Herdman new head coach

[matty]

Just got a TSN notification. Zambrano is out as Head out and Herdman is in

EDIT

 

Edited January 9, 2018 by matty

[sose]

WHAT!!!!

[badname22]

Why?  

[Obinna]

Heartbroken

[Floortom]

Herdsman????

ughhh

what a joke the CSA continues to be 

[sose]

i liked that the team was playing a more attacking style under Octavio Z... hope we see more of the same under Herdman but this is kind of a strange move.

[Obinna]

CSA: "the usmnt program is in utter shambles, you say? ..... hold my beer"

[Obinna]

1 minute ago, sose said:

i liked that the team was playing a more attacking style under Octavio Z... hope we see more of the same under Herdman but this is kind of a strange move.

CanMNT and CanWNT fans are both not going to like this.

I hope both sets of fans put a lot of pressure on the CSA for this one.

Edited January 9, 2018 by Obinna

[badname22]

As someone who has never watched the cwnt can someone explain his style of play to me?

 

[toontownman]

3 minutes ago, badname22 said:

As someone who has never watched the cwnt can someone explain his style of play to me?

 

Gungho. All heart. He will make players work hard for the shirt and play with pride. 

Tactical master? Not at all in my opinion but an honest heart felt guy. 

This is something he has lived for and dreamt of though so he will work his was off no doubt. 

Can he fare against other great coaches? We will find out I guess. More importantly will players respect him? 

[Joe MacCarthy]

Herdman to replace Zambrano as Canadian men’s soccer team coach
John Molinaro sportsnet.ca January 8, 2018

In a shocking development that has major implications for both the Canadian men’s and women’s soccer programs, John Herdman has replaced Octavio Zambrano as coach of the national men’s team, effective immediately.
 
Canada Soccer confirmed to Sportsnet on Monday evening that Zambrano has departed after being hired last year, and that Herdman, who has served as the coach of the Canadian women’s team since 2011, will take control of the men’s side. Herdman has also been named the Canadian men’s national team program director. In his new role, Herdman will be responsible for all the national youth teams, from the under-14 age level and up, all the way through to the national senior team.

Kenneth Heiner-Møller will take over as Canadian women’s national team program director and head coach – Heiner-Møller has been an assistant coach under Herdman since 2015. Also, Bev Priestman will assume the role of National EXCEL Director U15-U23 and women’s national team under-20 coach, as well as women’s national team assistant coach.

“We felt as an organization that we needed to make some decisions for the longer term and our long-term philosophy, looking at growth of the men’s national team program and the youth development program. In terms of that review, we determined that we had the ideal candidate internally in John Herdman,” Canada Soccer president Steve Reed explained in a one-on-one interview with Sportsnet.

“We thought now was the time to look to John to lead the men’s program and emulate what he’s done with the women’s program.”

While Reed maintains that this change was made in order to give Herdman full control, from youth level to the senior team, for the long-term benefit of the men’s program, one well-place source told Sportsnet that Zambrano’s tenure as coach was viewed as “a disaster” within some quarters of Canada Soccer.

Asked to characterize the terms of Zambrano’s departure, whether he was fired or he left by mutual consent, Reed said: “It was an organizational decision. He has departed from Canada Soccer. We wish him the best of luck.”

Reed declined to give any details on Herdman’s contract with the men’s team, only that it was a multi-year deal, but you have to think it’ll at least carry through Canada’s qualifying campaign for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Canada is also in the running to co-host the 2026 World Cup with the United States and Mexico.

“We have some significant developments coming up, and from an organizational perspective we viewed John as being the person who can take leadership in that role, and move us towards what we want to do, and that’s qualify for the next two World Cups,” Reed said.

Born in England, Herdman was awarded the 2017 Jack Donohue “Coach of the Year” Award from the Coaching Association of Canada, and has a history of success with the Canadian women’s team, including winning a pair of Olympic bronze medals.
 
“It’s an honour to work on the men’s side, and to be able to stay in Canada, as well. As a family man, we’ve settled here, we’ve lived here for six years. My son and daughter are pretty settled, and with other opportunities there was a chance that we might’ve had to leave Canada. … This is good news that we can establish our roots here and pushing the game forward, albeit on the men’s side,” Herdman told Sportsnet in a one-on-one interview.

