Problems with Canadian Soccer

[lorenzo77]

I am a huge soccer fan. I do not work when there is a game on in the World Cup, Europeon Cup, Champion League or any important games. I have been to World Cups, Euro 2000 semi finals and finals, Champion League Finals 2003 and River Plate- Boca last year. So believe me I love good soccer. I have been to one 86ers game four years ago and honestly I rather watch a second division team in Europe.
The biggest problems in soccer in Canada is that we are run and taught the english system of playing. Only England as limited as it is (1966 World Cup) has had success with it. Our players lack technique and skill that its all over the street in any South American country. As long as I can remember the person running (maybe I am wrong) soccer canada is of UK decent and I think with the limited to none (gold cup win thanks to a foreign coach) success that we have it is time for us to incorporate a new system and way of teaching our younger players. I think we need to dump all english influence and start to copy Europeon and South American teams. We might say we need money but many countries around the world have no money but yet are much more successful than Canada. We have qualified only one for the World Cup and we have the easiest group that has qualifiers. For me watching Canadian soccer is the same as watching hockey in Italy.

[jpg75]

I am a huge soccer fan. I do not work when there is a game on in the World Cup, Europeon Cup, Champion League or any important games. I have been to World Cups, Euro 2000 semi finals and finals, Champion League Finals 2003 and River Plate- Boca last year. So believe me I love good soccer. I have been to one 86ers game four years ago and honestly I rather watch a second division team in Europe.
The biggest problems in soccer in Canada is that we are run and taught the english system of playing. Only England as limited as it is (1966 World Cup) has had success with it. Our players lack technique and skill that its all over the street in any South American country. As long as I can remember the person running (maybe I am wrong) soccer canada is of UK decent and I think with the limited to none (gold cup win thanks to a foreign coach) success that we have it is time for us to incorporate a new system and way of teaching our younger players. I think we need to dump all english influence and start to copy Europeon and South American teams. We might say we need money but many countries around the world have no money but yet are much more successful than Canada. We have qualified only one for the World Cup and we have the easiest group that has qualifiers. For me watching Canadian soccer is the same as watching hockey in Italy.

You might have been right 10 years ago, but the young players coming up in the system now are all taught ball possession skills.

[Whymark 79]

Sorry, but the real problem with Canadian Soccer is far more complex than teaching kids "technique and skill".

We need to teach parents how to coach the game

Kids between 13 and 17 need to have some reason to stay in soccer

We should have a standardized style of play from the National Team on down, and teach it to all levels in the form of shadowplay.

We need to have several Canadian MLS teams.

If only it was as easy as just teaching "technique and skills"

The sport is about team, not individual...which is also a problem with Canadian Soccer. (Radz, Pesch, Branko Segota, Paul Stalteri, Davide Xausa etc etc)

[JS-11]

Did you see the England/Argentina match on the weekend Lorenzo? The english style of play was absolutely brilliant! (Rooney,Owen)
Too bad you don't like the USL. I consider myself lucky to be living somewhere in this huge country where I can see soccer at this level. Have you ever seen a Vancouver Metro Soccer League match? Quality stuff for free. I recommend seeing ICSF Inter or Sporting.
One of the problems with Canadian Soccer is the lack of adult canadian fans. Sure they all register their kids in soccer and drive them to their games, but do they have any passion for the game? No. The majority of parents at my son's games stand around and talk about the Canucks. David Beckham could be on the sidelines, and they would wonder who's dad he was!
See you at Swanguard.

[lorenzo77]

jpg75; I totally agree the young generation skill is much better I just hope they are able to progress into there great professials.

Whymark 79; I am sure there is alot more to it than I have mentioned I just think its a pity because I feel there is alot of passion for soccer in this country.I look forward to an MLS team and hope that if the new stadium opened it will bring more families and your players with visions of being a pro player.

JS-11; Yes I did see the game it was an amazing game for sure. Again I feel only the English are capable of playing this system because I really feel we lack the passion and comittment of the english. But the English system has only given them one title and that was 1966 40 years ago. Since then this is what has happened to other nations that people compare to the english.
Holland- World Cup Final 1978 Winner Euro Cup Champion 1986
Brazil- World Cup Champions 1970 1994 2002
Argentina-World Cup Champions 1978 1986 Finals 1990
Italy-World Cup Champions 1982 Finals 1970 1994 Euro Champions 1968 Finals 2000
France-World Cup Champions 1998 Euro Champs 2000
Germany-World Cup Champions 1974 1990 Finals 1982 1986 2002 Two Euro Champion Ship
Greece-2004 Euro Champions yes even Greece had done more.
Czech- Final Euro 1996,
Portuagal-Final Euro 2004
So in the last 40 years do you think the English style is successful to win Championships??? England has even failed to qualify for two World Cups and One euro since they won. I think it is entertaining but not the system that Canada should be playing. My point is that soccer Canada should not be run by English. Do you notice that even England has hired a foreign coach and probaly have a chance this year to win.

