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    Guest
    Good Monday, everyone. Actually, great Monday. Not only could our women’s national team win continental glory later tonight, but right now, you can have a listen to the latest episode of Some Canadian Guys Talking About Soccer.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    On this show, we talk about the CanWNT’s journey to next year’s Women’s World Cup, we evaluate how much of a disaster the MLS Cup in Toronto is going to be, we muse needlessly about the future of Toronto FC’s front office… and in the most preposterous edition of Promotion/Relegation Roundup yet, we run the gamut from Hoobastank’s discography to Grant’s burgeoning horse-breeding business.
    Listen to Episode #26, and subscribe to the show on iTunes!
    Guest

    Today’s the day for Big Red

    By Guest, in Some Canadian Guys,

    There’s a very good chance that by the end of tonight, we’ll be able to write “Canada has qualified for the World Cup“, and have it be accurate.
    And that feels pretty damned good.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Sure, qualifying for the Women’s World Cup is a bit of a “gimme” for our ladies, considering that aside from the powerhouse Americans, there aren’t really any other sides in CONCACAF that are at our level. But we can’t allow results like an 8-0 thrashing of Guyana to let us get complacent as Canadian soccer supporters.
    The team, under Carolina Morace, has a reasonable chance of making some real noise at next year’s tournament in Germany, which would hopefully have great benefits (in terms of exposure and coverage) not just for the senior women’s program, but for the sport in general on these shores.
    Christine Sinclair is, indisputably, one of the best female players on the planet, and her head-and-shoulders dominance over most other players on the field is fairly obvious on most nights. But this team’s success going forward will rely not just on its depth, and on its players’ willingness to buy into Morace’s possession-oriented system.
    I’d say the latter is pretty well covered, based on the very entertaining style they’ve employed over the past 18 months. And as for depth, Sinclair isn’t the team’s only threat. Melissa Tancredi is a solid stalwart on the front line, while Kara Lang has, happily, enjoyed a resurgence after recovering from a major knee injury. Twenty-year-old Jonelle Filigno (who, like Lang, made her presence known on the senior team as a teenager) has shown plenty of value in this tournament, with a strong work rate and some incisive passing, and my eyes popped when I saw the perfect cross by Josee Belanger to set up Filigno’s goal against Mexico earlier this week.
    Another key change under Morace has been allowing veteran midfielder Diana Matheson to play more of a creative role, opening up opportunities for her teammates (though Matheson was the one who potted the goal that won the Cyprus Cup earlier this year).
    Anyway, before I descend into providing mini-biographies of the entire roster, my point is this…
    Yes, I’m looking past tonight’s match. Realistically, a win by Costa Rica would be utterly shocking, but is so statistically unlikely that I’m not even going to fathom the possibility. (Am I overdoing it? Sorry, as a Canadian soccer fan, I’m unaccustomed to this “having confidence in your team’s superiority over the opponent” thing). Edit: If there’s an American fan who wrote a similar post yesterday, they surely are kicking themselves right now.
    But even if the road to qualification hasn’t been the toughest, the victory (presuming it comes, in a few hours’ time), should be savoured. The FIFA Women’s World Cup is a global soccer tournament at which Canada will be represented — not as a token participant, or as a sad-sack underdog, but as a squad with a legitimate shot at significant success.
    From what I’ve seen of the team on the field, and from speaking to some of the players about the team’s new direction under Morace, I’m honesty quite confident in saying that Big Red will turn some heads at next year’s tournament.
    So let’s relish tonight’s victory (even though, as I’m writing it hasn’t happened yet — but screw it, I’m gonna be presumptuous and you can’t stop me).
    Because really, how often does one get to express the sentiment that Canada has qualified for the World Cup?
    - Daniel Squizzato
    Guest
