Jump to content

  • Articles

    Manage articles
    Show all categories
    Guest
    Until next time for a Gameday1 Recap show, have a great World Cup!
    @24thminute
    @KevLaramee
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwsfvuPbhWFf0I9zT4uJOig
    https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/5-rings-podcast-olympic-amateur/id824073858?mt=2
    http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/5-rings-amateur-and-olympic-sports-podcast
    http://patreon.com/twosolitudes5rings
    http://facebook.com/5RingsPodcast
    Michael Mccoll
    The campaign to introduce goal-line technology into football was a long one that certainly split opinion.
    Purists didn't want it to change the game or slow it down with referees having to take time to review decisions. Advocates felt that with so much at stake in the modern game, and with the ever increasing and intense scrutiny on referees from television cameras, the introduction of the technology would reduce crucial, and often multi-million dollar costing, wrong decisions, easing pressure on the officials in the process.
    After years of arguments, matters came to a head when Frank Lampard wrongly had a goal not awarded for England at the 2010 World Cup against Germany. Replays showed the ball very clearly crossed the goal-line but the goal wasn't given. England went on to lose the match 4-1, but had the goal been given, it would have levelled the match up at two apiece and changed the whole dynamic of the game.
    Now, as a Scot, I found that particular decision to be absolutely fantastic and hilarious! I still do! But it was to be a literal game changer in may ways.
    The non goal triggered the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to review the introduction and use of goal-line technology once more in the months after the World Cup. Less than two years later, in July 2012, and after rigorous testing, the IFAB approved, in principle, the use of the technology and in December that year, the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan made history when it used it in competition for the first time.
    Since then it's been used several times by FIFA, UEFA and other governing bodies on the international stage. At club level, goal-line technology has been successfully implemented in the English Premier League for the past two seasons and the Dutch Eredivisie is another top league in Europe to use it.
    From next season, you will also find the technology used in the German Bundesliga and Italian Serie A, with "a lot of interest" being shown in the technology from other leagues around the world, including Major League Soccer over here.
    There are actually a couple of different providers of goal-line technology systems now, but the best known name is that of Hawk-Eye.
    The Hawk-Eye name probably first came to most people's attention with their instant replay system in tennis, and it is their technology (in association with Acorn) that will be used at this summer's Women's World Cup in Canada.
    We'll all remember the television graphics from Brazil showing whether the ball had crossed the line or not, even when it most obviously had! You have to show off your new toys though. But just how does the actual system work?
    There are two different technologies in use - a magnetic field system and a camera based system - and it's the latter that was used in Brazil last year and will be used in Canada this time around.
    With the camera based system, there is no technology in the ball, in the goal or on the posts or crossbar. The information is all captured in 3D by 14 cameras placed around the stadium, with seven focused on each goal.
    "The goal-line technology system we have is completely optical," Laurence Upshon, Head of Football Operations at Hawk-Eye Innovations, told reporters at a demonstration at BC Place on Wednesday. "It's a completely passive system. We use 14 high speed cameras around the field of play, seven looking at each goal, to provide all tracking and triangulation to work out exactly when the ball crosses the goal-line."
    The positions of the cameras are quite flexible. They can be mounted on catwalks, the back of stands and floodlights.
    "There's seven cameras looking at each goal, dotted around the field of play, so that in a close, goal-line scramble the ball is always found in at least two of them to triangulate up to show a goal," Upshon continued. "We have two, which are typically located behind the goal. We have three on one side, one of them looking down the goal-line. We have two on the reverse side as well looking at each goal."
    The cameras automatically tracks the ball and automatically tells match officials, assistants as well as referees, whether the ball has crossed the line by sending an almost instantaneous decision through to a watch worn by the officiating crew.

    That decision comes through in less than a second via a special wristwatch worn by each official. If it's a goal, the watch vibrates for several seconds and "GOAL" flashes up on the screen. We were given one to wear during the demonstration and it really is impressively instantaneous.
    "As soon as the ball crosses the goal-line, it alerts all the match officials by using the goal-line technology watch," Upshon added. "They'll have a vibration and an alert [on the watch] to show that it is a goal and they can award the goal.
    "The really key thing about vibrating is that the referee, and certainly the rest of the match officials, can keep their eye on the game, watching for fouls and handballs."
    But can the technology be fooled? What if it isn't the ball that crosses the goal-line? Not an issue.
    "A ball is very particular, so it looks for certain characteristics of a ball," Upshon said. "Not only the shape but how it's moving, the colour of it, what's on it. So it uses all of these factors to work out what is a ball and also what is not a ball, so it's not fooled by a keeper throwing his towel in or a water bottle or a sun cap or something like that. It looks at all these parameters."
    The other aspect in this technological age is just how secure is the entire system? Can it be hacked and could other transmissions in the stadium on gameday interfere with it working?
    Again, that turns out not to be an issue.
    The watches are not on a public network. Systems are encrypted and very reliable. Even in the most congested stadium with bluetooth, wifi etc all pinging around, the goal message will get through.
    Seeing the whole system in action really is quite an eye-opener. Any qualms about it delaying games are far removed, but there is still one big issue we have with goal-line technology and that is the universal accessibility of it.
    The beauty of football is that it is the same rules, the same game basics whether you're playing a match at the Nou Camp in Barcelona or on some gravel pitch in the middle of nowhere. Goal-line technology is not a system that continues that.
    It's fine having it in World Cups and in the top flight leagues around the world, but it will likely be a long time before you see it in say the Scottish lower leagues, the English non-league or USL games at Thunderbird Stadium. And let's not even look at youth soccer.
    It's a rich man's toy. The big money leagues and governing bodies can afford it, helped by the huge television revenues that present a growing need for such technology in the first place. But the costs are prohibitive for many leagues and clubs to even contemplate installing the system.
    At least for now. But like all technological advancements over the years, whether it be DVD players, mobile phones, tablets or televisions, one thing is a constant. Wait a little bit from when it first comes out and the prices come tumbling down.
    "When you look at technology as a whole, systems as a whole, the price is always evolving and getting more attractive and I think it's only a matter of time," Upshon told us. "We've had a lot of interest from other leagues as well. Two years ago it was a brand new system and over time it will evolve."
    Duane Rollins
    Group A
    Group B
    Group C
    Group D
    Group E
    Group F
    You can see our best case scenario for Canada here and our DO’H! version here.
    Thursday afternoon we’ll provide one final look at the turf debate.
    On Friday we will look at Public Enemy No 1 – the USWNT – and their infamous forward of Canadian heritage, as well as providing a comprehensive preview on the 5 Rings Podcast.
    On CanadaIsPlaying.com, a website dedicated to covering Canadian sport that is launching Friday, I will be providing coverage of what the World Cup means to Canadians, as well as profiling some of the lesser known players on the Canadian national team. CiP is there to support Canadian athletes and promote Canadian sports and that’s the type of stories that will be found there.
    At CSN we will take a more journalistic, international and technical view. We will be critical when necessary and try to dig a little deeper than the mainstream coverage will provide. You can expect daily columns, game reports and near daily (after each game day) podcast on the 5 Rings feed.
    The philosophy at CSN is that we don’t cover women’s soccer. We cover soccer and women are sometimes the ones playing it.
    The bottom line is there will be lots coverage on CSN as we welcome the world to Canada 2015!
