youllneverwalkalone Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Vancouver Fan I'm wondering if Jakovic is of Croatian heritage? Pretty sure he's Serb. Somebody posted recently that he was with Red Star youth before he went to UAB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beaver Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 quote:Originally posted by loyola The fact that he was on the Herman trophy "watch" list surely did help. Also, UAB connections with Canada is well known so I'm pretty sure our coaches knew about him for some times now. Now we need to find him a pro club. US college simply doesn't cut it at this age. I'd rather see him in Europe than with MLS--the kid is fit and has great skills--and wonder if Germany would be good for him. (I'd rather he didn't play in Croatia, even though the league isn't half bad.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youllneverwalkalone Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 quote:Originally posted by jpg75 Jakovic was excellent, i can't believe his uncle wasn't totally exagerrating about him. I can't see him returning for his senior year, he has a Euro passport (Serbian) and I'll bet Red Star Belgrade take another look at him and snap him up (or some other mid-tier club). Here's the quote Nazz. What's his story JP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brodycheese Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 I think the most impressive thing on this team was how Dasovic chose players: he didn't sit back and reuse the same players from the U-20, he didn't settle for the usual big clubs/big names, instead he called in a wide variety of players and seemed to have based selecting the team more on skill. Ornoch, Jakovic, and the Mexican based players selections, along with the way they passed the ball around (except for the fullback who kept hoofing it) out of trouble seemed very weird because I'm not used to a Canadian team playing properly, and was a nice change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Rollins1555362254 Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 NSR, but I'm choosing to take this: http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/345533 as a good omen for the u-23s... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ed Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Hat's off to Dasovic. Great result for Canada. As with most Cdn squads, we should improve as the week goes on. One game at a time though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red card Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Cdn men's water polo team also qualified for Olympics http://www.waterpolo-world.com/o.red.c/news.php?GID=1&auswahl=4013 First non-European water polo team to qualify for Olmympics since 92 (besides auto qualifications as host country) Historically, across all sports, Cdn teams haven't had much success qualifying for Summer Olympics and then tend to bomb at the Games. So, it is looking good so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beaver Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Wow, things are looking up so much that I'm going to go buy a lottery ticket. If I win millions, I will carve out a goodly sum for Canadian soccer. Ideally, for all our home games during WCQ, I will buy ALL the tickets to BMO or Commonwealth or whereever, and I'll only let in Canadian fans. Evil, but well intentioned, don't you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free kick Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 quote:Originally posted by brodycheese I think the most impressive thing on this team was how Dasovic chose players: he didn't sit back and reuse the same players from the U-20, Agreed. I was hoping that that would be the approach they would take. Judging from performances and results of the last two U20 teams, i saw no point in going to that well. They had to turn new stones and roll the dice, even if meant going to unconventional sources like ( for example) CSL. Going in to this tournament, qualifying for the olympics was long shot to begin with. Even more difficult than the qualfying the senior team for the world cup when you consider the all the circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpg75 Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 quote:Originally posted by youllneverwalkalone Here's the quote Nazz. What's his story JP? He's an Etobicoke kid, played youth soccer in Toronto for years. I'm not sure if Dan was born here, but his mom was born in Serbia. He trained with Red Star for a summer back in high school, and the year before he went to UAB he was with Woodbridge Strikers. Prefers to play up front in attack, but the coach at UAB stuck him in the back the first 2 years. Actually, in the middle of his sophmore year he switched him into midfield and the team did a 180 going from .500 to Conference contender. I was told all this from his uncle (mom's brother), Zoran Jakovic. Good guy, likes to party. I've been meaning to get his number from my buddy Andrew and give him a call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzly Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 It seems like most of you managed to watch the game online so I can't gloat. But Speedmonk and I watched it on a giant screen, so take that We walked in to Champs and there were five Mexican fans and one of their girlfriends who looked Canadian. First thing they said was "Holy ****, Canada has fans?" Second thing they said was, "We are sorry for you guys". Other than that they were pretty cool though. As much as I detest Champs, it was pretty great having a whole side of the bar for the Canada/Mexico fans and the game up on both the large screen and several other televisions. This place charges $9 for a pint of Guiness which is more than one pays at an airport. The food was pretty mediocre as well but this is the first time in about 10 visits that I had a waitress who was polite and efficient. To the game: the Mexican's "We are sorry for you guys" comment inspired Speedmonk and myself to a gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool chant that even the craziest Argentine commentator would have been proud of. I thought we played very