    Everything seemed pretty easy for Canada’s women’s national team in the first two matches of the group-stage round of qualifiying for the 2011 Women’s World Cup in Germany: an 8-0 destruction of Guyana followed a 1-0 scoreline against Trinidad and Tobago that belied Canada’s dominance. The real threat, we were led to expect, was to come against the host Mexican side. Three goals to nil later, Canada is through to the semifinals with a perfect record – not to mention 12 goals for and none against.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The loss will be hard on Mexico’s 16-year-old keeper (sixteen!) Cecilia Santiago, who was at fault for the first two goals (especially the second – yikes!), potted by Canadace Chapman and Josee Belanger, respectively. Jonelle Filigno nabbed the icing on the cake with her third of the tournament, heading in a cross from Belanger.
    <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6FU2RJEfiA?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6FU2RJEfiA?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
    Canada’s impressive stats at this tournament are bettered only by the Americans – by far the most rated team in CONCACAF. Carolina Morace’s Canadian team, however, won’t bemoan their second-best stats, though – they’ll celebrate the fact that that their record puts them top of their group, and let’s them avoid the Americans in the semi-finals. With the top two teams in the tournament winning a place at the 2011 Women’s World Cup, Big Red can breathe a sigh of relief that their road to Germany isn’t blocked by the world’s No. 1, who battered Canada 5-0 at BMO Field in the latest encounter between the rivals. Not to say they’d do it again, but, y’know, we’re all happy that our qualification doesn’t demand knocking the best team in the world out of the tournament in the semifinals.
    Instead, Canada will face Costa Rica, who fell 4-0 to the Americans, while beating Guatemala and Haiti. The task of toppling the U.S. now falls to Mexico. Good luck ladies. A loss wouldn’t mean the end of World Cup hopes for Mexico, though – they’ll play Costa Rica (once Canada beats them, that is…knock on wood, etc.) for the right to play Italy in a qualification playoff.
    Watch Canada’s semifinal destruction of Costa Rica live on CBC.ca and CBC Bold at 7 p.m. est (6:30 p.m. pst).
    - Jamie Doyle
    Guest
    Welcome to another edition of Long Balls: Canadians Abroad. It’s a service for those without time to wade through multi-page forum threads to keep tabs on Canadian footballers. We won’t list all of the Canadians abroad, just the weekly performances we feel are most relevant to our readers. Or in the case of Isidro Sanchez, relevant to no one.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    I haven’t been rolling the Long Balls for very long, and already this is the second weekend where the most notable performance is a goal by Tomasz Radzinski. The 36-year-old striker scored for Lierse in a 2-2 draw with Eupen to bring his season’s tally to… well it brings it to two. I don’t know how two goals in the Belgian top flight compares to Josh Simpson’s six goals in the Turkish Super Lig (well actually I do, it compares poorly), to Olivier Occean’s nine goals in 3. Liga or Simeon Jackson’s four goals in the Championship, but would it be absolutely bat**** insane to sweet talk Radzinski out of international retirement? Please tell me that it would be.
    Championship
    Simeon Jackson subbed off in the 62nd minute for Norwich City in a 3-1 loss to Cardiff. Iain Hume played 90 for Preston; elsewhere, Jamie Peters didn’t get off the bench and David Edgar didn’t even make the squad.
    Ligue 2 (France)
    Yet again, Haidar Al Shaibani didn’t play for Nimes.
    Turkey
    Mike Klukowski played 90 minutes for Ankara in a draw; Josh Simpson played 90 minutes for Manisaspor in a 2-0 loss to Genclerbirligi, but considering his heroics of late, that kind of feels ordinary.
    Spain
    The choice of Radzinski as the “brightest” spot of the weekend was a simple tip of the hat to his past glories for Les Rouges. But by far the best performance by a Canadian footballer outside (or inside) Canada this weekend goes to Jonathan de Guzman. He helped Mallorca to a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Levante and in the process was named Marca’s “man of the match” or some kind of equivalent: He was the best player on the pitch. He made precise passes to his teammates and took advantage when they slipped their markers to overcome the Levante defence.
    As noted here, these kind of performances are happening regularly. I have no idea how this will play out or where Canada fits into any of it, but I harbour a nagging, completely uninformed hunch that for once, things may go to the good.
    - Grant
    Guest

