Though it goes in the record books as another defeat, Canada's performance had plenty of positives to it, given the circumstances it could have been a lot worse. Injury withdrawls meant that Canada put out an experimental line-up and only dressed 6 subs, one of which was a "kind of injured, only to be used in an emergency" goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld.
The starting goalkeeper was debutant Milan Borjan, a rare example of someone with choices actually choosing Canada, and he had a decent game. He provided a couple of interesting moments, with a giveaway in the second half when trying to pass the ball out to his defence that almost led to a goal and a dubious decision to go up for a corner late in the game, but when it came to the more conventional requirements of shot stopping, he provided a safe pair of hands, as well as a safe pair of, erm, nuts to just stop one shot that went through his legs.
The defence was made up of Jaime Peters and 20 year old Adam Straith as full backs, with Toronto FC's Adrian Cann joined by Dejan Jakovic, both early in pre-season with their respective MLS clubs. Cann in particular looked a bit slow and out of his depth, but it was an error from Straith that proved fatal, an attempted clearance of a harmless cross falling to an unmarked Giannis Fetfatzidis who scored in the 63rd minute.
The midfield was a very attacking one, with Atiba Huitchinson, Will Johnson, Josh Simpson, Simeon Jackson and Dwayne De Rosario backing up striker Olivier Occean in the first half and Rob Friend in the second. It worked well in the first half, as Canada more than held their own, and De Ro was playing well in the hole behind Occean.
The second half introduction of Kostantinos Mitroglou by Greece really made a difference as he attacked from midfield and exposed the lack of a defensive midfielder, creating a few chances and making it seem like a matter of time until they scored. Unfortunately Greece did score before Canada adjusted by introducing David Edgar for his first cap. Whether it was his introduction or Greece relaxing after going ahead, the game entered a bit of a lull, before Canada got a few chances late on. De Ro had a shot from a free kick tipped over, and the unconvincing Rob Friend sent a free header from a corner wide, and that was that.
Given that Greece is ranked 10th in the world, it's not a terrible result or a surprising one, and hopefully the experience gained will help when the Gold Cup and World Cup Qualifying games come around later this year. Though, as this was only a friendly, Borjan wasn't cap-tied, he certainly seems committed to Canada and looked like he could be a good long term bet in goal.
On a less important note, my initial reaction to the new shirt has changed. After seeing it in action, I like it, so will probably be buying one of the red ones when they finally go on sale. Also thanks to Sportsnet for televising the game, you can go here to check out highlights.
Showing posts with label Canada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canada. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
A very good day for football.
So, how did the FA Trophy 3rd round go? Well, first of all, Darlington avoided the bananaskin, and got some very symmetrical revenge for 1985 with a 3-0 win over Telford. Chasetown, who I profiled yesterday came through with a 3-1 away win at Eastleigh, reaching the quarter finals for the first time in their history.
Excellent stuff, as was the result at Woking, where Salisbury City, who are at the same level of the non-league pyramid as Chasetown, won 2-0. Gateshead did defeat Dartford, but the other two Conference clubs Mansfield Town and Eastbourne Borough were both held to draws at home against Alfreton Town and Guiseley respectively. Blyth Spartans and Drolysden drew 2-2 in the other game.
Add in Wolves beating man United and Arsenal throwing away a 4 goal lead against Newcastle, and it was a very entertaining day in England.
In Canada, while not as entertaining, it was certainly more important, as the CSA voted on various reform packages, eventually passing a compromise version that will see changes come into effect by 2015. Not exactly the quick change hoped for, but definitely a step in the right direction.
Overall, a very good day for football.
Excellent stuff, as was the result at Woking, where Salisbury City, who are at the same level of the non-league pyramid as Chasetown, won 2-0. Gateshead did defeat Dartford, but the other two Conference clubs Mansfield Town and Eastbourne Borough were both held to draws at home against Alfreton Town and Guiseley respectively. Blyth Spartans and Drolysden drew 2-2 in the other game.
Add in Wolves beating man United and Arsenal throwing away a 4 goal lead against Newcastle, and it was a very entertaining day in England.
In Canada, while not as entertaining, it was certainly more important, as the CSA voted on various reform packages, eventually passing a compromise version that will see changes come into effect by 2015. Not exactly the quick change hoped for, but definitely a step in the right direction.
Overall, a very good day for football.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Success? No, no, we can't have that.
