At CSN headquarters, there wasn't much debate about who the 2010 Person of the Year was. Find out who the runaway pick was below the jump:
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Carolina Morace
One year ago at this time people were starting to ask questions. Although no one longed for the return of Even Pellerud's terrible, negative football the simple truth was that the Canadian women were tumbling down the FIFA rankings and looked a long way from being contenders at the World Cup. It was partly to be expected. When Carolina Morace took over the role as head coach of the women's program she told everyone that would listen that she wasn't going to put results ahead of development. Beating up Haiti 7-0 might temporary make you feel good, but it does nothing long-term.
(And besides, the 7-0 thrashings were starting to become 1-0 nail biters. CONCACAF was catching up, to say nothing of the rest of the world)
But then something magical started to happen. Starting with the Cyprus Cup last winter and continuing all the way to São Paulo in December the women started to win - and win with a flare and confidence that few Canadian teams, at any level or gender, have ever displayed. Canada wasn't winning because Christine Sinclair was a strong and athletic woman (although she is), they were winning because she's a strong and athletic women with tactical awareness that was surrounded by a group of young Canadian women that played football, rather than an all-star version of high school soccer.
The women are the senior CONCACAF champions. They are ranked in the top ten of the world (and might bump up a spot or two yet before the World Cup) and they are currently on an undefeated streak that includes two results against Brazil in Brazil. The Americans still cast a large shadow over them in the region, but based on results in 2010 the two programs are going in opposite directions (the USA continues to trot out the same group of increasingly older women and play the same version of athletically charged soccer than gave them success in the 1990s, but with increasingly less success -- not no success, the Americans still have an incredible amount of resources to draw upon, but there is a reason Germany is the clear favourite for 2011 rather than the traditional power Yanks).
The success of the Canadian women can largely be traced back to one person -- Morace (and those in the CSA that fought for her to be hired. It wasn't as easy a battle as you would hope). When it came time to name the Canadian Soccer News Person of the Year, the debate wasn't very long. In 2010 there was really only one choice. The person who has done the most for the betterment of Canadian soccer in 2010 is Carolina Morace. She's an early favourite to repeat in 2011 too. With a World Cup opener against Germany on the schedule it's all in front of Morace and the women.
The women dominated the CSN awards in 2010. Although some may view that as us being politically correct, such an attitude is barely worth debating. If anything supporters of the women's program could take issue that Sinclair didn't win the Player of the Year too (although I do maintain that Atiba Hutchinson was the right pick). The women won as many CSN Awards as they did for one simple reason.
The earned them. And that's especially the case with Morace.
*Photo from the Canadian Soccer Association