Get your coffees, energy drinks and mugs of yerba mate iced tea ready, because it's nearly that time again. Yes, the Olympic Games are upon us. That special time, every few years, when people around the world unite to express their ephemeral devotion to -- and supposed expertise in -- a wide range of quasi-obscure sporting events, all in the name of nationalism! Yippee!
And while women's soccer is hardly quasi-obscure in the same way as, say, the modern pentathlon or men's individual epee, most general Canadian sports fans know little about what to expect from our national team beyond a vague notion that "they're pretty good" and have that one who scored even with the mask on, what's her name, Christy something?
So while much of the following preview won't be especially ground-breaking to those of you who, like me, get up at strange hours and troll through dubious German web feeds to watch Canada play in a perpetual loop of four-nation tournaments, hopefully it's a useful primer for folks looking to hop on board the Big Red bandwagon before London 2012 gets officially underway.
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I've heard we're pretty good. Are we really pretty good?
Well, yeah, though words like "pretty" and "good" are always subjective. Still, being ranked #7 in the world (which Canada is) doesn't happen by accident, though the pool of nations that devote significant resources and attention to the women's game is relatively quite small. That ranking sits us comfortably among what the Canadian coaches and players refer to as the group of "Tier 2" teams -- strong in the global game, but not quite at the pinnacle.
Alright, so what kind of competition are we up against at the Olympics?
Funny you should ask, what with all this talk of tiers. First up, on Wednesday, is Japan -- reigning World Cup champions, ranked #3 in the world and definitely among what we'd call the "Tier 1" squads. On Saturday, a bit of a reprieve, against a largely-unknown South African team (ranked #61). Then, next Tuesday, the likely make-or-break match against the #4-ranked Swedes. We'll leave the detailed breakdowns of those sides for another day, but suffice to say, Canada will need to work very hard to get into the knockout stage.
So we're not going to cakewalk to a medal, are we?
No, we're not. Whatever the shiny TV ads may say, whatever you may have heard or vaguely remember, please, do yourself a favour: Don't operate under the assumption that a medal is a sure thing. Or even a very likely thing. Is a semifinal berth achievable? Yes, if things fall nicely into place. But Canada's only been at the Olympics in women's soccer once before, in 2008. The team went out in the quarter-finals.
How have we been doing lately?
Canada's played five international friendlies (in addition to matches against local competition during an extended training camp in Vancouver) in the last few months to prepare. A last-minute goal gave them a 1-0 win over China in Moncton on May 30, they fell 2-1 to the #1-ranked U.S.A. in Salt Lake City on June 30, then rattled off wins over Colombia and New Zealand at a warm-up tournament in Switzerland before losing the final match, at the very last moment, to the Brazilians.
Do you think it's appropriate to be referring to the team as "we"? Isn't that homerism?
Yup, completely. Welcome to CSN. We don't pretend to be dispassionate observers.
OK then. So, the team itself. Who are we keeping our eyes on? Does that one player still wear the mask?
No, except at masquerade parties, I imagine. That's captain Christine Sinclair, who's got 137 career goals for Canada, and will likely retire (one day) as the most prolific goal-scorer in the history of international soccer. Safe to say that most of Canada's offence runs through her -- even when she's not scoring, she's creating chances for teammates, either by drawing defenders or providing assists.
Sinclair is, far and away, the most important element of any potential success Canada will have. But every team in this competition, and the world, knows this -- and they'll be making adjustments accordingly. What, then, of Canada's secondary offensive options?
Well, since injuries forced Kara Lang to retire last year, Canada has lacked a consistent scoring threat aside from Sinclair. Melissa Tancredi would be the first choice to step up, and will likely be partnered with Sinclair. Young Jonelle Filigno, long touted as Canada's next big goal-scorer, is still not 100% recovered from an operation on her ankle, although head coach John Herdman said that in recent weeks, she's shown her resilience and competitive fire. Watch for her as a potential game-changer.
On the other end of the field, thankfully Canada is well-covered with their 1 and 1A options in goal, Karina LeBlanc and Erin McLeod, a pair of long-time national-team veterans. Herdman prefers LeBlanc as his go-to option, although she also picked up a minor ankle injury earlier this year. Expect her to be your starter, though you can also expect McLeod to perform swimmingly if and when she's called upon.
The back line is anchored by one of Canada's true stalwarts, Candace Chapman. With over 100 caps for the national team, and experience at the 2008 Olympics (including a goal against Argentina), Chapman will be one of the players relied upon for stability. She'll be paired with either Carmelina Moscato or Emily Zurrer, both of whom have more than 50 caps under their belts. Zurrer was left off the roster for the Olympic qualification tournament in January, but has worked her way back into the squad -- she, too, represented Canada at Beijing 2008.
Herdman has said, and shown, that he prefers fullbacks who are willing to get involved on the attacking side of things. To that end, he's brought Lauren Sesselmann into the Canadian program and made her a regular starter, though a nagging knee injury she picked up at the qualification tournament is an ongoing concern. Her counterpart on the other side of the pitch is likely to be Rhian Wilkinson, another Canadian veteran who -- like Sesselmann -- has played several different positions during her career.
The midfield will, barring any surprises, consist of Diana Matheson, Sophie Schmidt, Desiree Scott and Kaylyn Kyle. Schmidt and Scott have both emerged as rugged, determined ball-winners, giving Matheson the freedom to distribute and create on the offensive side of things. Schmidt and Matheson are Canada's providers on set pieces, though Matheson is also still recovering from surgery, and has deferred much of that set-piece responsibility to Schmidt in recent games.
Seems like a pretty experienced squad.
Indeed, the vast majority of the team has experience from the 2008 Olympics -- and perhaps that's what needed in a tournament of this magnitude. Herdman has brought in a sports psychologist to work with players on the mental side of the game, while also creating a formalized leadership structure within the team, empowering some of the veteran players to take control (and responsibility) within the side.
That sounds well and good, but what will it actually mean for the team, once they get out there and play?
The only way to find out is to wait and see. It all gets going on Wednesday. As they say in the TV biz, check local listings.
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