Jump to content

  • Articles

    Manage articles
    Show all categories
    Guest
    Must win.
    It's perhaps the most overused phrase in the history of sports. Right up there with "give it 110 per cent" and "take it one day at a time," the term "must win" has climbed atop the pantheon of sporting clichés and has been used so frequently that it barely has meaning any longer.
    Despite the overusage, it always lurks around the corner.
    A team finds itself in a bit of a rough patch? The next game is a must win.
    The players are hearing it from unimpressed fans? Well, certainly they find themselves in a must win situation.
    So rarely has the term been properly used, that most fans can be excused for not actually knowing when it's actually appropriate to break it out.
    Well, TFC fans, Tuesday night's match against Tauro FC is -- sing it with me now -- a must win.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Forget about the playoffs. As well as the league results have been going for the Reds over the past few weeks -- and victories ovder Real Salt Lake, Columbus and Colorado are very impressive, indeed -- unless a perfect storm were to occur, the current run is too little, too late where the post-season is concerned.
    The weight of a terrible first half-season is the albatross pulling down any positive results now on display.
    Even if Toronto were to win out (and we'd be talking about a six game winning streak, twice the existing TFC record), they'd end the MLS campaign on 42 points. A decent haul to be sure, but still only six points above the current tenth place New York Red Bulls, who have two matches in hand. Even if the Red Bulls could be caught -- and their form since June suggests that that's not a crazy suggestion in the slightest -- there are still a handful of other clubs sniffing around that final playoff spot who have banked more points and who have played less games than TFC have.
    So let's put those lofty dreams to the side. It ain't happening.
    What still is possible is for the CONCACAF Champions League to be the high note for TFC that the supporters have been clamouring for.
    Sure, the embarrassing 4-0 loss in Mexico City last week threw a rather sizable monkey wrench into what was looking like a relatively easy road to some February football in Southern Ontario. It's unfortunate that Pumas chose their home match against the Reds to finally take the CCL seriously, and what ensued was some of the ugliest scenes Toronto fans have watched this year, which is saying a lot.
    But Aron Winter cannot let his players hang their heads low. Three points against the scrappy Panamanian vistors, plus a positive result the next night in Texas (a win for either Dallas or Pumas, depending on which way the final two matchdays go), and TFC may be able to look back on Tuesday night as the game in which they salvaged the season.
    The Mexico City debacle is in the past. All TFC can do now is try to beat the opponents in front of them and hope that other results go well. Of course, other results won't mean anything if the Reds don't take care of business on their own end.
    It's a self-fulfilling cycle that starts with a (must) win.

    Toronto FC v. Tauro FC
    Tuesday, September 20, 2011. 8:00pm EDT.
    BMO Field. Toronto, ON.
    Watch: Rogers Sportsnet ONE, CONCACAF TV (requires registration)
    Listen: FAN590.com
    Rudi Schuller contributes Toronto FC and Canadian national team content to the 24th Minute. He manages the Euro File here at Canadian Soccer News, and is MLSsoccer.com's beat writer for all things concerning Canada's men's national teams. Follow Rudi on Twitter, @RudiSchuller.
    Guest

    Tancredi's tying goal vs the U.S.

    By Guest, in It's Called Football,

    It's a story that shouldn't have been missed by this site and one that was largely ignored by the mainstream media, but the Canadian Women's National team managed to wrangle a point away from the Americans in the first of their two game friendly series on Saturday. And to give it some context, this was the first result of any kind the Canadians have got out of the U.S. since 2008 and they did it without the assistance of their captain Christine Sinclair.
    Apologies to the national team and their fans for not getting this up sooner but have a look at Melissa Tancredi's tying goal as they start off the John Herdman era in the right fashion.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]


    And you can view the highlights from the full game here:


    Guest
    Canadian fans still may not know much about goalkeeper Milan Borjan, but we've quickly learned that he's full of passion. So much of it, in fact, that his chirping (apparently) got him sent off in a Turkish Super League game over the weekend after he earned two yellow cards, one directly after another. (Skip ahead to about 3:09).
    Yeah, he'll do well with CONCACAF refs, I think. (Video after the jump).
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BulSvg4wH1Y#t=3m09s
    Hat tip to @TrueNorthSoccer on Twitter for unearthing the vid.
    Guest

