Canada: The Future Doesn't Look Good

[torontofc]

Here is my latest entry to my blog, I know that some of you will disagree with what I have said here, but this is how I feel so I decided to write about it!

quote:

When Jozy Altidore's head came in contact with the ball in the 40th minute, you knew where it was going. The ball struck the back of the net, giving the United States a 2-1 lead over their arch-rivals from Mexico. This was Altidore's first career goal at the senior level for the United States, quite the accomplishment for the 18 year old New York Red Bulls striker. As the ball hit the back of the net, the pro-Meixco crowd fell silent, except for a small contingent of American fans behind the net, who went crazy. Altidore ran over, looked at them, and kissed the American badge. This was a moment that American fans will remember for years to come, and will no doubt become accustomed to over the next 15 years.

It was hard, as a Canadian soccer fan, to not feel jealous Watching Altidore direct the ball into the back of the net was tough, because Canada has no Altidore, a soccer prodigy. The future of Canadian soccer was put on display this summer, when Canada hosted the 2007 U-20 World Cup, a gathering of the worlds top young soccer players. As usual, the host nation had high expectations, Canada was expected to move past the group stage and advance to the knockout round of the tournament. However it was clear that the Canadian team was outmatched from the very start. In the first game, a 3-0 loss to Chile, Canada was completely dominated throughout the game. From there, Canada would go onto drop games against Austria and Congo. Canada's performance was no fluke; they were completely outmatched in every game, our so called "top players" performed poorly. It was clear that Canada had no prodigy on their team, nor did they have solid talent throughout their system. If the performance at the U-20 World Cup is not an indicator of our lack of talent at the U-20 level, then I really don't know what is.

Jozy Altidore on the other hand, was dominating the tournament along with his American teammates. Altidore was a force up front for the Americans, who opened the tournament with a 1-1 draw against Korea. From there, however, the Americans would start to play up to their potential. A 6-1 thrashing of Poland came next, where Freddy Adu netted a hat-trick. Then the Americans would go onto defeat Brazil on the back Jozy Altidore's two strikes. A win against Uraguay in the round of 16 came next, when Michael Bradley netted the winner in the 107th minute. For those who don't know anything about Bradley, well you should probably get used to hearing his name. The Heerenveen midfielder has been a hit overseas, playing an integral part of the Dutch clubs midfield. Bradley recently broke the record for most goals scored by an American in a European first division, and has received interest from many top clubs around the world.

The Americans would eventually lose to Austria; however they had let the world know that North America was no longer a laughing stock. Freddy Adu would finish the tournament as one of the top players, scoring a number of fantastic goals. The former DC United player would prove the critics wrong, and show the world why he is one of the better young players to be playing the worlds game. His performance at the U-20's would catch the eye of many top European clubs, with Benfica coming out on top in the end, signing the Real Salt Lake prodigy. Altidore would score one more goal against Austria, bringing his total to four, one more than super kid Alexandre Pato. Danny Szetela would tie Adu's three goals, showing fans that there was more to the team than Bradley, Adu, and Altidore. Chris Seitz gave the United States another top young GK to add to their arsenal, along with players like Brad Guzan and Tim Howard. The country seems to be produce top goalkeepers by the minute.

Oh yea, North Americas other entry, Mexico, made the quarterfinals. Wonder kid Gio Dos Santos wowed fans with his skill, leading the Mexicans throughout the tournament. Dos Santos, a key member of Spanish side Barcelona, will be one to watch in the future. It will also be fun to watch Dos Santos and Altidore face off against each other over the next 10 years, and see who can come out on top as the best player. Players like Carlos Vela and Pablo Barrera also suited up for Mexico, showing that Mexico certainly has a bright future ahead of them.

