No one will ever mistake Iain Hume for Matthias Sindelar. Nor does it seem likely that Canadian soccer will ever be mistaken for a art form closer to dance or poetry than sport, as many contemporary (and, likely, drunk) writers did of Sindelar’s great Austrian teams of the 1930s.
Canadian soccer was not forged in the coffee houses of Vienna, but rather on the bumpy gridiron pitches of Thornhill, Ontario. Ideas of romance and style within the Canadian game are absurd as, well, as they would be anywhere on earth. Like Sindelar, coffee house football is long dead, replaced by a pragmatic game where Jose Mourinho is lionized for suffocating Barcelona on way to a decidedly un-poetic Champions League win.
Just win, baby – the trite cliché of our generation, but yet one that rings true. There are few moral victories and fewer prizes for those that obtain them. So, to bring this back to Hume and the Canadian national team, it’s time to get over ourselves and focus on the bottom line.
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4-1. Three points. A chance to put a strangle hold on the group with a win tomorrow in Puerto Rico (they of a 0-0 draw with St. Kitts-Nevis).
It’s telling that many Canadians found the negative of a 4-1 win. As a nation we tend to be a cynical lot, always obsessed on what we aren’t rather than living in the moment and embracing the good. Italy beat the Faroe Islands 1-0 on the same day and I doubt you’ll hear too many moans at College and Clinton.
So, get over it. Canada had 90 per cent of the ball (note: stat may be exaggerated) and 140 per cent of the chances (note: stat not exaggerated). They could have scored 10 and might on the return leg. St. Lucia was time wasting down three goals to avoid a bigger blow out. Relax, people.
As stated, a perfect pair of results (Canada win, St. Lucia/St. Kitts-Nevis draw) could see Canada top of the group by four points Tuesday night. Then you can breathe a little. Actually, breathe now. Based on the evidence at hand Canada will walk away with no less than 16 points and will score a boatload of goals.
And, Canadians will moan that they should have scored more.