    Michael Mccoll
    While everyone wants to focus on the football without any distractions (which will be close to impossible with the happenings back at FIFA HQ), the reality is that some will be awaiting the first opportunity to berate the turf pitches and further their argument that the tournament should not be getting played on them.
    And let's be honest here, we are just one bad injury away or one bad bounce costing a crucial goal for the whole situation to blow up. The likelihood of that happening? Pretty high I would say, especially due to many players unfamiliarity with the surface.
    The newly laid BC Place pitch will be one of the centres of all the attention. It is after all hosting the Final, along with eight other matches, and has been held up as state of the art.
    Anyone who follows the Whitecaps or Major League Soccer knows the reputation of the turf at the stadium. Well the old turf at any rate. It was widely panned. Visiting teams hated it, Robbie Keane was always good for a soundbite about it, and Thierry Henry was one of the players who wouldn't even travel to play on it. Even the home players hated the damn thing.
    Thankfully it's now gone. Ripped up and sent to place where turf monsters go to die, or Surrey as the locals call it. In its place is a brand spanking new turf pitch. Top of the range and one of only three such pitches around the world, including Bayern Munich's training ground.
    The Polytan Ligaturf surface, or to give it its full name LigaTurf RS+CoolPlus World Cup Edition 260 W ACS 90 Bionic Fibre Infill, is a FIFA 2-Star field. What does that mean in everyday language? It's not as crap as a 1-Star one.
    The new BC Place pitch was installed at a cost of $1,327,000, with BC Place owners PavCo contributing $827,000 towards it and Canada Soccer and Rugby Canada splitting the $500,000 balance between them.
    The pitch is two shades of green and has a special infill.
    The infill has been specifically made for the use in sports fields. It's made to look like natural dirt, just coloured green for maximum HD quality TV viewing at home. It's also meant to prevent as much dust and pellets coming up. The jury's still out on that one.
    It's like no other pitch in the tournament, which has in itself already seen questions being raised as to why that is. Why were all the stadia not refitted with a similar pitch?
    "It's not the same manufacturer across all six of our stadia," NOC Chief Stadia Officer Don Hardman told reporters at a media turf briefing at BC Place on Wednesday. "What we have is a FIFA preferred producer program. There's a number of manufacturers that all meet the specific criteria and football turf so we have different manufacturers across the country."
    But surely FIFA and the organisers would want continuity between the six pitches being used.
    "We tried to develop the legacy and the infrastructure that we have in place," Hardman continued. "We've been utilising the football turf that has been in place at a number of stadiums and also going through the tender process to get the best installation possible."
    That installation of the new pitch is not even one week old at the time of writing this and there's already been moans about it and some anguish behind the scenes from officials.
    There's only been one actual game played on it so far, last Saturday's MLS match between the Caps and Real Salt Lake. Neither team were able to get a full practice session on it prior to the game and it didn't win a lot of plaudits from the visiting RSL players.
    A new pitch usually takes around eight weeks to be fully broken in. By the time the first World Cup game kicks off at BC Place on June 8th, the pitch will have been ready for just 10 days.
    "If you have a brand new pitch, you have to bring people on to the pitch and need activity on the pitch," Johannes Holzmüller, Group Leader of the FIFA Quality Programme, told reporters at the briefing. "Only after a few weeks or after this activity, depending how much you always try to maintain the pitch, then you have the best pitch conditions.
    "Similarly, when you have an older pitch, you have to maintain the pitch accordingly. That will bring the fibres upright. Especially here in Canada, where we have some pitches used not only for soccer but also some other sports, it's very important to maintain the pitches so at the end you have upright fibres in the end. If everything is done the right way, then these pitches can meet the FIFA 2-Star requirement."
    With that in mind then, why was the new BC Place pitch only installed last week when it clearly doesn't meet that criteria for breaking it in?
    "Part of it was timing," Hardman told us. "This is a very busy building between the trade show in the offseason and the MLS schedule. We had a window of opportunity in May and we made the best efforts we could."
    Officials say the prep has been fast-tracked, to break it in and age at a quicker rate, and it's not a concern.
    It was on Saturday though when the Whitecaps took on Real Salt Lake.
    "It needs time, it needs time. It is what it is." That was the view of RSL boss Jeff Cassar after Saturday's game, who was one of many who bemoaned the fact that their shoes were left dirty and in many cases had now become green in colour.
    RSL's veteran goalkeeper Nick Rimando expanded more in his criticism of the new surface.
    "I wasn't a fan," Rimando told reporters after Saturday's game. "Every time a ball comes, the sand gets in your eye and rubbers gets everywhere. As you saw, everybody that's played, it's all over your feet and legs. Hopefully that kinda wears in as more players play on it.
    "Slippery for sure. You saw all the guys slipping out there. First game though, so you can't be too critical on it. I think as more players play on it, it's going to get broken in and be better hopefully."
    Now you can take the view of a losing visiting team with some pinch of salt of course. More concerning are the rumours that the pitch didn't fare well in FIFA's official initial testing of the surface on Sunday, although that wasn't confirmed by the team doing the testing, Sports Labs Ltd.
    Sports Labs are an Edinburgh based, FIFA accredited test institute that carries out all the performance testing on the surfaces and they told us that the testing is ongoing and still far from complete.
    "The process we carry out is on the surface and then we go back to the lab in Scotland and carry out the performance test," Sports Labs engineer Niall MacPhee told AFTN. "It's a phased process. It doesn't happen that we just turn up and test, so we're still going through that process.
    "As you can see, I'm still here with the equipment. We need to get back to the laboratory and do all the sample checks. So it would be premature to say pass or fail."
    The actual testing of the surface is rigorous. What does it involve? Well here's FIFA official blurb on the subject from their "Football Turf Background Information" document:
    The FIFA Quality Programme for Football Turf is a rigorous testing programme for artificial football surfaces. At the core of the FIFA Quality Programme for Football Turf are four basic objectives:
    - Playing performance (ball/surface interaction)
    - Safety (player/surface interaction)
    - Durability
    - Quality assurance
    This quality testing scheme compares results on football turf against those on natural grass pitches in good condition so that the playing characteristics are mirrored. The football turf has to be rigorously tested both in the laboratory and in its installed location to ensure that the surface reacts to the ball as it would on a grass pitch in good condition in terms of roll and bounce.
    Similarly, the tests are designed to ensure that players can play on football turf with the same confidence as they would on a natural grass pitch in good condition. Successfully tested fields are awarded one of the two FIFA RECOMMENDED marks, provided that all of the stringent criteria are met during the testing procedure.
    The FIFA Quality Programme has set the industry standard and put the focus on player well-being and playing performance.
    So there you go!
    But to break it down specifically to what's happening at BC Place, all tests are around the safety of the player and to make sure the pitch plays the same all over whether you're a winger, a defender or a goalkeeper.
    The tests are also to make sure that the pitch is built to endure. All new pitches are expected to last for way more than one or two seasons and ideally six to eight years of high quality use is the expectation, depending on the correct maintenance.
    Part of the testing at BC Place has seen the use of a torque metre by dropping weights and seeing how much traction is there when you turn your foot. They're also testing the rolling and rebounds of the ball, ageing and the dimensions.
    It's all very thorough and exhaustive.
    "We've tested the surface on over 19 occasions and carried out performance tests in the laboratory back home in Scotland, but we also carry out performance tests on the surfaces," Sports Labs MacPhee told reporters. "The performance tests we carry out are players surface interaction tests and ball surface interaction tests.