    Big Red comes up big on Halloween

    By Guest, in Some Canadian Guys,

    Well, that was nice.
    After leaving us a bit on edge by only defeating Trinidad & Tobago 1-0 (Melissa Tancredi’s two disallowed legit goals notwithstanding), the Canadian women’s team came out in full force tonight, hammering the minnows from Guyana 8-0. Captain Christine Sinclair potted four goals, bringing her career total to, I think, six thousand and forty-three (give or take a few) — though that good news was tempered by rumblings (credit to Beau Dure) that her club team, Gold Pride FC, may fold as early as Monday. Hell, it may have already happened by the time you’re reading this.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    But ignoring the negatives for a moment (because they’ll preoccupy every other waking thought of mine), suffice to say the ladies played well tonight (yeah, an eight-goal margin of victory would suggest as much), though it’s difficult to effectively evaluate their play when the level of opposition was so low. Both Kara Lang and Jonelle Filigno did well pressuring the Guyanese defenders, often forcing them into poor decisions (and both were rewarded with goals, for their efforts).
    The big game is Tuesday against Mexico, to decide the winner of Group A. Since T&T held the Mexicans to 2-0 tonight, Canada has the upper hand. A draw would clinch the group, and (most likely) line Canada up against Costa Rica in the semi-finals, rather than the #1-ranked Americans.
    Maribel Dominguez looks to be the Mexicans’ most dangerous offensive threat, a statement I’m basing solely on having seen her thread some terrific passes into her teammates against T&T tonight.The Canadian defence, who’ve had the luxury of sleepwalking through the first two games, will definitely need to ratchet themselves into first gear in time for the showdown against the host nation.
    Canada’s match against Mexico, like the rest of them, will be on CBC Bold and CBCsports.ca, Tuesday at 6:30 PST/9:30 EST/11:00 NST.
    - Daniel Squizzato
    Guest
    As you may have heard on It’s Called Football yesterday, former Canada captain Jason de Vos has been named technical director at the Oakville Soccer Club, a youth club with over 10,000 registered players. Considering that Jason is one of this country’s few legitimate soccer heroes (he scored the goal that won us the Gold Cup, after all), I can’t overstate how great it is to know he’ll be using his talents and experience to help develop the next generation of players in this country. On behalf of Some Canadian Guys, I want to wish Jason all the best in his new role, and hope that the example he sets will be followed by many.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    In more good news, our women’s national team opened their World Cup qualifying campaign on Friday night with a 1-0 win against Trinidad & Tobago, currently helmed by former long-time Canada coach Even Pellerud. Melissa Tancredi could have had a hat trick, though two of her goals were called back on dicey offside decisions. The next game for Big Red is Sunday at 4 p.m. PST/7 p.m. EST/8:30 NST, streaming live at CBCSports.ca. The girls are playing some attractive footie under new head coach Carolina Morace, and definitely deserve our support in their quest to qualify for next summer’s World Cup in Germany.
    And because I’m feeling generous — and because it’s strange for someone on the other side of the pond to write about Canadian soccer — here’s a link to a piece called The Current State of Canadian Soccer, by a fellow named Gary Cutler, who e-mailed us out the blue. If you’ve read this site for a while, you’re not going to find anything groundbreaking in there; though it is interesting to read that Gary rates Canadian-born-but-hasn’t-yet-committed-to-playing-for-us David “Junior” Hoilett. It gives me hope that he’s not just being overrated by the hysterical echo chamber of the hardcore Canadian supporter community.

    That it’s for now. Some Canadian Guys are now off to a Halloween party, dressed as… well, we’ll leave it to your imagination.
    - Daniel Squizzato
    Guest

    Check Out Our Ladies

    By Guest, in Some Canadian Guys,

    Yes that shameful headline is intended to maximize hits by luring in some possibly pervy Google searchers. Sadly, such is the lot of Canadian soccer: we have to garner interest any way we can. No slight at all is intended to the wonderful gals of our Women’s national team. Quite the opposite, in fact.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Tonight marks the kickoff, literally, of the Canadian women’s quest for simultaneous Gold Cup glory and a berth in the 2011 Women’s World Cup. And it’s our duty as soccer-loving Canucks to support them, if not by shooting on down to Cancun (as if we actually needed more reason to go to Cancun on a blustery October day), then at least by watching them play.
    It’s a sad paradox within the world of Canadian soccer fandom that support for the men’s team comes naturally to us – even though they often make it very hard, by being not very good – and support for the women is excruciatingly difficult to muster – even though the women are amongst the best in the world, miles ahead of the men in their relative ability to compete on a world stage.
    It’s no surprise, really: Women’s sports generally suffer from a dearth of support when compared to their male equivalent. But that’s no excuse: If you’re a supporter of Canadian soccer, and wish – as so many of us do – to see the game develop beyond the frustrating rut it’s been in for years, it falls on you to support the women as well as the men.
    This is not just rhetoric, by the way, not just supporting for moral reasons or for supporting’s sake: rooting for the women’s team can only help the national program as a whole. First and foremost, there’s money in it. Wins mean advancement, more games more broadcast fees, more ticket sales and – hopefully – more prize money. There’s not a lot of money in the women’s game, I grant, but there is some, and the cash-strapped CSA can use every dime it can get. Whatever we get goes into the pot, and could mean the difference, say, between a friendly against a second-tier opponent (with the resulting lower amount of public interest, fewer tickets sold, less chance of Canadian broadcast and less chance of helping the program move forward) and a top-tier opponent, with all the benefits (beyond a 5-0 drubbing) that would come with that.
    What’s more, the Women’s Gold Cup (and the Women’s World Cup) is televised (or internet-avised, at least). It’s always a bit of a ratings risk when Canadian TV chooses to broadcast a Canadian soccer game – that’s why they do it so rarely – and women’s soccer must be doubly so. The CBC is far and away the best supporter of soccer in this country, even if the games are usually confined to the website and the shady “CBC Bold.” But be sure – the CBC pays attention to who’s watching, and if a women’s game gets decent ratings on a Friday evening, it can’t hurt the prospects of convincing the powers that be when the V’s call for someone to put the MNT v Lithuania on TV.
    I could also go into the pool of support for the women’s game, and huge potential for growing the game through the soccer-loving girls of this country, but Squizz has already done so much better than I can.

