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    Guest

    It's Called Qualifers

    By Guest, in It's Called Football,

    Today, we'll take a post game look at Canada's result against St. Lucia, discuss the importance of getting Simeon Jackson going for the national team and look ahead to another game this weekend that could reveal more of where Canada stands in the region.
    We'll also be joined by former Canadian international, Andrew Ornoch to talk about his new development initiative Dutch Connections. And we'll discuss the Caps win over RSL last night.
    The archived show is now up
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
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    Guest
    Running through the minnows is fun and all - it's not often Canada goes into the game as a lock - but there is little that can be drawn from a game like this. Canada won, they were expecting to get three points and any that are attempting to draw conclusions at this point beyond that are really just reaching to fill space.
    The game to watch, the game that can offer some insight into where Canada is headed in World Cup qualifying, is the USA vs Honduras match.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    It's a ways down the road still, but at some point Canada is going to have to get past Honduras - a team they have traditionally had trouble with - if they'll have any hope of qualifying for the World Cup. We all know what the Americans bring and just in the way it was virtually assured Canada would walk all over St. Lucia tonight, it is equally certain that it will be the U.S. and Mexico in the top two spots at the completion of the Hex. Yes, a lot of things can happen blah blah blah but when it really comes down to it, Canada will be fighting against the Hondurases, Jamaicas and Costa Ricas of the region for what remains.
    Which is why Saturday's game between the U.S. and Honduras may tell more about Canada's chances than anything else.
    Honduras had a pretty average Gold Cup. They went through the group stage on a 1-1-1 record, slipped past Costa Rica on penalties and rolled over and played dead against Mexico. This was not the Honduras of the last qualifying cycle that abused Canada on it's home ground on the way to reaching South Africa. This is the new Honduras - a team that has dispensed with a number of their elder statesman and have brought in a number of new faces which will lead their campaign to Brazil 2014. They're young and inexperienced at dealing with the pressures of performing on the worlds stage.
    How they deal with a fit American side playing at home, could be a good indicator of what Canada can expect down the line.
    Guest
    It’s always fun to poke fun at bad pre-season predictions – especially when they are your own.
    The pre-season CSN consensus MLS picks below the jump.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK](Actual finish in brackets)

    SLC (3rd) +2
    LA (1st) -1
    NYRB (10th) +7
    Dallas (4th) +0
    Colorado (7th) +2
    Seattle (2nd) -4
    San Jose (14th) +7
    Kansas City (5th) -3
    Houston (6th) -3
    Toronto (16th) +6
    Philly (8th) -3
    Portland (12th) +0
    Columbus (9th) -3
    Vancouver (18th)+5
    Chicago (11th) -4
    DC United (13th) -2
    New England (17th) +0
    Chivas USA (15th) -2