    Impact 2-0 FC Edmonton : Down to the wire

    By Guest, in Le12eJoueur,

    This will go down to the wire.
    The Impact have won a 4th consecutive match at home, by easily beating FC Edmonton 2-0 last night. Ryan Pore scored both goals, at the 11th and 78th to keep Montreal’s hopes of making the playoffs. This win, combined with Minnesota’s draw at Tampa, puts the team within one-point of a playoff spot and one game to play.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    De Santis seemed to have kept a similar formation as last week, using a 4-4-1-1 with Ubiparipovic in the roaming role, right behind Montano, with Pore and Di Lorenzo (in replacement of Diouf who was sick) supporting the attack from the wings.
    Once more, Ubiparipovic pulled the strings for the Impact, while Lowery and Westlake did the dirty work to regain possession in the middle of the park. In defense, Cameron Knowles and Philippe Billy were back in the lineup to replace Pizzolitto and Gatti, both suspended for last night’s game. Knowles was partnered with Camara, in central defense, while Luke Kreamalmayer kept his place on the right. Evan Bush, who’s been one of Montreal’s key player started once more and had little to do, apart from a volley in the latter stages of the game. He now has 8 clean sheets this season, with a goal average of 0.85, making him the best goalkeeper in the NASL.
    The Impact started the game as they did last weekend, and piled up the pressure on the right wing with Montano and Di Lorenzo. After having seen one of his volleys save by Monsalve, Montano turned into provider to set up his team’s first goal.With the help of a Di Lorenzo dummy, Ubiparipovic threaded a wonderful ball through for Montano, who then set up a low pass at the edge of the box for Ryan Pore. The Timbers loanee put in a low shot at the right of Monsalve for his 3rd of the season.
    The second goal was a replica of the first, with the same players getting involved apart from Di Lorenzo. Ubiparipovic waited at the right moment to serve Montano with a small pass and he drove the ball in the box for Pore who had the simple task of tapping it in.
    It’s fair to say that the starting evelen that started last night was very different from the one which began the season. The current lineup has shown its supremacy against NASL opposition and could be considered a very serious contender, should they make the playoffs.
    The Impact will now head to Atlanta for the last game of the season, and will be looking at no-less than a win. Meanwhile, they will also need the help of the Railhawks who will be hosting Minnesota at the same time. Should Minnesota win, the Impact would be out of the playoffs, no matter what the result in Atlanta.
    Guest

    A tactical Frings thing

    By Guest, in Onward Soccer,

    Torsten Frings played a deep sweeper role for Toronto FC in yesterday's 2-1 win over Colorado.
    The German international ably held down the centre of defence, neatly filling the gaping hole between Andy Iro and Ty Harden that Pumas of Mexico expoited so brutally in that 4-0 CONCACAF paste job last week.
    But don't look for this to be a regular assignment for TFC's captain.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Head coach Aron Winter told the post-game press conference he chose to play Frings out-of-position Saturday to counter the speed of the Colorado front men. Winter said he didn't feel his centre backs could stop them one-on-one, and that Frings will return to a holding midfield position in future matches.
    Frings' back-line solidity allowed Toronto fullbacks Ashtone Morgan and Richard Eckersley to push forward extensively. Both spent most of the first half in the Rapids' end, with Morgan leading several penetrating rushes.
    They were aided by the fact Colorado rarely crossed midfield until later in the game. It's also cool to note that Morgan and Eckersley each made outstanding goal-line clearances down the stretch, and the Rapids threatened to draw -- and even win -- the match.
    Onward!
    Guest
    It's said that the best way to get over a poor result is to jump right back into competition and try to get a good one.
    Both Toronto and Colorado are coming off exceedingly poor results against Mexican sides in the CONCACAF Champions League, and it remains to be seen which side can erase the lingering stench quicker.
    TFC completely fell apart in Mexico City against Pumas, after a promising first 15 minutes that saw the Reds have two point-blank chances saved. From then on it looked like men versus boys, with the host side (who surprisingly used most of their 'A' lineup, after using mostly kids and reserves in the first two CCL games) toying with a disjointed and lackadaisical Toronto team for a brutal final 30 minutes of the first half.
    What resulted was a 4-0 drubbing, the type that makes even the most ardent supporters question their motivation for watching.
    And while losing so completely in the thin, dirty air of Mexico City is bad, what Colorado presented to its home fans a day eariler may have been worse.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The 4-1 loss to visiting Santos Laguna may have been slightly better scoreline, but I doubt any of the (outnumbered) Rapids supporters at Dick's Sporting Goods Park felt any more positive about their side than TFC fans do about the Reds right now. Especially when considering the relative league standing of Colorado versus Toronto.
    And so both teams converge at BMO Field on Saturday afternoon (rescheduled from Saturday night for TV purposes). Tails firmly between their legs, both sides will need to shake off the shackles of their latest respective drubbings and try to get back on the horse, so to speak.
    Colorado, for the sake of heading into the playoffs on a high rather than a limp.
    Toronto, for the sake of the continuing improvement that Aron Winter and company speak so ardently about.
    --
    Notes: Newly-acquired TFC defender Kyle Davies, 22, is available for selection and may see time for the Reds. The former US U-20 captain is cup-tied to former team Los Angeles for the CONCACAF Champions League and can only participate in the league for the remainder of 2011.
    Colorado attacker Macoumba Kandji has finally recovered from the injury suffered when creating the winning goal at MLS Cup 2010 in Toronto last November.