    In the end, there’s a more simple and direct reason to support the Canadian women for the next couple of weeks and beyond: they’re good enough to deserve your support. You don’t need to consider how the women’s team’s success or failure could help the men’s team because supporting the women is worth it in and of itself. CSG’s Squizz found, in his interview with Canadian captain – and Women’s World Player of the Year finalist – Christine Sinclair, that the women are a team in the best sense of the word, and have confidence in themselves and each other. As well they should: Their victory at this year’s Cyprus Cup handed Canada an all-too-rare bit of soccer silverware, and they backed it up with an electric 3-1 friendly win over China in September – the first ever Canadian victory at BMO Field.
    The bottom line is if you can struggle through a horrendously choppy non-English web feed to see the MNT fall 3-0 to Macedonia, surely you can tune in tonight to watch Sinclair & Co. trounce Trinidad and Tobago.
    6 p.m. EST on cbc.ca, replayed at 9:30 p.m. on CBC Bold (but we’ll all be drunkenly celebrating victory by then, right?)
    - Jamie Doyle
    Guest
    In a stunning development, longtime Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Martin Nash is set to announce he will leave his hometown team to join the newly-created Orlando City SC.
    In an hour-long, nationally televised special (cleverly disguised as a press conference at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, B.C.), Nash is expected to pledge his commitment to build a championship-winning dynasty at his new, Florida-based club.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] “Martin feels like he’s done it all in Vancouver, except play in the MLS,” said one anonymous source. “He’d like to keep that record intact in a new market, where there’s no chance he’ll ever have to suit up in MLS.”
    Across message boards and social media, reaction has been coming fast and furious.
    “What, having a standard of ‘pretty nice’ weather 12 months a year in Van ain’t good enough for him?” asked one commenter, nicknamed ShowMeTheDuz. “He needs 12 months of standard ‘really nice’ weather? Ah, good riddance.”
    “Holy ****!” commented HoopsHead142. “Nash and Dwight Howard together? Awesome! Superman has his Robin!”
    “Doesn’t matter who joins the other clubs, D2 is ours next season,” said AustinAztex4evah. When The Reserve Squad attempted to reach this person for further comment, it was discovered their account had been deactivated.
    - Daniel Squizzato
    I know South Beach isn’t Orlando, shut up.
    Guest
    As most of you know, yesterday we at SCG posed the painfully teasing question “Who would you Canadianize?” Naturally, a prolonged and ridiculous conversation ensued, wherein some of soccer’s best — and, for some reason, some of soccer’s fattest — were touted as the best man to lift Canada to glory… if we had magic powers. The conversation also drifted unexpectedly in to the vagaries of gay subculture (thank you, Grant).
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Despite the faffing, some “serious” answers emerged. German starlets Thomas Müller and Mesut Özil got the (probably unwanted) nomination, as did a host of Diegos, from Maradona to Forlan (sorry Milito, no luck for you).
    It’s fair to say, however, that the clear favourites were Chelsea strong-man striker Didier Drogba and once-fit Brazilian, uhh, “ladies man” Ronaldo. Since we’ve all seen what becomes of Ronaldo a few years out from his prime, and Canada needs someone who will last for a long time, I’m going to award the popular vote to Drogba.
    Now, since I started this thing, I suppose I should finish it. So here are my picks for which player I’d most like to magically impose Canadian citizenship on. (Note: I have two picks. So there.)
    1) Cesc Fabregas (ca. right now)
    (Disclaimer: I’m a die-hard Arsenal fan, so Grant – a Chelsea supporter – is likely to cry foul over this pick. Tough tits, Grant.)
    For my money, Fabregas has a lot of what Canada needs, all in one package. He’s one of the best playmakers in the world, and can provide service to a Canadian strikeforce that, if you’re optimistic, is improving steadily. Good supply from the centre of the park will help immensely. Fabregas also holds the ball well, and with patience and vision, something that our all-too easily rattled team would really benefit from.
    If you don’t like all that, how about his scoring touch? His 19 goals last year with the Gunners (including 15 league tallies) makes me confident that he could, y’know, probably pot a few against El Salvador or T&T. Beyond all that, Fabregas is a natural on-field leader and presence, and Canada is too often a rudderless ship that runs aground in big games. The presence of a Fabregas on the pitch can rally the troops and push us on. Best of all, he’s only 23, making him perfect age for the next round of World Cup qualifying.
    2) Didier Drogba (ca. 2006-2007)
    It’s impossible to argue against. Drogba is a game-changer, the kind of player that can carry a team on his back, even on a bad day. He’s a goal machine, and his natural strength would utterly dominate just about everyone in not-so-physical CONCACAF. As I mentioned before, Canada desperately needs an on-field leader with presence and the ability to be the focus of every attack. That’s Drogba. For god’s sake, the man stopped a war in his native (but not really, right? He’s Canadian now!) Ivory Coast, so I think he can inspire Les Rouges to beat Guadeloupe.