    We’ll let others decide how good or bad our predictions were.
    Guest

    Friday Q & A with Yuri Studin

    By Guest, in Some Canadian Guys,

    I had the opportunity to chat recently with Yuri Studin, president of the Spartacus Soccer Club in Toronto. This is the club from which newcomer to the Canada senior mens' squad and Russian Premier League midfielder Joseph Di Chiara emerged.
    Yuri arrived in Canada from Russia in 1976, and has been involved in youth soccer here for a large chunk of the time since. This interview was originally conducted as part of research on an article about Di Chiara, but things freewheeled quickly and I decided to simply turn it into a somewhat raw question and answer piece.
    Studin touches on a range of subjects that his 30+ years involvement in youth soccer qualify him to touch on, including the "hockeyanizing" of youth soccer development in this country and how qualifying for the mens' World Cup should not be the CSA's top priority.
    The interview was edited (severely) for length.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    I'm curious how you felt when you learned Joseph had been called up to the Canada team?
    I wasn't surprised that he was called to the Canada team because as soon as word hit the market about his employment [in Europe] it was obvious that it would eventually come to the knowledge of the national team coach. I was surprised actually when he succeeded in Europe. Once you're there, you become on the list of the players that play abroad, which is always the narrow market that [the national team coaches] are looking at.
    Why do you think Joseph was never involved with a provincial youth team in Ontario or one of the national youth teams?
    Ok, I'll explain that. He was involved in the earlier stages. He was involved. The problem is a systemic problem. It's nothing to do with anyone personally, no one is responsible for this. His father at some point in time made the decision not to continue, that's my opinion. There was some disagreement. There was some understanding that, you know, when you participate in a provincial program you've been selected to represent your province or sometimes your country and you still have to pay money to do that. And it turns many people off. Sometimes for the direct financial reasons and sometimes on the principle. Canada is one of the richest country in the world, these young men contribute maybe 10 years of their lives to develop their skills in a certain sport and they still have to pay [to play]. This is what normally, how would you say, compromises the credibility of the provincial program.
    Soccer is the sport that was always a retreat for poor folks. And 90% of the world selects players from third world countries and suddenly you have here... I would call it 'hockeyanizing' of soccer. Interesting aspect right? That word came to me two minutes ago [laughter]. But we have enough talent in hockey to get good players no matter what. Pay or no pay. But in soccer we are poor in talent, so instead of scraping at the bottom of the barrel* to find someone we put up this obstacle.
    Did the CSA approach your club after what Joseph was doing in Russia became news back in Canada?
    Definitely. I heard from a few people. Not from the CSA first, but from the OSA. And also the media became interested immediately. Media is usually ahead of functionaries.
    I was interviewed on a couple of occasions.... Always this question came up: 'How did he fall through the cracks?' But I don't think there is such a meaning of "cracks." I don't think they are so efficient in selection anyway. There is no one to blame, it's what we have here going on. It's a systemic problem. It's not just an OSA or CSA problem. The system needs to be changed from the top down, but they just work within the capacity they have.
    But we now have three MLS clubs here in Canada. Are the academies associated with those clubs becoming an avenue for players to develop in Canada?
    I think the system they are establishing is correct. Because if they are pro clubs and they have an academy within the club you don't pay there. As far as I know at TFC you don't pay. They call you in and say: 'You don't have to pay, but you have to follow our instructions, lifestyle, etc. Will you subscribe to it?' We have another gentleman who played with us until 12. His name is Matthew Stinson. He plays for TFC now, graduated from the academy. I can't take credit for that but he was with us early. It shows you if you pick the right people and groom then you can do a good job.
    But think of the potential employment? That's still just three teams spread through a huge country. If you take British soccer, you're talking myriads of clubs and all of them have an academy. That's thousands of players employed... eventually it's like hockey here, the cream rises to the top. If you have talent you succeed. Here, where are you gonna look? Where is the field for selection? The absolute problem is [a lack of] a national league. That would employ players. Why don't we have our Canadian MLS?
    Do you see things moving in a better direction?
    Yes, they are. No question. At the time I got involved it was so naive it was unbelievable. Competitive soccer was on the level of [some kind of] house league. The coaches were just willing parents for many years. And then what we did, [us] and a few other clubs, we started to employ coaches, tried to make a little difference. And I don't know where it started. I don't even want to take credit, who cares who does it. The main thing that started changing was the approach. Suddenly everybody's ambitious, even though there was still huge confusion and ignorance taking place, suddenly there were artificial turf and leagues popping up all over the country.. and the OSA also started talking a bit differently in terms of how they look at things. There is a difference but to manifest into real professional soccer to see the real guys play good games... look at our national team, it still [suffers] from a severe lack of talent.
    On that note, what does Joseph Di Chiara bring to the Canadian national team?
    When he visited Toronto [recently], he said: 'I'm playing a position which is usually the domain of the most experienced players. I'm at 19 playing this position which gives me tremendous [unclear].' It is a position that he has always been playing. I think he could make a difference, but it's a question of whether there is another experienced player in that position playing. Joseph has to look for a break. God forbid someone gets injured, but that's how athletes get breaks... it's a reality of this gladiator work.
    He's full of energy and enthusiasm. By succeeding in Europe it's going to give him more confidence... He also became a beast. I was shocked when he came here on his short visit and I said 'Hello Jospeh' and I was looking [level to] his belly-button. The guy is huge but at the same time agile and physically developed.