Well this is just too depressing for words really. It's being widely reported today that Canadian Women's Team Coach Carolina Morace is planning to quit after this year's world cup. An internal memo was leaked and can be read in full here, but the real kick to the guts part of it is this sentence; “The Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) has a strategy to achieve their goals that differs from my strategy,” said Morace."
I think the last couple of years have shown that Morace's strategy is working pretty well, as the team has really improved since she took over to the point where they are now a legitimate contender for the world cup. Without knowing the exact reasons behind her request, it's difficult to be accurately angry, but it seems like this is just another example of CSA incompetence, finally something good happens, and within two years they manage to upset Morace enough that she wants to quit. If reports about prize money not being distributed to players are correct, that would be disgraceful.
There are already many many good reasons to hope that the CSA reform being voted on this weekend goes through, it's way too long and complicated and full of political intrigue to get into here, but go check out Ben Knight's columns, he's been doing a great job keeping up with it all, hopefully this can be another nail in the coffin of the old guard.
I think the last couple of years have shown that Morace's strategy is working pretty well, as the team has really improved since she took over to the point where they are now a legitimate contender for the world cup. Without knowing the exact reasons behind her request, it's difficult to be accurately angry, but it seems like this is just another example of CSA incompetence, finally something good happens, and within two years they manage to upset Morace enough that she wants to quit. If reports about prize money not being distributed to players are correct, that would be disgraceful.
There are already many many good reasons to hope that the CSA reform being voted on this weekend goes through, it's way too long and complicated and full of political intrigue to get into here, but go check out Ben Knight's columns, he's been doing a great job keeping up with it all, hopefully this can be another nail in the coffin of the old guard.
The Greek Friendly.
Canada announced the full squad today for it's friendly game next Wednesday against Greece (10am EST Sportsnet one or http://www.sportsnet.ca/).
1- GK- Lars Hirschfeld
2- D- Jaime Peters
3- M- Marcel de Jong
4- D- Dejan Jakovic
6- M- Nik Ledgerwood
7- M- Pedro Pacheco
8- M- Will Johnson
9- F- Rob Friend
10- F- Simeon Jackson
11- D- David Edgar
12- D- Adam Straith
13- M- Atiba Hutchinson
14- M- Dwayne De Rosario
15- M- Josh Simpson
16- M- Tosaint Ricketts
17- F- Olivier Occean
22- GK- Milan Borjan
There's not that many surprises really, with the game being in Europe and MLS and whatever USL/NASL level leagues actually exist being in pre-season mode at best, the squad was always going to be more European based. One of the three North American based players is Dwayne De Rosario and it should be interesting to see what role he plays.
Canada is coming off two impressive games against Honduras and Ukraine with Simeon Jackson, Josh Simpson and Atiba Hutchinson playing off the main striker, either Rob Friend or Olivier Occean. It will be interesting to see if Coach Stephen Hart disrupts that to accomodate De Rosario's undoubted talents, personally I'd rather see him start with Jackson, Simpson and Friend with De Rosario on the bench to come on later if we need to try something different. I think that will probably happen, mainly because TFC and De Ro are just starting their pre-season as opposed to the European based players who are in mid season form and fitness, but I'd like to see that set of forwards given a long term run with the 2011 Gold Cup coming up and 2014 World Cup qualification not starting until 2012. If De Ro can check his ego, and his Canadian shoulder has historically been just as chippy as his TFC one, then he should play a valuable role off the bench, but whereas TFC has no option right now other than to have De Ro as the focal point of their offence, Canada does have options, and I'd like to see them given a prolonged chance.
A player who could increase the competition further up front, Blackburn's David "Junior" Hoilett declined an invitation to play. He's been saying for a while he wants to concentrate on his club career, and after a recent change of manager, he's now getting an extended first team run at Blackburn so it's not surprising he turned Canada down again at this time. Hopefully this summer he'll want to play in the Gold Cup, and even more hopefully he'll finally ease the worries of many times rejected Canadian suporters and choose us over Jamaica.
Another veteran who should be phased out is Paul Stalteri, whose absence from this squad was explained by Hart as being due to the fact he hasn't been playing for his club side recently. His likely replacement as captain, Kevin McKenna had to pull out of the squad with an injury, so the question of who will wear the armband on Wednesday is up for grabs, personally I'd go for newly crowned player of the year Atiba Hutchinson. It's more than likely that Adrian Cann or Nana Attakora will be pulled away from TFC pre-season in Turkey to fill in for McKenna in defence.