[lorenzo77]

Another think I wanted to mention was that at 13 I was on the top of my city for soccer even playing some games for the the 16 year old team. I went to europe at 13 for 4 months and played with others my age and to be honest I was getting looks from youth programs because I was still amongst the best on my team. I came back to europe at 15 to visit and played soccer there as well I soon realized that my dreams of playing in europe were over. In two years I was the worst player out there and the players that I once controlled were now at a different level. This really disappointed me that I had not developed to the same level. At 16 I was being considered to play on the BC team but decided to quit soccer and play hockey seen my dream was not to play for the Whitecaps but to play in europe.

[Daniel from Montréal]

Another think I wanted to mention was that at 13 I was on the top of my city for soccer even playing some games for the the 16 year old team. I went to europe at 13 for 4 months and played with others my age and to be honest I was getting looks from youth programs because I was still amongst the best on my team. I came back to europe at 15 to visit and played soccer there as well I soon realized that my dreams of playing in europe were over. In two years I was the worst player out there and the players that I once controlled were now at a different level. This really disappointed me that I had not developed to the same level. At 16 I was being considered to play on the BC team but decided to quit soccer and play hockey seen my dream was not to play for the Whitecaps but to play in europe.

And as we all know, no one ever used the USL to get started and then sign abroad... :rolleyes:

As for "not liking the USL", well, it's the best soccer you can watch in-stadium where you are and doesn't interfere with any European leagues on TV (the season is even different!).

[lorenzo77]

Daniel I agree with you. I watched the last world cup in Montreal now that is passion. As for watching the Whitecaps to me it is like watching hockey in Italy it is very difficult for me to appreciate it when I am used to watching the best.

[squadra_azzurri]

I will tell you what is wrong with Canadian youth soccer. PLEASE READ.

As growing up playing through Soccer I met someone on my soccer team and he is very wealthy and powerful. I am very good friends with him and his dad is very wise. He figured out why Canada isnt getting good youth suport. as there are legues out there ( lives in ontario) there are town teams as like woodbridge vaughan glen shields etc. That is not the way to go. i had just figured this out as i realized Academy teams is the way to go. It is all training and not playing games. As i signed up for a very skilled trainer with his uefa a liscence, he has tought ALOT of moves to beat and disorganize the other team in the middle of the game. I was watching the English league and they have every single move my trainer has taught us. To sign up with this trainer it cost 800 9 times a month for 4 months. He has taught me more to me in 2 months than my whole soccer career with my coach from my town team. I later then found out that he has links to the Toronto Shooters which is a good league to be in.. and he selects and trains those players. The trainer and staff from sports stores had told me in italy, they do not put pressure on the kids at all. You train until you are at the age of 14 years old and you dont play 1 single game at all. you do have a tournament ounce in a while in italy, but ounce they go into penelty shoot outs they decide it by tossing a coin and that teams wins, again they do not want to put pressure on kids just straight trainers with very high class. When i heard this i quickly dropped out of my league and went to the trainer. All this intelligence has all been brought together from my friends dad and thank him for it. Now i know why US have been booming in soccer lately they have trainers. and now you see why Italy has such a good team.

This is why Canada lacks Soccer talent . Guarneteed. this is the reason for this generation and kids need to be with trainers. thanks for your patience :D

[Warlord]

I will tell you what is wrong with Canadian youth soccer. PLEASE READ.

As growing up playing through Soccer I met someone on my soccer team and he is very wealthy and powerful. I am very good friends with him and his dad is very wise. He figured out why Canada isnt getting good youth suport. as there are legues out there ( lives in ontario) there are town teams as like woodbridge vaughan glen shields etc. That is not the way to go. i had just figured this out as i realized Academy teams is the way to go. It is all training and not playing games. As i signed up for a very skilled trainer with his uefa a liscence, he has tought ALOT of moves to beat and disorganize the other team in the middle of the game. I was watching the English league and they have every single move my trainer has taught us. To sign up with this trainer it cost 800 9 times a month for 4 months. He has taught me more to me in 2 months than my whole soccer career with my coach from my town team. I later then found out that he has links to the Toronto Shooters which is a good league to be in.. and he selects and trains those players. The trainer and staff from sports stores had told me in italy, they do not put pressure on the kids at all. You train until you are at the age of 14 years old and you dont play 1 single game at all. you do have a tournament ounce in a while in italy, but ounce they go into penelty shoot outs they decide it by tossing a coin and that teams wins, again they do not want to put pressure on kids just straight trainers with very high class. When i heard this i quickly dropped out of my league and went to the trainer. All this intelligence has all been brought together from my friends dad and thank him for it. Now i know why US have been booming in soccer lately they have trainers. and now you see why Italy has such a good team.