    We're all going to watch the Puerto Rico game (Canada plays Puerto Rico in World Cup qualifying at BMO Field on October 11). We're hoping because Puerto Rico is not such a big soccer nation, who knows, if the game is going well [stephen] Hart will have a heart just to push him in [laughter]. There's no rush but the fact that he was called was already a big thrill, we're living in a dream world that it happened to our little organization and we're very proud.
    How do you rate Canada's chances in this World Cup qualifying cycle?
    If you look at history, we had good times playing El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, even Mexico we challenged. Right? Now we're in a pool of teams to have to qualify to play at that level. If we cannot qualify from amongst these little countries there is nothing to talk about. But once we get to these teams that we talked about, they went a long way in progress. They became really strong, Costa Rica, Honduras, nobody takes them lightly anymore. And the U.s. obviously went ahead of us. We used to be at par with them.
    But I want to tell you one thing. We always talk in terms of making it to the World Cup, right? But if you go to Europe or South America, the outstanding teams like Chile or Peru may not even go to the World Cup, but they have soccer in their countries.** It's not an issue. For us, let's say by sheer luck we sneak in. But how does it affect us? We've already been there once. At that time it seemed like a fluke and it turned out to be. It didn't make any difference. It's not the World Cup we have to think about, it's nice to make it of course, but it's good to have something here that works well and then think about the World Cup. Don't you think the priority should be [what's happening] here?
    I could talk for hours about this but... a lot of people who maybe aren't traditional soccer fans always ask me 'Why aren't [Canada] in the World Cup?' and it seems people are focused on saying that if we make the World Cup everyone will become interested.
    From a marketing point of view, it's not so great for the World Cup to have a country like Canada there. It's not so exciting. I mean, who dreams about us? But in the future, I mean Americans are already respected, they are considered a serious team. First, let's become a serious team and then worry about the World Cup.
    *It was clear Yuri did not mean "scraping the bottom of the barrel" in a negative way, but simply to illustrate how the development system needs to be casting a net beyond those who can afford to participate.
    **For clarity's sake, I'll mention that Yuri is speaking generally about having a developed soccer culture, with many pro clubs and a broad-based youth development system.
    Guest
    A '26 minute Red Card Ejection to Salt Lake Midfielder Collen Warren was the deciding factor in tonight's Whitecaps victory. Jay DeMerit was hoping he was going to score on the initial play when his downward header ricocheted of Warren, but he was more then satisfied by the red card and then Camilo penalty. Camilo slotted home the decisive goal to give the Caps the 1-0 lead and they looked to keep the throttle down for the rest of the match. Vancouver came out with guns blazing from the opening kick off as they looked to erase memories of Sunday's loss to Portland.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Real came in to tonight's game with a weakened line up due to a suspension, and international call ups. Vancouver's Tom Soehn looked to capitalize by making some very creative line up changes. Probably the most interesting and effective experiment was returning Alain Rochat to left back, and moving Jordan Harvey up onto the left wing. Rochat praised Harvey's defensive awareness when the Swiss back chose to push the ball up on the attack. "It was great to play with Jordan, he knows how to defend because he's a left back too". In the same breath though he also conceded that Real "weren't too much dangerous on our side", so he was given ample opportunity to move forward having the confidence that Harvey would drop back and fill his position.
    Rochat was able to slide out onto the left side after recently signed Carlyle Mitchell got the nod to start at centre back. The Trinidadian took full advantage of his opportunity to play in his first match with the club. His solid performance was a breath of fresh air after many recent poor showings from the Whitecaps. He said felt good about coming away with 3 points, and about the passionate level of support from the fans. He looked good out there and he showed great athleticism tracking back and closing down attackers. The solid communication between him and defensive partner Jay DeMerit showed a fair bit of promise. Mitchell had nothing but kind words for the American International calling him a "great player" who provides "great leadership". The defence only gave up 6 shots and Joe Cannon was only forced to make 2 saves. As always, when called upon Cannon answered the bell.
    At halftime the club had a chit chat in the locker room about their recent loss in New York after going up a man in the first half and came out in the second- thirsty for blood.
    Camilo ended up scoring on a second penalty in the '53 as Chris Schuler was called for another Salt Lake hand ball in the box. Schuler was not ejected but he was substituted out of the game shortly there after. Rimando got his finger tips to Camilo's low shot to the left side but it was not enough to stop the Brazilian's blast.
    Vancouver continued to smother any Real Salt Lake attacks before they could get dangerous, and in the 88th minute Nizar Khalfan buried a Omar Salgado header past Nick Rimando on a Goal of the Week worthy Half Volley. Khalfan got his first start in ages, and worked his tail off. In fact all the guys who got unusual starts came in and had solid performances.
    All in all, it was a great game for the Caps to gain a little energy as they look to end their season on a high note. Things should really begin to heat up as players vie for positions in this offseason's training camps. The squad came out with energy to burn and the fans will surely appreciate the effort.
    Many RSL fans will be upset with tonight's result, and there have been early rumblings about the refereeing from Chris Penso and his squad. It's easy to empathize with them, how often do you get called twice for handballs in the 18? RSL have had a busy schedule as of late and looked pretty tired. For the last 5-10 minutes of the game Jameson Olave had his hands on his hips.
    On a side note: Former USSF D2 Whitecap Cody Arnoux got a run out tonight against his previous squad and did not really look all to effective in his first appearance since September 3rd for the Utah outfit.
    The Caps next game is at home Wednesday October 12 at 7pm, against a red hot Dwayne DeRosario, and his DC United squad that will be looking for an easy three points as they look to battle their way into the playoffs.
    Guest

