes for Jackson but the truth is that he has a lot to learn and the system in place under Stephen Hart is not the right fit for him. If you watch how Norwich use him, which works well, you can see how he is capable of being an effective attacker but for Canada he was often isolated and out matched by larger defenders. Rob Friend and Ali Gerba on the other hand I do not have any confidence in at all. I hear Friend can be good but have limited exposure to him for his club but again he is poorly used in Hart's tactics. There is also Ricketts but I am going to reserve judgement on him since I have seen almost nothing of him and his few appearances for Canada have seemed decent but not enough to get a true sense.
The other issue that Canada faces is they lack that killer confidence. They go into games against the USA overwhelmed and play like they are afraid of getting beaten and then when they do get scored on they struggle to find an answer. Then even when we get ahead like we were against Panama there is this sense that the team are not strong enough to know how to hold on to that lead. The best teams know that the easiest way to hold a lead is to push back against the team rather then just packing it in where you are basically just waiting for the other team to create chances and potentially score. The goal that Canada conceded was quite unlucky but it was nothing less then Panama deserved as they had been taking the game to Canada for some time. Would of course not have been an issue if Canada had converted some chances in the first half. Now Canada has an average back line at best so that is never going to help and by the end of this Gold Cup they didn't have 4 players fit to play in their natural positions in the back line which is not going to help but maybe Hart should have brought another defender along for the tournament rather then someone like Pacheco just to pick a name.
The other area of the team that I was most concerned about going into this Gold Cup was in goal. Hirschfeld has had a couple of great performances for Canada in the past but is not consistent enough to rely on in hopefully a long qualification run. I was though pleased with what I saw from Milan Borjan. He displayed good positioning, good judgement, and the ability to stop shots. You can still tell that he has not been around top clubs and can use a fair bit of refinement but he has the potential and I was pleasantly surprised by that.
So Canada is now out of the Gold Cup and the next stop for the Men's National Team is World Cup qualifiers this fall. The draw will almost certainly hand us something easy in the opening round of play but my fear is that we will win that without making the needed changes. For me Hart needs to prove that he can get away from always using the 4-5-1 and have some tactical flexibility. He needs to change something and get the team to the point where it is scoring goals from open play against the Panama's and Guadeloupe's of the world. It is alright to be kept off the score sheet when you are up against a keeper like Tim Howard, who is class, but against other teams we need to find a way to manufacture goals. I can not sit here and offer a solution, if I could I would be coaching at a high level, but I can say that in my opinion if Hart does not show the willingness and ability to mix it up this fall then it should cost him his job. We should be winning these early qualifying games no matter what, that is not good enough though. Canada needs to be using these games to get much better. We have to be in the top 8 teams and CONCACAF and I would like to see us go far in qualifiers, even if the World Cup is still a distant dream, but based on the Gold Cup performance we have a long way to go to prove that we are right with the second tier of teams in the region.
The American team also played last night and to be fair they were terrible. They have been poor all the way through the group stage and seem to be a long way from hitting their stride. For me, and I have heard a few others saying this, they have only made it out of the group stage because of their natural talent and having some of the best players in the tournament. If you look at how Mexico has preformed and look at the States then they have a lot of work to do if they want to overcome Mexico at some point and potentially win this thing. Clint Dempsey was at the centre of the Americans bad play in the group stage as he seemed to just not be sharp at all and wasted chance after chance after chance with him being at his worst last night. Dempsey should have had a hat trick and put the game beyond a doubt for the US but instead he got nothing. Canada may be the team going home but the Americans have underachieved just as much and could be joining Canada in the coming days.
So with no more Gold Cup for Canada what do you have to look forward to? Well Canada is about to enter in to two more competitions in including the U-17's and then the Women's World Cup later this month. Personally I am very excited for the WWC and think that Canada are a team that can turn some heads.
I will try to cover that tournament and preview it in the coming weeks as well as continuing with some Gold Cup coverage and TFC coverage. Going to be a great summer for soccer in this country!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
The Canadian Conundrum
What I am going to attempt to do in this post is lay out the possible outcomes for Group C in the simplest and most straightforward way that I can which will likely result in everyone be confused and in that case the best thing to do is hope that Canada wins tonight as that will be enough to advance no matter what, got that down? Good cause now we can get into the fun that such a stupid tournament format can create. This whole best 2 third place teams moving on concept is just useless and for the first time in my life I found myself agreeing with a City fan last night while I was listening to Duane Rollins thoughts on the dumb format on last nights edition of Itscalledfootball (check out the podcast for some good stuff!)
