Steven Sandor's Blog, page 48

Canadian Championship ups the Can-con

In unveiling the schedule for this year’s (PLACE SPONSOR NAME HERE) Canadian Championship, a series of format and rule changes were announced.

This will be the final season that the tournament will only be open to the full-time pro teams. In 2018, the winners of League1 Ontario  and the Premiere Ligue de Soccer du Quebec will get invites into the tournament. In Plastic Pitch issue 11, the case was also made to invite Canada’s senior men’s champions.

But, starting this season, each team is required to start three Canadians for each tournament match.

From Canada Soccer: “In 2017, to be eligible as a Canadian on the starting line-up, a player must be a Canadian Citizen and/or hold a Canadian passport and, not played for, or represented, by virtue of dual citizenship or parental lineage, any other Member Association National soccer team, at any level, unless a change of Association, in accordance with FIFA Statutes, to Canada Soccer has been granted.”

So, a player who holds a Canadian passport or has landed immigrant status but has represented or is representing another country’s national team won’t be eligible. For example, FC Edmonton veteran Albert Watson expects to soon get his Canadian permanent residency, but he’s played for Northern Ireland at the youth level. So, Watson couldn’t take up a Canadian spot. Not that Canadian content will be a problem for the Eddies, who have the likes of Nik Ledgwerwood, Adam Straith, Ben Fisk, Mauro Eustaquio and Marko Aleksic on the roster.

It’s worth noting that Marc Dos Santos, the Canadian head coach of the NASL’s San Francisco Deltas, had been clamouring for a Canadian-content-in-the-lineup rule for the Canadian Championships when he was the coach of the Ottawa Fury a couple of years ago. Calling the new three-Canadian-rule the “MDS Rule” would be accurate.

The MLS teams don’t join until the Ottawa Fury and FC Edmonton have settled their preliminary round series, which kicks off May 3 in Ottawa and finishes May 10 in the Alberta capital. As the Eddies finished ahead of the Fury in the NASL table in 2016, FCE gets the advantage of having the second leg at home.

Of course, the preliminary round will be politically charged. Ottawa has moved to the USL, which now shares Division-2 status with the NASL. This will mark the first time a USL team will meat an NASL side in meaningful game since the Fury and Rowdies switched leagues, and it’s a safe bet that the brass from each of the circuits will be hoping to one-up the other. League vs. league is a North American soccer phenomenon, and surely the Fury/Eddies series will be a flashpoint on social media and blogs and message boards.

NASL and USL teams don’t join the U.S. Open Cup till May 18, so the Canadian Championship offers the first true battlefield for the leagues.

The winner of Ottawa/FCE will face Toronto FC, while Vancouver and Montreal will square off in the other semifinal.

2017 Qualifying Round

3 May           Ottawa Fury FC v FC Edmonton

10 May         FC Edmonton v Ottawa Fury FC

2017 Semi-final Rounds

23 May         (Qualifying Round winner) v Toronto FC

23 May         Vancouver Whitecaps FC v Impact Montréal FC

30 May         Impact Montréal FC v Vancouver Whitecaps FC

31 May         Toronto FC v (Qualifying Round winner)

2017 Championship Final

20/21 June    First leg between Semi-Final winners

* Should Montreal make the Final this match will be played on June 21

27 June         Second leg between Semi-Final winners

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition: Canada loses Algarve Cup final

Canada entered the final of the Algarve Cup ranked as the fourth-best women’s national team in the world. Spain ranked No. 14 on the current FIFA charts.

But Leila Ouahabi’s long-range goal just four minutes into Wednesday’s final was all the Spanish side would need. Spain shocked Canada 1-0 in the Algarve Cup final. Spain entered the Algarve Cup for the first time in 2017 — and ended up winning the tournament.

On a day when Barcelona’s men’s team provided one of the greatest fightbacks in the history of the game, Ouahabi — who plays for Barcelona’s women’s team — might have provided the best piece of news for the Catalan club.