    Blazer resigns

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Chuck Blazer is resigning from his post as CONCACAF general secretary on Dec 31, 2011. He had been with the confederation for 21 years
    “My passion for soccer is undiminished and it is time for me to explore new challenges within this wonderful sport,” Blazer said in a statement. “Running a governing body has been an incredibly fulfilling job, but there are so many other areas of the sport where as a senior executive, I will make a great impact.”
    Blazer made worldwide headlines as the primary whistle blower on the bribery and corruption scandal that took down Jack Warner.
    Although Blazer appeared far from perfect, not having a North American voice in CONCACAF's upper management could be problematic for the Canadian and American game. Hopefully, someone from the northern part of the region will step up and make sure the agenda of Latin American federations doesn't dominate CONCACAF business.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Guest

    Hart says Canada ready

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Stephen Hart is still not taking anything for granted. Hart said he planned to dress the best eleven players available to him, despite winning the reverse leg against St. Lucia 4-1.
    Hart spoke to reporters from St. Lucia following today’s training session. He said that the team was looking loose and confident in the lead up to match day three of the second round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The only major injury concern Canada has is Kevin McKenna, who is nursing a foot injury. That puts Canada down three regular defenders.
    No worries, says Hart. Without elaborating on how he planned to fill that gap, the manager indicated that he felt confident in the group ne had in camp.
    Hart also reiterated that he would not give young players a run out unless the “earned it.” However, he did allow that if Canada jumped out to a big lead he would consider giving both Ashtone Morgan and Joseph Di Chiara their first cap. He said that both players had trained well so far.
    “If we are in a situation where we are comfortable I will not hesitate on getting them some playing time.”
    However, the bottom line is the bottom line – three points.
    “We need the result,” Hart said.
    “We have strengths that we identified prior (to the round) and we want to take advantage of them and to go out and control the game from the start. But we have to play a balanced game.”
    In Hart’s opinion the excitement of playing the first game of the round and of being at home made the reverse fixture result less impressive than it could have been. He said that he expects more for the team in St. Lucia.
    Guest