Greece are ranked 10th in the world, whereas Canada are now ranked 80th, so getting a result will be difficult, but this should be a great test, as should a game against Belarus, which though unconfirmed so far, is set to be played in Turkey this March. It feels strange to say it, but kudos to the CSA for organising some quality friendly opposition, experience that should be very helpful when World Cup qualifying starts next year.
1- GK- Lars Hirschfeld
2- D- Jaime Peters
3- M- Marcel de Jong
4- D- Dejan Jakovic
6- M- Nik Ledgerwood
7- M- Pedro Pacheco
8- M- Will Johnson
9- F- Rob Friend
10- F- Simeon Jackson
11- D- David Edgar
12- D- Adam Straith
13- M- Atiba Hutchinson
14- M- Dwayne De Rosario
15- M- Josh Simpson
16- M- Tosaint Ricketts
17- F- Olivier Occean
22- GK- Milan Borjan
There's not that many surprises really, with the game being in Europe and MLS and whatever USL/NASL level leagues actually exist being in pre-season mode at best, the squad was always going to be more European based. One of the three North American based players is Dwayne De Rosario and it should be interesting to see what role he plays.
Canada is coming off two impressive games against Honduras and Ukraine with Simeon Jackson, Josh Simpson and Atiba Hutchinson playing off the main striker, either Rob Friend or Olivier Occean. It will be interesting to see if Coach Stephen Hart disrupts that to accomodate De Rosario's undoubted talents, personally I'd rather see him start with Jackson, Simpson and Friend with De Rosario on the bench to come on later if we need to try something different. I think that will probably happen, mainly because TFC and De Ro are just starting their pre-season as opposed to the European based players who are in mid season form and fitness, but I'd like to see that set of forwards given a long term run with the 2011 Gold Cup coming up and 2014 World Cup qualification not starting until 2012. If De Ro can check his ego, and his Canadian shoulder has historically been just as chippy as his TFC one, then he should play a valuable role off the bench, but whereas TFC has no option right now other than to have De Ro as the focal point of their offence, Canada does have options, and I'd like to see them given a prolonged chance.
A player who could increase the competition further up front, Blackburn's David "Junior" Hoilett declined an invitation to play. He's been saying for a while he wants to concentrate on his club career, and after a recent change of manager, he's now getting an extended first team run at Blackburn so it's not surprising he turned Canada down again at this time. Hopefully this summer he'll want to play in the Gold Cup, and even more hopefully he'll finally ease the worries of many times rejected Canadian suporters and choose us over Jamaica.
Another veteran who should be phased out is Paul Stalteri, whose absence from this squad was explained by Hart as being due to the fact he hasn't been playing for his club side recently. His likely replacement as captain, Kevin McKenna had to pull out of the squad with an injury, so the question of who will wear the armband on Wednesday is up for grabs, personally I'd go for newly crowned player of the year Atiba Hutchinson. It's more than likely that Adrian Cann or Nana Attakora will be pulled away from TFC pre-season in Turkey to fill in for McKenna in defence.
Greece are ranked 10th in the world, whereas Canada are now ranked 80th, so getting a result will be difficult, but this should be a great test, as should a game against Belarus, which though unconfirmed so far, is set to be played in Turkey this March. It feels strange to say it, but kudos to the CSA for organising some quality friendly opposition, experience that should be very helpful when World Cup qualifying starts next year.
Monday, January 24, 2011
What not to wear.
Canada's mens team, together with their new partner Umbro today unveiled the new home and away shirt, which you can see here at Canadian Soccer news.
I don't buy TFC shirts because I don't like sponsors, so for me, aside from the chance to wear it once or twice at Canada games, the main purpose for this would be as a good shirt to wear to summer TFC games, still supporting the team, and contributing to the red in the crowd without having to be a billboard for BMO. So I was really looking forward to buying the newest red version, but now?
I'm no fashion expert, so this won't be a compllicated critique, more of a gut reaction, and that gut reaction is ugh. The chevrons are ugly, the shade of red is way too bright (though in the drawing below the actual picture, it's darker, I like that a lot more, hopefully that's what it looks like in real life), the collar makes it look like a t-shirt, the logo doesn't stand out at all, and the whole thing is way too reminiscent of a Man Utd shirt for my comfort.
The white one works a lot better, so maybe I'll get that one, I dunno, hopefully by the time they go on sale in the summer, the red will have grown on me, but for now, it's a bit of a disappointment.