    Toronto FC v. Colorado Rapids
    Saturday, September 17, 2011. 1:30pm EDT.
    BMO Field. Toronto, ON.
    Watch: TSN
    Listen: FAN590.com
    Rudi Schuller contributes Toronto FC and Canadian national team content to the 24th Minute. He manages the Euro File here at Canadian Soccer News, and is MLSsoccer.com's beat writer for all things concerning Canada's men's national teams. Follow Rudi on Twitter, @RudiSchuller.
    Guest
    To understand Toronto FC’s season you really have to look at it in two parts – the team’s play prior to the transfer window and its play since the reckoning that took place during. Let’s call it Before Reckoning (BR) and After Reckoning (AR).
    There is little arguing that the BR Toronto was terrible. They had a 3W 3D 9L MLS record, had only scored 17 goals (1.13 goals per game) and had allowed an astounding 36 (2.4 GPG). The club’s 0.8 points per game record was second to last in MLS behind only Canadian cousins Vancouver.
    AR it’s been better, although the perception of some fans might be that it’s been better than it actually is. TFC was so bad BR that any improvement AR is going to glow in comparison. However, the 2-3-3 record is refreshingly mediocre. They’ve scored more goals (13, or 1.625 GPG) and allowed much fewer (15, or 1.87 GPG). It’s hardly MLS Cup territory, but it’s a start.
    Toronto’s AR record looks even better when you eliminate the games that took place in July, while the reckoning was still taking place. Once the dust had settled the Reds were 2-3-1 (1.33 PPG). That’s a low playoff seed.
    Vancouver has also improved since the window. Pre-transfer window the ‘Caps were 2-8-10, for a league worst 0.7 points per game. They scored 21 goals (1.05 GPG) and allowed 28 (1.4 GPG). After the opening of the window Vancouver is 2-2-3 with 9 goals for and 15 against (1.14 PPG, 1.28, 2.14 GPG)
    How do the Canadian teams measure up post window? Find out below the jump:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

    Galaxy 5-1-1 (2.28 PPG)
    Seattle 4-1-2 (1.85)
    Kansas City 5-3-2 (1.88)
    SLC 5-0-4 (1.66)
    Colorado 4-2-3 (1.55)
    Portland 4-4-3 (1.45)
    Columbus 4-2-4 (1.4)
    DC United 3-2-3 (1.375)
    Dallas 3-3-3 (1.33)
    Houston 3-4-3 (1.3)
    Vancouver 2-2-3 (1.14)
    Toronto 2-3-3 (1.125)
    Chicago 2-3-3 (1.125)
    New England 2-5-3 (1.1)
    Chivas 2-3-4 (1.0)
    Philly 1-5-3 (0.88)
    San Jose 1-4-4 (0.77)
    New York 0-5-2 (0.71)

    Clearly, there is still work to do. However, it could be worse for Toronto and Vancouver – they could be the free falling Red Bulls.
    We will track this as the season continues.
    Guest
    When the 2011 NASL started back in April, it's fair to say that all Montreal Impact fans saw the team clinching the league championship and playoffs. Six months later (almost the same as my last entry on CSN, sorry!), the Impact are fighting for a playoff spot and also have to hope for a Minnesota slip-up in one of their remaining two games.