    Loving soccer in a hockey world

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    It's New Year's Day in Canada! The 2011-12 NHL season starts tonight and seven (SEVEN!) Canadian cities have very little else on their mind other than whether their local side can raise that oversized silver mug pictued above.
    Although this is a soccer site, one cannnot avoid the constant influnce of hockey (that's ice hockey for our European friends reading) over, well, everything. Even those that hate the sport and constantly rally against it can't escape it. Actually, the only thing more Canadian than loving hockey is hating it. It's, for better or worse, part of our cultural make up.
    However, this is a soccer site, so don't think we've sold-out to the cult of puck in an effort to push those pageviews up. This is not a NHL preview (although if you're asking - Caps over Blackhawks, three Canadian teams make the playoffs -- The Canucks, Jets and the Leafs -- yes, the Leafs*, Shut up). What this is, is an examination of what we as soccer fans should do about the 1,000,000 lbs gorilla in the room.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Many soccer fans seem to feel that the only way to build our sport up is to push hockey down. There is only so much room for sports in the minds of Canadians, the thinking goes, so when hockey takes up 99 per cent of that space there isn't a lot of room for the rest of the sports.
    Hockey obsession takes media attention away from soccer, it influences the decision of young athletes to quit soccer to chase hockey dreams and corporate sponsorships are gobbled up by the sport of ice and pucks at the expense soccer.
    You can understand where the bitterness can come from.
    There is another way to look at it though. Canada's obsession and, more importantly, success at hockey can teach soccer a lot. Hockey is a team sport that rewards organization, but also is dependent on moments of individual brilliance and creativity (sound familiar?). If this country can develop athletes that excel at that sport, it can also develop athletes that excel at soccer. So, enough with the we-can't-do-it mentality.
    There are also elements of how hockey is organized in this country that soccer could look at as it tries to modernize its development pathways. Hockey Canada is a beacon of professionalism within the otherwise amateur world of Canadian sport organizations.
    However, the biggest lesson that hockey can teach soccer is the former’s unwillingness to accept second best. In a country that often aspires for the middle, celebrates mediocrity and mistrusts success, hockey stands alone in its second-place-is-first-loser mentality. And that’s something that should be celebrated.
    This is not to say that there aren’t things about the single-mindedness of puckheads that aren’t problematic. Hockey culture tends to be a bit insular and that narrow-mindedness can, in my opinion, hold us back as a nation. Hockey obsession could be viewed as being more than a bit provincial. It’s great that we are better than any other country in the world at hockey, but the world is a big place and hockey is a small part of it – even from a sporting perspective. That’s why those of us that support games with more global appeal can sometimes get frustrated by all hockey, all the time.
    To me, hockey represents the Canada of 1956 – it’s part of our heritage and for many of us it’s something we have grown up with and has always been a major part of our life. It’s also something that will always play a role in our life and we are proud of its heritage.
    Soccer, on the other hand, represents Canada of 2011 – multicultural and worldly – hopefully aspiring for something greater than being the best at a sport that only five other nations play seriously.
    We should never forget or reject our heritage – actually, we should celebrate it – but we should also always strive to be more. Loving hockey is great, but loving hockey at the expense of everything else is not healthy.
    (photo - Ontario Archives)
    * It's our year. I can feel it**
    **Don't quote me on that
    Guest

    Where the #*^! is the game?