So lets get down to the match and set out a couple of scenarios:
1. If Canada wins the game, regardless of the margin, they advance but could finish anywhere from 1st to 3rd
2. If Canada losses, regardless of the margin, they are going home
3. If Canada draws the game then they need to hope that the US losses their game against Guadeloupe
So that is the very basic outline of what can happen. The scenarios get a lot more complex if you try to include all of the different outcomes from both of tonights games. For example if Canada were to win by 4 or more then they would be able to claim top spot in the group and if they want a shot at second in the group then Canada needs to at least win by 2 so that they can go above Panama based on head to head. I am not in the mood to hurt my brain trying to lay it all out for you when Duane of The 24th Minute has already done such a good job over here: http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/content.php?1831-Group-C-breakdown
The other thing that is worth knowing is that if Canada wins the game by less than 2 then they are heading to a quarterfinals date with Mexico. So if you are hoping for Canada to avoid Mexico then a 2 goal win is the magic number. To do that Canada is going to need a great effort as they are likely going to have to overcome a depleted back line, with only 3 out and out defenders left fit on the team, and likely the absence of Atiba Hutchinson for the second straight match as reports are suggesting that his club PSV are suggesting that it would be wise for Hart not to play him tonight. If PSV really are saying that then we won't be seeing Atiba tonight since Hart will want to be careful not to burn bridges with them before World Cup qualifying begins as Hutchinson will be a key part of any success that Canada is going to have.
Gold Cup: Day 8
So last night was finally the second last day of group stages. Group B was set to come to an end with Guatemala taking on Grenada and Jamaica against Honduras. For the games taking place at Red Bull Arena the stakes were pretty simple. In the first match Guatemala needed to win by 3 goals to ensure that they would go through as a best placed third team (or even get second in the group) and if Grenada wanted to advance they were going to need to win by a landslide and then get a lot of help from group C results, so basically Grenada were done already. In the second game of the night both teams were already through to the next round, barring a very lopsided win by Jamaica, so it was basically a battle for top spot as Jamaica would go through in first with either a win or a draw.
The night kicked off with Guatemala taking on Grenada and this match raised the interesting question of which team is worse, Grenada or Cuba? They were the first two teams sent packing from the tournament and lets be honest they never even came close to taking a point in this thing. In this one Grenada looked completely outclassed and their defence seemed incapable of slowing down the attack. As a result Guatemala got goals in the 15th and 21st minutes and despite leading 2-0 at the break they really should have been up by a few more goals. The good news for Guatemala was that with a 2-0 lead their goal difference was up to 0 and that had them even with El Salvador and they would have known that one more in the second half would almost certainly see them advance. They got that goal in the 53rd minute from Carlos Ruiz, who finally got on the score sheet, and then for good measure they ensured their progress with a fourth goal this time from Carlos Gallardo.
With a 4-0 win in the bag Guatemala had ensured that they would be in the next phase of the competition. They have 4 points but their +2 goal difference is better then El Salvador's goal difference of 0 and that means that regardless of the results in the last 3 games the worst they could end up is as the 8th team to get through. For Grenada the loss just further illustrated that the team that they brought here was just not up to par. Like Cuba they struggled to score goals and were conceding them at an alarming rate. I guess Grenada can be proud that they did not finish last overall since they conceded one less goal then Cuba did and had one less player defect. On a completely unrelated note I would like to urge Grenada to start paying their coach enough that he can afford to get a suit and tie. He looked terrible in that track jacket, cheap ball cap, and purple piny. At least if you are going to get destroyed in three straight games you can try and look like you are somewhat professional.
The second game of the night was a real letdown to me. I was expecting to see Jamaica and Honduras battling it out with top spot on the line but instead with both teams having already sealed their progress they seemed to already be thinking about the quarterfinals and not to interested in trying all that hard in this game. Jamaica did have a fair bit more life to them then Honduras to be fair and they were the better team in the first half creating a couple of chances and forcing a couple of good saves out of Valladares. Jamaica would get the only breakthrough of the match in the 35th minute when Ryan Johnson fired a shot in from 20 some yards out that smashed off the crossbar but he got a bit of luck as the ball rebounded off of Valladares' back and into the net. Johnson's strike was worthy of a goal but the Honduran keeper was a bit unfortunate to be charged with the own goal on that one. Honduras got a bit more into the game in the second half but the only major moment was a decision to hand Jamaica a penalty. The call was the correct one but the excitement came from the fact that Valladares got a bit of revenge on Ryan Johnson by doing really well to get down and turn his spot kick away.
In the end the game wound up 1-0 and though it was lacking some of the spark and the goals that I was expecting from these two teams it was probably a fair result. The result means that Jamaica goes through Group B in first place having collected 9 points. Honduras will go through in second having collected the same 4 points as Guatemala but their goal difference of +5 is enough.
I will be back later on with another blog setting out the task that faces Canada as they look to advance from group C and also what they are going to need to happen if they are going to be able to avoid a quarterfinal date with highflying Mexico.
The night kicked off with Guatemala taking on Grenada and this match raised the interesting question of which team is worse, Grenada or Cuba? They were the first two teams sent packing from the tournament and lets be honest they never even came close to taking a point in this thing. In this one Grenada looked completely outclassed and their defence seemed incapable of slowing down the attack. As a result Guatemala got goals in the 15th and 21st minutes and despite leading 2-0 at the break they really should have been up by a few more goals. The good news for Guatemala was that with a 2-0 lead their goal difference was up to 0 and that had them even with El Salvador and they would have known that one more in the second half would almost certainly see them advance. They got that goal in the 53rd minute from Carlos Ruiz, who finally got on the score sheet, and then for good measure they ensured their progress with a fourth goal this time from Carlos Gallardo.
