Day After/Heading Home

I was fortunate to receive some objective feedback on this blog and so will be trying a few different things with the next couple of posts.

Another win!  Canada 3-0 over Puerto Rico.  The game took place in San Juan and it was apparently Dante hot in the Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium.  We started out slowly - I like to think the guys were pacing themselves due to the heat and humidity.  But they did play stinkball for the first half-hour gifting multiple opportunities to the Puerto Ricans to open the scoring.  They were trying a lot of long passes and most soccer purists hate to see that type of game played.  It's a little like swinging for the bleachers in baseball  - looks fabulous if you connect but is quite putrid if you don't.  As the game moved on into the last ten minutes Canada started having more control and time.  After some real pressure in the PR end Iain Hume sent the ball into the low corner of the net in the 41st minute.  The first half ended with our guys controlling the tempo and not looking gassed.

The second half started off the same - Canada looked poised but were still having the occasional andropausal moment and giving Puerto Rico good looks at the net.  Fortunately the PR lads finish like the over-50 soccer team I play on and they were not able to tally.  The rest of the half was uneventful until the  84th minute when David Edgar took a free kick from just outside the 18 yard line.  The Puerto Rican keeper punched it out and Simeon Jackson pounced on the rebound to bury it.  PR folded at that point and Toss Ricketts added one more in garbage time.

Analysis

We don't look good but we have 6 points from two games.  We got a road win - more importantly we scored on the road.  Neither of these teams we played against is very talented - I already wrote about St Lucia.  The Puerto Rico team has played ONE friendly in the last 12 months and has only 5 players playing professionally.  But.  It's a start.  And we get to do it all over again in October.

Sunday, Sept 4th, 2011

Travel Day

Most people when they find out what I do get really animated and say things like, "that must be so exciting" and "what an honour to be team doctor for Canada's national team."

It is and it is.  But there is a lot of down time.  We spend a great deal of time trying not to overeat.  When we play friendlies the atmosphere is much more relaxed and we tend to stay in nicer hotels.  In World Cup qualifying we get put up in marginal hotels in some pretty dodgy towns.  That's because our opponent is trying to mess with us.

Traveling with group of 30 + players and staff can be similarly unrewarding.  You have to wait for 30 people to check in.  You have to wait for 30 people to pick up their luggage.  You have to wait for 30 people to get on the bus.  You get where I am going with this.  The only place where being a part of a 30 member football team is an advantage is Mexico.  Mexicans think professional football players are gods.  And they treat you accordingly.

Today's profile is on Julian De Guzman.  Probably the most talented Canadian soccer player I have ever seen.  I went on several trips with our Olympic team in 2001, 2002, and 2003.  By definition mens' Olympic soccer teams are restricted to under-23.  Julian didn't show up for any camps or games until we had to play El Salvador in San Salvador.  At that time he was playing for Hannover 96 in the Bundesliga. Against El Salvador he was easily the best player on the pitch.  He went on to play for Deportivo La Coruna where he was paired with Andres Guardado in midfield.  There he was employed as a holding midfielder.  Which was unfortunate because when he came back to play for Canada he was expected to be an attacking midfielder.  He is a quiet, reserved person and I think it was difficult for him for him to make that transition.  So difficult that he is now utilized as a defensive midfielder with Canada.  And he is not as quick as he used to be - you can see it now by how easily he gets frustrated and accumulates yellow cards.  But he has great football acumen and hopefully that will carry the (World Cup) day.

Post Game

Canada 4  -  1 St Lucia

The Immaculate BMO Field
Uhhh.  I didn't promise exquisite soccer.  We will get to the World Cup any way we can.  Even if it requires Cleveland-coloured excretions for goals.   I am still figuring out this blog.  Our back line looked good.  We had some bright passing.  The St Lucians tackled like Bulgarians after the Pope . And needed to get carded a few more times.  We won.  Next game.


I said in a previous blog that I would give profiles of players and staff.  One player who is not competing in this round of WC qualifiers is Paul Stalteri.  I have chosen to profile him because of the impact he has had on the MNT.  He is the most capped Canadian - he has worn the uni and played for Canada a record 83 times.  He is one of the funniest, most passionate and brightest people I have ever met.  He has played for Werder Bremen, Fulham, and Tottenham.  He won the cup double with Bremen.  He was awarded a red card in a World Cup qualifier in 2003 for which he is tremendously regretful.  "I was an asshole, Doc.  Fuck off!  Next question."  Everything he says has to be punctuated with an an exclamation mark because he is that serious and that intense.  I have never seen him turn down a request for an autograph, or photo, or interview.  When I was in the military (for 20 years) we divided our leaders into two categories.  Those who you would follow into battle and those who you might follow out of curiosity to see how badly they could fuck up.  Stally, I would definitely follow you into battle.  As you wind down your career, best of luck, Son.

Canada vs Honduras, Montreal 2010

Game Day

Today is the official start to Canada's World Cup qualifiers for Brazil 2014.  First up is St Lucia - population 170,000.  England and France went to war 14 times over three centuries trying to claim the island as their own. This is the second round of qualifying for the nations who make up CONCACAF.  Canada received a bye into the second round while St Lucia qualified by beating Aruba in a two game series.  They were tied 6-6 after two games but St Lucia managed to squeak by on penalties 5-4.  Their 3 best players play professional football in Trinidad and Tobago.  Should be a walk, right?  Well, welcome to Canadian World Cup qualifying - we never make anything easy.

Throughout the course of our World Cup journey I will try and complete a profile with each entry on staff and players.  I have been with this group since 2008 when we were last bounced from WC qualification.  Canada is coached by Stephen Hart.  Stephen is from Trinidad and Tobago. He loves a good joke.  Heck, he even loves a bad joke.  The players adore him - mostly because they appreciate his calm, almost fatherly approach to management after the relatively grim and humorless helmsmenship of Holgier Osieck and Dale Mitchell - both old school coaches who expected players to show up and do their jobs (what? outrageous!)
Stephen was previously interim head coach of the Men's National Team.  This is probably his last opportunity to coach at this level - he admitted on a recent away trip to Turkey that no one who takes on this job has a happy ending.  Canada will try and change that observation starting today.

Day Before Game 1

The first game of our qualifying for the 2014 World cup is tomorrow.  The team plays St Lucia in Toronto at BMO Field.  I was not able to attend the first 2 qualifiers (the second one being on Sept 6th at Puerto Rico) and so John Philpott is the team doctor.  The above is the Camp Nou in Barcelona.  It is meant to be an inspiration to our team.  Go Canada Go.  More tomorrow on Game Day.