    "A lot of these tests will tell you how hard the surface is compared to concrete, how much the surface deforms under your foot, how far the ball rolls on the surface, how much a ball rebounds on the surface and we also look at the type of polymers used. All these tests are carried out on the surface and prior to that in the laboratory.
    Although no-one is admitting it, it's fairly obvious to the layman that the pitch is not ready yet. My shoes will also testify to that.
    The amount of dirt and debris coming up off the new pitch is not good and how healthy it is for the players playing on it is a whole other debate.
    "This pitch has been installed very recently and you're going to get that," MacPhee told us. "You'll get compaction of the rubber over a period of time."
    Can the rapid ageing process they're putting it through compound the pellets enough before Monday's opening matches? Publically, at least, everyone is hopeful.
    "This is probably just the natural break in process, with this being less than a week old," Hardman told us. "We still have to work on some of the compaction and letting the natural settlement of the pitch happen and this will dissipate in time."
    "We're working with the manufacturer and the stadium groundkeeping staff and we're definitely addressing all those issues in advance of the first match here."
    Let's hope he's right.
    For now, we have to hope that the artificial pitches don't become anything like one of the main talking points from the tournament and all the action and drama stems from the actual action taking place on them. FIFA would love that too right now.
    Michael Mccoll
    REPORT:
    Vancouver Whitecaps made it three losses in their last four matches, crashing to a 2-1 defeat in Montreal. Despite dominating play against the Impact at times, the Whitecaps couldn't get the job done in front of goal and once again it proved to be very costly.
    Jack McInerney gave Montreal a first half lead, but Pedro Morales gave Vancouver a lifeline with a penalty 11 minutes from time. The Whitecaps sensed a winner but as they pushed, the Impact hit them with an 83rd minute winner from Ignacio Piatti.
    With one eye on Saturday's trip to LA, Carl Robinson made six changes to the starting line-up. A risky move in for the more winnable game of the two, on paper at least.
    The Whitecaps made an unusually slow start out of the traps and the Impact weren't much better.
    It was the home side that took the lead, however, in the 14th minutes and it was pretty much out of nothing.
    A weak clearance from Diego Rodriguez fell to Lauren Ciman about 25 yards out and his dipping volley crashed off the crossbar. David Ousted was beaten all ends up in the Caps goal and was left looking for where the ball had gone. Straight into the path of Jack McInerney as it turned out and the striker made no mistake in firing home the rebound from 12 yards out.
    The goal spurred Vancouver on and they took the game to Montreal, dominating play and controlling the midfield, but, once again, without getting the vital breakthrough in the final third.
    They certainly came close.
    In a blistering spell to end the half, Kekuta Manneh had the ball in the back of the net in the 40th minute but it was quickly called back for offside. Nicolas Mezquida then saw his shot deflected over the bar on the stroke of half time and there was still time for Darren Mattocks to crash an effort off the left post.
    Promising signs, but a case of same old, same old for the Caps in the final third?
    Montreal started the second half strong and McInerney forced Ousted into a save at his near post in the 50th minute, winning a corner that the Impact couldn't capitalise on.
    Both teams were enjoying possession but Montreal were coming up with the better chances, with Ousted tipping over from Andres Romero just past the hour mark.
    Vancouver used all their subs in an attempt to get something from the game and they were handed to the opportunity to do just that when Jordan Harvey was brought down in the box by Romero in the 79th minute. Morales, who had not long come on as a sub, easily slotted home the Caps' first penalty of the season and it was 1-1.
    The Whitecaps' joy was to be short lived. Four minutes in fact. Piatti was given too much space in the box and collected a pass from Romero to fire home between Tim Parker and Harvey and past Ousted, to put the Impact back in the lead.
    Montreal nearly made it three moments later when Anthony Jackson-Hamel headed narrowly wide.
    The Caps pushed for another equaliser, but the home side shut up shot and there was to be no way through.
    Piatti had the last chance of the game in stoppage time when he nearly scored a fantastic chip over Ousted, but the Dane did well to grab the ball.
    A very disappointing loss for many factors, the two biggest being the way that the Caps dominated the play at times but mostly because this was perhaps the most winnable game on Vancouver's gruelling five game stretch on the road.
    It's only going to get tougher over the next five weeks and the rest of the season. This one could really be costly for the Caps.
    FINAL SCORE: Montreal Impact 2 - 1 Vancouver Whitecaps
    ATT: 10,035
    MONTREAL: Evan Bush; Donny Toia, Wandrille Lefevre, Laurent Ciman, Ambroise Oyongo; Calum Mallace, Patrice Bernier (Anthony Jackson-Hamel 81), Andres Romero, Ignacio Piatti, Eric Alexander (Maxim Tissot 63); Jack McInerney (Nigel Reo-Coker 78) [subs Not Used: Eric Kronberg, Bakary Soumare, Victor Cabrera, Romario Williams]
    VANCOUVER: David Ousted; Tim Parker, Kendall Waston, Diego Rodriguez, Jordan Harvey; Matias Laba, Russell Teibert (Pedro Morales 74), Mauro Rosales Octavio Rivero 70), Nicolas Mezquida (Cristian Techera 63), Kekuta Manneh; Darren Mattocks [subs Not Used: Paolo Tornaghi, Christian Dean, Gershon Koffie, Robert Earnshaw]
    REACTION:
    VANCOUVER WHITECAPSCARL ROBINSON
    On the overall game:
    [On TSN radio] "How we were one-nil down at half time was beyond me. We played very well with the ball. We gave away, obviously, a goal in the first few minutes and we were chasing. The character in the second half, we continued to play the way we wanted to play, continued to chase that goal, we got the goal and we let them off the hook again. The second goal could have been avoided."
    [On TSN radio] "I can't fault the performance, the way we played. I can fault the result because we didn't win."
    On continuing inability to convert chances"
    [On TSN radio] "Teams are not going to roll over and let you have endless chances. You've got to create your chances and sometimes we don't create enough chances. We created a number of chances today. Are they clear cut ones? No. If you look at the chances we had in the first half compared to the ones Montreal had, they go in one ahead. It's a learning process. We'll deal with it."
    On resting players v Montreal and not v LA which is harder game to win:
    [On TSN radio] "You talk about three games in a week and how you manage that. Effectively, it's done in results. If you lose a game, it's the wrong decision. I could have played exactly the same team as Saturday and we lose and it's the wrong thing to do. Today, I decided to freshen it up because it's the right thing to do. The energy in the team was good, the performance was good, so it was the right thing to do. We lost, so I'll have to accept that and will take responsibility for that."
    [on TSN radio] "It's about managing it, but again with managing it, you need to get results. If you don't get a result, people will question you and say it's the wrong thing to do."
    [in scrum] "I firmly believed this team could win this game, and it showed based on performance that they should’ve won the game. So I’ve got confidence in every single player in my group, and my starting roster was based upon that."
    On going for the win and not settling for a draw:
    [On TSN radio] "We made our substitutions based on wanting to try and get back in the game. If you put an attacking sub on then obviously you get back in the game and we've got attacking players on the field. When we went to 1-1, I firmly believed we could go on and win the game, and so did the group. It's not naive from us because the worst case was we had a point, but if you don't do your jobs correctly you give up a point sometimes. Unfortunately we lost a point today."