With a 4-0 win in the bag Guatemala had ensured that they would be in the next phase of the competition. They have 4 points but their +2 goal difference is better then El Salvador's goal difference of 0 and that means that regardless of the results in the last 3 games the worst they could end up is as the 8th team to get through. For Grenada the loss just further illustrated that the team that they brought here was just not up to par. Like Cuba they struggled to score goals and were conceding them at an alarming rate. I guess Grenada can be proud that they did not finish last overall since they conceded one less goal then Cuba did and had one less player defect. On a completely unrelated note I would like to urge Grenada to start paying their coach enough that he can afford to get a suit and tie. He looked terrible in that track jacket, cheap ball cap, and purple piny. At least if you are going to get destroyed in three straight games you can try and look like you are somewhat professional.
The second game of the night was a real letdown to me. I was expecting to see Jamaica and Honduras battling it out with top spot on the line but instead with both teams having already sealed their progress they seemed to already be thinking about the quarterfinals and not to interested in trying all that hard in this game. Jamaica did have a fair bit more life to them then Honduras to be fair and they were the better team in the first half creating a couple of chances and forcing a couple of good saves out of Valladares. Jamaica would get the only breakthrough of the match in the 35th minute when Ryan Johnson fired a shot in from 20 some yards out that smashed off the crossbar but he got a bit of luck as the ball rebounded off of Valladares' back and into the net. Johnson's strike was worthy of a goal but the Honduran keeper was a bit unfortunate to be charged with the own goal on that one. Honduras got a bit more into the game in the second half but the only major moment was a decision to hand Jamaica a penalty. The call was the correct one but the excitement came from the fact that Valladares got a bit of revenge on Ryan Johnson by doing really well to get down and turn his spot kick away.
In the end the game wound up 1-0 and though it was lacking some of the spark and the goals that I was expecting from these two teams it was probably a fair result. The result means that Jamaica goes through Group B in first place having collected 9 points. Honduras will go through in second having collected the same 4 points as Guatemala but their goal difference of +5 is enough.
I will be back later on with another blog setting out the task that faces Canada as they look to advance from group C and also what they are going to need to happen if they are going to be able to avoid a quarterfinal date with highflying Mexico.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Gold Cup: Day 6 (Canada's back!)
The 6th round of play in the 2011 Gold Cup saw group C get back in to the action. That means that Canada was taking to the field for their second match and this time they were down in Tampa to take on Guadeloupe. The second game of the nights would see Panama and the United States battling for control over the group.
Coming into this game I heard a lot of Canadian fans feeling like this should be an easy win for the team because Guadeloupe are an unranked nation but that ignores the fact that most of their players are professionals in the French League system with a fair few of them playing for good teams in the Ligue 2. With that said they were not a team that Canada would be able to get away with taking lightly which they proved by making Panama work so hard to win in the first round despite having gone down to 9 men. The second game was no different as Canada were going to have to work for everything despite Guadeloupe again going down a man. This time the sending off game in the 4th minute when Will Johnson was hit by a two footed tackle from Jean-Luc Lambourde. It may not have been the worst tackle I have ever seen but I have also seen red cards being given out for less and Guadeloupe cant really feel that hard done by this one. So Canada were taking on 10 men for basically the entire game now and they must certainly have been the clear favorites, right?
The first chance of note in the game would go the way of Guadeloupe as Borjan was forced to get down to his right quickly and did well to turn aside the low shot. Before the first half was over Canadian striker Ali Gerba got what was clearly the best chance of the half as he found himself unmarked in the box but when he hit the cross first time he was unable to get it on target. The first half would end without much else happening and the sending off was the only real talking point.
The second half began with Guadeloupe creating the first chance as once again Borjan was forced to get down quick to make a save right by his post. Borjan continued his solid play tracking down crosses and making easy work of any shots that did come his way making Hart look like a genius for deciding to start him in this match. Canada generated a half chance a few minutes later with a speculative shot from range by De Rosario but on the 50th minute De Rosario sent a cross into the box that was aimed towards Ali Gerba but Gerba went down under contact from the defender and the referee awarded Canada a penalty. De Ro would step up to the spot and after sending the keeper the wrong way he slotted home the opening goal of the game. The penalty was by no means cut and dry and when I said that Gerba went down under contact it really was slight contact and he went down rather easily as he had no chance of getting to the ball. The decision is one that Canada have often been on the other end of and it has often angered Canadian fans to see teams going down so softly against us so it is no surprise that the reaction to this has been rather mixed even among Canadian fans. Gerba going down softly does raise the question though of whether this is the kind of thing Canada needs to do if they want to gain an edge against their opponents in the Gold Cup and later in World Cup qualifying. I personally do not like the idea of our players diving but if you are under contact and start to fall why not go down and just see what happens. No point busting your butt to state on your feet when at the other end of the field the opposing team might just go down and win the game as a result.
