Canada: Hewers of wood in soccer too

Posted in Canada, International, Mexico with tags , on September 2, 2010 by Grant

This article (Spanish link) on one of Mexico’s biggest football portals draws attention to the fact that there are now only 10 Mexicans playing in Europe, compared to 11 before the World Cup. A minor difference obviously, and I’d say the gain of a potential superstar like Javier Hernández negates the loss of two or three Ricardo Osorio‘s, but one less player is still one less player.

Really though? There are only ten Mexicans playing in Europe? Of the 43 players Stephen Hart has called for Canada over its last five friendlies, 25 are playing in Europe. And there are plenty, plenty more where those came from. But for the most part the Canadians are playing in lower-ranked European leagues, the second or third divisions of top countries or in youth/reserve squads. Those 10 Mexicans are mostly playing in the first divisions of England, Holland and Spain.*

It seems that even in soccer Canada lives up to its reputation as a hewer of wood and a drawer of water: we export the raw product (young footballers) to Europe for refinement into the finished product. (Or all too often, to languish hopelessly in obscurity.) In contrast, Mexico, Central and South American countries and increasingly the U.S., send fewer, better players developed at home that can step into the top European leagues teams immediately.

So yeah. Just one more illustration of why Canada’s three MLS academies — and really a strong MLS as a whole — will be crucial to player development and by extension, the future of the national team.

* The article makes no claims to be a comprehensive list. There may be hundreds of Mexicans playing in European youth teams and lower divisions, but I strongly suspect that there aren’t. Feel free to point out that I’m wrong.

Is there a future role for Owen Hargreaves in Canadian soccer?

Posted in Canada, England with tags , , on September 1, 2010 by Grant

Edit: Owen Hargreaves has in fact been included in Manchester United’s 25-man Premier League squad. Ferguson still doesn’t know when he’ll play again though.

Yep, if you read the English press there really is only one set of soccer supporters who will be thinking ruefully about Owen Hargreaves today as the future of his career with Manchester United (and likely top-flight European football) is decided.

Read more »

A World Cup we can do well in

Posted in Canada, Women's with tags , , on August 31, 2010 by squizz

In news that’ll be quickly dismissed by the latent misogynists amongst you, our (that is to say, Canada’s) U-17 women’s team got some momentum going into this year’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup (which starts next week) by beating South Korea 2-0 in a friendly yesterday, in their final tune-up before the tournament.

For reference’s sake, South Korea made it as far as Canada did in the inaugural tournament two years ago, losing out in the quarterfinal round (they fell 4-2 to the eventual finalists, the USA, while we fell 3-1 to the eventual third-place finishers, Germany). So that victory is a good sign for the girls heading into the big tournament, which is being staged in Trinidad and Tobago (insert likely-accurate allegation of impropriety by Jack Warner here). Read more »

McKenna and Simpson score; Pizarro to miss Canada match

Posted in Canada, International with tags , , , on August 30, 2010 by Grant

Quick notes ahead of this weekend’s match between Canada and Peru at BMO Field.

  • Perhaps being named as a forward in Stephen Hart’s Canada squad has gone straight to centreback Kevin McKenna’s head? He scored for FC Koln in the 90th minute in a losing effort against Werder Bremen on Saturday, and McKenna doesn’t score often. As Squizz suggested on our most recent podcast, the natural progression from this is that the CSA describes every player, keepers included, as a “forward” when it names the Canada squad.
  • Winger Josh Simpson also knocked one in, opening his season’s account with Manisapor in the 77th minute against Fenerbahce. Hell, he’s actually tied with two other guys for team scoring leader! Although with three goals scored and nine allowed, Manisapor’s having a rough start to their season.
  • And finally, Claudio Pizarro — who those who know more about South American soccer than I do would argue is Peru’s best player — will not be fit in time to face Canada on Saturday. I remember Pizarro from his Chelsea days a few years back and Jesus sweet Christ was he useless. Mourinho usually knows what he’s doing in the transfer market, but not with this guy he didn’t. Insults aside, Pizzaro has been in-form in Germany of late, so Canada’s job just got a bit easier.

Monday morning treat: New podcast!

Posted in Podcasts on August 30, 2010 by squizz

Start your week off right (?) with a new episode of Some Canadian Guys Talking About Soccer! For 55 minutes, we ramble semi-coherently about Canada’s lineup (and chances) for the upcoming friendlies against Peru and Honduras, we generally grouse about the crumminess that is CONCACAF, and Grant and Jamie go at it about their respective Premier League squads.

Plus we muse about whether a person of non-Ukrainian heritage can properly judge the quality of a perogie, and say plenty of other borderline libelous stuff.

For the direct link, click here…. or, to be at the top of the class, you can also subscribe to the show on iTunes!

Soccer on Canadian television

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , on August 28, 2010 by Grant

I’m not sure how long this blog has been around, but it’s pretty darn useful. “Football (Soccer) on Canadian TV”: is not the most original name, but who cares? The listings are as comprehensive as I’ve found and a one-stop shop certainly beats wading through various websites trying to sort of out what’s on when.

