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Predictions for Canadian soccer in 10 years


Soccerpro

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In ten years I will still be crying into my beer...and cheering my heart out for an poorly-managed and unsuccessful MNT. AND thinking that the next WCQ will be OUR time.

QFT. The only thing I missed was being asked by my now 5-year-old, "What does 'eliminated' mean?"

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In ten years, I fully expect Canadian soccer to be no farther ahead than it is now. The Men's National Team is full of players who are always better than the previous crop, however the results go in the opposite direction.

I expect to see three MLS teams (Van, Tor, Mtl)that are having a limited impact on the National side. After all, what other country can boast three teams in a league that isn't theirs alongside a succesful national team program?

And I expect to be hearing the same rhetoric: We're almost there, there are more kids registered in soccer than hockey, etc. I expect to see that Dale Mitchell will be replaced by another of the "names" from his era.

And most of all, the CSA will have little to no vision, and be more interested in running themselves as a political orginization than one that is willing to grow the game, or make a World Cup.

Maybe I'm having a bad day, or I'm just negative, but I'm getting sick of the same garbage performances - and not just from the last WCQ, but since I started paying attention in WCQ for 1994.

 

Give that man the ten thousand dollars

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  • 3 weeks later...

Bielsa is a good coach but a little crazy. He'd be a risky choice.

What are we paying Floro(+Jr) btw?

I assume roughly what we paid Osieck (350k) and someone posted last month we were paying Floro 1.5M - which would be over the term of his contract.

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Bielsa's going to Mexico. I highly doubt that the CSA can outbid FMF.

You are probably quite right.  But it is not only about the money, I think Bielsa likes to work for a Federation that is professional with their deals, have staff that is equally honest and will respect his antics.  Can the CSA satisfy Bielsa's personality is out for grabs.

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haha, I'll take it. I wonder to myself from time to time if the MNT has hit rock bottom yet.

You know it's sad that 10 years later, Canadian Soccer has almost hit rock bottom. It should've hit rock bottom 10 years ago. So now we're 10 years behind most CONCACAF countries and to play catch up, have to spend 2-3 times more to bring the futbol program up to speed.

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I don't know if I agree about rock bottom in terms of Canadian Soccer.  Yes, perhaps the mens national team has hit rock bottom, but I think I could actually make the argument that Soccer in Canada is bigger than it's ever been.  At least in my lifetime(born in '89) so thats not saying too much.  But honestly look at our teams -

 

Montreal just made the CCL final, and while they didn't win it, they sure put up a good showing.  They look like a maybe for the MLS playoffs.  They just signed Didier Freaking Drogba, and the airport response was insane.  Maybe its more of a signing for show, but who cares.  Interest is at an all time high.

 

Toronto - Oh Toronto.  I'm not a TFC fan per se, but I was certainly hopeful and watching anxiously while they were first in the league, and boy was it rough.  But now, with Giovinco lighting it up, Toronto seems poised for its first playoff appearance ever.  Thats certainly something worth talking about from a fans point of view.

 

Vancouver - All you have to do is take a look at the standings of the western conference to know something pretty special is going on in Vancouver.  And all without any real "stars" in the lineup - although they've got a few players who should perhaps earn that label at some point soon - Pamadou Kah has been making a case recently.

 

Ottawa - Yes, its NASL, its not the greatest.  But it's still a pro league, with some solid players.  The Fury are undefeated in 13 games!  They also seem to be marketing well in conjunction with the RedBlacks.  I don't think It's out of the question to feel hopeful about a potential MLS franchise there if things keep up this way.  Worst case scenario they will elevate the status of the NASL in Canada.

 

Edmonton - Last but not least, my eddies.  I'll be honest, I hadn't been to a game until this year, partly due to lack of respect for NASL, and partly just because their marketing hadn't been good and I hadn't heard of them.  But after going to the game and seeing the passion of the supporters group, I was an instant convert.   The atmosphere outside the supporters section needs a bit of work, but its not far off being able to become a cool thing to do in Dirty Eddy, if they market a little better.  The huge Jumbo-tron they just bought should help the stadium feel more professional.  