The game would continue on with both teams looking to create chances but to be honest there was a real lack of offensive talent on display in this one. The best chances the rest of the game came from long range efforts which were all turned away by the keepers. In the end it was that penalty decision that proved to be the difference as Canada escaped with a 1-0 win. For Canada I am sure they would have liked to score a couple more goals to try and improve the goal difference and their chances of finishing higher up after the group stage ends. For Guadeloupe on the other hand they will feel that once again the ref has cost them a chance to win the game with that sending off and then the penalty decision. Things will not get any easier for Guadeloupe though as they finish off the group against the United States and they will need to not only win the match but will need to win it by a comfortable margin. That basically means that come the last match day Guadeloupe will be only playing for pride. Canada on the other hand will have everything to play for when they round off their group schedule against Panama in a match where a positive result could see them finish anywhere from 1st to 3rd in group C.
The second game of the evening in the group was another exciting one and surely left a lot of fans scratching their hands. Panama was taking on the United States and with the US being one of the favorites for this Gold Cup you would have expected them to have a fairly easy time disposing of Panama. The match was nothing like that though as Panama came out flying and really took it to the US. Throughout the first half the Americans were kept on the back heel an Panama's hard work was rewarded in 18th minute when Luis Tejada scored to give them a lead that surprised all of the American fans watching the match in Tampa. Things only got worse for the Americans though as defender Tim Ream brought down Perez in the box handing Panama a penalty in the 35th minute. The spot kick was converted by Gabriel Gomez to give Panama a shock 2-0 lead which they would hold until the half.
The Americans would fight back in the second half but Panama put up a solid resistance. Panama would manage to hold back the powerful attack until the 67th minute when Clarence Goodson scored to give the States hope. In the end though they were unable to find the second goal that they needed to salvage any sort of result. Panama's early onslaught combined with resolute defending and some strong keeping from Cano were enough to hand them their second win in the group.
So with 2 rounds in the book now Panama find themselves sitting on top of the group with 6 points and if they get a result against Canada on the last day they will be going through in first place. The Americans will be looking to extract some revenge for this loss on Guadeloupe in their final match as they need a comfortable win to try and finish as high up the group as they can. A win could see them finish 1st or 2nd. There really is almost everything to play for on the final match day in this group and teams will be fighting hard for better positions to ensure they get the easier quarter finals.
Coming into this game I heard a lot of Canadian fans feeling like this should be an easy win for the team because Guadeloupe are an unranked nation but that ignores the fact that most of their players are professionals in the French League system with a fair few of them playing for good teams in the Ligue 2. With that said they were not a team that Canada would be able to get away with taking lightly which they proved by making Panama work so hard to win in the first round despite having gone down to 9 men. The second game was no different as Canada were going to have to work for everything despite Guadeloupe again going down a man. This time the sending off game in the 4th minute when Will Johnson was hit by a two footed tackle from Jean-Luc Lambourde. It may not have been the worst tackle I have ever seen but I have also seen red cards being given out for less and Guadeloupe cant really feel that hard done by this one. So Canada were taking on 10 men for basically the entire game now and they must certainly have been the clear favorites, right?
The first chance of note in the game would go the way of Guadeloupe as Borjan was forced to get down to his right quickly and did well to turn aside the low shot. Before the first half was over Canadian striker Ali Gerba got what was clearly the best chance of the half as he found himself unmarked in the box but when he hit the cross first time he was unable to get it on target. The first half would end without much else happening and the sending off was the only real talking point.
The second half began with Guadeloupe creating the first chance as once again Borjan was forced to get down quick to make a save right by his post. Borjan continued his solid play tracking down crosses and making easy work of any shots that did come his way making Hart look like a genius for deciding to start him in this match. Canada generated a half chance a few minutes later with a speculative shot from range by De Rosario but on the 50th minute De Rosario sent a cross into the box that was aimed towards Ali Gerba but Gerba went down under contact from the defender and the referee awarded Canada a penalty. De Ro would step up to the spot and after sending the keeper the wrong way he slotted home the opening goal of the game. The penalty was by no means cut and dry and when I said that Gerba went down under contact it really was slight contact and he went down rather easily as he had no chance of getting to the ball. The decision is one that Canada have often been on the other end of and it has often angered Canadian fans to see teams going down so softly against us so it is no surprise that the reaction to this has been rather mixed even among Canadian fans. Gerba going down softly does raise the question though of whether this is the kind of thing Canada needs to do if they want to gain an edge against their opponents in the Gold Cup and later in World Cup qualifying. I personally do not like the idea of our players diving but if you are under contact and start to fall why not go down and just see what happens. No point busting your butt to state on your feet when at the other end of the field the opposing team might just go down and win the game as a result.
The game would continue on with both teams looking to create chances but to be honest there was a real lack of offensive talent on display in this one. The best chances the rest of the game came from long range efforts which were all turned away by the keepers. In the end it was that penalty decision that proved to be the difference as Canada escaped with a 1-0 win. For Canada I am sure they would have liked to score a couple more goals to try and improve the goal difference and their chances of finishing higher up after the group stage ends. For Guadeloupe on the other hand they will feel that once again the ref has cost them a chance to win the game with that sending off and then the penalty decision. Things will not get any easier for Guadeloupe though as they finish off the group against the United States and they will need to not only win the match but will need to win it by a comfortable margin. That basically means that come the last match day Guadeloupe will be only playing for pride. Canada on the other hand will have everything to play for when they round off their group schedule against Panama in a match where a positive result could see them finish anywhere from 1st to 3rd in group C.