This is why Canada lacks Soccer talent . Guarneteed. this is the reason for this generation and kids need to be with trainers. thanks for your patience :D

Good story, but the US has gotten better because US Soccer Federation has put millions of dollars into youth and player development ever since hosting the WC back in '94. There's good college programs out there and not to mention the MLS that has harnessed a few decent players like DaMarcus Beasley, Donovan.

The problem that I see with you Canadians is that your association has no infrastructure in place to harness and develop talent. There's almost no money alotted to player development. No structure at all.

[scarshins]

All the same stuff that is wrong with the sport in the US...
Except Canada is still 10 and maybe 15 years behind the US as far as snapping out of it.
Also disagreements by owners/administrators. I can see why Montreal would hold out against MLS, but make no mistake he is doing no favors for the future of the sport in Canada.

[Whymark 79]

I will tell you what is wrong with Canadian youth soccer. PLEASE READ.

As growing up playing through Soccer I met someone on my soccer team and he is very wealthy and powerful. I am very good friends with him and his dad is very wise. He figured out why Canada isnt getting good youth suport. as there are legues out there ( lives in ontario) there are town teams as like woodbridge vaughan glen shields etc. That is not the way to go. i had just figured this out as i realized Academy teams is the way to go. It is all training and not playing games. As i signed up for a very skilled trainer with his uefa a liscence, he has tought ALOT of moves to beat and disorganize the other team in the middle of the game. I was watching the English league and they have every single move my trainer has taught us. To sign up with this trainer it cost 800 9 times a month for 4 months. He has taught me more to me in 2 months than my whole soccer career with my coach from my town team. I later then found out that he has links to the Toronto Shooters which is a good league to be in.. and he selects and trains those players. The trainer and staff from sports stores had told me in italy, they do not put pressure on the kids at all. You train until you are at the age of 14 years old and you dont play 1 single game at all. you do have a tournament ounce in a while in italy, but ounce they go into penelty shoot outs they decide it by tossing a coin and that teams wins, again they do not want to put pressure on kids just straight trainers with very high class. When i heard this i quickly dropped out of my league and went to the trainer. All this intelligence has all been brought together from my friends dad and thank him for it. Now i know why US have been booming in soccer lately they have trainers. and now you see why Italy has such a good team.

This is why Canada lacks Soccer talent . Guarneteed. this is the reason for this generation and kids need to be with trainers. thanks for your patience :D

That is the biggest load of rubbish I've ever read! To suggest you spend more time juggling balls than playing actual games is just crap. The biggest challenge for our National team is that they don't play enough games together.

[Undetermined]

Chicken or egg situation...

Youth needs to see some tangible success/excitement from the National team to generate more interest, and with interest comes $. But for the team to have any success, they need the players/$ now.

Anyway, a domestic league would go a longs way to helping out methinks.

If Toronto gets an MLS team and a few other cities have A-league teams... thats just not going to cut it, and there's just no organization anywhere.

This is the one sport where piggybacking the US is NOT a good idea.

[lorenzo77]

Everybody feels that the money is the answer. I agree a little bit but I also thing we need a complete overhaul in all aspects of leadership in male soccer in Canada.

Some figures that might interest you.

Country Population Average Income World Cup qualified

Canada 33 million $31500 NO
Angola 11 million $ 2100 YES
Togo 5.5 million $ 1600 YES
Ghana 21 million $2300 YES
Ivory Coast 17 million $1500 YES
Trinidad 1 million $10500 YES
Costa Rica 4 million $ 9600 YES
Paraguay 6 million $ 4800 YES
Ecuador 13 million $ 3700 YES
Australia 20 million $30000 YES
Sweden 9 million $28000 YES

These are all countries that do not have a strong pro league have make less money than us and have smaller population and last MADE THE WORLD CUP.As I said money has alot to do with it but our training in below par. Our national team and program should feel ashamed as our World Cup qualifying was truly embarrasing

[Saviola7]

Ummm, I don't know much about the african countries, but there are pretty good explainations for about half of that list:

Paraguay - No other competing sport. Has an ok pro league.
Ecuador - No other competing sport. Has an ok pro league.
Australia - The government spends a lot of money on sport. Has an ok pro league.
Sweden - Proximity to europe ... developing players can be easily recognised by better european leagues and developed there. Has an ok pro league.
Trinidad - Has a pro league.
Costa Rica - Has a pro league.

Qualifying for the world cup will never be a priority in canadian sports, so I think we should only be slightly more embarassed than say, New Zealand should that they never qualify. Maybe if more people showed up at/watched CNT matches instead of sitting at home watching their favourite euro country in qualification, it would signal that there is enough interest among the general public.

[Undetermined]

Didn't Australia just recently start or improve their league or something like that?