    On bad start to stretch of road games:
    [On TSN radio] "We know we're on the road for five games. This is the first game, unfortunately it's a loss, which you have to accept. You've just got to go and try and win the next game."
    On what they did wrong and how to improve for Saturday:
    [in scrum] "We need to out our chances away. Football is a game where, if you’re able to take your chances when you’re on top, you’re going to win the game. We were 1-0 behind at half somehow and obviously showed great character to get back in the game. We gave a bad goal, we left him, but it was a good finish, he’s a very talented player, but we could’ve avoided that."
    DAVID OUSTED
    On the Whitecaps going for the win:
    "I think we need to go in and try to get three. I feel like we had the chances going forward today and we don’t want to sit back and get draws in a row, we need to get wins as well. Today it didn’t go our way."
    On the first 15 minutes:
    "If you go away from home, sometimes you won’t have the ball. We’re good at that and hitting them on the counter. I thought we did well today creating chances, but we let in two bad goals and that killed us today."
    RUSSELL TEIBERT
    On Montreal winning:
    "I think Montreal was clinical on the chances that they had and they ended up getting two goals. I think there are a lot of things that we can do better but there’s a lot of positives that we can take away from this game. Resiliency; I think we have this never say die attitude that when times are tough and we need to get back in the match, were never going to say it’s over if there’s still time on the clock."
    On the last 10 minutes:
    "It’s about being focused for 90 minutes. You can do things right for 85, but if you don’t do the tasks you’re assigned for 90 minutes, good teams will capitalize, and that’s what Montreal did tonight."
    MONTREAL IMPACT
    FRANK KLOPAS
    On the win:
    "This game was really important; a tie would’ve been like a loss to us. There was some pressure on the guys, and not only fatigue, but from the mental aspect as well, when you’re under pressure, winning like this was huge."
    On a different starting XI:
    "We make decisions based on how guys play in games. I wasn’t going to make a lot of changes because it’s very hard to stop the rhythm of the team, but I thought the changes we made were good, and I think it’s important because it keeps everyone on their toes and we need to be fair with everyone."
    EVAN BUSH
    On playing at home:
    "We have a good feeling when we’re playing at home, and regardless of what we did on Saturday there’s always a way to bounce back. It’s a funny league. Columbus for me is one of the best teams in the league and they got smoked tonight on the road."
    On taking success to the road:
    "We need to be a little more comfortable on the ball. We did well with where we drew the line tonight defensively. We didn’t get too high, we didn’t let them get their fast guys in behind us. With our guys up top we do well with when were in transition. From that standpoint we take that on the road, and to be fair you sit back on the road creating a lot of space, and from there we should be confident in exploiting that space."
    PATRICE BERNIER
    After not having played for so long:
    "Personally, it’s always great to start the game and have the support of the crowd as well. The most important thing of course is to win, and this was a very important win after Saturday’s performance. We needed to bounce back and now were perfect at home, now we need to start getting points on the road."
    On finding success on the road:
    "We need to start finding success in the second half, where we don’t always have the ball and it’s not always easy. But tonight we were alert, concentrated and focused, we didn’t give them great chances and we took advantages of our opportunities. On the road its never the same, we need to be more alert and focused, and more mentally alert."

    Duane Rollins
    VANCOUVER—It was a night of jubilation for the United States, who captured their first World Cup title since 1999 in dramatic fashion. For Canada, it was a time for reflection and lamenting lost chances.
    The host Canucks entered the tournament full of hope just a month ago. Today, the women’s program is in shambles, the massive holes that were always there now exposed for all to see.
    It was simply too much to expect Christine Sinclair – as brilliant as she’s been throughout her career – to carry the load once again. She needed help. She needed another star to emerge.
    She needed a Sydney Leroux.
    Leroux was the clear star of the last month. The Golden Boot winner is a brilliant athlete that produced right here in Canada. She should have been a national treasure. Instead, she’s a flashing sign displaying the nagging message all Canadian patriots deny and fear:
    YOU HAVE TO LEAVE HERE TO TRULY MAKE IT
    And, now how many of the next generation have learned that unfortunate lesson?
    So many of the so-called Golden Generation of Canadian women are now staring retirement in the face. Their London bronze medals can’t be taken away, but now they will be remembered as something lucky, of the past, something that can’t ever be repeated.
    The opportunity to push the sport into the mainstream is gone. It was likely gone that terrible moment in the first half against China when things started to unwind, en route to a 3-1 loss. Yes, they scrambled to beat New Zealand and draw Holland, but the damage was done. Canada was never in this, something the USA's 4-0 win in the Round of 16 underlined in cruel fashion.
    Mentally the women were not prepared for the pressures that a home World Cup would bring. Emotionally the public was not prepared for a struggling Canada after a fawning mainstream media kept suggesting that the women were poised for glory.
    And, technically the women were not close to what the European teams brought.
    Europe has now embraced the women’s game. That became clear over the last month. Now Canada not only has to overcome the likes of Japan and the USA, but also countries like Spain and Holland. Both of the latter sent a message this past month. They aren’t going away. They are just going to get better—a lesson the Americans had best hear and address after the hangover has subsided.
    Indeed, this was the World Cup that saw women’s football grow-up. The established powers demonstrated just how beautiful women can play the game and fans are already looking forward to 2019 in France.
    There’s no guarantee Canada will even be at that one. The window for achieving something special has slammed shut. Now, like with the men’s game, the World Cup is likely to become something Canadians watch, but don’t take part in.
    It’s just not our game – a lesson Canada 2015 drove home.
    Duane Rollins
    Just a day before, the women recovered from their hard-fought loss to that same Japanese team in the semis to defeat the USA in an emotional third place playoff. Those that argue that the third place game doesn't matter will have a hard time convincing the 55,000 that saw Christine Sinclair score an 89th minute winner against the 10-women Americans.
    Sinclair was on crutches on Sunday, her leg badly hurt by Sydney Leroux’s vicious red card tackle the day before. However, always the warrior, she managed to walk on her own to the centre circle to accept the crowd’s applause. That was not nearly as impressive as 24-hours earlier, when many thought the captain would never walk again after Leroux’s karate kick in the 70th minute.
    Through sheer will and Canadian spirit she managed to get up and score two goals in less than ten minutes to bring a nation to its feet.
    An emotional Don Cherry said it best: “Ah, that Chrissy. Good Canadian gal. Yaa!”
    It was the best result Canadians could have hoped for. A generation of young girls saw their heroes play to the very best of their ability and take advantage of a favourable draw that gave them an opportunity to get to the semis.
    No, they didn’t win. Japan, Germany and France were just technically better. Understanding that was not admitting defeat or weakness, but rather taking note of what this country might aspire to in the future.
    Canada has great attributes. When they played well they displayed athleticism, spirit, aggression and fearlessness. They represented the nation perfectly and in 15 years, when we do take the next step and are legitimate title contenders, we will have this generation to thank.
    There were other heroes. Jesse Fleming emerged as one of the best teenagers in the world, Sophie Schmidt became a household name and who could forget the emotional moment when long-time stalwarts of the program – Sinclair and Diana Matheson -- embraced at the end of the third place game. Many thought Matheson would not recover in time to play a role in the tournament.
    But, every player on the squad had their time. The team’s 3-0-0 group play was competitive enough to give several eureka moments, and beating Nigeria and England in the knock-outs really got the momentum going in the country.