The second game of the evening in the group was another exciting one and surely left a lot of fans scratching their hands. Panama was taking on the United States and with the US being one of the favorites for this Gold Cup you would have expected them to have a fairly easy time disposing of Panama. The match was nothing like that though as Panama came out flying and really took it to the US. Throughout the first half the Americans were kept on the back heel an Panama's hard work was rewarded in 18th minute when Luis Tejada scored to give them a lead that surprised all of the American fans watching the match in Tampa. Things only got worse for the Americans though as defender Tim Ream brought down Perez in the box handing Panama a penalty in the 35th minute. The spot kick was converted by Gabriel Gomez to give Panama a shock 2-0 lead which they would hold until the half.
The Americans would fight back in the second half but Panama put up a solid resistance. Panama would manage to hold back the powerful attack until the 67th minute when Clarence Goodson scored to give the States hope. In the end though they were unable to find the second goal that they needed to salvage any sort of result. Panama's early onslaught combined with resolute defending and some strong keeping from Cano were enough to hand them their second win in the group.
So with 2 rounds in the book now Panama find themselves sitting on top of the group with 6 points and if they get a result against Canada on the last day they will be going through in first place. The Americans will be looking to extract some revenge for this loss on Guadeloupe in their final match as they need a comfortable win to try and finish as high up the group as they can. A win could see them finish 1st or 2nd. There really is almost everything to play for on the final match day in this group and teams will be fighting hard for better positions to ensure they get the easier quarter finals.
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Gold Cup: Day 3 (Canada Day)
June 7th was setting up to be a very big day for Canadian Soccer but in the end the results were not quite we would have all liked to see. The afternoon kicked off with the Women's National team playing their final warmup friendly in Budapest against the Hungarian team. The women would have been hoping to rediscover their scoring touches and hopefully fire a few past the Hungarians but that was not to be. In the end they got the win that they wanted thanks to an 88th minute goal from Matheson which was enough for the 1-0 win. The win set the stage well for a great day for Canada with the mens team preparing to play in the evening and it also ensured that the Women's team would be going into the World Cup feeling pretty good about themselves. The match was also the 100th cap for captain Brittany Timko making her only the 7th Canadian woman to reach that mark. (Women's World Cup preview coming later this month)
Now we get to the Gold Cup. The first match last night opened up play in Group C with Panama taking on Guadeloupe in Detroit. In the early stages this match looked like it was going to be yet another lopsided score as Panama took a 2-0 lead in the first half only to see Guadeloupe have a player sent off to the second questionable red card in as many nights. Having been reduced to 10 men Guadeloupe could have folded but they were ready to put up a fight. Things only got worse for them though when they opened the second half by conceding a penalty which was converted by Gabriel Gomez to give Panama a 3-0 lead. Even though Panama was up by 3 the game had seemed a lot closer then that based on run of play. Both sides were creating chances and it was fairly balances but everything seemed to be going in Panama's favour in the first hour. After the 60th minute Guadeloupe began an impressive fight back led by Brice Jovial who plays for Le Havre in France. Jovial would net goals in the 64th and 78th minute to hand Guadeloupe a lifeline but it was all to little to late as time ran out on them before they could salvage anything. To the other teams in the group it should now be clear that Guadeloupe are not a team that you can take lightly as they will never give a game up and it also showed that both they and Panama possess the kind of quality needed to give Canada and USA tough games.
The second match was the one that we have all be waiting for basically since June of 2007. Ever since the last meeting between Canada and the United States ended so badly Canadian soccer fans have been left with a really bad taste in their mouth. The Canadian supporters would have been hoping to get a measure of revenge in Detroit for the recent struggles that we have had against the Americans. I for one was hoping that for the first time in my life Canada would get a win over the United States in a competitive match. With all the hope among Canadian fans I almost forgot that Canada was still the major underdogs for this match. Spend enough time around passionate fans and they might just have you believing that Canada can hold their own against anyone in the world. That is a good thing though since fans really should have an almost blind faith in the teams that they support.
The game itself went nothing like we had all hoped. Canada's Josh Simpson made a promising run down the wings to start the game off but his cross was over hit and after that the run of play became all USA. The Americans were dominant in possession and creating all sorts of chances in the early minutes. The breakthrough came on 14 minutes when a play that seemed like it was no real danger. Jozy Altidore picked up the ball in the book and he was held out wide but his low shot was hard enough that it snuck under Lars Hirschfeld before he could get down to stop it. Hirschfeld probably should have done a lot better with the strike as he was in position to make the save and the shot came from a poor angle.