    By Guest, in It's Called Football,

    Judging by the number of tweets and emails I received this week - all very similar to the title of this post - I'd say a number of people missed the memo: The Canada vs St. Lucia game this Friday will not be televised.
    I wouldn't count on the away St. Kitts and Nevis game either.
    'But, but, but, I see that Rogers Sportsnet/SportsWorld/SoccerCentral is down there, why aren't they showing the game?'
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    According to Rogers agreement, as the official broadcast partner of the Canadian Soccer Association, they are only required to broadcast away games if a host feed is provided. In fact, the CSA had to pay out of their own pocket (to the tune of around $50,000 to $60,000 I'm told) to cover the costs of the Puerto Rico away game and ensure that it would be seen on TV. And, even then, that was only possible because Puerto Rico's Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel had the right broadcast infrastructure.
    St. Lucia's and St. Kitts' stadiums aren't exactly, what you would call, modern. They make Swangard look like B.C. Place (or for regional illustration: Foote Field like Commonwealth, Lamport like BMO Field, Olympic Stadium like Stade Saputo...)
    Even if the CSA was willing, and they did take a look at the logistics of a broadcast, the facilities would make it next to impossible to do a live broadcast.
    There are those that will react to this news with the normal anger. 'Fuck the CSA, Fuck Rogers, Fuck Everyone' And to a point, that anger is justified. The standard, logic argument how will we ever grow the game here if people can't see it still reigns true and I encourage you to reach out to the CSA and Rogers and tell them (calmly, if you're so inclined) why it is important to see games like this in the future.
    But I'll also encourage you to remember how far soccer has come in this country. There was a time, that I can still remember, that friendlies and even World Cup qualifiers weren't seen live, on tape delay or even reported on. Ask those among the Voyageurs, who have been around long enough, and they will tell you stories about watching Canada friendlies and World Cup qualifiers months, even years after they were played. Mostly on dubbed VHS tapes that were passed along, from one fan to the next, like soccer porn.
    A number of the V's wear those stories like a badge of honor - a testament to how far they went to support Canadian soccer. They tell those tales, in the way today's fans will likely tell the next generation of how they hunched over keyboards furiously refreshing Twitter to check scores.
    It sucks. And Canadian soccer fans still deserve better. But it's the stories that sustain us.
    Tell us how far you went to support Canada, or the things you went through to get an illegal feed or broadcast of a Canada game.
    Also, how you can 'watch' the Canada v St. Lucia game:
    Follow the Canada Soccer Twitter for live updates
    And the CSA YouTube channel is promising to have some coverage after the game
    Guest
    The Vancouver Whitecaps will face the 2009 MLS Champions in a game where the have an opportunity to steal 3 points from a depleted and undisciplined Real Salt Lake Squad. Salt Lake come into this game having lost their last 3 games and are going to be without several of their key players as they look to turn their luck around as the season comes to a close.
    Vancouver have also lost their last 3 games. Los Angeles beat the Caps, despite the fact that Vancouver had the better opportunities, and the better chances. Seattle also pulled out a victory despite a strong game from Vancouver. Most recently though Portland and the Timbers Army sucked the life out of BC Place with a solid defensive performance for a 1-0 victory in the Caps first game at their new home.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    RSL come into this game having also lost to Los Angeles 2-1, Chicago 3-0, and DC United 4-1. Discipline has been a bit of an issue for the Utah outfit as of late. Deadly striker Fabian Espindola will miss tonight's match having earned himself a suspension for Yelllow Card Accumulation. Captain Kyle Beckerman, received a straight red for a very silly headbutt in the loss to Chicago. Head Coach Jason Kreis called his squad out for a lack of discipline recently and then in a curious case of the pot calling the kettle black, decided to get in on the act. After the loss to L.A. Kreis got into a "heated debate" with L.A. Galaxy star David Beckham as the former England Captain was shaking hands with his fallen opponents.