Ouahabi was not part of the Spanish side that came to Canada for the 2015 Women’s World Cup — and finished dead last in their group, with just one draw and two losses to show for their efforts.

Olga Garcia’s effort hit the post late in the first half, as Spain came within inches of doubling their lead.

Fifteen-year-old Jordyn Huitema made her senior national-team debut. She became the third-youngest player in Canadian women’s soccer history to receive a senior cap. Coach John Herdman elected to start Huitema, then brought her off after 40 minutes.

Christine Sinclair, Canada’s all-time leading scorer, didn’t start the match, but came on for Huitema  before the close of the first half.

Intrinsically Canadian Power Rankings, MLS Week 1

What an MLS opening week it was for our three Canadians teams. The total goals scored by Toronto FC, the Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps equalled… zero.

So, for the first week at least, maybe the less said about our Canadian clubs, the better.

But, we are bringing back our look at what teams are giving Canadians the most minutes in MLS and, when they kick off, North America’s two division-two leagues. And, the big Canadian focus is on… Orlando City.

Cyle Larin scored the first goal in the history of Orlando City’s new stadium, and WIll Johnson got a full 90 in for his new team. Just like Canadians flock to Florida for vacations and retirements, Orlando City might just be the destination of choice for our MLS players, as well. It’s worth noting that Richie Laryea was on the bench for Orlando in its 1-0 win over NYCFC, but didn’t get onto the pitch.

All in all, seven Canadians saw MLS action, for a total of 427 minutes, in the first week of MLS. That’s down a bit from First Kick of 2016, when eight Canadians combined for a total of 475 minutes.

And, yes, we are counting Alphonso Davies and Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla. Yes, Tabla did turn down a spot on Canada’s team for the CONCACAF U-20 Championship; but he’s been with the program before that and, unless there’s a formal change of nations filed through FIFA, he stays. Davies is on a path towards playing for Canada, at least officially, and has appeared in Canadian camps in the past.

MLS MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Alphonso Davies, Vancouver, 90
Will Johnson, Orlando, 90
Patrice Bernier, Montreal, 74
Cyle Larin, Orlando, 74
Jonathan Osorio, TFC, 61
Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla, Montreal,  27
Tesho Akindele, FCD, 11

TEAM RANKINGS, MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017

Orlando City, 164

Montreal, 101

Vancouver, 90

Toronto FC, 61

FC Dallas, 11

The roster is full: Miller says signings are done for the spring, hopes Straith can stay on long-term

Now that MLS teams have finalized their rosters and made their last-second cutdowns, comes the inevitable talk of “that player who didn’t make (put MLS team name here) could help (put NASL team name here.”

Except, it doesn’t work that way. Players who get cut from MLS rosters late in the preseason find that there’s little room at the inn at NASL teams who are also well into their preparations for their coming campaigns.

FC Edmonton announced the signings of Canadian international Adam Straith and Northern Irish playmaker Dean Shiels earlier this week, and coach Colin Miller reiterated Friday that those would be the last signings the Eddies would make for the NASL spring season. The roster is full.

“We will revisit things, as we always do, in the fall season,” said Miller after FCE’s Friday training session at Commonwealth Fieldhouse. “But, as of right now, we’re good. I am delighted with the squad.”

Miller is happy to have the luxury of knowing what he has at his disposal before the team leaves on its March 9-22 preseason trip to Manchester, England, where the Eddies will play exhibition games against Wigan Athletic’s reserves, and the U-23 sides of Newcastle United, Burnley and Stoke City.

“That’s the way I wanted to do it,” said Miller. “I like to get the squad in early, settled, everybody knows each other, they’re comfortable with each other — and then, either through trade, or release, in that fall preseason bring in one or two fresh faces that keep the squad ticking along.”

The only question mark is central defender Karsten Smith, who is out for at least another month with a calf injury. Miller said Smith is making “good progress.”

Smith was expected to provide depth behind starting centre backs Albert Watson and Pape Diakite but, now, Straith is also an option. The Canadian is signed only for the spring season, but Miller is hopeful the deal can be extended.