    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Meanwhile, FC Edmonton have made the playoffs by beating the Silverbacks two weeks ago, with two games to go. Sitting in 5th, they will play their last regular season game tomorrow at Saputo stadium and would probably enjoy playing a big role in the Impact’s elimination. Indeed, an Edmonton win combined with a Minnesota tie or win would end Montreal’s hopes of making the 2011 playoffs.
    After a dismal start to the season, the Impact has somewhat improved, helped greatly by Eduardo Sebrango, who came out of retirement, as well as the arrival of creative midfielder Sinisa Ubiparipovic. In the last 7 games, Montreal has won 4 games and drawn 2, the only loss coming on the road at Fort Lauderdale. Ubiparipovic has provided the spark and creativity that was missing this season, and has shown some consistency, which was lacking at his previous club, the New York Red Bulls.
    Last week’s 1-0 win against the Railhawks could have been greater if only the Impact’s forwards hadn’t been as wasteful in front of the opposition’s net. In the end, it only took one goal to beat the NASL champions, courtesy of a Luke Kreamalmayer cross/shot with the help of the linesman (and lack of goal-line technology).
    Tomorrow night, Montreal will be facing a lesser opponent in Edmonton, who despite having had a tough mid-season, have surprised us all by making the playoffs in their first season. If the Impact can replicate last week’s performance and find the attacking flair that’s been lacking the two previous games, it’s fair to say that they will be able to get a positive result and stay within reach of the playoff spot.
    They probably don’t really deserve to make the playoffs, but that’s a completely different story.
    On this note, I want to take the time apologize to the writers and readers of CSN for my own atrocious performance this summer.


    Guest
    Today, we're joined by Oranges at Halftime host and TSN analyst Noel Butler to talk about the Montreal Impact's resurgence, why it takes a coach getting fired for their team to ever get going and how the media in the city has reacted to Montreal's march to MLS.
    We'll also talk about how by playing it down the middle, Toronto has piddled away opportunities in both competitions, hear from Ben Knight on his coaching series and discuss the roster freeze deals.
    The archived show is now up.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <embed src="http://itscalledfootball.podhoster.com/FlowPlayerLight.swf?config={embedded:true,videoFile:%27http://itscalledfootball.podhoster.com/download/2540/25848/sept162011final.mp3%27,initialScale:%27scale%27,controlBarBackgroundColor:%270x778899%27,autoBuffering:false,loop:false,autoPlay:false}" width="400" height="25" scale="fit" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>
    Follow us on Twitter to get updates on the show
    Guest
    Do I have to?
    Ok, fine. You want to know what I thought of last night’s 4-0 Champions League loss to Pumas? I didn’t see the fourth goal because I was walking back to the house from the pub that I was planning on watching the game from. I lasted a bit over 33 minutes before I left. I’d seen enough.
    I had the rest of the game on, but don’t ask me to break it down. I was playing on my phone.
    That’s how I felt about yesterday’s 4-0 loss to Pumas in the Champions League. It was so bad I couldn’t watch and I can watch a lot of bad soccer.
    Out worked, out classed, out everything. It was as bad as TFC has been in this bad year. What, really, is there to say beyond that?
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Well, other than it needs to be much better by the time next year’s Champions League rolls around. And, make no mistake – not making the Champions League in 2012 is unacceptable. Toronto has asked fans to be patient in this rebuilding year with the promise of better days ahead in 2012 and 2013. In moments of sober reflection most TFC fans can accept that – so long as the promise is fulfilled. Beating out Edmonton, Montreal and Vancouver for the Voyageurs Cup is the least that should be expected next year.
    Bringing it back to this year, you have to accept that the Reds are an unfinished project. Pumas likely represents the best team they will play this year and an old fashioned ass kicking isn’t all that surprising. If TFC didn’t look disinterested last night (in the first half anyway), it’s likely that most fans could bite the bullet and move on.
    However, the lackadaisical effort demands to be addressed and, based on the slight improvement in the second half, it’s likely the coaching staff agreed and told the players as much.
    Toronto sports fan have proven time and time again that they will put up with losing. A lack of effort though...
    That will never fly.
    Hopefully that’s a lesson the players understand as they prepare for two home games in five days.
    Guest