    So: Drogba, but Drogba a couple of years ago, so he’s not too old come 2014.
    Anyone got his phone number?
    - Jamie Doyle
    Guest
    Welcome to another edition of Long Balls: Canadians Abroad. It’s a service for those without time to wade through multi-page forum threads to keep tabs on Canadian footballers. We won’t list all of the Canadians abroad, just the weekly performances we feel are most relevant to our readers. Or in the case of Isidro Sanchez, relevant to no one really.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The way these weekly updates are headed we may as well just call them Josh Simpson, a weekend in review. The Canadian winger/forward scored the match winner for Manisaspor in a 2-1 victory over Kasimpasa (video here, head to the 1:03 mark), and this one was a beauty. He’s simply in fantastic form at the moment and let’s all hope this holds out for the next, say, four years? At the moment Simpson is tied with four others in the Turkish top-flight goal scoring race with six, one behind Mamadou Niang of Fenerbahçe who has seven.
    Championship
    We offer plenty of love (the healthy male-sports-fan heterosexual kind) to Simeon Jackson on this blog already, which is why I chose to highlight Josh Simpson in the preamble. That said, Jackson added another impressive weekend to his resume, scoring the winner just before halftime in a 1-0 victory for Norwich City over Middlesbrough. He’s now the team’s leading scorer with four goals, just ahead of several players who have three, and may just have cemented himself in the starting eleven. We’ll see.
    Iain Hume named man of the match in Preston North End’s 4-3 win over Crystal Palace. That’s certainly something. The bad news is that because of some botched dealings in his loan arrangement he could be headed back to Barnsley as early as this week.
    Premiership
    Junior Hoilett subbed in at the 68th minute for Blackburn in a 2-1 loss to Liverpool. Great to get the minutes, but failing to score against Liverpool has to be a huge blow to his confidence.
    Netherlands
    Sweet Moses of Sapphire! PSV absolutely violatedFeyenoord 10-0 and although Atiba Hutchinson played the full 90, he didn’t score. Apparently he crossed in for one of the goals, but when your team hits double digits I feel you pretty much just have to show up on the pitch to be involved in the scoring.
    Mexico
    Once again Isidro Sanchez doesn’t even make the subs bench as Puebla lose 2-1 to Toluca. The Latino members of Canada’s player pool are not having a good run of it. Carlos Rivas has disappeared (well, I assume he exists somewhere, but nowhere that I can find using the Internet), and David Monsalve was recently released from his Finnish club Inter Turku.
    Spain
    Jonathan de Guzman plays 90 minutes in a central attacking midfield role as Mallorca win 2-1 at Valencia. The younger de Guz has entrenched himself firmly in Mallorca’s starting eleven and while I hope he does well, I don’t want him to do that well, if you know what I mean. At least not until the Dutch have definitely given up on him.
    - Grant
    Guest
    The life of a Canadian soccer fan is lived mostly in some kind of fantasy land: what if Hutch wasn’t ruled offside against the States? What if De Guzman’s shot against Jamaica hadn’t hit the bar? Re-imagining the past, and mentally re-jigging the future, is the lot of Canadian soccer fans, so let’s embrace it fully for a little while; let’s play a little game called “Who would you Canadianize?”
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Imagine for a moment that you have the magical ability to change one thing (and, for reasons best left unexplored, you choose not to end poverty, war, hunger or “Two and a Half Men”), so you decide to make one international footballer suddenly Canadian. So, all of a sudden, a fully formed Didier Drogba (i.e., not a 16-year-old version, lacking the benefit of his current international experience) realizes that – whoops! – he’s from Abbotsford, not Abdijan. Or maybe Wayne Rooney remembers that he was born in Laval, not Liverpool. Maybe Iker Casillas owns up to being from Moncton, not Madrid. And, after the right bribe has been paid to FIFA (the only actually workable assumption in this little exercise), your man is free and willing to suit up for Canada.
    There’s only question, then: Who would you pick? (And, uhh, Why would you pick them? So… yeah, two questions, actually: who and why.)
    There’s a lot to consider when you have every star in the soccer world at your disposal, I know. Do we need a goal scorer, or a goal creator? Do we need a rock at the back, or a speedster on the flanks? An experienced leader, or a burgeoning talent? Oh, how the choices abound! But, being the hopeless soccer nerds that we all are, I’m sure we’re all willing to dedicate way too much time to the question.
    My answer? Well, you’ll all just have to wait until tomorrow. And maybe you’ll get one from each of us, if you’re really lucky.
    - Jamie Doyle
    Guest