Herdman, 42, has never coached a national men’s team. Prior to taking the Canadian job, he managed New Zealand’s national women’s side from 2006 to 2011.

The women’s team has enjoyed its greatest success under Herdman, who led Canada to bronze medals at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. Herdman’s side also reached the quarterfinals of the 2015 FIFA World Cup staged in Canada, the team’s best showing since finishing fourth at the 2003 tournament – the Reds bowed out in the first round of the 2007 and 2011 World Cups.
 
Herdman said he made it known to Canada Soccer in early 2017 that he wanted to eventually make the transition into men’s coaching, and that he planned to step away from the Canadian women’s team in 2020. That, in part, appears to have led to his appointment. He told Sportsnet that he recently received job offers from a men’s club in North America, and one from a prominent women’s national team from abroad.
 
“From a motivational side, you get to that point in your career where you’re starting to feel ready for a new challenge, and the stars sort of aligned in some ways that some opportunities were presented in front of us… They were very good opportunities. I had some tough decisions to make and that led towards keeping a future here in Canada,” Herdman said.
 
He later added: “I’d always sort of talked about moving into the men’s game, and one of those opportunities came up, and a pretty prestigious opportunity came up on the women’s side. That was a big decision, as well. It’s been a crazy two months for us… [but] I felt I was ready for a new challenge, and this is where it’s ended up. I’m bloody excited.”

The possibility of losing Herdman didn’t drive the process behind this change, Reed explained.

“When you have someone who’s been as successful as John has been, there’s always a concern that there’s suitors out there looking to hire him away. … That’s always something you have to contend with, but that was not the motivating factor in this decision. Looking from an organizational perspective, it was a matter of what we have and where we want to go, and we felt that John was the right man for the job,” Reed said.

This represents one of the biggest shakeups in the history of Canadian soccer, with Zambrano being axed less than a year on the job. Zambrano was hired last March as the Canadian men’s team coach, taking over from Benito Floro, who did not have his contract renewed the previous September following the Reds’ elimination from 2018 World Cup qualifying.
 
Zambrano, 59, previously was in charge of the LA Galaxy and New York MetroStars in Major League Soccer. He also coached pro teams in Moldova, Hungary, Colombia and his native Ecuador.
 
This was Zambrano’s first job as a national team manager, and he had his work cut out right from the beginning – Canada was 117th in the FIFA world rankings, sandwiched between Botswana and Nicaragua, when he took over the coaching reigns. What’s more, Canada had not qualified for the World Cup since 1986 in Mexico (its lone appearance), and last made it to the Hex (the final round of World Cup qualifying in the CONCACAF region) for the 1998 competition held in France.
 
Canada also had a rough go of it at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, bowing out in the first round in three consecutive tournaments from 2009 to 2013. They even failed to win a game or score a single goal over the course of the 2011 and 2013 tournaments.
 
Zambrano’s first game in charge was a friendly against Curaçao on June 13, 2017 in a 2-1 win in Montreal. He then guided Canada to the quarter-finals of the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup a month later, the Reds’ first appearance in the knock-out stage of the tournament since 2009.
 
This represents the 13th coaching change — including interim appointments — in the last 15 years for the Canadian men’s team. No man has held on to his job for four years since Holger Osieck from 1999 to 2003. Floro lasted just over three years in the position.
 
It’ll be interesting to see how Canada’s players will react to working with a coach who has spent the majority of his soccer career in the women’s game. He anticipates having to convince some that he can handle the job.

“You’d be naïve not to think that there’ll be people in the football community with that perception, and that’s natural. That’s natural for most people that are transitioning, whether it’s women who have moved into men’s pro soccer, or the female referees that have moved into that side of the game,” Herdman said.

“The coaching community over the last 15 years has become more open-minded. You look at the evolution of Rafa Benitez and Jose Mourinho, coaches who hadn’t played the game at any real level, which was sacrilege 10 to 15 years ago. … It’s more about methodology and what you bring [as a coach].”

He later added: “There will be doubters, for sure. All I’ve got to do is make sure that I put my best effort into this.”

After the news became official on Monday evening, Herdman spoke to iconic Canadian captain Christine Sinclair and other members of the women’s team about his new position and the changes with the with the women’s program.