I don't buy TFC shirts because I don't like sponsors, so for me, aside from the chance to wear it once or twice at Canada games, the main purpose for this would be as a good shirt to wear to summer TFC games, still supporting the team, and contributing to the red in the crowd without having to be a billboard for BMO. So I was really looking forward to buying the newest red version, but now?
I'm no fashion expert, so this won't be a compllicated critique, more of a gut reaction, and that gut reaction is ugh. The chevrons are ugly, the shade of red is way too bright (though in the drawing below the actual picture, it's darker, I like that a lot more, hopefully that's what it looks like in real life), the collar makes it look like a t-shirt, the logo doesn't stand out at all, and the whole thing is way too reminiscent of a Man Utd shirt for my comfort.
The white one works a lot better, so maybe I'll get that one, I dunno, hopefully by the time they go on sale in the summer, the red will have grown on me, but for now, it's a bit of a disappointment.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Another trophy? Yawn!
Today saw Canada's Women's team play against Brazil in the final of the 4 team Torneio Internacional Cidade de São Paulo in Brazil. Despite coming off a long unbeaten streak, without conceding any goals in 8 games over this tournament and the Concacaf World Cup Qualifying tournament which they won in November, Canada were definitely underdogs against the 3rd ranked team in the world. They'd played earlier in the tournament, with Canada being outplayed but earning a 0-0 draw, but results in the other games, against the Netherlands and Mexico meant Canada topped the group, so only needed a draw to clinch the trophy.
A goal from Josée Bélanger gave Canada the lead just before half time, before Brazilian superstar Marta equalised. A very harsh handball decision gave Brazil a penalty, as well as seeing Marie-Eve Nault sent off, by no means the only refereeing decision that went against Canada, and Marta scored again to give Brazil the 2-1 lead. Down to 10 players and 2-1 down against Brazil in Brazil, with less than 20 minutes left, things were looking bleak, but enter Captain, and recently crowned Canadian player of the year, Christine Sinclair, who scored a fantastic goal, curling the ball from outside the box into the far top corner of the goal.
Canada's 10 women survived a nervy finish to clinch the tie and the trophy, their third of a remarkably successful year, that gives real hope leading up to next year's World Cup in Germany. Extended game highlights are available here, Sinclair's goal is at 6:50, or on it's won and from a better angle here and the Canadian medals/trophy celebrations start at about 12:00 in.
Congratulations to all of the players, and head Coach Carolina Morace, who has really turned the team around since taking over in Febuary 2009.
A goal from Josée Bélanger gave Canada the lead just before half time, before Brazilian superstar Marta equalised. A very harsh handball decision gave Brazil a penalty, as well as seeing Marie-Eve Nault sent off, by no means the only refereeing decision that went against Canada, and Marta scored again to give Brazil the 2-1 lead. Down to 10 players and 2-1 down against Brazil in Brazil, with less than 20 minutes left, things were looking bleak, but enter Captain, and recently crowned Canadian player of the year, Christine Sinclair, who scored a fantastic goal, curling the ball from outside the box into the far top corner of the goal.
Canada's 10 women survived a nervy finish to clinch the tie and the trophy, their third of a remarkably successful year, that gives real hope leading up to next year's World Cup in Germany. Extended game highlights are available here, Sinclair's goal is at 6:50, or on it's won and from a better angle here and the Canadian medals/trophy celebrations start at about 12:00 in.
Congratulations to all of the players, and head Coach Carolina Morace, who has really turned the team around since taking over in Febuary 2009.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Successful Canadian footballers?
Tonight, having already qualified for the 2011 World Cup in Germany after their semi-final win over Costa Rica, Canada's Women's National Team has the chance to clinch the Concacaf championship tonight. They're favourites as well, as rather than taking on the heavily favoured US team, they'll actually be playing Mexico who lost 3-0 to Canada in the group stages, before stunning the US in the semi-final. You can watch the game on CBC Bold, or if you're not one of their approximately 12 subscribers, online here. Congratulations to Carolina Morace and her team for a successful qualification, and hopefully they can finish the job tonight and cap what's been a busy and enjoyable weekend of football.
In the MLS playoffs, San Jose destroyed the "dream final" by knocking out Thierry Henry and the Red Bulls, and you've got to say that the first half-season of the Henry experiment was a bit of a failure really. Not a Mista level failure by any means, but he's going to have to improve next year to justify the big bucks. Columbus also lost, in a shootout to Colorado, and San Jose-Colorado really is an appropriate final for what was a very bad year for Eastern Conference clubs. In the Western Conference, Dallas beat Real Salt Lake, before a higher seed finally won, with LA knocking out Seattle. So either David Beckham or Jeff Cunningham will be playing and potentially lifting the the cup at BMO field, it's safe to say I'll be supporting whoever comes out of the "East".