    While Kyle Beckerman would be able to return from suspension for tonights game he will not be available for selection after having been called up to the USMNT Camp this weekend. The clubs captain will not be the only key player missing for Real. Striker Alvaro Saborio will be away with Costa Rica, and Canadian Midfielder Will Johnson will also be on international duty.
    The only player that the Caps will be without is Eric Hassli. While Hassli is the clubs leading scorer he has been fairly silent for the last 7 games. With the weakened RSL midfield Vancouver should look to take advantage. The inside pairing of Gershon Koffie and Peter Vagenas could win the majority of loose balls and headers. Real are a possession oriented team and Vancouver will have a chance to best them at their own game.
    Salt Lake have been rather toothless on offence as of late with their none of their first choice strikers on hand will likely have even less bite then normal. Paulo Jr will potentially be paired with former Whitecaps USSF D2 player Cody Arnoux. The former Wake Forest standout is the only forward that has even seen the pitch since September 1st who will be available for the Claret and Cobalt.
    Arnoux is not the only player on RSL to have plied is trade in Vancouver. Many Caps fans will remember Blake Wagner from his days as a starter on the USSF D2 squad last year and his couple runs up and down the pitch as an MLS player. He most recently saw minutes in the loss to DC and it would be a surprise to see him on the field tonight. Mind you, with the squad available for Kreis we might see a couple of unexpected moves.
    Vancouver Whitecaps vs Real Salt Lake
    BC Place Stadium, Vancouver BC
    Watch: Sportsnet 1
    Listen: Team 1410
    Guest
    On Thursday evening CSN's Duane Rollins picked up a report out of Costa Rica saying that Canadian U17 star and former TFC academy player Keven Aleman has expressed interest in representing Costa Rica internationally.
    The original Spanish report Rollins refers to is dated September 1. In it are links to three audio interviews, one of which is with Keven Aleman himself (last one), who appears to say that he would like to play for Costa Rica instead of for Canada: “A mí me gustaría jugar allá en Costa Rica en lugar de Canadá.” In another audio interview, Aleman's father says his son remains "100 percent" Costa Rican and would be delighted to represent Costa Rica at any level. But he is ambiguous regarding his son's international future, saying Canada remains interested in Aleman and that he may still end up playing for the Vancouver Whitecaps.
    In a report dated October 5 on the same website, the current manager of the Costa Rican U17 squad says he has spoken with that country's U20 coaching staff and they intend to call Aleman to a three-team tournament in December.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Important: I am not fluent in Spanish. However I do feel confident that I understood the gist of these interviews. By all means Spanish speakers, please have a listen to these interviews and if necessary clarify in the comments section below what has been said.
    The interview with Aleman's father runs 12 and a half minutes, during which time he expresses gratitude to the Canadian program before admitting football in Canada is not at the same level it is in Costa Rica.
    What does this all mean? There have been similar concerns brought about by reports in foreign media that came to nothing. TCF defender Ashtone Morgan reportedly told a Jamaican newspaper he was considering representing Jamaica, which turned out to be rubbish and he's in the squad for Canada's World Cup qualifier against St. Lucia tonight.
    Seventeen year old kids say a lot of things. Perhaps Aleman is just telling the interviewer what he thinks a Costa Rican football writer would want to hear? Still actually hearing the words come out of his mouth is disheartening.
    And of course, Aleman may never be good enough to get anywhere near the national squads of Canada or Costa Rica. But I feel it's legitimate to say that many Canada supporters were (and remain) cautiously optimistic that this kid would one day star for the national team. What's more, he represented a talent largely developed and nurtured within the Canadian system.
    I may be out on a limb, but it seems clear to me from some of Aleman's father's comments that the family still feels a strong cultural connection to Costa Rica. They have only been in Canada for seven years, less than half of Aleman's life.
    If it is possible to have a bottom line to all of this, here it is: If Aleman gets better and receives increasing recognition for his talents we will see that - similar to Andy Najar - the calls in Costa Rica for him to represent the country of his birth will gain momentum rapidly. And sadly for Canada supporters, it sounds like Aleman would be very open indeed to listening.
    Guest