“It’s with a heavy heart [that I leave the women’s team] because I’ve shared so many bloody, unbelievable moments with them, you’ve been through some of their darkest moments, and they’ve seen me at my worst and I’ve seen them at their worst. I’m going to leave that group behind, but I’m still in Canada and I’ll be a phone call away,” Herdman said.

“I don’t see myself as leaving that program. I’m still there in spirit in my mind.”

[Joe MacCarthy]

Canada Soccer announces new leadership of Men’s National Team Program under John Herdman
canadasoccer.com 8 January 2018

Canada Soccer has named John Herdman to the post of Men’s National Team Head Coach and Men’s National EXCEL Director, effective immediately. Herdman takes over the role of Men’s National Team Head Coach from Octavio Zambrano who has departed Canada Soccer. Kenneth Heiner-Møller will take over as Women’s National Team Head Coach and Women’s National EXCEL Director after serving as an Assistant Coach alongside Herdman since 2015. Additionally, Bev Priestman will assume the role of Women’s National EXCEL Director U15-U23 and Women’s National Team Assistant Coach.

“We welcome John to this new role as he brings his success aligning Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team Program over the past six years and his world-class technical coaching abilities to continue delivering results for Canada Soccer for the Men’s National Team Program,” said Canada Soccer President Steven Reed. “We are pleased to have such a capable successor in Kenneth Heiner-Møller who has been a key part of the technical staff that has seen Canada capture back-to-back bronze medals and rise to its highest-ever ranking of 4th in the world. On behalf of Canada Soccer, we would also like to thank Octavio for his contributions over the past year and wish him well in his future endeavours.”

Herdman, who was awarded the 2017 Jack Donohue “Coach of the Year” Award from the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC), has a long history of success with Canada Soccer including two Olympic bronze medals and a sixth place finish at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™.

Heiner-Møller joined Canada Soccer in 2015 as a technical coach with the Women’s National Team and served as assistant coach for the Rio 2016 Olympic Bronze Medal winning team. Heiner-Møller brings a wealth of experience having served as Denmark’s Women’s National Team Coach from 2006 to 2013 including leading them to qualification for the FIFA Women’s World Cup China 2007™.

“It is easy to point to John’s record with Canada to demonstrate his effectiveness as a high-performance coach, in earning back-to-back Summer Olympic medals he's achieved in team sport something no other coach in Canada has done in over 100 years,” said Canada Soccer General Secretary Peter Montopoli. “What makes him exemplary though, is his work ethic, his passion, his preparation and his attention to detail. We are looking forward to John bringing his expertise to our Men’s National Team program.”

In his new role, Herdman will take over responsibility for the Men's National Team through to all men's national youth teams from the U-14 age level and up. As he has done with Canada Soccer’s Women’s Program, his new role will see him further build an alignment through the age-groups and with key stakeholders to standardize and develop consistent tactical approaches, and refine youth programming to ensure a constant supply of elite players to Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team. In streamlining the talent development structure, Herdman will ensure the strategic focus, resources and attention are channelled to the areas where it is needed most, while further maximising the potential of Canada’s best players.

“It’s a great honour to join the Men’s National Team Program and I want to thank Canada Soccer for this opportunity to grow and develop the sport in this country through a one country, one system approach,” said Herdman. “Working with Canada Soccer’s Women’s Program, and the remarkable players and staff who have made the past six years so incredible has been an absolute privilege, and I am confident the team and entire National Women’s Team Program are in excellent hands with Kenneth and Bev. In taking on the roles of Men’s Program Director and Men’s National Team Head Coach, I am keen to put a lasting mark on a program full of potential with as we work towards the ultimate goal of representing Canada on the world’s biggest stage at the FIFA World Cup.”

[nolbertos]

Honestly, I’d rather see Robbo than Herdman as CMNT and thats not saying much TBH, but at least Robbo is familiar with MLS and the local scene here.  Man, if this was the message the CSA wanted to send out, thanks for making alot of CMNT fans run for the hills now.

[CanadianSoccerFan]

 

 

Translation:  Give me the men's job or I'm off to coach England

[Joe MacCarthy]

I have to say I am as shocked and as befuddled as the next guy about this, but before everybody runs around all Chicken Little, half cocked, let's all just take a breath.

It's a done deal and as a fan you have a choice about whether you choose to help make this work or not. 

This guy has worked miracles with the women's program accelerating it to heights it hadn't known.  He has proven himself to be an exceptional administrator, can he work the same magic coaching the men?