Back in England, it was a mixed weekend for the small clubs in the FA cup. Tipton Town and Hythe Town both got hammered, though Hythe did at least score. Dover upset Gillingham, getting revenge against all the management and coaches who went from Dover to Gillingham this summer and FC United of Manchester got a 94th minute winner against Rochdale. Darlington beat League one side Bristol Rovers 2-1, though even when they win, they can't win, as computer problems in the ticket office led to very long waits to get in and quite a few people apparently giving up, so that's a good chance to win some new converts, or win back some old fans wasted, but still, an excellent result.
Throw in Chelsea and Arsenal both losing to EPL minnows, and it's been a really good weekend, Canada being champions would be a great way to finish it.
Edit: And they did finish it off, a 1-0 win giving them the title, 5 games, 5 wins, 0 goals against, a really good tournament all round. Well done Ladies. Campeonas! Campeonas! olé, olé, olé!
In the MLS playoffs, San Jose destroyed the "dream final" by knocking out Thierry Henry and the Red Bulls, and you've got to say that the first half-season of the Henry experiment was a bit of a failure really. Not a Mista level failure by any means, but he's going to have to improve next year to justify the big bucks. Columbus also lost, in a shootout to Colorado, and San Jose-Colorado really is an appropriate final for what was a very bad year for Eastern Conference clubs. In the Western Conference, Dallas beat Real Salt Lake, before a higher seed finally won, with LA knocking out Seattle. So either David Beckham or Jeff Cunningham will be playing and potentially lifting the the cup at BMO field, it's safe to say I'll be supporting whoever comes out of the "East".
Back in England, it was a mixed weekend for the small clubs in the FA cup. Tipton Town and Hythe Town both got hammered, though Hythe did at least score. Dover upset Gillingham, getting revenge against all the management and coaches who went from Dover to Gillingham this summer and FC United of Manchester got a 94th minute winner against Rochdale. Darlington beat League one side Bristol Rovers 2-1, though even when they win, they can't win, as computer problems in the ticket office led to very long waits to get in and quite a few people apparently giving up, so that's a good chance to win some new converts, or win back some old fans wasted, but still, an excellent result.
Throw in Chelsea and Arsenal both losing to EPL minnows, and it's been a really good weekend, Canada being champions would be a great way to finish it.
Edit: And they did finish it off, a 1-0 win giving them the title, 5 games, 5 wins, 0 goals against, a really good tournament all round. Well done Ladies. Campeonas! Campeonas! olé, olé, olé!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Canada vs China. September 30.
Canada's Womens team is playing against China at BMO field this thursday. Tickets are fairly cheap and available here, and hey, it's probably the closest you'll get to seeing any kind of successful team any time soon at BMO.
Even if you're not going to go, watch the video, it's fun.
Even if you're not going to go, watch the video, it's fun.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Canada ties 2-1.
So after Peru day in Toronto, Canada moved on to be the supporting act in Honduras day in Montreal. A crowd of roughly 7500, ( This was a record for a friendly in Montreal, so in a depressing way, I suppose the CSA picked the right opponent for the game, if a big crowd was their aim) .Once again though Canadians supporting Canada were in the minority, a fact which seemed to almost make Josh Simpson cry in his half time interview talking about needing games in Canada and wins to get Canadians on board and out to the games.
In that respect, tonight's game will definitely help, Canada putting in a decent performance against Honduras. After a pre game ceremony for Paul Stalteri becoming the all time cap leader, they started with an attacking line up, Simeon Jackson and Josh Simpson attacking wide of Rob Friend in the middle. Simpson had a really good game, Jackson was exciting at moments, and it seemed plausible that Canada might actually score some goals. Eventually they did, in the 29th minutes, Simpson getting space on the left hand side of the box and getting a hard low shot on target (please take note O'Brian White). The rebound fell to Will Johnson who had a shot pushed on to the bar, Friend then got fouled before the ball eventually fell back to Simpson who chested (armed? Honduras certainly thought so) it in for his first international goal.