Maybe a good indicator of the importance of a solid domestic league will be how Australia does in the next few years.

[squadra_azzurri]

That is the biggest load of rubbish I've ever read! To suggest you spend more time juggling balls than playing actual games is just crap. The biggest challenge for our National team is that they don't play enough games together.


you keep thinking that whymark. it is the truth man, i am even youth and playing soccer. i think i should know what we should be doing. there is a huge difference between playing games everyweek and raining 3 times a week. trust me i can put 1 000 000 000 000 dollars on it. we are nto trained as canadians. go ask paul staltari what age he had a trainer. ask him how many more times he trained then played useless games. whymark my friend as a noob you are, i hate to say your wromg. i no for a fact we are just not trained. i have been to italy and played against their teams. you can point out easily that they are trained. please guys believe me this is the reason why. the trainer i go to, he even trains the Vaughan Shooters( a provincial level team, google it if you want) and they know his training is whats needed to improve their smarts and skills to the game. you have to believe me

[TopDogg]

you keep thinking that whymark. it is the truth man, i am even youth and playing soccer. i think i should know what we should be doing. there is a huge difference between playing games everyweek and raining 3 times a week. trust me i can put 1 000 000 000 000 dollars on it. we are nto trained as canadians. go ask paul staltari what age he had a trainer. ask him how many more times he trained then played useless games. whymark my friend as a noob you are, i hate to say your wromg. i no for a fact we are just not trained. i have been to italy and played against their teams. you can point out easily that they are trained. please guys believe me this is the reason why. the trainer i go to, he even trains the Vaughan Shooters( a provincial level team, google it if you want) and they know his training is whats needed to improve their smarts and skills to the game. you have to believe me
It seems your intense training didn't cover grammar. :rolleyes:

[squadra_azzurri]

haha ya i said wromg instead of wrong their just typos and runon sentences like this one. but please you guys gotta believe me. this is why Canada is doing bad. we do not just juggle balls around whymark. as i mentioned in my first post here, i have learned so many ways to outsmart and outplay and make them disorganized. a regular coach who just plays games do not know this. again i will repeat he has a uefa a liscence. this you cannot buy and is very hard to get. when i watch games in the EPL i see these moves that are being performed during the game and me and my dad point it out. we cant count to 20 before we seen a move that was rehearsed in trainimg. i am telling you guys either you want to critisize me or not.. soccer trainers are the way to go and not just any league that you play and if u loose u beat them next time. pointless.you must train. please tell me one guy who has made it to professional soccer and didnt have a trainer.

[MetroChile]

I will tell you what is wrong with Canadian youth soccer. PLEASE READ.

As growing up playing through Soccer I met someone on my soccer team and he is very wealthy and powerful. I am very good friends with him and his dad is very wise. He figured out why Canada isnt getting good youth suport. as there are legues out there ( lives in ontario) there are town teams as like woodbridge vaughan glen shields etc. That is not the way to go. i had just figured this out as i realized Academy teams is the way to go. It is all training and not playing games. As i signed up for a very skilled trainer with his uefa a liscence, he has tought ALOT of moves to beat and disorganize the other team in the middle of the game. I was watching the English league and they have every single move my trainer has taught us. To sign up with this trainer it cost 800 9 times a month for 4 months. He has taught me more to me in 2 months than my whole soccer career with my coach from my town team. I later then found out that he has links to the Toronto Shooters which is a good league to be in.. and he selects and trains those players. The trainer and staff from sports stores had told me in italy, they do not put pressure on the kids at all. You train until you are at the age of 14 years old and you dont play 1 single game at all. you do have a tournament ounce in a while in italy, but ounce they go into penelty shoot outs they decide it by tossing a coin and that teams wins, again they do not want to put pressure on kids just straight trainers with very high class. When i heard this i quickly dropped out of my league and went to the trainer. All this intelligence has all been brought together from my friends dad and thank him for it. Now i know why US have been booming in soccer lately they have trainers. and now you see why Italy has such a good team.

This is why Canada lacks Soccer talent . Guarneteed. this is the reason for this generation and kids need to be with trainers. thanks for your patience :D

If you think the only way Canada is gonna get out of its soccer pit is by teaching a few kids how to dribble through midfield, then a.) you're an idiot or b) you must be fooling yourself.
That sounds like a very irrational explanation.
Canada has to invest in its youth development and soccer infraestructure. The US took advantage of hosting the WC in 94, and look at where it is now. It's no Brazil but none thought they could make it into the quarter finals of a WC--and also the US had to take a few steps back in order to take one or two forward (example: finish last in France).
IDK if it's all feasible or even plausible to give Canada a World Cup, but isn't Canada hosting the u20 WC in the very near future? That should be the opportunity to get things done right...you guys did take a major step forward when winning the GC a few years back, you just neglected to build on it.
Invest in youth and infraestructure, period.