And look at that. Now I know I can stay up until 2 a.m. to watch Medellin v Real Cartagena in the Futbol Profesional Columbiano on Gol TV.

“I want to play for Toronto FC”

Posted in TFC with tags , , , on August 27, 2010 by squizz

That’s what Doneil Henry, the first graduate of the TFC Academy to sign with the big club, told his mom two years ago, after he was cut from a provincial team. He didn’t give up the game. He didn’t shove soccer aside in pursuit of other ambitions. He kept at it, because he saw light at the end of the tunnel. He knew that if he worked hard and improved his skills, he would have the opportunity to play for a high-level professional team, right in his hometown.

Allow me to quote myself, from almost exactly two years ago:

But wouldn’t it be a glorious day if TFC could produce a Canadian version of Maurice Edu? A homegrown talent who comes up through the TFC development system, plies his trade at BMO, gets whisked off to the glory of Europe, and comes back to don the maple leaf whenever called upon? That day will be the high watermark of TFC and the CSA working to their full synergistic potential.

I’m not saying Henry is the Canadian Maurice Edu. He’s only 17, and no one knows for sure yet where his career will go. But whether Henry goes on to become a linchpin in Canada’s backline, or a mere blip on the radar, the precedent has been set. The tens of thousands of kids growing up playing soccer in the Greater Toronto Area can look to Henry as an example of what they, too, could accomplish. They won’t have to abandon soccer due to a lack of opportunities — or wait around desperately hoping for some foreign club to pluck them from obscurity.

They, instead, can dream of one day playing at BMO Field — for the TFC Academy, for Toronto FC or, just maybe, for Canada.

Yesterday was a big day for Doneil Henry, no question. But as Canadian soccer fans, whether you’re from Toronto or not, it was a big day for the rest of us too. (Edit: See the comments for more.)

Canada announces roster for Peru/Honduras friendlies

Posted in Canada with tags , , , , , , , on August 26, 2010 by squizz

Head coach Stephen Hart has announced the players he’ll be taking into Canada’s upcoming friendlies against Peru (in Toronto, Sept. 4) and Honduras (in Montreal, Sept. 7) and they, without ado, are…

Goalkeepers Lars Hirschfeld, Haidar Al-Shaibani
Defenders Nana Attakora, Marcel de Jong, Dejan Jakovic, Paul Stalteri, Adam Straith
Midfielders Julian de Guzman, Will Johnson, Issey Nakajima-Farran, Jaime Peters, Atiba Hutchinson, Josh Simpson, Gianluca Zavarise, Iain Hume, Patrice Bernier
Strikers Simeon Jackson, Rob Friend, Dwayne DeRosario, Kevin McKenna (hey, it’s what he’s listed as)

Yeah, you read that right, Toronto FC fans. DeRo, JDG and Nana. As the team faces a stretch of three games in eight days. A whole blog post (or podcast, hint hint) could — and will — be devoted to the inevitable club vs. country debate (and “MLS respecting FIFA dates” complaints) that this will stir up.

For his part, Hart said “there’s always some wheeling and dealing” in negotiating with any club, and that he will consider limiting the playing time of the Toronto FC players in the Honduras game. He also said MLS’s refusal to respect FIFA international dates is “unfair” to both MLS and national teams, but that he and the clubs “will see how we can help each other on this.”

As for the rest of the roster… Read more »

The Reserve Squad: CONCACAF to launch immediate referee review

Posted in CONCACAF, The Reserve Squad with tags , , , , on August 25, 2010 by squizz

In the aftermath of questionable calls made during a pair of CONCACAF Champions League matches last night — Toronto FC v. Arabe Unido and the Columbus Crew v. Santos Laguna — the continental governing body has pledged to launch an immediate review of its refereeing program.

“This is the first time that issues such as phantom foul-calling, unpunished time wasting, unjustified card-showing and general incompetence have been brought to our attention,” the organization said in a release. “Having only recently been advised of these problems — thanks to the helpful suggestions of our fans in the United States and Canada — we will access the offshore holdings account labeled ‘Referee Rainy Day Fund’.”

According to CONCACAF, the fund will be used to bring all referees — even those officiating games played in Colon, Panama before a crowd of 300 people — up to the standard of the region’s finest, such as Benito Archundia, Joel Aguilar and Jair Marrufo.

“Not the Referee Rainy Day Fund!” said CONCACAF general secretary Chuck Blazer, when reached for comment. “I was gonna use that money to go play racquetball with the Dalai Lama!”

New Nationality, Same Old Begovic

Posted in EPL, Stoke City with tags on August 24, 2010 by Jamie

It’s likely that we at SCG have said that we’d never mention the name Asmir Begovic again after he turned his back on Canada to represent Bosnia and Herzegovina internationally. But I’m prepared to make an exception.