Following the opening goal Canada seemed to be rather stunned. The players were all passing off the ball like they didn't want it. Other then a bending effort from De Rosario just past the half hour mark that barely missed bending into Howard's top corner there was little to be excited about for the Canadian fans. It appeared that the choice to go with only Jackson up front left Canada without a really threat in attack as their buildup play was not good enough to provide Jackson any support and Jackson was not big enough to serve as a target man against the American centre backs. The second half of the game began with more of the same as the Americans controlled the run of play and were the only ones really generating any chances. They were rewarded for that dominance in the 61st minute when Clint Dempsey got in at the back post to tuck home a low cross from Altidore.
Having gone down 2-0 and not shown much in terms of being able to get forward and attack Canada were forced to make some changes. The moves that Hart did make gave Canada much more of an edge with Ali Gerba being able to generate probably the two best chances of the game for Canada. Gerba first forced Howard to deal with a powerful effort which would have been heading into the top corner until Howard got his hand on the ball and forced it over. Gerba's second chance was probably even better as the ball fell to him in close after a scramble in the American box but a great reaction save from Howard kept Canada off the board.
Based on the late surge from Canada they were probably a bit unlucky to not get a goal for their efforts. I think that in the end the Americans showed that they are still the better team and that they have the quality to control the pace of matches like this one. Canada showed that they have more questions then answers at this point as they need to find a way to generate more and play with a bit more edge in their attacks. The game might have been a lot different if say Tim Howard was in Canada's net since it may just have ended up 2-1 Canada but we can only work with what we have and despite the early mistake that led to Altidore's goal Hirschfeld put in a solid effort.
The real highlight of the match for me was seeing the excited and loud bunch of Canadians that had travelled down to Detroit for the match. Section 118 of Ford Field was filled with a bunch of familiar faces from the game at BMO and folks that came down made the best of their trip. Despite Canada giving them very little to cheer about they were in full voice for more then 90 minutes and deserve to be considered the man of the match for this one. Well done to the Voyageurs and anyone else who made the trip down, I wish I could have joined you.
Up next for Canada is a trip down to Tampa Bay where they will play Guadeloupe on Saturday at 6 PM EST. The team will likely feature a few changes from the group that started against the Americans. I can see Peters, De Guzman, Gerba, and Borjan all getting starts in this one in hopes of improving the teams attack as well as tying down Borjan as a Canadian international. I more complete preview of the next game will be up in the coming days!
Now we get to the Gold Cup. The first match last night opened up play in Group C with Panama taking on Guadeloupe in Detroit. In the early stages this match looked like it was going to be yet another lopsided score as Panama took a 2-0 lead in the first half only to see Guadeloupe have a player sent off to the second questionable red card in as many nights. Having been reduced to 10 men Guadeloupe could have folded but they were ready to put up a fight. Things only got worse for them though when they opened the second half by conceding a penalty which was converted by Gabriel Gomez to give Panama a 3-0 lead. Even though Panama was up by 3 the game had seemed a lot closer then that based on run of play. Both sides were creating chances and it was fairly balances but everything seemed to be going in Panama's favour in the first hour. After the 60th minute Guadeloupe began an impressive fight back led by Brice Jovial who plays for Le Havre in France. Jovial would net goals in the 64th and 78th minute to hand Guadeloupe a lifeline but it was all to little to late as time ran out on them before they could salvage anything. To the other teams in the group it should now be clear that Guadeloupe are not a team that you can take lightly as they will never give a game up and it also showed that both they and Panama possess the kind of quality needed to give Canada and USA tough games.
The second match was the one that we have all be waiting for basically since June of 2007. Ever since the last meeting between Canada and the United States ended so badly Canadian soccer fans have been left with a really bad taste in their mouth. The Canadian supporters would have been hoping to get a measure of revenge in Detroit for the recent struggles that we have had against the Americans. I for one was hoping that for the first time in my life Canada would get a win over the United States in a competitive match. With all the hope among Canadian fans I almost forgot that Canada was still the major underdogs for this match. Spend enough time around passionate fans and they might just have you believing that Canada can hold their own against anyone in the world. That is a good thing though since fans really should have an almost blind faith in the teams that they support.
The game itself went nothing like we had all hoped. Canada's Josh Simpson made a promising run down the wings to start the game off but his cross was over hit and after that the run of play became all USA. The Americans were dominant in possession and creating all sorts of chances in the early minutes. The breakthrough came on 14 minutes when a play that seemed like it was no real danger. Jozy Altidore picked up the ball in the book and he was held out wide but his low shot was hard enough that it snuck under Lars Hirschfeld before he could get down to stop it. Hirschfeld probably should have done a lot better with the strike as he was in position to make the save and the shot came from a poor angle.
Following the opening goal Canada seemed to be rather stunned. The players were all passing off the ball like they didn't want it. Other then a bending effort from De Rosario just past the half hour mark that barely missed bending into Howard's top corner there was little to be excited about for the Canadian fans. It appeared that the choice to go with only Jackson up front left Canada without a really threat in attack as their buildup play was not good enough to provide Jackson any support and Jackson was not big enough to serve as a target man against the American centre backs. The second half of the game began with more of the same as the Americans controlled the run of play and were the only ones really generating any chances. They were rewarded for that dominance in the 61st minute when Clint Dempsey got in at the back post to tuck home a low cross from Altidore.