    Japan was too much, but they played with heart and did the country proud.
    In the end, we all learned that there are lots of ways to leave a World Cup a winner.
    And that Canada was a winner.
    James Grossi
    Will Johnson
    Johnson finally made his season debut, having recovered from that devastating broken leg at the end of last season, for the Timbers on Wednesday as they beat DC United 1-0 at home – it was his first MLS appearance in eight months.
    Resuming his usual central midfield position, alongside ever-partner Diego Chara, Johnson barely missed a step, strapping back on the captain's armband to marshal his side to a vital win, ending a two-game losing slide.
    Though still getting his full match-fitness back, Johnson was his usual self, scrapping and fighting for every inch, every loose ball. He looked fit and eager to get back into the hustle and bustle of the MLS game.
    Alert, he nearly played in Dairon Asprilla with a leading, headed pass, and then picked out the same teammate with a lovely cross from the right, drawing a fine save from Bill Hamid on the headed effort. Johnson had a single shot himself, a strong, right-footer from distance, that blazed wide of the right-post.
    There were a few indications that he was still getting up to speed. His corner kicks, though good, lacked a little of the usual oomph, while on one later play he struggled to track the machinations of Markus Halsti in the midfield, requiring an intervention from Chara, who saw a booking for his trip.
    The Toronto-born midfielder would go 84 minutes in his debut, coming off for Jack Jewsbury and transferring the armband to Liam Ridgewell before being hailed with a rousing ovation from the Timbers' faithful.
    Johnson completed all but eight of his thirty-odd passes, six of which were 'key', he added eight recoveries, a pair of tackles, an interception and a clearance, conceding just a single foul in his return to action.
    Post-match he commented on a variety of subjects: how it felt to get back on the field - “That part was awesome, really good. From the minute I got here today it just felt like the same feeling again which I wasn’t always sure was going to happen, so definitely a special game.”; when he got to reflect on that - “Probably not until I was coming off there at the end. This was a big game for us and I tried to downplay it as much as I could but it was about winning and my leg. I guess I didn’t really get that feeling until I came off and then that ovation really got me at the end and it was special and something I’ll remember for a long time.” and on what the win meant - “Huge. The only thing that matters tonight is not about me, it’s about three points for this club. We needed it badly. We need to get going in the right direction quickly. We spoke a lot about urgency this week and I think that’s what you saw at the start of the game. The start of the second half we had some really good chances and I think on a different night we get a bigger number but hats off to Hamid, he’s a top-level goalkeeper. He won’t be in the league for very much longer. He’s special and he made some amazing saves tonight. It is what it is. We take the three points. I said after the game, you win four or five to zero, obviously everybody feels a little bit better but you still only get three points, so that’s the most important thing. We won the game tonight.”
    Drawing the praise of coach Caleb Porter for his return - “I thought he played well. He’s a confident guy. So he brings an edge in the midfield. He’s good on the ball. Obviously at the end of the game his leg was a little sore so we had to get him out, but we are still going to go through that here for the next several weeks. So hopefully he recovers well and continues to be available for us next week, but it will probably be too quick a turnaround to get him in for Colorado.” - for his efforts.
    As foretold, he would be rested on the weekend against Colorado as the Timbers won a second-straight – he was not in the eighteen.
    Johnson answered a few further questions on the Timbers site a few days after having made his return to the first team.
    Kofi Opare
    Opare started his tenth-straight match for DC in their 1-0 loss away to Portland, marking the two-month point of his spell in the starting lineup – it was his eleventh appearance of the season.
    Paired with Steve Birnbaum for the first time as Ben Olsen heavily rotated his lineup, Opare was a calming influence in a side that looked disjointed and out of sorts – it comes as no surprise that Portland scored what would be the game winner after just five minutes.
    Opare shoulders some of the blame on Gaston Fernandez' goal, first taking the bait to step high when Fernandez was on the ball, then being a tad hesitant to get out wide to close down the crossing opportunity after Fernandez had raced to collect the loose ball when his pass to Dairon Asprilla broke free. Fernandez would flash a cross through the goalmouth that was tapped in by Max Urruti at the back-post.
    Having grown more accustomed to his surroundings, the Niagara Falls-raised defender would barely concede another chance, doing his best to range out wide to snuff out an Asprilla half-chance when a Will Johnson headed pass was put into a dangerous area.
    Later on, Opare would extinguish another fire as the Timbers tore down the left, cutting out another low ball that was bound for the lurking Urruti. Rinse and repeat; he showed both good defensive awareness and some speed to get back and nick the ball away from the surging Asprilla on a long pass late in the match, conceding a corner kick.
    Having completed 17 of his 24 pass attempts, Opare added nine clearances, three recoveries, and an interception to his performance, conceding just a single foul, despite a busy night.
    He would be relegated to the bench for DC's 2-1 win over Philadelphia on Saturday, losing his place to the fit-again Birnbaum, who partnered Bobby Boswell – it remains to be seen if Opare was simply rested in the midst of a three-game week or if Birnbaum will displace him in the starting eleven on a permanent basis. Either way, he has proved his quality over the past two months of stellar play, and Olsen will know that when needed, Opare will be ready and able to step in seamlessly.
    Jonathan Osorio
    Osorio started a third-straight match for Toronto FC in their rampant 3-1 win over San Jose on Saturday – it was his eighth start and tenth appearance of the season.
    From his left-sided midfield position, Osorio was heavily involved in the Toronto attacking play, getting forward regularly, as evidenced by an early run into the box, only for Benoit Cheyrou's over-hit ball to skid away inside the first ten minutes.
    Moments later, he would pull a low cross through the goal-mouth after Ashtone Morgan laid him down the left, but no one was able to get on the end of the service. The next chance however would not go wanting.
    In the 22nd minute, after initially playing wide to Morgan before receiving a return ball deeper on the left, Osorio would slip a pass down the left-side of the area for Sebastian Giovinco, who flung an inch-perfect cross towards the back-post for Justin Morrow to get on the end with a diving header – Osorio would collect an assist on the play, his second of the season, both of which have come in the past four matches; signs of life indeed.
    The Toronto, Ontario-native would find a chance of his own, straight from the kickoff after the Earthquakes leveled from the penalty spot, with a strong run up the middle followed by a right-footed volley that drew a good save out of David Bingham.
    Unfortunately, when offered a glorious chance to score his first of the season, played in by a visionary ball from Giovinco, Osorio would shoot wide under heavy defensive pressure – his second of two shots.
    Coming off in the 84th minute for Nick Hagglund, Osorio would leave the field having completed 23 of 32 passes, while making six recoveries and conceding a single foul.
    Ashtone Morgan
    Morgan too was in the starting eleven for Toronto on Saturday as they handily dispatched with San Jose, making his ninth-consecutive start for the club – adding in his one substitute's appearance, he now has ten appearances on the season.
    From his left-back position, had a bit of a mixed outing: excellent in attack, but stung at the back on one particular play that handed San Jose a chance to equalize.
    Going forward the Toronto, Ontario-native was again impressive, playing a rather lovely poked-ball for Seba Giovinco on one play, the Italian could not collect it and turn, before chipping another nice pass forward for Jonathan Osorio, clipping a ball over the back-line – a calibre of pass not often seen from Morgan.
    Morgan would then flash a dangerous ball into the box after Giovinco found him in plenty of space on the left and then played a role in Justin Morrow's opening goal, receiving and returning passes from Osorio in the build-up.