    Caps look to Joe Public for help

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    The Vancouver Whitecaps made one move ahead of the MLS roster freeze, adding Trinidadian Carlyle Mitchell.
    Mitchell, a centreback, last played for Joe Public in the T&T league. He has three caps for the Caribbean nation.
    According to Whitecaps’ management they were attracted to the 24-year-old because he’s is “a young, athletic prospect that provides additional depth to the centre back position.”
    There isn’t a great history of T&T league players making the jump to MLS and at 24 it’s fair to ask whether Mitchell has much upside – especially for a player that will take up an international slot.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Guest
    Yesterday CSN published two stories about Canadian internationals that the Canadian Soccer Association has responded to.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    In reporting Atiba Hutchinson's injury concerns, CSN wrote the following:

    CSN spokesperson Max Bell contacted CSN today to provide the SA's side. He wrote:

    Bell stressed that the decision to play Hutchinson should not at all reflect poorly on the CSA medical or technical staff.
    CSN wasn't directly contacted about the Christine Sinclair story, which asked whether her decision to skip this month's friendlies with the United States was partly in protest to the SA's handling of the Carolina Morace situation. However, there was an indirect approach -- a source close to the CSA stressed to CSN that Sinclair was in no way protesting and that any suggestion otherwise would be unfair to all involved. It was said that she was simply "burnt out."
    Guest