well for the first 25 minutes and threatened the Mexicans as much as they did us. The last 20 minutes of the first half and for the 2nd half I think we were too defensive and didn't threaten enough on the counter. I was impressed by many of the same players as others were, Wagenaar, Ornach, Ledgerwood and Jakovic. Wagenaar should be rewarded by getting the next start and to my eyes he looked like an upgrade over Sutton in this game so I don't see why Mo didn't sign him. A couple more strong performances than that and hopefully he will get some offers that are more interesting than TFC anyway. Hainault was excellent other than giving up the penalty kick. I don't see how people can say the PK was not deserved. Sure the Mexican was looking to go down but Hainault was all over him. That is a sure PK in any league including Czech Republic. People saying that it is not a PK in Europe can not be watching European soccer. The worst thing is the Mexicans had been shooting wide all match and Wagenaar had good position so at best it was about a 30% scoring chance. I am not the biggest fan of McKenna and prefer Hainault to him but rookie mistakes like this that can cost us the game are probably the reason why McKenna will and probably should start ahead of Hainault as CB. Both reds were harsh but since it evened out I have no problem with that. The ref was otherwise excellent and very fair, I would like to have him for every WCQ game. I really liked how he refused to buy a lot of the Mexican diving and you could see that the Mexicans dived less because of it. I was really impressed by our ball control and how the players when they won a ball didn't just hoof it down the pitch but kept possession with short passes. It was great to see our players confident enough to keep the ball and not get nervous when a Mexican was pressuring them. A few of the back passes made me nervous though. Excellent tactics and preparation by Dasovic. I hope he can develop into a top coach because with guys like Mo Johnson and Nick DeSantis coaching our top teams we really need to develop some coaches here. I liked that he substituted earlier than we usually do but was disappointed in the performances of all of the subs. Like some others here, I really don't see anything from Lombardo. He doesn't have the scoring touch a striker needs but doesn't seem effective at doing anything else either. His technical deficiencies are numerous and easy to see, doesn't receive the ball well for example. There are some players that aren't developed but you can see the raw skill but I don't see that at all with Lombardo. Gyaki also didn't seem to be the same player he was with the U-20s. He should have kept possession and ran to the corner, killing time and maybe winning a corner kick or having a cross opportunity. All in all though a very encouraging performance by a team that wasn't expected to be this strong. It is nice to watch a game with some hitherto not very well known players and see them give strong performances (reminds me of Occean who was unheard of and all of a sudden became one of our top strikers). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ref Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Should Dasovic and our lads make the cut to the Oympics, that will further put a damp on the sad experience with our U20's last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masster Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Finally have a chance to give my thoughts. I watched the game at a cafe on Commercial Drive last night. Lots of Mexicans there. As the game progressed, it was funny to watch the size of the crowd grow as more and more "Anglos" were staying to see if Canada could get a result. Obviously I'm very happy with the result. I thought the ref was very, very good. Sure you can question a few of his decisions, but you can make an argument that he was right in all cases. Thumbs up: Jakovic - stand out of the game Johnson - really helped us control the ball Wagenaar - solid Ornoch - showed well, excited to see more Hainault - beast in the air, dominated high balls, has to watch his fouls Thumbs sideways: Hemming - fine, did what he had to, probably in a position that would have gone to JBB if he was available Lensky - hard to judge, will give him a pass but want to see more Kambere - not as bad as people are saying, got sucked in on the goal but besides that there was rarely a threat on his side Ricketts - I'll give him a pass, tracked back very well, seemed a bit tentative going forward, I don't know what to think about this guy Thunbs down: Ledgerwood - he is only in this section because my expectations of him were really high, seemed that his was the wing where Mexico was getting all of their attacks, I'm not sure if he was jet-lagged but seemed a bit slow, hope it is not left over from his injury problems, I like his demenour though and think he has good leadership abilities, I think he will improve as the tournament goes on Ayre - didn't even know he was on the field in the first half, seems timid and soft, a bit slow on the ball, more of a presence is required in that position Coaching: Dasovic sent an understandable and prepared lineup out on the pitch. I think the team needed some help in central midfield during the second half. It didn't come. I expected to see Rosenlund come in. Overall: -One has to feel optimistic now. A place in the top 2 is still not a certainty though. -I think there is still is a lack of creativity in the middle of the park though. I believe that in the 4-2-3-1 formation the 2 has to be made up of one destroyer and one distributor. Ayre doesn't fill the distributor role well enough in my estimation. Even when Canada has possesion, a lot of the passes are going backwards. If there was any way to get Jakovic into the midfield, I think we need to try it. -The loss of Johnson (I'm not sure if it is for 1 or 2 games) will hurt, especially with respect to our ball control and possession. Maybe a Gyaki and Rosenlund pairing in midfield next game a la 2005. -I also believe this team is missing Peters. He would have made a difference in last night's game running at their back line as a true winger should. -The quality of our corners must improve