George Posted February 4, 2004 Share Posted February 4, 2004 Canada in tough at Olympic qualifying tournament, must win games now By NEIL DAVIDSON http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Canada/2004/02/02/333685-cp.html (CP) - After an opening 1-0 loss to Honduras, Canada finds itself with no margin for error in its remaining matches at an Olympic men's soccer qualifying tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico. First up is the United States on Thursday. Then Panama on Saturday. "We've left a difficult situation for ourselves," Canadian coach Bruce Twamley conceded Wednesday. "We have to win the last two games." The U.S. and Panama put on a goalfest after the Canada game Tuesday with the Americans squandering a 3-0 lead and needing an 80th-minute winner to beat back the Central Americans 4-3. The qualifying tournament covers the CONCACAF region, which includes North and Central America and the Caribbean. The top two teams from Canada's group will advance to cross-over semifinals against the top two of the pool consisting of Mexico, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. The two finalists at the under-23 tournament secure a berth at the Athens Games. Canada has not qualified for the Games since 1984. Honduras was the better team on the day Tuesday, according to Twamley, taking over the game in the second half when the Canadians ran out of gas. "They played very well. They've got a good team," he said of the Hondurans. "We couldn't break them down." Honduras also blew a second-half penalty, missing the net on the spot kick. One positive for Canada was the play of midfielder Julian de Guzman. "De Guzman was our best player," Twamley said. "He might have been the best player on the field." The trip has certainly demonstrated de Guzman's commitment to Canada. FIFA rules do not compel clubs to release players for Olympic qualifying games. And his Bundesliga club, Hannover 96, did not want to lose his services, especially with a high-profile game against Bayern Munich looming Sunday. So de Guzman played this past Sunday in a 3-2 win over Hamburger SV and then flew to Mexico on Monday from Hannover to Guadalajara via Frankfurt and Houston. After the Honduras game, he had an early flight Wednesday out of Guadalajara to Mexico City, Newark and then to Hannover. While de Guzman will be missed, captain Chris Pozniak and midfielder David Masciantonio will be back after sitting out one-game suspensions for yellow cards from earlier qualifying rounds. Defender Winston Marshall, however, was unable to play Tuesday and is out for the tournament. He was unable recover in time from a previous pelvic injury. Against the U.S., Twamley is probably looking at a back four of Pozniak, Adam Braz, Victor Oppong and Chris Williams in front of goalkeeper Andrew Olivieri. Justin Thompson subbed for Pozniak in the Honduras game. Tam Nsaliwa, who also arrived Monday from Germany, will play a more defensive role in midfield against the Americans. Josh Simpson and Atiba Hutchinson are expect to retain their starting roles with Masciantonio slotted back into the midfield. Elliott Godfrey and Rocco Placentino started up front against Honduras, with Rob Friend coming on in the second half. Twamley will check his players out in a light training session before deciding on attacking and other options. Whatever the choice, Canada faces a tough road at the tournament. "Panama was very good," said Twamley, who watched the U.S.-Panama game. "The Americans, I can't say I was that impressed with them. "Landon Donovan was outstanding," he added. "He was very good. . . . He's the full package." The Canadians will have to keep a watchful eye on Donovan, who is an attacking force to be reckoned with at the World Cup level. Man-marking is not an option, says Twamley, because Donovan is so elusive and adept at dragging players out of position. Notes: Toronto goalkeeper Peter Pappas and Montreal defender Nevio Pizzolitto (Cleveland Force) have been named to the lineup for the Major Indoor Soccer League all-star game Feb. 6 in St. Louis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted February 4, 2004 Share Posted February 4, 2004 Note that Godfrey is starting as a striker for our U23 team, but just a couple of months ago was not starting for our U20 team. A Godfrey-Placentino starting strikeforce is probably one that I never envisioned for the Olympic qualifiers when thinking about the possiblities for this team. But I'm throwing my full support behind them. Here's hoping they can pull a Panama & zip 3 past the US defense tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 Here's a typical example of what's wrong with our media when it comes to Canadian soccer - today we are playing a crucial Olympic qualifying match against our main rivals, the US, and one of our very few full-time soccer writers in the press, Norm Da Costa, has used his soccer column in today's Toronto Star to write an article about Sir Alex Ferguson's horse. I kid you not. In other news, the US fans are hoppin' mad about Twamley's quote about the US team over on bigsoccer.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SABuffalo786 Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca In other news, the US fans are hoppin' mad about Twamley's quote about the US team over on bigsoccer.com. I wouldn't take those posters too seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SABuffalo786 Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca In other news, the US fans are hoppin' mad about Twamley's quote about the US team over on bigsoccer.com. I wouldn't take those posters too seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzly Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 Regardless of the validity of Twamley's comments they are certainly not too bright. Why give the opposing team extra motivation after they have played a poor game when you are playing them in a must win situation. Combined with his comments that could lead his team to believing that they can not beat Mexico this is not very competent coaching. He should tell the players both teams can be beat and say the usual crap to the media about respecting his opponents. It may be a good thing that he will probably leave this post after the tournament. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzly Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 Regardless of the validity of Twamley's comments they are certainly not too bright. Why give the opposing team extra motivation after they have played a poor game when you are playing them in a must win situation. Combined with his comments that could lead his team to believing that they can not beat Mexico this is not very competent coaching. He should tell the players both teams can be beat and say the usual crap to the media about respecting his opponents. It may be a good thing that he will probably leave this post after the tournament. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amacpher Posted February 6, 2004 Share Posted February 6, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca Here's a typical example of what's wrong with our media when it comes to Canadian soccer - today we are playing a crucial Olympic qualifying match against our main rivals, the US, and one of our very few full-time soccer writers in the press, Norm Da Costa, has used his soccer column in today's Toronto Star to write an article about Sir Alex Ferguson's horse. Well, what did he write about on Friday? Maybe he was waiting until after the game to write about it. Until seeing his next column I would cut him some slack, cuz writing about the same thing 2 days in a row is probably not a good idea either! ... Especially when a big-story like Sir Alex Ferguson's horse comes up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy_Yank Posted February 6, 2004 Share Posted February 6, 2004 Twamley's quote didn't piss me off. It just made me shake my head and laugh at his pure ignorance and stupidity. He made beating Canada a hell of a lot easier. Panama sucks major ass. They didn't score 3 goals due to brilliant play. It was sloppy defending on our part. You'd think after qualifying for every olympic games since 1988, the last 4 world cups, and a couple regional titles we might get some respect. I guarentee you our semi-final opponent's coach is a lot more prepared than Twamley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted February 6, 2004 Share Posted February 6, 2004 quote:Originally posted by amacpher Well, what did he write about on Friday? Maybe he was waiting until after the game to write about it. Until seeing his next column I would cut him some slack, cuz writing about the same thing 2 days in a row is probably not a good idea either! ... Especially when a big-story like Sir Alex Ferguson's horse comes up! He wrote about cricket today. There was a small report taken from the American Press about Canada being eliminated elsewhere in the paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted February 6, 2004 Share Posted February 6, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Crazy_Yank Twamley's quote didn't piss me off. It just made me shake my head and laugh at his pure ignorance and stupidity. He made beating Canada a hell of a lot easier. Panama sucks major ass. They didn't score 3 goals due to brilliant play. It was sloppy defending on our part. Although I agree that making such a comment public before playing an opponent is unwise, doesn't your last sentence quoted above suggest that his comment was nonetheless accurate, rather than "ignorant"? Also, I haven't heard any reports coming out of the US side that suggest the victory was "easy" - in fact I've heard the opposite. What made your victory more probable was the absence of such players like Hume & De Guzman (despite the post-game stated belief of some bigsoccer posters that Julian is at best, the equivalent of an average MLS player). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Posted February 6, 2004 Share Posted February 6, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Crazy_Yank Twamley's quote didn't piss me off. It just made me shake my head and laugh at his pure ignorance and stupidity. He made beating Canada a hell of a lot easier. Panama sucks major ass. They didn't score 3 goals due to brilliant play. It was sloppy defending on our part. You'd think after might get some respect. I guarentee you our semi-final opponent's coach is a lot more prepared than Twamley. So are you saying Twamley should be impressed by sloppy defending on a team's part? Pure "ignorance and stupidity" to point out that the US wasn't impressive when in fact they were not? Sorry C-Y, but if the US needed extra motivation from comments like this, then Twamley was right on. What needs to stop is being so desperate for "recognition" and "respect" any criticism of your team cause the kind of reaction it has. Sloppy defending is sloppy defending and is generally not considered play worthy of respect in most quarters. I think it rather childish that so many american fans need "recognition" to the extent that a relatively mild criticism demands some sort of obligatory "but the US has won so much recently" qualifier attached. I don't think the US has played very well in this tournament from game accounts (but have qualifed for every olympic games since 1988, the last 4 world cups, and <won> a couple regional titles). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy_Yank Posted February 6, 2004 Share Posted February 6, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Gordon So are you saying Twamley should be impressed by sloppy defending on a team's part? Pure "ignorance and stupidity" to point out that the US wasn't impressive when in fact they were not? Sorry C-Y, but if the US needed extra motivation from comments like this, then Twamley was right on. What needs to stop is being so desperate for "recognition" and "respect" any criticism of your team cause the kind of reaction it has. Sloppy defending is sloppy defending and is generally not considered play worthy of respect in most quarters. I think it rather childish that so many american fans need "recognition" to the extent that a relatively mild criticism demands some sort of obligatory "but the US has won so much recently" qualifier attached. I don't think the US has played very well in this tournament from game accounts (but have qualifed for every olympic games since 1988, the last 4 world cups, and <won> a couple regional titles). It was a one off game in which we defended badly. By making the comments Twamley did he basically gave the US a 1-0 lead before the match even started. An intelligent coach would not give his opponent any extra edge. I stand by my statement. It was stupid and ignorant on is part to help the US in any way. As player you use what ever you can to get an edge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeta Posted February 7, 2004 Share Posted February 7, 2004 Do players realy get up from comments like that? It reads pretty bland to be honest. To me at least. And if the Yanks had a ****e match, they'll know they had a ****e match and I can't see them getting too bent up over hearing from Twamley something they most certainly heard in the dressing room after the match. Wish I could have seen the game. If I gave a damn about Olympic anything I'd be more upset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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