    Toronto FC trade for Kyle Davies

    By Guest, in It's Called Football,

    Toronto FC announced today that it has acquired defender Kyle Davies from the LA Galaxy in exchange for Dasan Robinson.
    Davies, despite captaining the U-20 USMNT team in 2009, has not seen much of the pitch since joining MLS the same year. He has bounced from Real Salt Lake to Dallas to Los Angeles and has not made an appearance in LA this season.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    In Robinson, Toronto loses a defender who has never really shown much ability to fit into their system and was badly abused down the wing more than once this year. With the emergence of Ashtone Morgan as a starter, Robinson has been largely rendered redundant. He will also be remembered as the man who was traded for fan favourite Dan Gargan.
    The move shows once again that Toronto isn't afraid to pull the gun on trades that didn't work out. Tony Tchani, who was acquired from New York in the Dwayne DeRosario trade, was another who saw himself shipped out shortly after arriving. Alan Gordon, who had been acquired from LA as well, was also traded within the same season he was acquired - although his trade was less about his performance and more about the arrival of designated player Danny Kovermans.
    What do you think about Toronto's trading this season? Has it moved the team forward? Or are they just spinning their wheels in the mud?
    Guest
    Author’s note: Ray Clark has been director of player and coaching development for the Canadian Soccer Association since 1992.
    A native of London, England (and supporter of West Ham United), he has literally seen it all where Canadian soccer blueprints are concerned.
    You’ll get a lot of the CSA company line here – understandably – but that’s a very useful perspective in trying to understand where soccer in this nation is headed.
    There are valuable insights into the intended future of youth player development – and some strong words for Canadian professional clubs that don’t hire Canadian head coaches.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    ---
    CSN: Before we get into talking about the future of coaching development, what is your honest assessment of what the problems have been, in the Canadian set-up, up until recently?
    RC: Well, when I first came in, in ’92, one of the biggest problems was we didn’t have any money. When we came into the earlier part of this century – with Holger Osieck – things picked up a lot. We had an influx of money, and new ideas from Holger, and that was a great boost for us. We had some success on the field, as well. We started to actually invest in coaching development, whereby we would subsidize coaches coming to the B-licence courses, for example. Three-quarters of the cost of the course we paid, to make it viable for coaches to come in. And the program took off. Then, when Holger finished, his replacement brought us more in line with what they were doing in UEFA, and again we’ve come into a far more tactically based licensing program at the higher levels. I think while I’ve been here the coaching program has improved tremendously.
    CSN: Some of the criticisms I’ve heard from people who hold the Canadian A-licence is that it’s not necessarily respected overseas, and that it might put too much emphasis on things like nutrition and fitness, and not enough on man-management and tactics. Do you have a feeling about that?
    RC: I think whoever says that hasn’t been involved in our program for at least fifteen years. As I said, when Holger arrived in 1998 we worked very closely with the NCCP (National Coaching Certification Program), Holger felt it stressed too much science, at the detriment of the on-field stuff. So he had us pull away from the NCCP, and we are actually still not back into them yet. In the last five years or so, we’re branched out into a more tactical approach – how to teams playing in a certain way. Coaching is very much tactically based now. There has, obviously, to be an emphasis on fitness as well, because if the player’s not fit, he’s not going to be able to get through a game. But it’s nowhere near what it used to be back in that time.
    CSN: After Canada was eliminated early from the Women’s World Cup, Jason de Vos very publicly said that one of the big problems with the Canadian structure – and we’re talking player development here, but it’s coaching by extension – is that players in what he considers the crucial age group – 10, 11, 12, 13 – entering puberty, becoming young adults, are simply not getting the drills they need, the basic nuts-and-bolts football that they need from coaches in Canada.
    RC: The game in Canada is very much recreational. Because of that, it’s a house league-driven type of approach. And invariably – and I don’t mean any disrespect to the people coaching there – it’s mainly parent coaches, and I have to say it’s mainly people who don’t really know the game of soccer very well. And house leagues rely on it, because there’s not enough people to be able to coach these teams. That obviously has an impact. The other way we can reach those people, and offer help to them is through a coaching program. We tried to do that in the past. When Holger came in, we tried to structure it, but when it was actually out there it became more of a young adult thing, as opposed to “here’s what you need to know about children and how they develop.” Our current Wellness to World Cup long-term player development plan really narrows it down to how to work with player six-and-under in the basic Active Start phase, and into the FUNdamentals phase, and so on.
    CSN: When I talked to OSA chief technical officer Alex Chiet recently, he basically put the Wellness to World Cup blueprint in front of me, and said “We’re instituting this, this and this.” This is becoming the national vision of how to move forward. In your terms, how do you see that document for people who may not be as familiar with it? What are the differences between what happened before, and what’s going to happen now?
    RC: First of all, we’ve got to say that it’s not a program in itself. It’s a philosophy, and what comes with that are the programs that will help to drive that philosophy. It’s not just coach development or player development. It’s also about competition development and league structures. It’s also about facilities, because there are places in Canada where they don’t have enough facilities to be able to run a decent program. In terms of coaching, what we’re looking to do now is promote the fact that it’s player-centred. Whatever we do has to be based on what the players’ needs are. And at different phases of development, we’re going to see they have different needs. And there are windows of opportunity that we need to capitalize on. But the fundamental problem is still going to be that the people delivering this are still going to be parent-coaches. For me, speaking personally, I think one of the major, major issues we have now – and I’ve seen it first-hand myself because I have young kids and I’ve been through house-league programs – is that clubs have to develop, within their own structures, support mechanisms for those coaches out there who are working at the grassroots level. It’s not enough to have one technical director responsible for a club of three, four, five, six-thousand kids ….
    CSN: Like Jason de Vos is at Oakville right now? They just hired a bunch of new coaches.
    RC: To be fair to Oakville, they’ve had support staff there for a number of years now. But it needs to be more wide-spread, to other clubs across the country. Even a club with a thousand kids – one person is not going to be able to deal with all that, and help the volunteer coaches, without whom we’d be snookered, and not able to have a program at all. But! They need guidance. How can we rely on people who have no background in the game and no coaching experience to deliver our program? We’re trying to get this ship on course. We have to provide support along the way – physical support, financial support of course. That’s why I think the emphasis has to be on clubs now to step forward and say “We need to support these guys, because they have the bulk of the players.”
    CSN: So, as you say, we are in a country where soccer is overwhelmingly a recreational house-league sport. You grew up in England, in a soccer culture with professional clubs everywhere. These clubs have academies, and if you’re a coach coming up, you can catch on a team in the Conference or a non-league team, and move up the leagues, and maybe one day the door of the Premier League opens for you. Because Canada has so few pro clubs, we have very few chances for coaching. You look at someone like Nick Dasovic, who’s bounced around. Those jobs are the same crazy, high-turnover windmill that any other pro soccer coaching job is anywhere else, and the perception here in Canada is that you need an Aron Winter as opposed to a Nick Dasovic, and certainly the argument can be made – Winter has a tremendous footballing pedigree. Does the lack of pro-soccer coaching jobs in Canada make it hard to lure good people into the A-licence coaching program?