“It came out of the blue, obviously Karsten’s situation pushed it ahead, I knew Adam was available,” said Miller. “I spoke with (FCE captain) Nik Ledgerwood if he had contact info for him, and then I contacted (national-team manager) Morgan Quarry. The rest is history. Adam wanted to come and play, we went back and forth with negotiations as we always do with players. I explained the situation to him: There’s no guarantees that anybody will play, but I’ve worked with Adam before and he’s a good, solid person and professional.

“I’m hoping he’ll do enough in the spring season, and that he enjoys it enough, that we can come to an agreement — and it will be a long-term signing. I enjoy working with him, he’s my type of player.”

 

167 and counting: Sinclair keeps adding to international tally

Christine Sinclair used her left foot to place a shot neatly inside the far post. The goal stood as the winning tally as Canada beat Russia 2-1 Friday at the Algarve Cup.

It was the 167th career international goal for Sinclair, the No. 2 all-time international women’s goal-scorer in history. Her goal came after Sophie Schmidt had got Canada on the board early in the first half, cleaning up the garbage after Deanne Rose got an initial touch on a ball in the penalty area. Rose beat two Russian defenders to win that first ball, and Schmidt streaked in off a near-post run to hammer the ball into the roof of the net.

That set the stage for Sinclair’s tally.

Darya Makarenko pulled a goal back for the Russians midway through the second half, but the Canadians held on.

Alex Lamontagne earned her first senior international cap for Canada when she came in for Janine Beckie in the second half.

Youngster Kailen Sheridan got the start for Canada in goal. Canada is now 2-0-0 in the tournament.

 

 

Whitecaps follow the Canadian tradition of CONCACAF Champions League success

So, ho-hum, a Canadian team is going to be in the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals — again.

That’s three times since 2012. In that same time frame, American MLS teams have got to the semis three times, despite the fact that the U.S. has four teams in each tournament, while Canada gets just one. A Canadian team – Montreal in 2015 — made it to the final. No American has made it to the final since 2011.

You know what, America? Instead of wondering “how will we ever beat Mexican teams in the CCL?” focus on trying to be better than the Canadian teams, first. Walk before you run.

The Vancouver Whitecaps became the third Canadian team to book its spot in the semifinals in the last six years on Thursday. The Whitecaps got a great performance from 16-year-old Edmonton phenom Alphonso Davies, who scored early and set up the insurance goal, in a 2-0 win over the New York Red Bulls at BC Place. The win in the second leg of their CCL quarterfinal gave the Whitecaps a 3-1 margin on aggregate, and ensured a date against Mexican powerhouse, Tigres, in the semis.

And, to add to the Canada-is-better-than-the-U.S.-in-the-CCL story, remember that, before eliminating the Red Bulls, the Whitecaps won a group that included Sporting Kansas City. When Montreal made it to the 2015 final, the Impact won a group that included the Red Bulls. When Toronto FC go to the 2012 semis, the Reds were survived a group that claimed FC Dallas, then beat the Los Angeles Galaxy in the quarters.

Alphonso Davies

The Whitecaps got things started early against a Red Bulls team that struggled to get the ball out of its own side of half. The Red Bulls’ inability to put two or three passes together, combined with an injury to midfielder Gonzalo Veron that limited his participation to eight minutes, put the visitors in crisis mode.  The early pressure reached its height in the fifth minute, when Canadian international Marcel De Jong slid a cross into the Red Bulls’ penalty area. Davies got onto it and, instead of snatching at it right away, had the poise to settle the ball at his feet and roll his effort inside the post. It was a composed finish from the teen phenom from the soccer factory that is Edmonton’s St. Nicholas Junior High School. (Read more about that in Plastic Pitch 11).

The Whitecaps got their insurance late in the second half, with Fredy Montero making his first significant contribution since joining the club.  A Davies corner kick skipped into the penalty area, wasn’t dealt with by the New York defenders, then fell to Montero, who made no mistake.