Honduras equalised from a really good simple free kick, before Canada scored again from a corner, Kevin McKenna losing his marker and getting a powerful header in, prompting Gerry Dobson to exclaim "they've equalised!" cue 5 seconds of dead air before Gerry sheepishly chuckles and corrects his error. Congratulations Gerry, that might be your best work yet, and there's a lot of competition, as I'm sure Dwayne De Guzman would testify.
Anyway Canada carried their lead deep into the second half and through a thunderstorm until the lightning got too close and the ref took them off the pitch. Were Canada about to be denied a much needed and long awaited win by the weather?
No. They came back on for the last 8 minutes plus stoppage time, and it was almost 3-1 when Simpson hit the post after some delightful passing between the forwards.
In the end, a well deserved win, a result that can hopefully help Canada vault back into the top 100, and the Concacaf top 8 (currently Panama in 97th) which might be important depending on how the 2014 world cup qualifying groups are decided. After being outscored 14-1 in their last 7 winless games over 14 months, I won't get carried away, but Simpson and Jackson looked a really good combination up front either side of friend and really give me hope we can avoid that sort of streak returning.
One bad thing, just rewatching the game now reminded me, those Sportsnet one commercials that took up almost half the screen? really annnoying. I appreciate anyone that's willing to show the game, but wow, I don't like Sportsnet.
Edit: How did the Toronto Star report this game? I'd provide a link to their web coverage but there isn't one, so instead I'll just faithfully reproduce what appeared in the paper version here. Here goes, bear with me.
In that respect, tonight's game will definitely help, Canada putting in a decent performance against Honduras. After a pre game ceremony for Paul Stalteri becoming the all time cap leader, they started with an attacking line up, Simeon Jackson and Josh Simpson attacking wide of Rob Friend in the middle. Simpson had a really good game, Jackson was exciting at moments, and it seemed plausible that Canada might actually score some goals. Eventually they did, in the 29th minutes, Simpson getting space on the left hand side of the box and getting a hard low shot on target (please take note O'Brian White). The rebound fell to Will Johnson who had a shot pushed on to the bar, Friend then got fouled before the ball eventually fell back to Simpson who chested (armed? Honduras certainly thought so) it in for his first international goal.
Honduras equalised from a really good simple free kick, before Canada scored again from a corner, Kevin McKenna losing his marker and getting a powerful header in, prompting Gerry Dobson to exclaim "they've equalised!" cue 5 seconds of dead air before Gerry sheepishly chuckles and corrects his error. Congratulations Gerry, that might be your best work yet, and there's a lot of competition, as I'm sure Dwayne De Guzman would testify.
Anyway Canada carried their lead deep into the second half and through a thunderstorm until the lightning got too close and the ref took them off the pitch. Were Canada about to be denied a much needed and long awaited win by the weather?
No. They came back on for the last 8 minutes plus stoppage time, and it was almost 3-1 when Simpson hit the post after some delightful passing between the forwards.
In the end, a well deserved win, a result that can hopefully help Canada vault back into the top 100, and the Concacaf top 8 (currently Panama in 97th) which might be important depending on how the 2014 world cup qualifying groups are decided. After being outscored 14-1 in their last 7 winless games over 14 months, I won't get carried away, but Simpson and Jackson looked a really good combination up front either side of friend and really give me hope we can avoid that sort of streak returning.
One bad thing, just rewatching the game now reminded me, those Sportsnet one commercials that took up almost half the screen? really annnoying. I appreciate anyone that's willing to show the game, but wow, I don't like Sportsnet.
Edit: How did the Toronto Star report this game? I'd provide a link to their web coverage but there isn't one, so instead I'll just faithfully reproduce what appeared in the paper version here. Here goes, bear with me.
Canada ends drought with win over HondurasThat's it, literally. pathetic.
Josh Simpson and Kevin McKenna scored in the first half as Canada ended an eight game winless run with a rain interrupted 2-1 vistory over Honduras in a firendly match Tuesday at Saputo stadium.
Man Utd shirt and a Yankees cap!
So, anyone who was in the south stands for the Canada-Peru game probably knows there was a fight that broke out in 114 (Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!). I didn't mention it before as I couldn't really get a good view at the time and didn't really know what happened and how it started.
Pension Plan Puppets however got a very good view and actually ended up intervening on behalf of the women who were getting attacked, and ending up with a broken nose for his troubles!
Turns out what started it was drunken Man Utd fans chirping an Arsenal fan, and as if my disdain for anyone wearing this isn't automatically high enough, one of the main protagonists was wearing a Man Utd shirt with a Yankees cap. Congratulations douchebag, you really should be proud of yourself.