    Growing up to play for Canada

    By Guest, in Some Canadian Guys,

    While doing my usual rounds of Canadian soccer surfing I came across a list of players called to a national camp for boys under the age of 15. Surely a sign of too much time on my hands, I randomly entered one name, Yacine Ait-Slimane, into Google.
    This was the first link that showed up. I originally thought it was some sort of suburban Montreal weekly, but eventually figured out it was actually based on Algeria. Either way, the article covers both Yacine and his twin brother Ilyes, also in the U15 camp.
    Even my grade school French understands the part where the father of the two Montreal-born brothers says he hopes his sons will eventually play for his native Algeria. And there we have it.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] There’s always a lot of talk about how Canada just needs to get good, and then Canadian kids will want to play for Canada instead of dad’s country. And for that matter, more Canadian soccer fans will actually support Canada.
    Well, I wouldn’t be so sure. How about the Germany-Turkey Euro qualifier last week in Berlin where half of Olympic stadium was full of German-Turks cheering for Turkey. German star Mesut Ozil was whistled derisively by the Turkish supporters all match and this is a guy who’s grandparents immigrated to Germany.
    Bayern Munich’s Hamit Altintop, a German-Turk born and raised in Germany who plays internationally for Turkey, accused Ozil of opportunism in deciding to represent Germany. Remember now, Ozil is a third-generation German.
    Germany boasts one of the most successful soccer programs in the history of international competition, and even it can’t draw in all newcomers.
    Of course as Canada improves its standing and reputation in international football the CSA will have an increasingly easier time convincing Canadian kids to play for Canada. But the saying about blood running thicker than water applies to more than just familial ties. As long as Canada remains a country of immigrants (and I very much believe that it should), this thorn in the side of Canadian soccer supporters is simply not going to go away.
    - Grant
    Edit: One thing I should make very clear: I have absolutely no idea which country these two kids want to represent when they get older. The linked newspaper article above very, very loosely attributes some thoughts on the subject to their father, but beyond that, who knows? The Internet is ****ed up. Rumours quickly become truth, and it would be supremely unfair for either of these guys to get stuck with any kind of reputation regarding their future intentions with Canada until they say something on the record.
    Guest