Having gone down 2-0 and not shown much in terms of being able to get forward and attack Canada were forced to make some changes. The moves that Hart did make gave Canada much more of an edge with Ali Gerba being able to generate probably the two best chances of the game for Canada. Gerba first forced Howard to deal with a powerful effort which would have been heading into the top corner until Howard got his hand on the ball and forced it over. Gerba's second chance was probably even better as the ball fell to him in close after a scramble in the American box but a great reaction save from Howard kept Canada off the board.
Based on the late surge from Canada they were probably a bit unlucky to not get a goal for their efforts. I think that in the end the Americans showed that they are still the better team and that they have the quality to control the pace of matches like this one. Canada showed that they have more questions then answers at this point as they need to find a way to generate more and play with a bit more edge in their attacks. The game might have been a lot different if say Tim Howard was in Canada's net since it may just have ended up 2-1 Canada but we can only work with what we have and despite the early mistake that led to Altidore's goal Hirschfeld put in a solid effort.
The real highlight of the match for me was seeing the excited and loud bunch of Canadians that had travelled down to Detroit for the match. Section 118 of Ford Field was filled with a bunch of familiar faces from the game at BMO and folks that came down made the best of their trip. Despite Canada giving them very little to cheer about they were in full voice for more then 90 minutes and deserve to be considered the man of the match for this one. Well done to the Voyageurs and anyone else who made the trip down, I wish I could have joined you.
Up next for Canada is a trip down to Tampa Bay where they will play Guadeloupe on Saturday at 6 PM EST. The team will likely feature a few changes from the group that started against the Americans. I can see Peters, De Guzman, Gerba, and Borjan all getting starts in this one in hopes of improving the teams attack as well as tying down Borjan as a Canadian international. I more complete preview of the next game will be up in the coming days!
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Playing Surfaces are real Problem
This post is brought to you by Ford Field. The field that will be home to a pair of matches tonight in the Gold Cup has come into question in the days leading up to the match for the quality of its playing surface and that led me to think about some of the other low quality fields that I have come across watching soccer in North America.
I do understand that maintaing a quality grass playing surface takes a lot of time and money and it can be very difficult to do in areas where the weather is not good enough for the entire length of the season. For a lot of cities in Canada and the northern United States it would be difficult to have a natural grass playing surface in good shape earlier enough in the spring to start the season since it is still to cold and wet for grass to grow. That has forced a lot of teams to resort to using some form of field turf to ensure that it will be in playable condition for more months of the year. I have played on a wide variety of surfaces myself as an amateur player and though I can see the positives to using an artificial surface it really is not the same thing and it takes a real toll on your body not to mention how awful turf burn can be from some of these surfaces.
That brings me back to Ford Field which is normally an artificial playing surface which is quite common in the NFL which is the fields main use. I would have understood if they decided that they could not put in a real surface at Ford Field but I was glad when I heard that they would be putting in a grass playing surface for the Gold Cup matches since that would be better for the players and will improve the quality of the game. This way we also wont have to deal with any issues of having NFL lines on the soccer field making it look poor and being a distraction as you cant tell which one is the touchline a lot of times. The choice that they ended up making at Ford Field though was to bring in a natural grass surface and place it on top of the artificial one. The concern with this is that the grass will not be thick enough and by the time that the second match in a row is getting near its end the surface may very well be torn up and filled with divots.
The players have reported that training at Ford Field has been good and they are enjoying the surface which is very promising. Hopefully the grass is thick enough and able to stand up to have two matches played on it since that is a lot more stress on the field then just training sessions.
While I am on the topic of playing surfaces I really hope that in the near future Vancouver is going to be moving to a better one. The White Caps current playing surface is artificial and with each passing game it seems to be getting worse and worse as the grounds crew are forced to add more and more plastic pellets to the surface every game and even more so when it has rained just to make it playable. It may not be the direct cause of any injuries but I cannot be doing the Whitecaps players any good having to play on that terrible surface so often. I remember seeing the condition it was in for the first league of the Nutrilite Championship and it was more plastic pellets then fake grass it seemed as some areas had taken on a dark almost black shade rather then being green.
The point is that playing surfaces are key and while grass is the ideal I understand it is not always possible but for the sport to advance in North America and in Canada in particular we need to work on ways to improve the field quality on which we play both for the quality of the games and for the safety of the players.
I do understand that maintaing a quality grass playing surface takes a lot of time and money and it can be very difficult to do in areas where the weather is not good enough for the entire length of the season. For a lot of cities in Canada and the northern United States it would be difficult to have a natural grass playing surface in good shape earlier enough in the spring to start the season since it is still to cold and wet for grass to grow. That has forced a lot of teams to resort to using some form of field turf to ensure that it will be in playable condition for more months of the year. I have played on a wide variety of surfaces myself as an amateur player and though I can see the positives to using an artificial surface it really is not the same thing and it takes a real toll on your body not to mention how awful turf burn can be from some of these surfaces.