I know there is going to be a lot of lame sexism in the arguments to come about how he can coach women and not men but he has earned the shot.  As I said like it or not, like Zambrano or not, he's gone, nothing positive to do about it now, except give Herdman his shot and let him get on with it.

[nolbertos]

I honestly admit that I don’t have high hopes for even making the Gold cup quarters with Herdman on board.  I just looked at his resume and its so amateur compared to Zambrano’s.  I also don’t like the fact that when coaches have tried to overhaul the CSA system, they automatically get fired or bolt because the CSA won’t allow to fix the system.  Has the CSA not realized were 32 years since making the World Cup and 20 years since we last made the Hex?? A CPL alone won’t help, this broken system has got to stop seriously.  That even a Zambrano coach couldn’t last says our futility with accepting change.  Unless Herdman becomes another Holger, I won’t expect us to make a World Cup until 2030 or more

[Ansem]

People need to calm down and think. Too many emotional response here.

[Joe MacCarthy]

1 minute ago, nolbertos said:

I honestly admit that I don’t have high hopes for even making the Gold cup quarters with Herdman on board.  I just looked at his resume and its so amateur compared to Zambrano’s.

If you look at fairly recent history the coach with the least impressive resume (Stephen Hart) had the best results, and one of the best resumes Floro was a total non starter.

Herdman's administration skills alone in quickly building a flow of young players to the women's program gives him a shot in my book.  Can he earn the respect of the men, that's up to them, but frankly it's their fault if they won't give him a chance.

[Kent]

Very shocked about this. When I saw the Zambrano Out topic I at first assumed someone was going on a rant about there not being any January friendlies.

As for how I feel about this, I was still in a “wait and see” mode with Zambrano, so I am not heartbroken about losing him, but I was still hopeful he might be able to make an impact. As a women’s team fan it is upsetting that he is leaving them. That is a big loss. All due respect to their new coach, I don’t know anything about him so right now this feels like a downgrade for the women’s team. Hopefully working alongside Herdman has set him up for success.

Now in terms of having Herdman as the men’s coach, I like that just fine. I will be interested in seeing how he does and hopefully his relative fame in Canadian soccer circles can draw a few more fans toward the men’s team.

[Joe MacCarthy]

42 minutes ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

Herdman to replace Zambrano as Canadian men’s soccer team coach
John Molinaro sportsnet.ca January 8, 2018

While Reed maintains that this change was made in order to give Herdman full control, from youth level to the senior team, for the long-term benefit of the men’s program, one well-place source told Sportsnet that Zambrano’s tenure as coach was viewed as “a disaster” within some quarters of Canada Soccer.

Asked to characterize the terms of Zambrano’s departure, whether he was fired or he left by mutual consent, Reed said: “It was an organizational decision. He has departed from Canada Soccer. We wish him the best of luck.”

Hmmm?

[dyslexic nam]

30 minutes ago, CanadianSoccerFan said:

 

 

Translation:  Give me the men's job or I'm off to coach England

That was the part that jumped out to me as well.

[CanadianSoccerFan]

30 minutes ago, CanadianSoccerFan said:

 

 

Translation:  Give me the men's job or I'm off to coach England

 

Confirmed by Rollins this is exactly what happened

[Kent]

10 minutes ago, nolbertos said:

 I just looked at his resume and its so amateur compared to Zambrano’s.

Only if you don’t put any stock in Herdman’s accomplishments in women’s soccer. Are two over achieving bronze medals in a best on best women’s world tournament less impressive than 1 to 2 year stints coaching men’s club teams?

[Keegan]

16 minutes ago, Ansem said:

People need to calm down and think. Too many emotional response here.

Yes, let's think for a moment shall we?

Would you hire Serbia's boys u15 national team coach to take over the men's program?  Because that's essentially the level we're talking about moving up from.  

There are literally CANADIANS out there who have had more coaching success at higher levels of football than Herdman.  Marc Dos Santos has made finals in 3 straight seasons with 3 different club teams and before that coached at a high level in Brazil at a club affiliated with Manchester United.  All higher levels than womens international football.  So why does Herdman get the job?  Sort of a backdoor, no?

The USA wins World Cups with their Women and we all know they would never even consider a manager for their U17 men's team.  

[lazlo_80]

I like it. Lets see what he does.