You're going to be hard pressed to find any Canadian player who has made an impact as big as the players mentioned on the Mexican and American U-20 teams, or with their clubs. There was one player who could have been Canada's Altidore/Vela/Bradley/Adu/Dos Santos, but he's playing for some team called the Oranje. Judas De Guzman could have been Canada's first true superstar in the sport of soccer; the Feyenoord midfielder is currently one of the top young players in the world, as he has consistently been one of the Eredivisie's top midfielders. Outside of De Guzman, Canada had little to look forward to, however De Guzman offered Canadian fans a flicker of hope that maybe, just maybe, we would have a new star to watch. Well that flicker is gone, and the candle hasn't been lit by anyone else.

Our supposed top young players have failed to make strides similar to those made by their continental counterparts. In fact, you could argue that some of them have taken steps back. If people believe we are catching up, then you must be mistaken, we are indeed falling behind. Even at the senior level, it's hard to be optimistic at some points.

The state of the sport of soccer in Canada may not be at an all time low, but it is very close to it. This could obviously be argued, with the fact that we very recently were robbed at the Gold Cup, where a berth in the final was taken away by Benito Archundia and his linesman. However, the results on the pitch since that missed call have been very average. Canada came out of the Gold Cup with their first friendly against Iceland, an island of around 313,000 people. Iceland was ranked at number 117 in the FIFA World Rankings in August of 2007, and the fact that Canada could only manage a draw against the secluded island, is fascinating to me. How does a country that dwarfs Iceland only manage a draw against them? It just shows how much work really needs to be done if Canada wants to improve on the world stage, especially when you compare the situation to our neighbours to the south at the senior level. The United States is quickly becoming a force, while Canada continues to fight to stay with Costa Rica, Trinidad & Tobago, Guatemala and Honduras.

Next Canada would come home to Toronto's BMO Field (or the National Soccer Stadium), the home of Toronto FC. A sparse gathering, mostly situated in south end of the stadium, watched their national team battle the Ticos for 90 minutes. A 1-1 draw would be the final, a respectable result. After that, the Canadian team traveled to a continent rarely touched by the Canucks, Africa. A friendly was played against South Africa's B team, a sure win in most fans eyes. The match did not go as expected; the Canucks gave an absolutely terrible effort. It was hard to watch.

Most recently the Canadian Soccer Association organized the "winter camp", a gathering of Canada's rejects, well maybe that's not very nice, the Canadian B team (a few first team players were there). Canada would battle world superpowers Martinique and Danish club Vejle Boldklub, securing wins in each match. You were probably happy we did not drop either game, but to take any sense of accomplishment away from either game would be laughable. Oh and uh, just a reminder, who has the United States played over the winter? Sweden and Mexico. But that's the CSA's fault, another reason to feel terrible about the future. Oh well. Maybe the CSF will change things, maybe...

Back to our players

Canada has an outside shot at qualifying for the World Cup; it will be a tough road to South Africa for the Canucks. If we do indeed qualify, I along with every Canadian soccer fan will be over the moon. I would no doubt travel to South Africa to cheer on our boys. But who takes over from there? The United States can hand over the team to Jozy Altidore, Freddy Adu, Michael Bradley, Brad Guzan, etc. Mexico can hand it over to Gio Dos Santos, Nery Castillo, Carlos Vela, Andrés Guardado, Guillermo Ochoa, etc. Canada to... Jamie Peters? David Edgar? They just don't match up. Canada has to get their act together, or the next 20 years might end up being a tough couple of decades for Canadian soccer fans. The rest of North America is improving rapidly, but Canada isn't.

Read more here including an interview with Asmir Begovic: http://comeonyouredstfc.blogspot.com/

[JoeSoccerFan]

I thought it was a tad negative, but you are entitled to your opinion!

[Lomonty]

It would be great to have teenage superstars ala Altidore and Adu bad the sad fact is Canadian talent develops in there mid 20's when European structure and coaching makes its impact. For every Altidore there's a Rob Friend plying his trade and developing into a class player

[torontofc]

I personally don't feel that it was negative at all.

I think that it just wasn't a sugarcoated opinion, like the ones we usually read as Canadian soccer fans on our players.