Pension Plan Puppets however got a very good view and actually ended up intervening on behalf of the women who were getting attacked, and ending up with a broken nose for his troubles!
Turns out what started it was drunken Man Utd fans chirping an Arsenal fan, and as if my disdain for anyone wearing this isn't automatically high enough, one of the main protagonists was wearing a Man Utd shirt with a Yankees cap. Congratulations douchebag, you really should be proud of yourself.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Losing. so nice, we did it twice! part one.
So, after a whole bunch of friendlies away from home, Canada returned to Toronto for the first time since 2008 to take on Peru, and all in all it was a bit of a disappointment. The game itself wasn't terrible, and the loss certainly wasn't unexpected, Peru are after all ranked much higher than Canada. The first half was quite like watching TFC play, we defended well, without ever looking like scoring, De Guzman looked good but did his usual share of giving the ball away, while De Rosario looked our most dangerous player. A big difference though was that we actually played with wingers and looked like we were trying to create something that way. Simeon Jackson's poor crossing gave away the fact that he's usually a striker, and maybe that's where we should start playing him as Rob Friend was a big non-factor. In the second half, Peru eventually showed their class, and after they scored two quick goals, Canada never looked like getting back into it, and 2-0 was the final score.
The biggest disappointment though was the crowd, out of the 10,000+ there, probably about 50-60% was cheering on Peru, and with their support spread throughout the stadium and the Canada fans mainly concentrated in the southeast corner, It certainly felt like an away game. Unlike others I'm not going to complain about the Peruvian-Canadians that came out to support their team, or tell them to leave the country. I may not like the fact that they chose to cheer against the country they live in, and they didn't have to be quite as confrontational about it as some were, with one of them even going so far as to "show his little flagpole" to the nearby Canadian fans when Peru scored, but I understand why they do, and it's always going to be a fact of life in Canada.
I'm more disappointed in all the other Canadians, well Torontonians I suppose, I'm not going to the game on tuesday in Montreal, so I won't bitch at the out of towners. But all those who were celebrating on the streets of Toronto during the world cup, where were they? All the TFC fans who didn't make it, whether casual, occasional attendees or season ticket holders, where were they? I get that it was just a friendly, that it was in the middle of a long weekend, and that the CSA did next to nothing to promote the game but still.
Maybe I had unreasonable expectations after the only other Canada game I've been to, the world cup qualifier against Jamaica, when the place was full and largely pro-Canadian. This was actually a record in that it was the 5th consecutive game with attendance over 10,000, so I guess it's steady progress being made, but I can't help but think it could have been more. In the tweeted words of Toronto mayor David Miller "Hey Soccer Canada: some marketing, eh? Our lads deserve a full house". On to Honduras in Montreal, hopefully at least one of the team or crowd will be better there.
The biggest disappointment though was the crowd, out of the 10,000+ there, probably about 50-60% was cheering on Peru, and with their support spread throughout the stadium and the Canada fans mainly concentrated in the southeast corner, It certainly felt like an away game. Unlike others I'm not going to complain about the Peruvian-Canadians that came out to support their team, or tell them to leave the country. I may not like the fact that they chose to cheer against the country they live in, and they didn't have to be quite as confrontational about it as some were, with one of them even going so far as to "show his little flagpole" to the nearby Canadian fans when Peru scored, but I understand why they do, and it's always going to be a fact of life in Canada.
I'm more disappointed in all the other Canadians, well Torontonians I suppose, I'm not going to the game on tuesday in Montreal, so I won't bitch at the out of towners. But all those who were celebrating on the streets of Toronto during the world cup, where were they? All the TFC fans who didn't make it, whether casual, occasional attendees or season ticket holders, where were they? I get that it was just a friendly, that it was in the middle of a long weekend, and that the CSA did next to nothing to promote the game but still.
Maybe I had unreasonable expectations after the only other Canada game I've been to, the world cup qualifier against Jamaica, when the place was full and largely pro-Canadian. This was actually a record in that it was the 5th consecutive game with attendance over 10,000, so I guess it's steady progress being made, but I can't help but think it could have been more. In the tweeted words of Toronto mayor David Miller "Hey Soccer Canada: some marketing, eh? Our lads deserve a full house". On to Honduras in Montreal, hopefully at least one of the team or crowd will be better there.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Canada needs YOU!
