matthew Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 I get the magnitude of the achievement. What they did was amazing. Even moreso when you consider a guy that - as daniel rightfully pointed out - played 10 minutes of A-League soccer last year dominated at times against real top quality strikers. As great as this team was together, I don't see these guys all flooding into the full national team right away if ever. I say all this with the knowledge that you can never predict who will make it and who won't. And trying to do so now is foolish. Look at 97, who was the can't miss guy? Brad Parker. After that? Bent probably. That's how I remember it. I think both of those guys would rather be in Paul Stalteri's position now. I've seen Matondo three or four times (at least once with Montreal) and he certainly has some skill and blazing speed, but he's never blown me away. Wyn Belotte was a year younger, had just as impressive of a run and against better competition and now two years later he's no longer the annointed one. And I know it's not just the one long run that has everyone excited about him, but we have gotten pretty hyped up over a performance in one game in the past. Things can change pretty quick at this age. I hope everyone's situation changes for the better and someone winds up blossoming into a stud and surprising everyone, but if you look back on the history of these teams from these tourneys (and not just Canadian teams) there's a pretty high rate of guys that just don't pan out. I don't mean to be a killjoy. I'm still incredibly proud of what the team accomplished, but I'm trying to be realistic. Hume should be in the 18 this summer and Hutchinson should be close and if he moves to a bigger club he might be able to bump Bircham or Imhof off the bench in midfield. Unless things remain dire in the centre of defence and Yallop is willing to keep him there, I think it will be tight for Atiba to make the 18 for the semifinal round of qualifying this year. cheers, matthew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Posted December 15, 2003 Share Posted December 15, 2003 Just a few notes re: the 1997 team, 5 guys, excluding Parker, made their Senior national team debuts in either 1997 (Clake, Bent, Stalteri) or 1998 (DeRosario, Hastings). 4 of them remain in the picture. Between these 5, more than 150 caps. I think we have the luxury of taking it a bit slower with the 2003 U-20s. But at the same time, if some of these players force their way into the picture, then great. I think that both Hume and Hutchinson have, and would point out that 18 games+ to qualify means I expect to see some of this guys step up, or we are in a bit of trouble. Injuries, club issues and loss of form all indicate that some of the current favoured 18 won't still be hoeing the row for Canada in a year and a half. We are gonna need 24+ players to call upon to get through those 18 games, even with pretty good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthew Posted December 15, 2003 Share Posted December 15, 2003 Brennan, Kindel and Aristrodemo also got capped at the senior level from the 97 team. I'm not saying this current group will never get caps, I suspect many of them will get (and should get) a look - heck Hume, Hutchinson, Matondo (sort of, I guess it's a B cap) have all been capped and Harmse was on the bench for a game. We should be trying out as many options as possible and we've been doing a real good job of it lately. It helped that in 97 we were in dire need in the midfield and Bent and Stalteri got early caps whereas we have a lot more depth now. Good point about injuries and needing a deep team, but I still think we're pretty deep before we start throwing the U20s into the mix. I'd say we could use 30 or so on the roster between hosting Belize and the day we qualify. Anyway it's nice a problem to have and I think it's a good thing that we don't need to rush the kids in the lineup. cheers, matthew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
An Observer Posted December 15, 2003 Share Posted December 15, 2003 It should be noted that like Imoff, Brennan never maded the 97 team although I believe he was on it for the qualifiers. Bircham was in this age group as well but I believe never committed to Canada at that stage. Finally, Parker was on the 99 team that lost in the qualifiers and never played for 97 team (or was even considered for it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Posted December 15, 2003 Share Posted December 15, 2003 Basically the point I wanted to make was that 5 of the 1997 made their debuts with the senior team basically within a year to year and a half of the U-20 tournament. Some within the same year. I suspect that only two members of the 2003 - Hume and Hutchinson are likely to figure in the next couple of years. I think that this is a good thing, generally. But I do see a place for these two (Hume and Hutchinson) outstanding young talents in the Canadian team, despite the glut of midfielders and smallish forwards. Ultimately, how many of this team makes the step up will depend upon what kind of pro options come available for them. It is, as Matthew says, a good thing that we do not have to move guys up before they are ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted December 15, 2003 Share Posted December 15, 2003 Something to consider..... Canada lost 3 games in the U20 finals - 2 close games to the two teams that made the final & 1 close game to a team that beat one of the teams (Brazil) that made the final. And as of right now, only two teams have managed to score against Spain, Argentina & Canada. The next U20 World Cup is in Holland. I wonder how many of our young Dutch-based players are looking forward to that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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