DeRo and Hutchinson are probably the best known male players, but I think many more people here follow the women's team than the men's one. The differences in achievement are even greater than in the USA.
Drew Hutchinson is the captain of Besiktas leading group G in the UEFA Champions League .@atibahutchinson starts for @Besiktas vs. AS Monaco. Take this opportunity to watch Canada's best player on @TSN_Sports #ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/h0zTb6YjW3— Canucks Abroad (@Canucks_Abroad) November 1, 2017 .@atibahutchinson's pass completion rate in the Turkish league this season is 95%. He practically never gives the ball away!— Canucks Abroad (@Canucks_Abroad) November 1, 2017
926435840611508224 is not a valid tweet id Possible depth chart for strikers for Canada 1-Lucas Cavallini, Puebla, Liga MX 2-Cyle Larin, Besiktas, SuperLig (Turkey) 3-Anthony Jackson-Hamel, Montréal Impact, MLS 4-Tossaint Ricketts, Toronto FC, MLS Up and coming: Liam Millar, Liverpool U18
This guy is Premier League talent.Junior Hoilett is one of our most dangerous players on the squad. He was eligible to both Canada and Jamaica, he chose Canada as of 2015. He's part of the reason on why Canada as drastically improved since then. The resurgence of @jnrhoilett and why he holds the key to promotion. https://t.co/RPD1WfkqJG— Canucks Abroad (@Canucks_Abroad) November 7, 2017
did DeRo ever play abroad? He was a BEAST in MLS which is pretty sweet. I'm not sure how much of an effect he had on their NT though
USL president agrees that Canada needs it's own league. Not having our own league is a huge handicap which is on the path of being corrected as of 2019. USL president says Canada needs its own league https://t.co/wbfFExtOJg— Steven Sandor (@stevensandor) November 10, 2017 USL president also clarifies the true state of Canadian teams playing in cross-border leagues, in this instance, within the USSF: https://the11.ca/usl-president-says-canada-needs-its-own-league/ While the Ottawa Fury are committed to return to USL in 2018, USL President Jake Edwards said that the team’s membership in the North American Division-2 circuit is on a year-to-year basis. the Fury don’t have long-term obligations to USL which would potentially block it from moving to the Canadian Premier League down the road — if that’s the path that the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group want to take. “We feel Canada needs its own professional league,” he said. In a conference call with media on Friday, Edwards said that Canadian teams in cross-border leagues are only sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer League on an annual basis. This pretty much confirms that the CSA holds all the cards and have the final say in regards to Canadian teams competing in cross-border leagues and that the sanction is awarded on a year to year basis only. This confirms that Victor Montagliani's threat last year of pulling all 3 Canadian clubs from MLS when he was the CSA president was actually factual and legit which are granted under FIFA's convention. As of now, the CSA doesn't intend to do that, but never say never
Great strike. Rooting for you guys. Canada becoming stronger will add a new interesting dynamic to the region. I want a dog fight every match for WC qualifying out of our region.
Hey @Robert Borden, I know you despise this thread but how are MLS academies viewed in Canada in terms of how they've benefited talent in comparison to how it was before? Is it similar to in the US where it resulted in a temporary downfall, or is it just not a wide enough net?