As for the point made about our players tending to develop later in their careers, I agree. However I find it hard to believe that the vast majority of our younger players will develop considerably over the next 5 years to the point where we are on par with the rest of NA.

[SthMelbRed]

"The rest of North America is improving rapidly, but Canada isn't."

You conveniently ignore so many factors in order to strengthen your argument. While much of what you say may be true, I can't say that your article is balanced. That statement I've quoted is case in point. You claim that we are falling behind the rest of North America but you only give the example of the two regional powerhouses who dwarf us financially and demographically. If you want to show how much Canada is falling off the pace in the region, you need to give evidence that Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago are leaving us in their wake. I don't think that is the case, even with the CSA being a shambles. The only thing that you have shown in your article is that the two major CONCACAF powers are creating an ever-widening gap between them and the rest of the region.

[BrennanFan]

Begovic – Portsmouth

Edgar – Newcastle

Johnson – Heerenveen

Gyaki - Rostock

J. Hoilet – Blackburn

D. Hoilet - Blackburn

Street – West Ham

Saiko – Middlesborough

Lacoste-Lebuis – Strasbourg

Sylla – Metz

Bekker – Ajax

Lam - Ajax

Future looks fine to me. Just because they dont have Adidas ads like Jozy doesn't mean they don't exist.

[jpg75]

^ Begovic has his own Adidas ad - aired during the U20's - where he's learning to play goalie in his room back in Bosnia during the war.

[ag futbol]

quote:Originally posted by BrennanFan

Future looks fine to me. Just because they dont have Adidas ads like Jozy doesn't mean they don't exist.

Now I see nothing wrong with the quality of the players you listed, there is more to Altidore than "Adidas ads". None of the guys up there are currently being capped by our senior team (except WJ with very limited impact) or being mentioned as transfer targets for clubs like Real Madrid or Blackburn. They probably won’t transfer for 4 or 5 million pounds this summer either.

The point of this article is that Mexico and USA have made great strides at the youth level with the U-20 WC being part of the proof of that progress. We seem to be spinning our wheels comparatively.

I don’t think the future is looking bad, it’s just looking the same as it usually has, maybe slightly better now that football is more global, and more players are making their way across the pond.

[snake]

Oh yea, North Americas other entry, Mexico, made the semi finals. Wonder kid Gio Dos Santos wowed fans with his skill, leading the Mexicans throughout the tournament. Dos Santos, a key member of Spanish side Barcelona, will be one to watch in the future. It will also be fun to watch Dos Santos and Altidore face off against each other over the next 10 years, and see who can come out on top as the best player. Players like Carlos Vela and Pablo Barrera also suited up for Mexico, showing that Mexico certainly has a bright future ahead of them.

dos santo's has given up on mexico ,he received his spanish citezenship last week and has pledged his international future with spain

it seems other concacaf nations are feeling the pain canadas been feeling with the likes of hargreaves and deguzman

[Scottie]

It should be noted that Mexico lost to Argentina in the quarterfinals, not the semis. Chile and Austria were the semi-final losers.

[torontofc]

First of all, I haven't seen anything on this Dos Santos news. Someone wanna offer a link? I thought he was capped by the senior team!

Begovic – Portsmouth - I agree, my favourite up and coming Canadian player, he has the skillset to become a very good GK

Edgar – Newcastle - Can't crack a terrible Newcastle XI, overhyped by Canadian fans.

Johnson – Heerenveen - What has he done? Come on as a sub? Play poorly at the U-20's?

Gyaki - Rostock - Oft injured, who knows if he'll ever become what he could be. He has talent, but does he have the health?

J. Hoilet – Blackburn - Wait and see. Will he play for Canada?

D. Hoilet - Blackburn - ditto

Street – West Ham - ditto

Saiko – Middlesborough - Haven't heard much on him, enlighten me please.

Lacoste-Lebuis – Strasbourg - Agreed. I have seen him play, he looks like a good player.