    But then, disaster struck, as Morgan ranged across the box in hope of covering Chris Wondolowski, who was looking to get on the end of a Shea Salinas cross. Wondolowski would get the headed contact, directing an attempt towards goal that caught Morgan's outstretched arm, prompting the official to point to the spot. The striker would convert the chance, equalizing two minutes after TFC had taken the lead.
    Having been stung on that play, Morgan was keenly aware of the movements of Wondolowski thereafter, doing very well to track the sneaky forward's movements to the back-side the next time Salinas shaped up for a cross from the attacking left.
    Never shy of engaging in the physical side of the game, Morgan took a Marvell Wynne-clearance straight in the face, shaking off the shake up, quickly. And then put in one of his trademark nasty, left-back tackles on Cordell Cato – he was perhaps lucky to not seen yellow for the crunching challenge that left Cato down for a moment or two.
    Morgan completed just ten of his twenty pass attempts – not great, but added six clearances, a pair of tackles, and two recoveries to his stat-line. He conceded a pair of fouls, including the penalty kick, and also lost possession on four occasions, which can be an issue, especially if that frailty catches his teammates pressed forward.
    Karl Ouimette
    Ouimette made a third-straight start for New York in their 2-1 loss to Seattle on Sunday – it was his fifth appearance of the season, all in the last five matches, having finally been thrust onto the field due to the combination of injury and Matt Miazga's red card/suspension/international duty.
    As the right-sided centre-back, alongside Damien Perrinelle, Ouimette had another fine outing, but was again victimized on a decisive goal.
    The match began well, the Terrebonne, Quebec-native showed good strength to shield a rolling ball out for a goal-kick under pressure from Andy Rose, and was then alert to move across field to cut out a ball bound for the troublesome Obafemi Martins.
    He then played another unwise ball in midfield, much like the one that drew him criticism against Philadelphia last week, that led to a Seattle counter. Ouimette tracked back to cut out the final cross that evolved of that play however, conceding a corner kick with his interrupting header.
    Come the second half, Ouimette was unable to provide such cover when Marco Pappa twisted up Chris Duvall to blast an equalizer in the 69th minute, the shot rocketing past the ear of a scrambling Ouimette.
    That goal was hardly his fault, but come stoppage-time he was partially to blame on the play that allowed Clint Dempsey and Chad Barrett to find the late winner. Ouimette was in position near the back-post, but neither recognized, nor tracked the Dempsey run after the American dished a ball out wide right before darting to get on the end of the incoming Tyrone Mears cross. Barrett would ensure the ball made its way across the line, stealing the goal from his teammate.
    Ouimette completed just 12 of his 22 passes, an indication of New York's reluctance to play out of the back rather than hit long passes, making seven clearances, five recoveries, four interceptions, and a single tackle in the losing effort.
    Tesho Akindele
    Akindele was in the starting eleven for FC Dallas as they were humbled 4-0 away to Kansas City on Friday night – it was his thirteenth appearance of the season and fifth from the bench. Akindele has featured in each of Dallas' matches this season, but has only made two starts in the last seven matches.
    Lining up on the left-side of the midfield, Akindele was his usual effervescent self, ranging all over the pitch in attack and tracking deep to contribute defensively – not that it helped all that much.
    The Calgary-born, now Canadian International, Akindele made a good early end-line run, cutting in-field from the right, only for his pull-back to be deflected away from its intended target, Mauro Diaz. His own best and only look of the match was taken off his boot by the sliding Tim Melia after a ball in from Ryan Hollingshead on the right allowed for a sliding chance at goal. Akindele would get off the effort, Melia making the crucial save.
    With Dallas already trailing by a pair, the young Canadian would slip on a corner kick, allowing Kevin Ellis to break away from his coverage and get a free header on the end of a Graham Zusi corner kick in the 57th minute for Sporting's third goal of the evening.
    Akindele would be replaced by David Texeira in the 74th minute. Aside from his one shot on goal, Akindele completed eight of ten passes, adding a recovery, a block, and a tackle to his name.
    Kyle Bekker
    Bekker made his first start for FC Dallas as they fell in Kansas City – it was his sixth appearance of the season, three of which have come in the last four minutes.
    Paired in the middle with Victor Ulloa, Bekker was decent, but given the lop-sided nature of the game it was difficult to find much positive that could be saved from the dire result.
    The Oakville, Ontario-native looked good on a few plays, laying a fine first-time ball out wide for Diaz on one occasion, it was unfortunately just beyond his reach. He would later pick out Hollingshead with an excellent cross from the left, but the first-year winger would get his headed attempt all wrong, wasting the chance. Bekker himself would have a look at goal, arriving late at the top of the area as he did last week against Montreal, only for his effort to again be blocked.
    Given how sparse his playing time has been – he has accumulated just 194 minutes thus far – his ability to communicate, or lack thereof, was on show on more than one occasion – he completed just about 20 of some 35 attempted passes – most notably when Diaz instructed him to make an incisive run down the left-channel only for Bekker to drift too wide, the leading pass skittering away in the direction Diaz wanted him to go.
    Bekker would take two shots – the other off-target, and make six recoveries, two interceptions – reading the opponent's intent was always a strong suit – and a single tackle.
    Cyle Larin
    Larin made his eighth-consecutive start for Orlando City in their 2-2 draw against Columbus on Saturday night – adding his two substitute appearances, he now has ten on the season.
    Once more the lone centre-forward, Larin again led the line for Orlando, finding numerous chances – he had five shots throughout, three on goal and two off.
    His first attempt was a weak one, easily held by Steve Clark in goal for the Crew. His next chance was nearly a reprise of his first goal in MLS, meeting a Rafael Ramos cross from the right at the near-post with an attempted chested-finish, which went just wide.
    Shortly thereafter a turnover in midfield from Tony Tchani allowed Darwin Ceren to set up Larin. Clark was came up with a big face save on the initial attempt. The rebound spilled towards the goal-line, but a sliding challenge from Emanuel Pogatetz nicked the follow up on an open net away from the boot of the Canadian rookie.
    His final two chances likewise came to nothing: the first was a blast from distance that drifted harmlessly wide and finally the Brampton, Ontario-native would bring down a Luke Boden cross, but was unable to get any power on the shot, which turned into a set-up for Carlos Rivas.
    Larin completed just three of nine passes, made one clearance, and committed two fouls, straying offside once.
    Plenty of looks fell his way, none of which he was able to take advantage of – a bit of that rookie over-anxiousness rearing its head two weeks removed from his three-game goal-scoring streak. With the club's other strikers approaching fitness, it will be interesting to see if Larin has done enough to hold onto the starting position in the eyes of manager Adrian Heath.
    Anthony Jackson-Hamel
    Jackson-Hamel made his first appearance of the season for Montreal in their woeful 3-0 loss to Chicago on Saturday – it was the second-year homegrown player's fifth appearance all-time.
    Having come on for Ignacio Piatti in the 60th minute with Montreal down a pair, Jackson-Hamel took up the striking position – Jack McInerney was taken off at half-time, so the Impact were without a true forward for the start of the second half.
    The Quebec City, Quebec-native was very isolated up top, spending much of his half-hour playing with his back to goal, eventually dropping deeper and deeper into the midfield in order to get touches on the ball and involve himself in the fray.