I don’t know how many times I’ve seen this — a poorly taken corner skips and scoots into the penalty area, bounces awkwardly a few times, and creates more problems for the defenders than a perfectly flighted ball would have. Sometimes I wonder if more set-piece takers would be better off drilling in low corners designed to bounce before they get close to the near post.

 

Sinclair’s late goal gives Canada an Algarve triumph over Denmark

On a Canadian roster packed with young players, it was more of the same. Another winning goal from Christine Sinclair; she scored her 166th career goal for Canada, to give our women’s national team a 1-0 win over Denmark Wednesday in the opener of the Algarve Cup.

It wasn’t a vintage goal; Deanne Rose’s cross to the centre of the Danish penalty area was handled like a live grenade by Denmark’s defender, and the ball fell to Sinclair — who only needed to smash the ball home. But, considering she had a series of good scoring chances during the game, getting the garbage goal was just deserts.

Sinclair is second all-time in FIFA scoring, and we can only wonder where she’d be if:

Canada had the wherewithal to book a bunch of home friendlies against clearly inferior opponents that serve to pad the stats of the national team (cough, USA, cough). More power to the Americans for being able to translate the success of their women’s national team into year after year of revenue-generating home friendlies. But we have to concede that it puts their players in a unique position to bolster their numbers. It’s apples to oranges when comparing the stats of Abby Wambach or any American star to Sinclair.
Sinclair played in a program that had far more offensive muscle throughout the team, where she wasn’t looked upon to get the only goal in a 1-0 win; a role she’s played for many, many years. Sinclair has borne the weight of a program.

Sinclair has seen many from her generation’s class of players retire; she’s now mentoring the likes of Rose and striker Janine Beckie. We have to question if Diana Matheson, the Canadian veteran who has so often linked up with Sinclair for goals in the past, will recover from a serious knee injury that will keep her out for the year.

Yet, Sinclair still scores — and hasn’t received the international recognition that she should. Put her on the American team, she’d be on cereal boxes and needing to buy a warehouse in which to store all her FIFA and CONCACAF awards.

 

 

 

 

 

Canada Soccer removes Fonseca from high-performance director role

In a terse press release, the Canadian Soccer Association announced that Tony Fonseca is no longer the country’s director of high performance.

Here is the contents of the release:

Canada Soccer announced today that it has released Director, High Performance, Tony Fonseca effective immediately.

Fonseca joined Canada Soccer in 2006 on an interim basis as an Assistant Coach with the Men’s National Team before becoming a full-time staff coach including responsibility as Head Coach with the Men’s U-20 and U-23 Teams in 2008. He was named Director, High Performance for the Men’s National Team Program in 2011 and became the organization’s Technical Director in 2012 before transitioning to his most recent role as Director, High Performance.

Canada Soccer would like to thank Tony for his years of service and for his professionalism and commitment to the development of the game in Canada.

Shiels relishes the opportunity to become FC Edmonton’s “difference-maker”

In the lead-up to the signing and after the deal was finalized, FC Edmonton coach Colin Miller has repeatedly referred to Northern Irish striker Dean Shields as a “difference-maker.”

So, did Shiels feel the weight of expectation on his shoulders when he took the field with his new Eddies teammates for the first time Monday?

“Not really,” Shiels said after training at Commonwealth Fieldhouse. “I played with Rangers in front of 50,000 — that’s pressure. But I think, no matter who you are or where you are, when you play you always put pressure on yourself. And I’ve always done that and I’ve always expected high standards of myself. That’s something I want to bring to the team and I want to become a key part of this team.

“I was excited at the chance to play in this league and a new experience for myself.”

Shiels came up through Arsenal’s youth system, then played in Scotland for Hibs. He returned to England to play at Doncaster Rovers, where current Eddies’ forward Tomi Ameobi was a teammate. He then went to play for Kilmarnock, where he was coached by his father, Kenny Shiels.

“My dad’s been the sole influence in my career, especially at a young age,” Shiels said Monday. “He’s advised me throughout my career. He’s probably the reason I’ve become a professional, all the hours I’ve put in at the training ground when I was a kid. And, throughout my career, he’s always instilled good habits and, obviously, he’s been a major influence on where I am.”