Sylla – Metz - Same as Saiko

Bekker – Ajax - Same

Lam - Ajax - Are there issues with his allegiance to Canada?

Basically what my article was trying to point out was the fact that our NA neighbours have made huge strides. None of our players who are currently under the age of 24 are making significant impacts with large clubs overseas or domestically. Whereas Mexico and the USA have very good examples as pointed out in the article. We are leaps and bounds behind them.

[torontofc]

quote:Originally posted by Scottie

It should be noted that Mexico lost to Argentina in the quarterfinals, not the semis. Chile and Austria were the semi-final losers.

That will be changed. Thanks for pointing that out. The whole round of 16 before before the quarterfinals got me. Sorry about that!

[tmcmurph]

While I do find both the article and our U20 performance a tad depressing I think the article is well thought out. I disagree on several points however.

As another poster pointed out Canadian players develop later. Why? In England they can be signed by a club at 15, in Canada I believe it is 18. Go to school and practice 4+ hours a day. Yea that will get you good in a hurry.

One possible solution is to get our 15 year olds practicing 4+ hours a day. How? I am open to suggestions. Short of bribing them with a car when they turn 16 I don't know what would work with teenage boys.

Yes there are prodigies on other teams like the USA and Mexico and we don't have any. A prodigy is nice to have and helps bring in other kids because they see a person similar to themselves getting fame and attention.

We do have a lot of solid players. Nothing in the prodigy category but one prodigy does not a team make. We have had prodigies but they all go to Europe to develop from age 12-15. Once we can keep them here it draws more in.

"dos santo's has given up on mexico ,he received his spanish citezenship last week and has pledged his international future with spain

it seems other concacaf nations are feeling the pain canadas been feeling with the likes of hargreaves and deguzman"

We feel your pain Tri, we feel your pain.

FIFA needs to do something about this mercenary attitude. While I can respect the guts it takes to select being a small fish in a big lake the small ponds need their big fish.

Is it time to implement a rule like "the country you are born in is the one you play for"? Is that possible? Legal?

[ag futbol]

quote:Originally posted by snake

dos santo's has given up on mexico ,he received his spanish citezenship last week and has pledged his international future with spain

He's already cap-tied to mexico.

His spanish citizenship just makes it easier for him to clear work requirements. Various players like Ronaldinho also have their spanish passport.

[massimo]

After all the preparation that team had they choked, whether they had the talent or not as the article mentions they were outmatched in all three games.

Simply put; on home soil we could not even muster a goal, not even a single point.

Then the CSA chooses after that sorry performance to promote their U-20 Coach to the senior national team. Anywhere else in the world he'd be sacked, fired, brought out to the pasture if you know what I mean.

I sure as hell hope Dale remembers how to qualify, seems the only thing he knew how to do fir the U-20s.

Then there is Jonathan De Guzman can we really blame him ... I blame the association guys.

[VPjr]

Dos santos will represent Mexico at the senior level. In fact, he saw playing time vs the Americans 2 weeks ago

[Guest Jeffery S.]

quote:Originally posted by ag futbol

He's already cap-tied to mexico.

His spanish citizenship just makes it easier for him to clear work requirements. Various players like Ronaldinho also have their spanish passport.

Of course, he is totally committed to Mexico and long cap-tied.

But considering how young he was when he came it is logical for him to get citizenship if he applies for it, same with his brother.

[SthMelbRed]

Wasn't it more likely that he'd play for Brazil rather than Spain if he chose not to represent his native Mexico. If I recall correctly, his father is Brazillian and moved to Mexico to play professional football, starting his family over there. Anyways, the point is now moot since he's firmly cap-tied to Mexico.

[SthMelbRed]

Wasn't it more likely that he'd play for Brazil rather than Spain if he chose not to represent his native Mexico. If I recall correctly, his father is Brazillian and moved to Mexico to play professional football, starting his family over there. Anyways, the point is now moot since he's firmly cap-tied to Mexico.