    Aleman flirting with Costa Rica

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Reports from Costa Rica are suggesting that former TFC academy prospect and Canadian u17 standout Keven Aleman is prepared to turn his back on Canada to look for a Costa Rician call-up.
    Aleman moved to Canada when he was 10-years-old and was mostly developed here. He was a mainstay of the u17 program and had previously said that he was happy in the Canadian system.
    Aleman is currently in Spain awaiting a visa clearance to play for the Real Valladolid U19 side. He did not indicate why he was considering abandoning the Canadian program.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Guest
    The biggest star on both the Canadian and American women’s teams found themselves in the news yesterday. However, they found themselves there for very different reasons.
    In Canada – sincere, ole’ Canada – Christine Sinclair was named the flag-bearer for the Canadian team for this month’s Pan American Games in Guadalajara. It’s a deserved honour and one that will keep Sinclair in the news for at least a couple hours. Site’s like this will give it a mention or two and Canadian Press will write 500 nice words.
    In the United States, meanwhile, Hope Solo is getting naked.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Solo will appear in the buff (tastefully, of course) for ESPN the Magazine annual body issue, the magazine’s answer to Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit edition. This will likely generate a tad bit more attention than Sinclair’s flag waving in Mexico. Entire blogs may be created dedicated to nothing but analysis of Solo’s photo shoot.
    It’s the latest way that Solo has managed to get herself attention and, by doing so, keep attention on the U.S. women’s national team.
    Her decision to pose for the magazine will be questioned by some, but many more will view it as a strong female athlete taking full advantage of her physical gifts to benefit herself and her teammates. Should female athletes have to take their clothes off to generate attention? Of course not. However, it’s naive to think that society has evolved to the point where that’s the case.
    The Canadian women’s players are a bit naive in this regard.
    We must be careful about how we put this (and, to be clear, this is not an attempt to take away from the honour Sinclair received – that was simply an illustration of the contrast between the programs). No player should ever feel pressure to do anything that they are not comfortable with. Ever. Period. However, every player should also feel comfortable doing anything that they do feel comfortable with.
    CSN was told that about a year ago a couple members of the women’s team approached a major Canadian marketing company and asked them to help them find more sponsorship money for the women’s team. They felt that their wholesome, all-Canadian-ness would be something that Canadian companies would get behind. They were clear that they did not want to be viewed as sex symbols, but rather as athletes.
    Good for them. Really. However, it wasn’t good for the bottom line that they were looking for. The women were sent away with a harsh message – in the opinion of the marketer they had no value.
    None.
    As stated, harsh. And the women’s performance in Germany did not help their cause.
    The women are absolutely right to want to be seen as athletes. The thing is, however, there is a middle ground. Solo walks it. You can be athletic and feminine, strong and sexy. And, it’s every bit as empowering – maybe more so – to own that than it is to hold onto what you view as a moral high ground.
    Please do not mistake this as a chauvinistic attempt to get the women to wear skimpier outfits. Rather, it’s a call for them to take full advantage of the fact that the 2015 World Cup is in Canada and to not be held back by the mores of the most conservative within their numbers.
    Guest
    There was a nice surprise this morning as French defender Pascal Chimbonda joined the team in the third day of training camp.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]However, the club and player himself didn't really make any comments on his arrival in Montreal, as he is still club-tied with Championship-side Doncaster Rovers. In fact, he just signed a short-term deal with the South Yorkshire club two weeks ago.
    Chimbonda signed with Doncaster on September 29th and accepted a large pay-cut to try and make up for lost time. He left his previous club, Queens Park Rangers, in April, and has since been struggling to find a club. Oddly enough, he is now in Montreal which casts a big doubt on his future at Doncaster.
    The French International - well, he played one game with them and sat on the bench at WC 2006 - was very vocal this morning at practice, playing at right-back alonside newcomer Nelson Rivas.
    UPDATE : It seems that Chimbonda was made unavailable for a Doncaster friendly against Sheffield Wednesday. According to the Yorkshire Post, Chimbonda was not in the lineup due to "family matters".
    Mike Sorber confirmed as assistant-coach
    In other training camp news, the Impact announced Mike Sorber as the new assistant-coach. Sorber and Marsch know each other very well, having coached and played together. His presence as well as the arrival of Preston Burpo as goalkeeper coach means that Mauro Biello and physical trainer Gil Oriols are the only two remaining members of the staff from the start of the 2011 season.
    Coach Marsch explained that he has yet to decide on Biello's and Oriol's future with the club and has also mentionned that he has someone in mind that he will add to his staff in the upcoming weeks.
    Guest
    Today, in a an Interview Only edition of It's Called Football, we're joined by the General Secretary of the CSA, Peter Montopoli for an exclusive interview to talk about their impending announcement to study the need for a Canadian only D2 league.
    We'll talk to Peter about the man they've charged with heading the study, how USSF decisions have forced the CSA down this road and how this project could be linked to infrastructure projects for the Canadian Women's World Cup.
    The interview is now up.
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    If you're having trouble with the player you can download and listen to the interview here or from iTunes
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