It seems that Stoke City boss Tony Pulis is unhappy with Asmir, after the keeper refused to play in Stoke’s Carling Cup match against Shrewsbury today. The morning of the match, Begovic told Pulis that, well, he simply didn’t want to play. Time, it seems, hasn’t imbued Asmir with any class. Read more »

Canada player pool, and a case for Isidro

Posted in CONCACAF, Canada, International on August 24, 2010 by Grant

While we continue to wait for Stephen Hart to announce the Canada roster for our two friendlies next month, why not check out the comprehensive list of players in the national team pool compiled by a member of the Voyageurs.

It makes a handy companion to our own Some Canadian Guys depth chart, which includes minutes logged by Canada players in these days of “experimental” friendlies ahead of next year’s Gold Cup and the beginning of World Cup qualification.

I’m going to throw a name into the hat as a player I’d like to see called. Our man in Mexico Isidro Sanchez. The Mexican Pedro Pacheco plays* for Puebla in the first division. According to Wikipedia, his mother lived in Canada for five years, allowing him to apply for Canadian citizenship. And according to this article from 2008, he notified the Canada set-up on somewhat of a whim that he’d be available and ended up playing in a match for our U23 team during Olympic qualification.

I don’t see how Sanchez would be any more of a reach than say, Gavin McCallum, except for the sad fact that he’s not playing (hence the asterisk above). He’s struggled with injuries the past two seasons, and since I’ve started tracking him a short time ago, he’s only played in a SuperLiga match last month. Zip in terms of regular league play. But hell, if he were playing, the CMNT striker pool could do a lot worse than adding a guy getting minutes in the Mexican Primera Division.

And with the #1 overall pick, the Vancouver Whitecaps select…

Posted in MLS, Vancouver Whitecaps with tags , , , , , , on August 24, 2010 by squizz

This is not a debate about whether or not the MLS SuperDraft is the appropriate way for Major League Soccer to be introducing new players into the league in the year 2010.

It’s also not a debate on the arcane, preposterous and sometimes self-contradictory roster rules MLS uses that have lead to situations such as the Cody Arnoux clusterfuck over in Van City.

It’s merely a reminder, in case you missed it yesterday, that the Whitecaps have chosen to take the #1 overall pick in the upcoming SuperDraft — leaving their expansion brethren, the Portland Timbers, the first-overall pick in the expansion draft.

For the sake of reference, here are the last five #1 overall picks in the SuperDraft: Read more »

Canada friendlies: Who gets the call?

Posted in Canada with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 23, 2010 by squizz

In the coming days, Canada head coach Stephen Hart is set to release the rosters for the team’s upcoming friendlies, against Peru on September 4 (in Toronto) and against Honduras on September 7 (in Montreal). Considering the position the team finds itself, most (myself included) would say this is a good time to “blood the pups”; that is, take a look at younger players with little experience for the national team, to see first-hand what they’re capable of.

That being said, it’s also critical to try to get a result from these games, as we need to move up the FIFA rankings to better our lot when it comes to the World Cup qualifying draw. What to do, what to do?

This is by no means an actual roster, or a starting 11; rather, it’s speculative musing about the short- and medium-term future of our men’s national team: Read more »

Jackson’s first, and what’s next

Posted in Canada, Coca-Cola Championship, England with tags , , , , on August 21, 2010 by squizz

Just to keep up what some would call our unhealthy obsession with young Canadian striker Simeon Jackson… he scored his first goal in the Championship this morning, a stoppage-time tally in Norwich City’s 2-0 win over Swansea. I didn’t see the game, but an admittedly biased source says that Jacko finished “superbly” on the goal. Update: Video footage confirms the quality of the goal.

Up next for Simeon and the Canaries? A Carling Cup date with Blackburn on Tuesday. Considering the largely-reserve-squad lineups that many teams run out for that competition, we could very well see one of Canada’s established strikers of the future, Jackson, against one of our potential strikers of the future, Junior Hoilett.

Here’s hoping the two of them become good friends in the days ahead.

Honduras turns to youth for Canada friendly

Posted in CONCACAF, Honduras, International with tags , , on August 21, 2010 by Grant

A quick note from the prairies, in between trying to emcee a wedding and show the better half from Toronto the better half of Winnipeg…

Honduras will have a new manager and squad when they take on Canada in Montreal on September 7. Juan de Dios Castillo, has named his team for two upcoming friendlies, and it will feature plenty of new, young faces. The squad is, for lack of a better term, experimental: made up of domestically-based players with none of the big European guns who took part in this summer`s World Cup.

The appointment of Castillo has strings attached, given that he is being called an “interim” manager and only has a contract until the end of January.

Manager Stephen Hart will inevitably have trouble getting all the players he would like for Canada – both from MLS and from Europe – so while Canada and Honduras may be old Concacaf foes, the two teams that face off in Montreal will be relatively unfamiliar to one another.