Sporting geography can’t get much crueller, for so many reasons, than being a football supporter in Canada. There’s the fact that you generally have to call it soccer, that we don’t have a proper league of our own, and few cities have teams at any kind of high level, even within North American standards. For the national teams there’s the added factors of a struggling team (1 world cup appearance, 0 goals), “home “games that can be literally thousands of miles away, having to play in CONCACAF with all the stylistic and refereeing issues that that brings, potential star players deciding they want to play for some other country, and a governing body so inept they make the FA look like a competent, professional well oiled machine.
So with all that and many other problems, it’s no surprise that beyond a very small hardcore demographic, the general population doesn’t really care all that much, which leads to another problem, because you know who does care? Immigrants. Immigration in general is great* and I love living in Toronto with all it’s diversity and I genuinely appreciate that for pretty much every country in the world, within Canada’s big cities there’s an ex-pat community however small. The problem is though that those communities generally come from countries that care more about football than Canada does, it’s really not hard, and that leads to the all too frequent situation of the “away” fans outnumbering Canadian fans in the stands.
Things have started to change, Toronto FC’s entry into MLS in 2007 ignited interest in the city which transferred over into a much more pro-Canada crowd that usual at the one game Canada has played here since then, a 2008 world cup qualifier against Jamaica. Hopefully Vancouver and Montreal’s elevation to MLS level will further galvanise support among the currently undecided and lead to Canada having a choice of venues where it can be guaranteed a favourable crowd, leading to more success, leading to a better FIFA ranking, leading to easier qualifying groups and eventually to world cup qualification. Huzzah.
So this is where you come in, Canada’s playing Peru in Toronto on Saturday, and Honduras in Montreal on Tuesday. Cheapish tickets are still available, including a little depressingly in the official Canadian supporters section. You don’t care that much about soccer? Fair enough. You don’t give a crap about TFC? Fair enough. But you like Canada right? Remember the Olympics and how much fun it was cheering on Canadians in so many different sports that you know full well you’ll never ever watch outside the Olympics? Why not do that live? Cheer Canada on, just imagine your smugness when Canada qualifies the world cup and you can tell all the newbies “yeah, I’ve been going to games since 2010”. You know it makes sense.
*I’m an immigrant myself, my first real moment of Canadian pride and patriotism was the 2000 Gold cup, that golden goal quarter final winner against Mexico. Awesome. If Canada ever played England, or Great Britain, who would I support? Depends on the sport. Football? 100% Canada, no doubt. Canada beating England in football could only possibly be surpassed in hilarity by Great Britain beating Canada at hockey.
So with all that and many other problems, it’s no surprise that beyond a very small hardcore demographic, the general population doesn’t really care all that much, which leads to another problem, because you know who does care? Immigrants. Immigration in general is great* and I love living in Toronto with all it’s diversity and I genuinely appreciate that for pretty much every country in the world, within Canada’s big cities there’s an ex-pat community however small. The problem is though that those communities generally come from countries that care more about football than Canada does, it’s really not hard, and that leads to the all too frequent situation of the “away” fans outnumbering Canadian fans in the stands.
Things have started to change, Toronto FC’s entry into MLS in 2007 ignited interest in the city which transferred over into a much more pro-Canada crowd that usual at the one game Canada has played here since then, a 2008 world cup qualifier against Jamaica. Hopefully Vancouver and Montreal’s elevation to MLS level will further galvanise support among the currently undecided and lead to Canada having a choice of venues where it can be guaranteed a favourable crowd, leading to more success, leading to a better FIFA ranking, leading to easier qualifying groups and eventually to world cup qualification. Huzzah.
So this is where you come in, Canada’s playing Peru in Toronto on Saturday, and Honduras in Montreal on Tuesday. Cheapish tickets are still available, including a little depressingly in the official Canadian supporters section. You don’t care that much about soccer? Fair enough. You don’t give a crap about TFC? Fair enough. But you like Canada right? Remember the Olympics and how much fun it was cheering on Canadians in so many different sports that you know full well you’ll never ever watch outside the Olympics? Why not do that live? Cheer Canada on, just imagine your smugness when Canada qualifies the world cup and you can tell all the newbies “yeah, I’ve been going to games since 2010”. You know it makes sense.
*I’m an immigrant myself, my first real moment of Canadian pride and patriotism was the 2000 Gold cup, that golden goal quarter final winner against Mexico. Awesome. If Canada ever played England, or Great Britain, who would I support? Depends on the sport. Football? 100% Canada, no doubt. Canada beating England in football could only possibly be surpassed in hilarity by Great Britain beating Canada at hockey.
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