    Canada nudges up in FIFA rankings

    By Guest, in Some Canadian Guys,

    Canada boinked up five spots in the FIFA rankings released earlier today to number 83. Right in between Cape Verde Islands and Malawi.
    I don’t really understand the FIFA rankings. How they are calculated or what the ranking itself actually means. As far as I understand, the really important thing to watch is where Canada sits relative to its Concacaf rivals. It’s crucial Canada holds onto that top-8 spot. If Concacaf changes its qualifying format, Canada would desperately want to avoid a group of death scenario in the second round of four seeded groups of four.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    I know this site has a few readers well-versed in the intricacies of Fifa rankings and what they mean for Canada, so please pipe into the comments section and fill us all in on what’s important and what isn’t.
    In the meantime, here’s a brief summary written by a person with the handle rdroze on the Voyageurs board about how Fifa rankings are calculated:
    …basically it comes down to this: for each game played a team gets a certain number of points which is affected by:
    1) Result: 0 points for a loss, and three times as many points for a win as for a draw
    2) Opponent: the higher-ranked your opponent, the more points you get
    3) Confederation: certain confederations (UEFA and CONMEBOL) get more points than others
    4) Importance: World Cup games and continental championships are worth more than qualifiers, which are worth more than friendlies
    Then the points you get for each game are essentially weighted-averaged over four years, with more recent games being worth more.
    And if you’ve really got some spare time on your hands read through the entire thread to see Canadian soccer supporters in all their glory. It’s the cyber-spat equivalent of bald men arguing over a comb.
    - Grant
    Guest
    Concacaf wants to change its qualification format for the 2014 World Cup. This is not news. We wrote about it. Other blogs wrote about it. Even the Concacaf website wrote about it.
    Still, this being a blog about Canadian soccer and all things that concern it, I’m highlighting this Honduran article reporting that the secretary general of the Mexican soccer federation, Decio de María, confirmed Monday that Concacaf will change its qualifying format.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    In brief: 32 teams go into eight groups of four; the top two from each group then go into four groups of four; the top two then go into two groups of four; the two group winners receive an automatic ticket to the 2014 World Cup; the two second place teams go to a playoff for an automatic third berth; the loser goes into another last-gasp playoff against a country from another federation.
    What I find interesting are the opinions expressed in the article’s comment section. There is an almost uniform view that because Concacaf is run by Mexico and the U.S., any changes to its qualifying format would primarily benefit those two countries at the expense of everyone else. They just want to make it so they are guaranteed to qualify. It will dilute the playing field and make it so that the other countries in the region will do even worse in the World Cup… to paraphrase some of the comments.
    I’ve said previously this new format would be fantastic for Canada because it could mean up to 18 meaningful games over a roughly two-year qualifying period. And I certainly don’t buy the U.S.-Mexico conspiracy argument either. In the second round of the 2010 qualifying cycle Mexico got lumped into a group with Jamaica, Honduras and Canada. They played like **** and scraped through in second place.
    I’m not a statistician, but somehow it seems that the probability of having some bad luck and ending up second in a group of four teams is much higher than having some bad luck and ending up fourth place or lower in the “Hex,” as the current final qualifying group of six Concacaf countries is called.
    (Top three teams qualify for the World Cup, the fourth goes to a playoff and the bottom two miss out.)
    In the proposed qualifying format proposed, a misstep here, a misstep there and all of a sudden Mexico or the U.S.’s World Cup participation hangs on a two-match playoff. That doesn’t sound beneficial at all.
    - Grant
    Guest

