Guardian: North American soccer needs a real Canada v USA rivalry

[sstackho]

I figured I should post this here, since the article links to a forum post of mine from 2006! 

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/feb/05/north-american-soccer-needs-a-real-canada-v-usa-rivalry

Football

North American soccer needs a real Canada v USA rivalry

The Guardian

Sean Keeler

5 February 2016 05:02

916 words

English

GRDN

© Copyright 2016. The Guardian. All rights reserved.

The balance of power in North America has skewed south in recent times but competition could help both teams improve

Picture the hype. No, no, no. Picture the hate. It’s not often that a window presents itself to talk smack about the War of 1812. Or to put it another way: Where have you gone, Igor Vrablic ? A rivalry turns its lonely eyes to you. Woo, woo, woo.

Although let’s face it – a rivalry, it ain’t.

Hell, it’s barely a skirmish. Over their last 16 meetings, the United States’ men’s national soccer team is unbeaten – eight wins and eight draws – against its contemporaries from Canada. The finer points are even more farcical: Since a 2-0 victory in April 1985, the Stars & Stripes have outscored The Great White North by a combined margin of 23-4. It’s hard to hate the bug when you’ve been the windshield for decades at a time.

We mention this because the two neighbors meet on Friday evening in California, their first senior men’s tussle – if you want to call it that – since January 2013 in Houston, which ended in a 0-0 draw. We also mention this because USA v Canada (in soccer, at least) seems to move the needle these days about as much as a Martin O’Malley rally, save for bragging rights around greater Windsor. Which is a pity.

Well, maybe not so much a pity as a missed opportunity. In the four senior men’s friendlies in the series since 2003, only one – another 0-0 draw, this one in 2006 at San Diego – filled more than half of the stadium. The only thing duller than a winter friendly is a winter friendly that’s perceived as a foregone conclusion.

When the Yanks and Les Rouges hook up in hockey, it’s an event. On the pitch, it’s a shrug.

Look, we know what you’re saying, at least south of the border: that’s the way we like it, no stress, no fuss. There’s already enough bile in the US-Mexico series to fill the Aleutian Trench, and the last thing Jurgen Klinsmann needs is another sharp wooden stake to hand to his detractors.

Yet it’s curious that the US and Canadian national teams, post-world war two, have rarely been relevant – OK, relevant-ish – at the same time. Since Fifa created world rankings, USA have averaged a No19 slot; Canada No77. Over the last 23 years, the North American twosome have only been ranked in the top 50 in the same year twice: In 1993 (US 22nd, Canada 44th) and 1996 (US 18th; Canada, 40th).

When Les Rouges was flying high in 1986, the first and only time they’ve qualified for a World Cup, US soccer had nearly bottomed out. In 2014, while World Cup fever gripped the States, Canada endured a 958-minute goal drought and saw its Fifa ranking dip to 122 that August, the lowest mark in the country’s history.

But what if both sides of the border actually had incentive to sit up and take notice when America and America Nice locked horns? USA v Mexico is fun for the same reason, by and large, as Broncos v Patriots and Cruz v Trump: a nything could happen. El Tri still lead the overall series with USA, but since the 1994 World Cup marked the perceptive rebirth – or rediscovery – of football in American circles, the northerners hold a 15-10-8 edge.

Meanwhile, about the closest we’ve come to controversy – or even a pulse – in the US-Canada “rivalry” was in 2007, when during the Gold Cup semi-final, Canuck Atiba Hutchinson’s equalizer in the fourth minute of stoppage time was disallowed for offside, and the US held on, 2-1.

At least the names returning to the fold for national coach Benito Floro elicit the potential for drama: Junior Hoilett (QPR), Steven Vitoria (Benfica, Philadelphia Union), Fraser Aird (Rangers, Vancouver Whitecaps), Teho Akinele (FC Dallas) and Lucas Cavallini (Central Atletico Fenix) chief among them. Although you’ve got to whisk Marty McFly and the DeLorean back 31 years for Canada’s last victory in the series, thanks to two goals by striker Vrablic.