That brings me back to Ford Field which is normally an artificial playing surface which is quite common in the NFL which is the fields main use. I would have understood if they decided that they could not put in a real surface at Ford Field but I was glad when I heard that they would be putting in a grass playing surface for the Gold Cup matches since that would be better for the players and will improve the quality of the game. This way we also wont have to deal with any issues of having NFL lines on the soccer field making it look poor and being a distraction as you cant tell which one is the touchline a lot of times. The choice that they ended up making at Ford Field though was to bring in a natural grass surface and place it on top of the artificial one. The concern with this is that the grass will not be thick enough and by the time that the second match in a row is getting near its end the surface may very well be torn up and filled with divots.
The players have reported that training at Ford Field has been good and they are enjoying the surface which is very promising. Hopefully the grass is thick enough and able to stand up to have two matches played on it since that is a lot more stress on the field then just training sessions.
While I am on the topic of playing surfaces I really hope that in the near future Vancouver is going to be moving to a better one. The White Caps current playing surface is artificial and with each passing game it seems to be getting worse and worse as the grounds crew are forced to add more and more plastic pellets to the surface every game and even more so when it has rained just to make it playable. It may not be the direct cause of any injuries but I cannot be doing the Whitecaps players any good having to play on that terrible surface so often. I remember seeing the condition it was in for the first league of the Nutrilite Championship and it was more plastic pellets then fake grass it seemed as some areas had taken on a dark almost black shade rather then being green.
The point is that playing surfaces are key and while grass is the ideal I understand it is not always possible but for the sport to advance in North America and in Canada in particular we need to work on ways to improve the field quality on which we play both for the quality of the games and for the safety of the players.
Friday, June 03, 2011
Results Before Support
It has been 45 years since the Toronto Maple Leafs last won the Stanley Cup and yet they fill the nearly 20,000 seat Air Canada Centre on a nightly bases despite absurdly high ticket prices. The Maple Leafs support base makes up only a small fraction of Canada's population but they still shell out the cash to come to the games and tune in every Saturday night for Hockey Night in Canada. If the Canadian population as a whole requires a team to be successful before they are willing to support it, how are the Maple Leafs still so strongly supported?
Many Leaf fans will answer that question I just asked with one word: history. Yes, the Toronto Maple Leafs are a team with a history that many professional sports teams would be jealous of. But that is in the past now. No one is left who can remember the days of the Original Six and few can recall their last Stanley Cup. The argument for history as a means to maintain support despite recent success falls apart when one takes a look at another Toronto sports franchise, the Blue Jays. In the early 90s the Blue Jays were the best team in the MLB winning back-to-back World Series and boosting one of the best lineups in the league. But now, only 20 years later, not even 20,000 fans can be found at Rogers Centre where in 1993 50,000 celebrated Joe Carter's World Series winning walk off home run. The Blue Jays trophy draught is about half as long as the Maple Leafs and are currently rebuilding as well, but why does one continue to sell tickets well the other plays in front of empty stands?
Now the men's national team may not have ever been the best team in the world but only 10 years ago they were crowned CONCACAF champions and are competitive in the Gold Cup each time around. In my opinion, that counts as more success than the Maple Leafs have had in recent history. On top of that, the market for the national team is over 30 million while the Leafs have a support base of maybe 5 million. Hockey is more popular in Canada than soccer as our national sport, but soccer is growing rapidly and quickly catching up so when will the fans start turning out.
I have taken a look at how a team still manages to garner support despite a lack of success, now I will look at how increased support lead to better results with the example of the Canadian Olympic team at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
With the Winter Olympics on home soil in 2010, Canadian's turned out in droves to sport our national athletes in sports such as cross country skiing, ski jumping, and bobsled. For a month, these lowly sports that few ever paid attention to came into the spotlight of the sports world and ignited Canadian patriotism. With the home crowd behind them, Canadian athletes put on a show for the ages. Canada's 14 gold medals was double the previous best (7) and was the highest total amongst all participating nations.
On this occasion, it was the support of the home crowds that drove our Olympic athletes to success and it was a sense of patriotism that brought out the support. Millions of Canadians cheered on athletes they had never heard of in sports they had no prior interest in because they loved their nation. But why doesn't this patriotism bring out the supporters for of national soccer team, a sport that is far more popular than bobsledding or cross country skiing? Our players have expressed their feelings about playing in empty or hostile stadiums even when they are at home, so image the how they would feel if they got the same support as our Olympic athletes? If the support of a nation drove our Olympians to glory, can it not do the same for our soccer teams? Our support could be all it takes to propelling our men's soccer team to the biggest stage in the world, the 2014 World Cup.
The example of the Toronto Maple Leafs shows that Canadians don't always follow the opinion that a team must experience success before we will come out and support them. The success of the Canadian Olympic team at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic shows that the support of a nation can propel a team to success. So if Canadian soccer fans are waiting for results on the field before they fill the stands and show their support, maybe it is their turn to do their part in creating a tradition of success by taking a page out of their own book and showing their patriotic support.
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