    RC: My concern is that when you have Canadian clubs hiring coaches from outside of Canada, they’re not giving Canadians a chance. I’m pretty disappointed there. I would ask them to justify how they can do that. Yes, Aron Winter has a great pedigree as a player, but there are people here like Nick Dasovic, who’s also got a decent pedigree, but maybe not as high-profile as Aron. But certainly, he’s got MLS experience. He was given the reins for a few short weeks, and didn’t do a bad job. What would he have done if he’d been given another season? And if you look at the Vancouver Whitecaps, I think the same thing could be said of Colin Miller, who’s the number two there right now. He’s got the experience of coaching in Scotland, has played international football and has a sort of a track record, if you like, but is not given a chance because of an American. And I would argue are the Americans any better than the Canadians?
    CSN: But you can train a man tactics and strategy, but you can’t necessarily put Torsten Frings’ phone number on his speed-dial, so he can phone him and say “Come work for me?”
    RC: Well, I don’t know what happened with that one. From my experience, it’s been agents from around the world that get clubs fixed up. I don’t know if it’s particularly Aron Winter that’s gone and done that, or whether it’s an agent who contacted him. Agents are always looking for what’s best for their players. I don’t think it’s a case of whether they’re from Europe or from America or Canada or South America. I think you can find players. And these are quality players. They may not be a Frings, but you’ll get some decent, quality players who can play in MLS and do a good job there. I don’t want to point fingers at anybody, but I am disappointed that Canadian professional clubs are looking outside Canada when there are people in Canada with experience who need to be given an opportunity. That has to change – because that doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world.
    CSN: But any other country in the world would have a larger number of professional clubs, and a more established culture. We’ve talked for years about soccer’s rise as a participation sport in Canada. Do you sense, though, any real increase within those kids of an interest in how Toronto FC is doing, or the Whitecaps, or the Canadian national teams?
    RC: I think there’s interest in the MLS teams, definitely. There’s a connection there. I mean, who could have predicted in 2007 the turn-out of fans that TFC had? Prior to 2007, it was pretty bleak in terms of professional clubs up to that point. I thought the fans showed that they are interested in big-league soccer. They’re not interested in what they consider to be semi-professional soccer. And to be fair, not just to TFC but to Vancouver, the fans have been coming out as well, and I think the same will happen in Montreal. Vancouver have invested in an academy themselves – they did that prior to even starting in MLS, because they had a long-term vision. Montreal are trying to do the same thing now. Hats off to them! That’s great. But I think, again, if I had a criticism of them – Montreal just hired a coach from the U.S. whose highest standard has been USL. Well. We’ve got people who’ve done better than that. People in Montreal have done better than that. So why hire someone who’s not even of a higher pedigree, so to speak? I don’t understand why they don’t give them a chance.
    CSN: We’re in an odd position in Canada, where much of our programs are paid for by fees of amateur soccer players, and this blueprint – Wellness to World Cup – is now going to dribble down into the house leagues. I have a dear friend who has two daughters who play house league – not rep, house league – and he is concerned that they don’t want to learn how to be professional players. They just want to run around, kick a ball, and play games. There’s going to be some push-back from the house leagues to these new standards, which are intended to take the best kids and help them become professional players. How would you answer that push-back, when it comes?
    RC: Well, first of all, at the very young ages, it’s based on physical literacy. So it’s about movement – all of the things kids like to do. You just put the ball in there with them. We’re trying to encourage them to do things with the ball. Not everything, but the idea is that when kids go out there, they’re not just standing listening to somebody talk, they’re not just standing there passing the ball backwards and forwards for hours. They’re doing things they enjoy doing – running and chasing and competing with each other. These are natural things that come out of the child. All we’re saying is, this is how you could do it. This is how you can structure your practice, to the point where we’re giving coaches recipe books, if you like, on a CD where they can actually see all the practices they can run. All the work’s done for them. They just have to literally lay out the field, and let the kids play. And the kids enjoy it. These things have been tried. It’s not as if we’ve just come up with some drills. They’ve actually been tested and tried, and found to be working very well. There’s a lot of information from people like Tony Waiters, who had a big input into the development of the physical literacy program. There is a strong belief, based on evidence, that these things will work, and help the players to get better. Whether they want to be a professional or not is another thing. They all want to be as good as they can be. Wellness to World Cup is not trying to turn everybody into a World Cup player. But every player is going to find their level, enjoy the experience, and learn more and more about the game as they progress.
    CSN: You’ve got pro teams starting their own academies. You have a flurry of academies out there. Obviously, a pro team is going to have its own agenda, based on what it needs to compete in Major League Soccer or the NASL. Academies – who knows? Provincial teams are still part of the mix, although the geography can make participation very difficult and daunting. Is it possible to unify all this? Can you tell Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps this is the blueprint we want you to use? Can this thing be universal, or are we looking at further fragmentation as more and more parties enter this field?
    RC: The information in our program is proven information. It’s not just from Canada. It’s been brought together from around the world. We’re sort of leading the way a little bit, based on good, strong evidence from other countries of what works, and what doesn’t. We’re not asking the pro teams to do anything that’s going to hinder their development. They’re looking for a certain type of player, at a very high level. But when they want to reach down, eventually, the information we’re offering is not a million miles away from where they want to be anyway. I think it will help them, in terms of the coaches we’ll provide for them, and the players that come through from the grassroots levels. We would like to be working with them, in terms of what happens to those players at those elite levels. We can definitely complement what they do, and they complement what we do. We can offer them international experience, which they don’t get at TFC. And a player that’s had international experience has more value to them, in terms of experience they’ve gained that’s not available at TFC through normal channels. I feel strongly we can work together, and I think it’s up to the CSA – and we’re trying – to sit down with them and find how we can work together, as opposed to being in different areas. As for provincial programs – not everybody wants to be a professional player. Some people have a fear that, if they go to TFC or Vancouver, scholarship issues might be a problem down the road. There needs to be an alternative route where the door doesn’t close on them when they’re 21.
    CSN: So let’s look at somebody who’s played soccer all his life, thought about the game a lot, had some sort of a career and his now in his late twenties or early thirties. He’s thinking he’s done as a player, and wants to stay in the game as a coach. What can you do for him?
    RC: It depends what level they play at. We have a fast track for those who have a semi-professional background. If they played as a professional for three years, then we try and fast-route them into the B-licence program. (All this will change in the next two years, as we come up with new B-licence and A-licence programs.) The problem then comes in – where do we go from there? And this is where we come back to how clubs can support this program going forward, in terms of the number of people within the club working on a part-time basis – or full-time basis – that can support the grassroots model and the elite development model, especially in the larger clubs, where I feel more can be done. Again, I’m not trying to criticize them. I think sometimes we just have too narrow a focus, instead of opening our focus out and saying how can we best service players, so that we get the best for them, which will also be the best for the country.
    Also in this series:
    - Alex Chiet interview
    - Charlie Cuzzetto interview
    - Frank Yallop interview
    - Ron Davidson interview
    - Rafael Carbajal's vision
    - Some preliminaries
    - Canadian coaching: a new CSN investigation
    Guest