Les Rouges would later be crowned Concacaf champions to secure that historic 1986 World Cup place, but even that glory comes with a few asterisks. For one, Mexico didn’t compete in the qualifying tournament that year, having already sewn up a berth automatically as the host nation in ‘86. And second, Vrablic’s career came to screeching halt not long after for his role in a match-fixing scandal.

So maybe it’s karma.

Or money. Or numbers. Or, more likely, all of the above.

Hindsight can sum up the relative fortune gap between the countries in two words: America cares. Or enough Americans – and American television networks – care that cash and eyeballs tend to follow in due course. The US have invested in development and grassroots cohesion (more or less) over the last 20 years or so, a cohesion that some Canadian fans believe their country’s youth system, at present, sorely lacks.

A win on Friday wouldn’t change that. Not overnight. But it might light a fire that leads to bigger things.

Guardian Newspapers Limited

 

Edited October 16, 2019 by sstackho
Fixed outdated URL in article

[zeelaw]

Eh good find, musta been a shock to see a link back to your own post. Funny

[Rheo]

Great article.  Love the Windsor reference.  Glad I won't be downtown where the Americans would be watching.

[theaub]

Read first three sentences, immediately starting humming 1812 song.

[Lord Bob]

Ctrl-F -> Wambach -> No matches.

Ctrl-F -> Sinclair -> No matches.

Ctrl-F -> women -> No matches.

Idiot.

[Rheo]

1 minute ago, Benjamin Massey said:

Ctrl-F -> Wambach -> No matches.

Ctrl-F -> Sinclair -> No matches.

Ctrl-F -> women -> No matches.

Idiot.

Yeah good point they missed now that you mention it...

[Keegan]

16 minutes ago, Benjamin Massey said:

Ctrl-F -> Wambach -> No matches.

Ctrl-F -> Sinclair -> No matches.

Ctrl-F -> women -> No matches.

Idiot.

Clearly the article is about male soccer.  But even then our men probably have a better chance at beating the States than our women.  Save for the Olympic semi every match I've seen our Women play the States we get thrashed.  Whereas the last 5 matches for the men have actually been pretty close. 3 draws, the 2007 BS loss and 2011 GC loss.

 

Edited February 5, 2016 by Keegan

[Lord Bob]

7 minutes ago, Keegan said:

Clearly the article is about male soccer.

True, insomuch as it omits any mention of women's soccer. But that's like me talking about how the Russians won World War II and when you point out that I'm missing a hell of a lot I reply "clearly the article is about the Eastern Front." It's a rather glaringly incomplete view, and the suspicion is that it is incomplete out of ignorance.

Edited February 5, 2016 by Lord Bob

[Keegan]

1 minute ago, Benjamin Massey said:

True, insomuch as it omits any mention of women's soccer. But that's like me talking about how the Russians won World War II and when you point out that I'm missing a hell of a lot I reply "clearly the article is about the Eastern Front." It's a rather glaringly incomplete view, and the suspicion is that it is incomplete out of ignorance.

I wouldn't take it that way.  Most supporters globally don't watch Women's soccer, it's as simple as that really.  If someone is going to write an article on El Clasico they can be forgiven if they don't mention the womens sides. 

On the flip side I'm sure there are dozens of articles on the US-Canada women's rivalry without mention of De Guzman, Bradley or Hutchinson.  

[Lord Bob]

4 minutes ago, Keegan said:

I wouldn't take it that way.  Most supporters globally don't watch Women's soccer, it's as simple as that really.  If someone is going to write an article on El Clasico they can be forgiven if they don't mention the womens sides. 

On the flip side I'm sure there are dozens of articles on the US-Canada women's rivalry without mention of De Guzman, Bradley or Hutchinson.  

I think the equivalent would be if someone wrote an article saying "Spain needs a Barcelona - Madrid football rivalry," with a 900-word post on how disappointing it is that fans don't really get fired up for games between the Real Madrid women and the Barcelona women, and treats that as a universal state of affairs without so much as a sentence of "of course, the men's games are rather firey."