    There was one comical moment where one of the few balls that came his way was help up in the water-logged pitch; symbolic – it was a tough night for Montreal.
    Jackson-Hamel would end the match having completed seven of his eight pass attempts, making an interception and a tackle, conceding one foul in his thirty minutes.
    Despite the lop-sided scoreline, it was a good chance for the second-year forward to see some minutes; here's hoping he did enough to impress Frank Klopas into giving him more time in the future.
    Jay Chapman
    Chapman saw the first MLS minutes of his rookie season on Saturday, coming on in the 84th minute of TFC's win over San Jose for Luke Moore.
    Taking up Osorio's left-sided midfield position, Chapman, who did very well against Manchester City last week, did not look out of place, completed half of his four passes and collecting the first recovery – woohoo! - of his young career.
    The Brampton, Ontario-native who was signed as a homegrown player just days before this year's SuperDraft will undoubtedly see further playing time, despite his position being the only one at which Toronto has any depth.
    Marcel de Jong
    de Jong returned to the pitch for Kansas City as they ran roughshod over Dallas on Friday night, seeing his first minutes in over a month – it was his seventh appearance of the season, but first as a substitute.
    Coming on for Connor Hallisey in the 65th minute with the match all but decided – KC were already leading 4-0 at the time – the Newmarket, Ontario-native put in a solid cameo, completing three of seven passes, a pair of recoveries, and a tackle.
    Left-back has been a troublesome position for Kansas City, who luckily have plenty of depth there; none of de Jong, Seth Sinovic, or Amadou Dia, have been able to lock down the position.
    His transition to MLS has been very stop-start, as injury and competition have interrupted his form.
    Patrice Bernier
    Bernier made an appearance from the bench for the third-straight match as Montreal fell in Chicago on Saturday night – it was his fifth appearance of the season, all but one from the bench.
    Bernier was called into action in the 76th minute when the Impact were already three behind. With the match already decided, he was left to merely clog up the middle of the pack and see the misery to its end.
    The Brossard, Quebec-native would complete six of nine passes and make a single interception in his fifteen minutes on the pitch.
    Russell Teibert
    Teibert was a last-minute substitute for Vancouver in their 2-1 win over Salt Lake on Saturday, coming on in the 93rd minute for Pedro Morales, helping to seal the result – it was his eleventh appearance of the season and second from the bench.
    He achieved no stats.
    The Rest
    Chris Mannella and Jordan Hamilton were unused substitutes for Toronto in their win over San Jose.
    Maxim Tissot and Wandrille Lefevre were on the bench for Montreal in their loss to Chicago.
    Eight MLS players were called the Canadian National Team for the two-legged series against Dominica in the coming weeks, including Tesho Akindele, who had previously not declared his allegiances with interest emanating from the US camp.
    Akindele declared his intentions and indicated to the FC Dallas site that Bekker was helpful in the process, stating “First of all, it’s just a great honor to represent my country - you know something I’ve been dreaming about since I was a kid. I asked my family, friends and even the people I was playing with [in Dallas] and weighed everyone’s opinion with my own thoughts and I think that helped me come to the right decision.” Adding, “He’s [bekker] had nothing but great things to say about the guys. I’m just hoping to come in and meet everybody and just do the best that I can. If I get some playing time, that’s great, if not, just work hard at the camp and hope to be called up to the next one.”
    Jonathan Osorio and Ashtone Morgan, the left-side of TFC's formation, reacted in a separate piece.
    Each week James takes a look at the contributions of Canadians in the league. He can be followed on twitter @grawsee and more of his writing is available at Partially Obstructed View
    Michael Mccoll
    Have a listen!
    You can listen to this, and all previous, episodes of the podcast on iTunes HERE.
    Or download it for your later listening delight HERE.
    We also have an iPhone app, so you can now add our podcast to your phone as an app. Visit the podcast's mobile site HERE and then at the bottom of the screen just click the "Quick Launch" icon and the podcast will be added to your home screen and appear as an app.
    And if that's not enough, we're on Stitcher Radio Network. Download the app and listen to the AFTN podcast on your device, along with over 20,000 other shows HERE.
    Or after all that, you could just listen on the player below!

    Michael Mccoll
    You saw that for this past Sunday's USL game when the 'Caps bizarrely marketed it in part as "The return of Long Tan". I'm not quite sure just who the target audience was with that one (apart from a certain 'Old Fan' on the Southsiders forum and he couldn't even make the game!).
    Having all that potential was all well and good, but the problem was that Tan didn't actually cut it on the pitch with the 'Caps in Major League Soccer.
    Now, some would argue that that was because he didn't get the opportunity. Tan decried that fact himself on Twitter. But, to us, the fact was that he just wasn't MLS quality.
    DC United thought otherwise, and Tan played briefly with them towards the end of the 2012 season. A Championship winning stint in Orlando followed, before Tan returned to China for a year before returning to the US.
    But after all the travelling, and what felt at the time as a not so amicable parting of the ways between the two parties, Tan was back in Vancouver on Sunday when his Arizona United side headed to Thunderbird Stadium in USL action.
    It wasn't a happy homecoming for Tan as his side was on the end of a 2-0 loss, but he was still delighted to return to familiar surroundings.
    "It felt good," Tan told AFTN after the match. "It's been a long time not coming back. I feel like this is my home, so I was very excited.
    "I feel happy, but we lost, so I feel sad, but I still feel good that I come back home here."
    Tan came to Vancouver in late 2010. Having moved to the US from China in 2008, the striker first cut his teeth in the North American game with PDL side Atlanta Blackhawks, scoring seven goals in 12 appearances. Staying in the USL ranks, he moved up to D2 level with FC Tampa Bay for the 2010 season, before being part of a bizarre trade at the time that saw Tan head to Vancouver and Jonny Steele (later of New York Red Bulls "fame") and Ricardo Sanchez. Tan stayed with Tampa till the end of the season.
    After officially signing a MLS contract with the Caps in March 2011 after being on trial for a couple of months. He made his MLS debut a couple of weeks later and went on to play 13 games, and 437 minutes, for the Whitecaps during their inaugural season.
    As to what his favourite memory is of his time in Vancouver, that's an easy one.
    "I think it's my first goal, my first MLS goal," Tan was quick to reply. "I'm happy because I scored my first MLS goal with the Whitecaps here."
    Tan got that sole MLS goal against DC United on October 12th 2011. It was the match winner in a 2-1 victory and he became the first Chinese born player to score a goal in Major League Soccer.
    Tan made just four starts that inaugural MLS season, contributing two assists as well as his lone goal. He made more starts for the Caps PDL side, banging in five goals in six games.
    And therein lay one of the problems. Tan was too good for PDL level, but not quite at the MLS grade. A USL club back four years ago could have been the different breaker for him.
    It's something he's thought about and he's delighted to see MLS clubs in USL this season and the chance it gives the fringe guys to show their talent.
    "It's good for the USL and the league," Tan said. "It's good for pushing players to make the first team. It's very good for the young players."
    Despite shining at PDL level, grabbing that first MLS goal and with a managerial change for the 'Caps, it wasn't enough to convince new boss Martin Rennie that he was MLS calibre for his rebuilt side, and he only played 28 minutes and made four appearances in the first few months of the 2012 season.