 

Things are actually looking pretty good finally.  I think we need to capitalize on the success right now and try and expose non-fans to the game while we have some winners to root for (someday eddies).  I am trying to start some FB supporters groups to plant those seeds for the next wave of teams.  Anyone interested send me a friend request - its Guillermo del Quarto - especially if you are from either Hamilton or the Maritimes, thats the first two I want to get the ball rolling on.  O Canada.

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Just out of curiosity why didn't you respect NASL but respect MLS?  

 

Every NT in this region except Mexico has called players from NASL to their senior national team and the drop from MLS to NASL is less of a drop than say EPL to Championship IMO.  It's just funny that a lot of people don't give the league respect but it would be rare to hear someone in England say they disrespected the Championship and wouldn't watch it.  

 

MLS is a marketing genius.  They constantly keep their foot on that "we're a top world league" pedal while pushing their competitors to the ground.  The reality is that MLS is a respectable world level league at this point and NASL is a very respectable 2nd division to that league (if pro/rel was involved I'm sure we would see some NASL clubs stick at the top and some MLS teams would fall to the 2nd, consistently I mean.. obviously pro/rel would dictate this regardless at first).  

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Just out of curiosity why didn't you respect NASL but respect MLS?  

 

Every NT in this region except Mexico has called players from NASL to their senior national team and the drop from MLS to NASL is less of a drop than say EPL to Championship IMO.  It's just funny that a lot of people don't give the league respect but it would be rare to hear someone in England say they disrespected the Championship and wouldn't watch it.  

 

MLS is a marketing genius.  They constantly keep their foot on that "we're a top world league" pedal while pushing their competitors to the ground.  The reality is that MLS is a respectable world level league at this point and NASL is a very respectable 2nd division to that league (if pro/rel was involved I'm sure we would see some NASL clubs stick at the top and some MLS teams would fall to the 2nd, consistently I mean.. obviously pro/rel would dictate this regardless at first).  

 

Honestly I don't really know.  I'd say a combined factor that the stands are fairly empty when you watch highlights + too few teams + like you said worse marketing than MLS.  Plus I hang around with a decent amount of eurosnobs who kinda look down upon all north american soccer.   But seriously though, is anyone here from either Hamilton or the Maritimes?  I'm serious I wanna start some supporters groups.  

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Perhaps we were more optimistic 10 years ago after our u20's beat Mexico 2-1 in a WCQ match in, of all places San Pedro Sula, Honduras. I've recently put the DVD of the match in the player to re visit this memorable match.

In this match Dale Mitchell played a 4 5 1 formation where Will Johnson was the lone front runner. Other notables still active on the CMNT were Marcel De Jong, Nick Ledgerwood (captain) and Andre Hainault. Jamie Peters was an exciting prospect who we thought would have a good career in Europe. He was brilliant in the match assisting the winning goal from the right wing. Ryan Gyaki was a Voyageur favorite after he scored the brace in the match. Wagenar was the keeper who we thought had a future with the National team.

Interesting to see how we were able to beat Mexico in a Central American venue and how Johnson was considered a striker as a youngster. The win was well earned as we were the better team on the day. The only Mexican I recognized was the keeper Ochoa. I'm surprised that more Mexican players didn't stick with their National team but then again they did lose to Canada so perhaps that was an indication of the calibre of talent they had back then. It didn't really hinder the overall progress of their national team though.

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My prediction for Canadian soccer in ten years:

Without a professional domestic league, we won't qualify for the World Cup.

Look at Wales, there national league is basically non existent but they are on their way to qualifying for the next euros with ease. Not having a national league is just an idiotic excuse for performing poorly the past few years and passing on the blame. Let's be honest. A Canadian league with second rate players would barely attract any supporters. Most people would rather watch the mls and most Canadian mls fans won't transition there attention to this csl.

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Look at Wales, there national league is basically non existent but they are on their way to qualifying for the next world cup with ease. Not having a national league is just an idiotic excuse for performing poorly the past few years and passing on the blame. Let's be honest. A Canadian league with second rate players would barely attract any supporters. Most people would rather watch the mls and most Canadian mls fans won't transition there attention to this csl.

You mean Euro Cup? Sure, they were able to bunker against Belgium twice and get lucky, but they still have a ways to go.

When it comes to people's appetite for soccer, most people don't care about mls and will support their local team. If Regina is apart of this league, the people of that city will support that team over an MLS team in Toronto or Vancouver.

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