He said the years at Arsenal were “vital” to his development.

“It’s a great place to get an education, to prepare you into being a professional footballer. Obviously, I played for brilliant players and great coaches and that can only benefit a player. Especially for a young player, it’s one of the best clubs in the world to go and learn your trade and it put me in good stead throughout my career.”

Shiels played for Rangers for 2012-16 and then went to Ireland to play for Dundalk.

“I believe he can be a difference-maker in our league,” Miller said. “Players that have come over from Ireland or the U.K. traditionally have done quite well in the NASL. So, I’m very excited to see how Dean does. His background is fantastic.”

And, Miller, smiled, the fact that Shiels is a former Rangers player “gets in my good books.” Miller is also a former Rangers player.

Shiels has made more than a dozen appearances for Northern Ireland, and has played against Albert Watson, the Eddies’ Northern Irish veteran, in the past. The two communicated before Shiels arrived in Canada.

“I spoke to Albert a couple of times. Obviously, knowing someone helps when you come so far away, to settle in. He picked me up from the airport and showed me around a bit. It’s nice to have someone here who knows the area before you arrive. He had good words to say about the team and about the place.”

Watson told Miller that Shiels’s movement had given the defender trouble when the two faced each other in the past.

Shiels had his right eye removed early on in his career, but it’s not a worry for Miller. Remember that NHL defenceman Bryan Berard came back and played for the Toronto Maple Leafs after he was blinded in one eye by an errant stick.

 

Straith signs with FC Edmonton for the NASL spring season

Adam Straith walked onto the indoor turf field at Commonwealth Fieldhouse about halfway through FC Edmonton’s training session, alongside the team’s other new signing, striker Dean Shiels. Both had just completed their medicals, got to the facility and changed into blue FC Edmonton training kits.

Immediately, Netan Sansara — the fullback signed by the Eddies earlier this year — came over to embrace Straith, the Canadian international. Both had played together last year at Norwegian side, Fredrikstad. Now, they’re teammates again.

Straith has signed with the Eddies for the spring NASL season. The defender/midfielder can play a variety of roles for the Eddies. He’s made 41 appearances for Canada; in the team’s most recent friendly, a 4-2 win over Bermuda, Straith had to go in goal when cards and injuries claimed all of the team’s regular keepers. He ended up getting credit for the win in that game.

“I know a number of the guys, I know a number of the staff, I’ve worked with Colin (FCE coach Colin Miller) in the past… I’m looking forward to it,” said Straith.

“It’s a bit of everything thrown in with Adam,” said Miller.  “I’ve worked with Adam with the national team when I was the interim coach. Excellent professional, and has the ability to play as a centre back or as a holding central midfield player. So, we can kill two birds with one stone.”

With centre back Karsten Smith out for what’s expected to be six weeks with a calf injury, the team needs some cover for starting central defenders Albert Watson and Pape Diakite. Miller said Friday that young Canadian centre back Marko Aleksic, who he could one day envision being the captain of FCE one day, could get loaned out this season — but that decision would be made after the team’s preseason trip to Manchester.

The deal to bring Straith to Edmonton came in short order.

“I’d been at a couple of clubs in the last couple of weeks, training,” said Straith. “For a number of different reasons, they didn’t work out for the time being. And this is something that came up fairly quickly, actually a couple of days ago. I had a discussion with Colin about what he sees from me and what he expects out of me, and it fit the expectations I have for myself at this time.”

With Canadians Nik Ledgerwood, Ben Fisk, Tyson Farago and Straith having senior men’s team experience, and Mauro Eustaquio in the mix for the national team, the Eddies could have headaches when Canada plays Scotland on March 22, and later this summer during the Gold Cup. With the NASL not breaking for international windows, having a lot of national-team-level players at one club can be both a blessing and a curse.

“We may lose them for the Gold Cup, we may lose them for Scotland, we don’t know yet,” said Miller. “That’s one of the down-sides of having national-team players. We have a team full of them at the moment.”