In general of course men's soccer is more popular than women's, but in the specific context of the Canada-US national team rivalry (or "rivalry") that isn't the case.

[Keegan]

2 minutes ago, Benjamin Massey said:

I think the equivalent would be if someone wrote an article saying "Spain needs a Barcelona - Madrid football rivalry," with a 900-word post on how disappointing it is that fans don't really get fired up for games between the Real Madrid women and the Barcelona women, and treats that as a universal state of affairs without so much as a sentence of "of course, the men's games are rather firey."

In general of course men's soccer is more popular than women's, but in the specific context of the Canada-US national team rivalry (or "rivalry") that isn't the case.

Agree to disagree I guess.  I just don't see a need for the two rivalries to be married, I find most of the time it's condescending towards our MNT... it's actually refreshing.  

 

[theaub]

We've seen the peak of the Canada/US women's rivalry, and I mean its pretty clear a legitimate men's rivalry would blow by it on whatever the 'rivalry scale' is actually called.

 

 

[Califax]

1 hour ago, theaub said:

We've seen the peak of the Canada/US women's rivalry, and I mean its pretty clear a legitimate men's rivalry would blow by it on whatever the 'rivalry scale' is actually called.

 

 

The "NSYNCstreetboys" spectrum. 

[koolvid]

As much as I'd love a rivalry with between us and the americans, wouldn't we actually have to start by actually beating them once every few decades? We haven't beat them since the 80's I believe. 

Edited February 5, 2016 by koolvid

[Dub Narcotic]

There was a thread in /r/mls recently about who the Americans see as rivals and Canada wasn't on most people's lists. For our part, surely Honduras is the biggest rivalry right now.

[kmouseyc]

lets worry about winning and developing players to the point that we are the third team people think of in concacaf as legitimate contenders.Then the rivalries will happen.

 

[gigi riva]

  For  now  I  just want  Canada  to  improve  and  develop  better  players  every  year.    I   cannot  see  why   we  can   the  Yanks  at  least  once  a  year    especially  on  a  FIFA   date.

[Fussball_eh]

22 hours ago, gigi riva said:

  For  now  I  just want  Canada  to  improve  and  develop  better  players  every  year.    I   cannot  see  why   we  can   the  Yanks  at  least  once  a  year    especially  on  a  FIFA   date.

i think now that we are better than in the last few years, maybe we are a useful sparring partner for the US, where as in the recent past we have not been. So yeah, I like this plan.

[Obinna]

When we make the HEX and take points from them, with players like Hutchinson, Hoilett and Arfield doing damage, then things will start to heat up.

Or at least that's the way I dream it up in my head

[theaub]

In my FM '16 thing we beat them 3-0 in Washington on the final matchday to get into the playoff (and knock them out of everything)

Needless to say...that's probably not happening.

[One American]

This last game seemed like the first time in a while that Canada isn't just out-athleted all over the field. It's a start.

[gigi riva]

On ‎2‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 9:02 AM, Fussball_eh said:

i think now that we are better than in the last few years, maybe we are a useful sparring partner for the US, where as in the recent past we have not been. So yeah, I like this plan.

As   crazy  as it  may  sound.   Why  not  have  the  CNMT   and    CNWT  play   against  there  American  counterparts  on  the  same  open  FIFA  weekend.   For  example  have  the  Men"s  team  play  on  Saturday   lets  say  in  Toronto.   While the  Women"s game  would  take  place  in  a  American   City   the  next  day.    And  if  it  is  possible  have  the  U20s  U16,  play  each  other  at  the  same  weekend. Then  reverse   the  fixtures  the  following  year.

[Dicdan]

looks like now its time to!!

[kungfucious]

holy crap sstackho....  u got published in the guardian!!

 

ABOUT CANADIAN FOOTBALL!?!?  hahhahahhahhahah!