    A Very Strange Soccer Saturday

    By Guest, in Some Canadian Guys,

    When I woke up Saturday morning, I had a reasonably solid plan for the day. But nowhere in that plan, I must admit, was “watch goals being scored by Andrea Lombardo and Will Freakin' Hesmer” Had I made a penny bet on that outcome, I’d surely be a billionaire by today.But that’s just the kind of day it was.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The kind of day when the loudest cheers at BMO Field were reserved for Jon Conway after he was sent off for violently shoving a defrocked Steven Lenhart. It was fitting, perhaps, that on a day when the stadium was littered with “protests” of one sort or another, Conway’s show of defiance (or, if the game had meant anything for TFC, self-centred petulance) resonated so deeply with those in attendance. It’s also tragically fitting — to those who know what to expect from this team, by now — that TFC coughed up a lead in injury time, to their “hated” rival, with the goalkeeper (of all bloody people) scoring the final goal.
    To say that goal deflated the crowd would be a misstatement, though, as it would suggest they were inflated to begin with. You have to admit, whatever your opinion of the organized “protests” being held by the Red Patch Boys and North End Elite, that without hundreds of hardcores in full voice, the entire stadium felt as soulless as… well… any other Toronto professional sporting event.
    Rather than the regular chanting, singing and flag-waving, members of several supporters groups took various measures (green shirts, intentional silence) to show their frustration with the ownership of Toronto FC — a corporate board of directors whose members may not know, or care, about such demonstrations.
    Then, an hour later, a handful of those supporters stood in the stands at Lamport Stadium to take in a Canadian Soccer League matchup between Milltown FC and Portugal FC. They let out some of their pent-up passion from the TFC debacle, with Milltown FC’s owner right there in the stands with them, providing one of the loudest voices of all.
    Not all of them made it to the stands, though. In a mind-boggling move, someone in charge of admission (an official with Portugal FC, I’ve been told) decided that CSL media passes — which explicitly state “valid for all games in the CSL during the 2010 season”, of which this was obviously one — would be invalid on the day. At least two people with legitimate media passes were refused entry (it would have been three, if I hadn’t talked my way in) and were later told to go **** themselves (again, reportedly by a Portugal FC official).
    This, however, led to probably the first Milltown Massive in sporting history, as the fans in the stands did the classic “Qu’est-ce que vous chantez?” call-and-answer with a smaller group of about 10 outliers, huddled in the dark on King Street in downtown Toronto, watching through the fence at Lamport.
    Yeah, it was that kinda day.
    As for the game, the young Milltown FC squad showed themselves to be technically superior and tactically dominant, and the assembled supporters took every chance possible to harangue Portugal striker (and Toronto FC castoff) Andrea Lombardo for such alleged deficiencies as being fat, useless and living in his mom’s basement. This being a CSL game (attendance about 150) it’s impossible that Lombardo didn’t hear every individual insult, so upon scoring his side’s opening goal, he was quick (relative term) to head over to the stands to taunt the Milltown supporters.
    Then, after a 2-2 result that eliminated Milltown from the CSL playoffs, Lombardo made sure to, again, make his disdain for his abusers well-known, tossing up the ol’ double-bird and plenty of unkind words such as “look where you are!” (the irony was lost on him, I’m sure). Milltown’s Agustin DeMedina took exception to the display (his “blood started to boil when he saw our fans being dissed,” as Milltown owner Dino Rossi put it) and charged at Lombardo and well, wouldn’t you know, we had a good old-fashioned post-game brawl, involving plenty of jaw-jacking between spectators, players and team officials.
    Now, there ate plenty of questions to be raised about the appropriateness of the abuse being hurled from the stands. Keep in mind that the crowd would, without the injection of the post-TFC-game crew, have probably been comprised largely of the players’ family and friends, and the noise limited to the sorts of generic, misinformed “come on ref!” bellowing that can be heard at any U18 tournament. As it was, a kid whose talent didn’t meet the unrealistic expectations put on his shoulders was at the receiving end of all sorts of personal attacks. Were they funny? Hell yeah. But is Lombardo’s reaction that surprising?
    It all depends, I guess, on what you consider to be “acceptable” support. That seemed to be the theme of the day, actually. On the way to Lamport from BMO Field, I happened to overhear a very heated discussion between a member of U-Sector and (presumably — he was wearing green) a member of the Red Patch Boys about the “appropriate” way to support the team.
    So who’s “right”? The supporters who wore green? The ones who wore their regular TFC garb? The ones who were quiet? The ones who were loud?
    Was the fan heckling Lombardo “right” to do what he did, given the circumstances?
    I don’t have an answers there. No one does. It’s all subjective.
    But those who want to strike a blow for something (that is, Canadian soccer) rather than just against something (the perceived “evil” of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment)… why not a CSL game? The level of play is much better than you’d probably expect. The emotion on the field and in the stands is definitely real. And, if nothing else, you might get the chance to heckle Andrea Lombardo.
    Sure, the league is full of flaws. But, what, MLS isn’t? Hell, every sports league in the world isn’t?
    For what it’s worth, my odd day of Canadian soccer concluded at the Red Patch Boys’ pub, wearing a Milltown FC scarf, being eyed suspiciously by a dude who I was pretty sure is the owner of Portugal FC, and being asked by a large, shirtless man about the identity of the person that ate all the pies.
    Just that kinda day.
    - Daniel Squizzato
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