dramatically. -I'd like to see Ramalho in for a game in the place of Kambere. Thats all for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyola Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Grizzly, I think you mixed up "red card" and "PK" in your post. To be fair to Hainault, who I think made a bad play on the PK call, he arrived tuesday and there's a 10 hours time zone difference between California and Praha. I think he played well the rest of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrennanFan Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Grizzly Gyaki also didn't seem to be the same player he was with the U-20s and that play at the end where he kicked the ball way too far for anyone to get to it other than their keeper with only minutes to go was brutal. He should have kept possession and ran to the corner, killing time and maybe winning a corner kick or having a cross opportunity. I seem to recall that it was #6 Ledgerwood who made that play. might be wrong tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Here's a post-match article with quotes from Dasovic and a report that the Mexican fans in attendance called the Canadian players ugly: http://www.tsn.ca/soccer/news_story/?ID=231920&hubname=soccer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 quote:Originally posted by BrennanFan I seem to recall that it was #6 Ledgerwood who made that play. might be wrong tho. You are correct, and I think he was just tired as he was running down the opposite end of the field from where he was supposed to be. And he might have been the player that spent 30 hours on a plane to get to the game (see the article I posted), or maybe it was Hainault. Even if it was just 16 hours, I think we have to give these players the benefit of the doubt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 quote:Originally posted by The Ref Should Dasovic and our lads make the cut to the Oympics, that will further put a damp on the sad experience with our U20's last year. I think if the U23 team unexpectedly makes the Olympic games we should ecstatically happy & excited for the future, rather than more depressed about something that happened in the past against non-Concacaf opposition. But to each their own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ed Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Nik Ledgerwood just came back after the winter break, so he is not in 'in-season' form. To G-L, he flew out Friday according to the 1860 site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Ed Nik Ledgerwood just came back after the winter break, so he is not in 'in-season' form. To G-L, he flew out Friday according to the 1860 site. Yeah, but if he was the player that was in flight for 30 hours, that might mean that he arrived Sunday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youllneverwalkalone Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca Here's a post-match article with quotes from Dasovic and a report that the Mexican fans in attendance called the Canadian players ugly: http://www.tsn.ca/soccer/news_story/?ID=231920&hubname=soccer What? They called us ugly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jeffery S. Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 quote:Originally posted by jpg75 Jakovic was excellent, i can't believe his uncle wasn't totally exagerrating about him. I can't see him returning for his senior year, he has a Euro passport (Serbian) and I'll bet Red Star Belgrade take another look at him and snap him up (or some other mid-tier club). A Serbian passport is NOT a Euro passport, it only gives you the right to play in Serbia. If it were not the case there would be a few people, like Srdjan, who'd have an easier time signing in Europe. I think the kid should stay at his NCAA team, finish his degree, and then go for it. By then, who knows, the Serbian relationship with the EU might have been sorted out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jeffery S. Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 quote:Originally posted by The Ref Agreed. We defended well and the Mexicans dwindle in front of goal. The Mexicans are not used to play against teams that defend with lots of players. When not given the room to operate they become unproductive and even more dives would not help them. I think the referee was a bit inexperienced and looked frazzle. FYI Mexico had gone something like four whole games without scoring before yesterday, so they have notorious problems getting goals lately. As for prep, Mexico has spent something like 6 weeks in Cancún under the national head coach Hugo Sanchez and something like 9 assistants, and they are yapping about winning the gold just on the basis of having won the last u-17 WC. High expectations, loads of money, lots of prep- and I am so glad they are doing badly as I absolutely hate Hugo Sanchez. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzly Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 quote:Originally posted by loyola Grizzly, I think you mixed up "red card" and "PK" in your post. To be fair to Hainault, who I think made a bad play on the PK call, he arrived tuesday and there's a 10 hours time zone difference between California and Praha. I think he played well the rest of the game. Yes you are right I meant PK and will change my post. I do think otherwise he did play well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzly Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca You are correct, and I think he was just tired as he was running down the opposite end of the field from where he was supposed to be. And he might have been the player that spent 30 hours on a plane to get to the game (see the article I posted), or maybe it was Hainault. Even if it was just 16 hours, I think we have to give these players the benefit of the doubt. Actually I think you are right and I got him mixed up with Gyaki. Gyaki still didn't impress me that much when he was on but to be fair he hasn't been playing that much recently even for Rostock's reserves. Maybe if he comes in for Johnson and gets a full game he will be in better form. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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