Hardcore Canada supporters spend a lot of time whinging about the fact that the only people who truly pay attention to Canada friendlies are hardcore supporters. But sometimes toiling in obscurity has a silver lining.
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Since taking the reins of Canada two years ago, Stephen Hart has enjoyed the luxury of time. As in, time to experiment in matches where nobody gets too worked up over the results. Contrast this with the situation unfolding in Honduras, where Hart's counterpart Luis Suarez finds himself engulfed by a shitstorm of criticism from enraged scribes and Internet users following his first two matches in charge, a 4-0 loss to South Korea and a 3-0 drubbing from China. No, this cowboy has not had a pleasant first crack at his horse.
The fact that Honduras had five of its European-based Legionnaires along for the trip seemed to anger supporters even more, as presumably the team was at almost full-strength. Suarez pointedly tried to downplay expectations for this "Asia tour," but he works in an environment where "what have you done for me lately?" is the only question asked.
As aesthetically bad as a combined 7-0 scoreline over two games may look, it can hardly be used as a basis to pass judgment on the coaching skills of Suarez. And as aesthetically good as those scores look from the perspective of embittered Canada supporters, a dispassionate observer would conclude that the Hondurans will surely have their act in far better shape for the Gold Cup. The bottom line for Honduras from these two friendlies is literally the bottom line: $300 thousand big ones into the coffers of the FA.
While Honduras supporters were watching their side get its ass handed to itself by China, Costa Ricans were celebrating the opening of their new national stadium, which completely coincidentally, was paid for by China. The Ticos pulled off a 0-0 home draw against a Lio Messi-less Argentina, thanks to the industry of keeper Keilor Navas Gamboa.
Perhaps the biggest knock-on from this match is that the Costa Rica FA is now considering suing its Argentine counterpart for fielding what was essentially a B-team. The decision to sit Messi looks dubious now that Barcelona has confirmed that he's not actually injured. A newspaper report today suggested that the Costa Rican FA is reviewing the fine print contained in the contracts governing friendlies it signs with other nations. Apparently Argentina was required to bring its star players to the game, but not required to play them.
And finally despite enjoying more of the ball, suffering from poor refereeing and shanking a penalty off the crossbar, El Salvador lost 3-2 to Jamaica in a battle of Concacaf middleweights. By the end of the match the Salvadorian home supporters were chanting for the return of manager Carlos De dos Cobos, who led them to the Hex in 2010 World Cup qualifying. New York Red Bull Dane Richards scored twice for Jamaica, who seem to have their counterattack perfected on this occasion, scoring three goals in their first four attempts on goal.