[fishman]

Saiko - Skilled central midfield player that should have been with Canada's U20 team in 2007. Unfortunately, Mitchell felt they had enough players like him. Yeah, right, Dale...lots of skilled players who are comfortable with the ball and in the tackle. Canada clearly fielded tonnes of boys fitting that description. Scores goals, gets forward, tracks back, tackles like it means something...but again, here is another player that Canada hasn't treated well. Evidence? During the run-up to the U20 tourney, our team had a string of injuries. Saiko was called to come fill in during some training sessions, but was advised not to go by 'Boro. He would have gone to train if Mitchell, or Fleming, or someone from the coaching staff called him. But no, they had a volunteer from the NTC-P call.

Before you all jump in and defend the coaching staff (hey, they are busy people! Hey, the boy should have a thicker skin and be willing to die for his country!), here is a kid that was by many objective observers' estimation better than several players chosen ahead of him and yet the coaching staff didn't even have the decency to call themselves. That isn't good enough.

Lam - Allegiance isn't the issue. He is a good player, very skilled, but was a very late invite to the NTC-P. He did get an invite to a U20 camp, but only after Ajax signed him. Long story about the Ajax connection, but I will make it a Reader's Digest version...he has a Dutch passport through his family that allowed him to go overseas. He wanted to go to England, but had to first have a trial in Holland (some sort of right of refusal thing). Ajax liked him so much they signed him rather than see him go to England.

I can't speak to some of the other players mentioned, but I can say that Saiko and Lam are very good prospects playing at high levels in good environments. I hope they are both called to another camp.

[jpg75]

I thought Lam was playing for the 'A2' team at Ajax, which means he probably isn't a pro prospect at this point. (Bekker is with the A1)

Abde Sylla is a '92 who played up 2 age groups alongside his brother during the CFU tourny back in 2005. He's either on the U17's or U18's at Metz. He'll probably be hands down the best player on the next U17's.

Edgar overrated? Don't think so. He's a CB, they and goalies get strung along slower than other positions. He'll be fine.

[Guest Can. in UK]

quote:Originally posted by jpg75

Edgar overrated? Don't think so. He's a CB, they and goalies get strung along slower than other positions. He'll be fine.

I've been meaning to make the same post.

How many 20 year CBs do you see starting in the Premiership? I know Hobbs made a start or two for Liverpool (since gone on loan to the Championship) but I can't think of any others.

The fact that some posters are suggesting he'll never make it because he hasn't had any Premiership starts this season is absolutely ridiculous. He could walk into any team in the Championship. I don't think you could say the same about many Canadian CBs at the moment.

I agree that it doesn't make sense that he's not thrown on for the last few minutes of a game - but generally you hardly ever see the CB subbed (unless there's an injury).

[royalcity]

quote:Originally posted by Can. in UK

I've been meaning to make the same post.

How many 20 year CBs do you see starting in the Premiership? I know Hobbs made a start or two for Liverpool (since gone on loan to the Championship) but I can't think of any others.

I agree that it doesn't make sense that he's not thrown on for the last few minutes of a game - but generally you hardly ever see the CB subbed (unless there's an injury).

That's my point exactly. When you're down 4-0 at Old Trafford how much damage can you really do? Throw him out there, let the loss hurt and let him feel it. Getting the nod in the late stages of that awful game, especially after such a long wait, might have given him a confidence boost.

[Guest Ed]

Of course he is overrated. How can you say he is not overrated? He had one spark in one game in the Premiership, over a year ago. Unheard of since. And a major disappointment by any standard in the U20's. Yet he was christened Cdn youth player of the year.

Good luck to him in his development but he has really not accomplished much yet. At his age, Hargreaves was starting Champions League games.

Mind you, the article itself, to be blunt, was crap.

[SouthAfricaOrBust]

Umm.. Was there someone more deserving?

And who is over-rating him? I havn't seen it, not from the knowledgable voyageur posters..