    Canada to play Tunisia in February?

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    It's almost always the way that we find out these things, but it seems as though "jonny63" from the Voyageurs has unearthed Canada's next potential friendly match.
    Stephen Hart's crew is, of course, still busy with the second round of CONCACAF's World Cup qualification tournmament for the remainder of 2011, but the next available FIFA international match date appears to have been filled by Tunisia.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The Tunisian Football Federation (FTF) has a friendly match between its national team and Canada listed on its calendar for Wednesday, February 29, 2012. The match would presumably be played in Tunisia, given that the North African nation is a short hop from Europe (where many of the core Canadians are stationed for their clubs).
    If the friendly takes place as suggested, Canada will be taking on a Tunisian side that is undefeated in its past six games (the only loss of 2011 coming back in January--a 2-1 decision at Oman). The Tunisians are scheduled to play Togo in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier next month, followed by a couple of friendlies against Algeria (Nov. 12) and non-FIFA entity Catalonia (Dec. 22).
    Tunisia is currently 57th in FIFA's world rankings, fourty-five places above Canada.

    Rudi Schuller contributes Toronto FC and Canadian national team content to the 24th Minute. He manages the Euro File here at Canadian Soccer News, and is MLSsoccer.com's beat writer for all things concerning Canada's men's national teams. Follow Rudi on Twitter, @RudiSchuller.
×
×
  • Create New...