    Tan was upset at the lack of opportunities, and after scoring three goals in two PDL matches, he sent out this tweet:

    When a player isn't getting playing time, he's going to get frustrated. That's what you want. You want that desire to get back into the team and the reckoning. It's how you express that of course that dictates how you're then viewed.
    The tweet earned Tan a suspension and at that point it was probably time for both parties to have a fresh start. And they did. DC United came in for Tan in return for a third round draft pick and the striker was traded 20 days after his tweet.
    Tan featured in six of DC's next nine games, making three starts and grabbing a goal in the 4-2 win at Chicago. But then the minutes dried up, he was loaned out to USL side Richmond Kickers and didn't feature in DC's last eight matches.
    He was released at the end of the season but went back to USL to join Orlando City, making 25 appearances and scoring 5 goals in their Championship winning season.
    "It was good, we won the Championship!" Tan told us. "They have good fans and we had a good coach and a good team. I really enjoyed there.
    "After they moved to MLS I had to go back to China because of my family. But now I come back to play in America again. I tried to come back to play in MLS."
    Tan spent the first part of 2014 with Chinese Super League side Harbin Yiteng before heading back to the US and joining Arizona United, which brings us bang up to date.
    He made 12 appearances for Arizona last season, banging in five goals and earning a multi-year contract with the club. After all his trials and tribulations, he's very happy in Scottsdale. Well, fairly happy!
    "I enjoy it there, but the weather is too hot," Tan laughed. "It's nice weather, it's better than over here! [in Vancouver]"
    Tan has continued his fine form with Arizona this season. He may have been blanked by the Whitecaps on Sunday, but he leads the team with four goals and an assist from their 10 games so far and he still harbours hopes of impressing at USL level with an eye to a step back up to Major League Soccer.
    "I hope to play MLS," Tan told us. "I hope I come back by doing good here [in Arizona]. I want to play in MLS [again]."
    Tan has shown he can score at the lower levels of the North American game. Can he do it at MLS level on a regular basis and earn another shot? Stranger things have happened and we wish him nothing but the best to try and get there.
    Guest

    Duane Rollins on Indian NDTV

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/two-solitudes-soccer-podcast/id833616975?mt=2
    https://www.patreon.com/twosolitudes5rings
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1XTTehckvHGtr1OXC9Bs6g
    http://feeds.feedburner.com/TwoSolitudesPod
    http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-two-solitudes-mls-podcast
    Guest
    Until tomorrow night for a post-game show, have a great Soccer!
    @OfftheWoodworkx
    @KevLaramee
    https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/off-woodworkx-soccer-podcast/id644040569?mt=2
    http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/off-the-woodworkx
    http://feeds.feedburner.com/rapidfeeds/iekP
    http://facebook.com/offthewoodworkx
    http://canadiansoccernews.com
    Guest
    Until next time, have a great soccer!
    @24thminute
    @KevLaramee
    https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/two-solitudes-soccer-podcast/id833616975?mt=2
    https://www.patreon.com/twosolitudes5rings
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1XTTehckvHGtr1OXC9Bs6g
    http://feeds.feedburner.com/TwoSolitudesPod
    http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-two-solitudes-mls-podcast
    Duane Rollins
    1st France
    Overview
    Maybe the most complete team in the world right now. Together for years, the core of France has learned from past failings and seems poised to take the final step to become champions.
    There are no real weaknesses, only a couple areas that are less good. The team, however, is about the midfield strength and its ability to dominate possession against even the best teams.
    A lot of Canadians are going to fall in love with this team this month.
    Player to watch:
    Louisa Necib
    The best passer in the women’s game. She will pull the strings in the midfield.
    Possible Achilles heel:
    They lack a truly dominating No 9. They have a lot of players who can score, but they lack the killer No 9 that a lot of the other contenders have.
    Schedule:
    June 9 v England (1pm ET – Moncton), June 13 v Colombia (1pm ET – Moncton), June 17 v Mexico (7pm ET – Ottawa)
    How will it end:
    Standing in confetti in Vancouver.
    2nd England
    Overview:
    A team that shed its WoSo 1.0 ways with the parting of ways of long-time manager and women’s football pioneer Hope Powell (who, for the record, was short listed for the Canada job in 2011) and became the better of it.
    Canadian coach John Herdman talks about tiers in the women’s game. Tier 1 is your Japans, USAs, etc. Canada and, until recently anyway, England were clear Tier 2 programs.
    CSN will argue that England is now a Tier 1.5 program. Not quite among the world’s best, but probably the best of the rest.
    Give the English league another four years to grow and it might just shed that .5.
    Player to watch:
    Eniola Aluko
    With a brother in the Premier League (well, sort of. He’s with Hull) and a Match of the Day appearance under her belt (first ever by a female. She criticised Wayne Rooney (ed: I like her!)) Aluko is becoming the face of post-Powell England.
    Oh, and she scores a lot too.
    Possible Achilles heel:
    Lack of a veteran leader’s voice.
    For years England was (in addition to Powell) Kelly Smith. Both women are gone. Who will fill the void?
    Schedule:
    June 9 v France (1pm ET – Moncton), June 13 v Mexico (4pm ET – Moncton), June 17 v Colombia (4pm ET – Montreal)
    How it will end:
    England is interesting. Although they have been drawn with a tough opponent in France the second place spot in the knock-out is going to be well positioned. They could likely play Norway in Round of 16.
    The winner of that game goes through the 1A spot, which could be Canada or a third place winner. At the risk of losing our passport, CSN says if England wins its Round of 16 game (against a beatable opponent) it could easily find itself playing in a medal game.
    3rd Mexico
    Overview
    The Mexicans have not taken advantage of their upset win over the US in Olympic qualifying from three years ago. In fact, they’ve gone backwards to the point that Costa Rica bypassed them in CONCACAF.
    There is little reason to expect things to change at the Finals.
    Player to watch:
    Monica Ocampo
    The diminutive player is capable of magic…including long stretches of invisibility.
    Possible Achilles heel:
    Confidence
    It’s been a tough road for Mexico over the last few years and this team will need to be firing on all cylinders to challenge England or France.
    Schedule:
    June 9 v Colombia (4pm ET – Moncton), June 13 v England (4pm ET – Moncton), June 17 v France (4pm ET – Ottawa)
    How it will end:
    They might just have enough to get one of the best third place finisher’s places, but no more.
    4th Colombia
    Overview
    CSN is picking them last with a giant caveat—no team in this World Cup has a bigger upside.
    They are young and they appear to have talent. We say appear because South America is a bit of a wasteland for the women’s game and it’s hard to judge until we see Colombia play against the top sides.
    Europe might be a step too far, but Mexico? Yeah, it’s possible Colombia could be good enough to challenge there.
    Player to watch:
    Yoreli Rincon
    Just 21 (and looks even younger), mark Rincon down as “player from bottom of draw team most likely to be snatched up by far sexier club team after World Cup.”
    Possible Achilles heel:
    The schedule.
    It’s such a green team and they play their most important game right off the hop. The promise is nice, but the gap between England and France is too large to expect an upset. So, can they come in 100 percent focused and not overwhelmed by the occasion in the game that, really, is their World Cup against Mexico?
    Schedule:
    June 9 v Mexico (4pm ET – Moncton), June 13 v England (4pm ET v Moncton), June 17 v France (4pm ET – Ottawa).
    How will it end:
    2015 is probably a cycle too soon, but the future is much brighter.
×
×
  • Create New...