MLS academies are viewed as a monumental jokes theses days. I'll copy paste a reply I wrote to someone during a debate that I had on another thread where I gave a bit of insight on why the Canadian academies failed us. Copy/Paste They still do ("exist" - MLS Academies) at youth/grassroots level but shutting down USL(Vancouver) and even D3 teams (FC Montreal) was a major blow to Canadian Soccer. That's more talent being wasted and lost because past a certain age, they have nowhere else to go. The truth about MLS academies is that they prioritize those who grew up in their system above the rest as they should. They'll sign prodigies that were developed outside their system when they come across them like Alphonso Davis but that's it. You make the assumption that every player will go knock on an MLS academy. You couldn't be more wrong. What happens if someone lives in Saguenay, Quebec? You expect them to send their kids to Montreal at such a young age? Of course not, they will put them in local academies and they will grow in the system until there's nowhere higher to go after U18 or University teams. Canada's problem is mainly a structural one. It's actually unfair to expect the 3 MLS system to find the best Canadians out there. They virtually can't do that. CPL is needed because they will be able to go where MLS can't and won't go and find more talent out there. Octavio Zambrano (Current Canada manager) said that the problem is that Canada doesn't know what's out there but he has a plan to find out and scout the entire nation and hopes the CSA sign on his plan. Benito Floro (former Canada manager) before being fire said that Canada's problem wasn't talent but the lack of minutes at club level and not having a domestic league which restricts massively how well Canada can perform internationally. When you say stuff that the best Canadians already play in MLS and that the low number of Canadians in the league is a reflection of what's out there, I assure you that you couldn't be more inaccurate. Our problem is that, we don't even know what's out there and that's an embarrassing situation that needs to be corrected asap. How many Davies, Cavallini are out there that we're not even aware of? Kids do play in non MLS academies contrarily to what you believe, actually, the overwhelming majority does, however, they hit that dead end pretty fast and players in D3 who develop outside of the MLS system will tell you that making MLS is almost impossible if you aren't a product of their academies. That doesn't mean that there aren't more talented players out there. Also, MLS Academy track record at developing players within their own system with the amount of money at their disposal is mediocre at best and I'm being polite (an embarrassment, really). We just need more and a better coverage. We need CPL to help. CPL just provides a clearer path to top level than MLS does in Canada. MLS Academies can't catch everyone. Where was TFC when Manjrekar James was playing youth level at North York? Where was TFC when Larin was playing in MIssissauga? Where was TFC when Millar was playing in Mississauga and now he's killing it at Liverpool U team? There's lots of examples like these. James and Millar are in Europe, good for them. Don't you see that TFC don't even know what's in their own backyard? With CPL and more academies out there, were more likely to catch those players that we miss.
Another sign that Canada is in the right path: Source: West Brom, Celtic and Turkish sides interested in Cyle Larin. If West Brom buys, he would immediately go on loan in Belgium or Holland.— MLS Transfers (@MLSTransfers) November 21, 2017 Another striker that might be playing in a top league. Also, Sigma FC gets the credit for Cyle Larin's development, not TFC, not NCAA...Sigma FC from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
The CSA - USSF divorce continues: Hearing that FC Edmonton will not participate in a 2018 #NASL season and will likely take a year off before CanPL launch. SF Deltas also unlikely to participate unless a new investor is found. Potential NASL 2018 would feature 12-13 teams.— Chris Kivlehan (@kivlehan) November 21, 2017
I don't know if that's a sign of divorce so much as Edmonton being wary of the NASL's instability. On another note, what does that do to the Voyageurs' Cup?
Atiba Hutchinson is one of the UEFA Champions League's best with his passing percentage putting him in the top 10. He's a member of the Canadian Men's National team playing midfield Top-🔟 #UCL PASSING PERCENTAGE LEADERS ⚽ (200+ passes)Brown(Celtic) 97%Barzagli(Juventus) 96%Toprak(Dortmund) 96%N'Zonzi(Sevilla) 96%Papastathopoulos(Dortmund) 95%Stones(MCFC) 95%Umtiti(Barcelona) 95%Busquets(Barcelona) 95%Verratti(PSG) 95%#Atiba (#Besiktas) 95% pic.twitter.com/BZbRzCgjOv— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) November 22, 2017
Yeah. And a Scottish player leads that..... Also - Passing percentage might be one of the more pointless stats.
It tells you nothing. Sure you can complete a pass, but it doesn't tell you what happened next. Could have been a hospital ball, counts as a completed pass but immediately the next player can lose possession. You can pass the ball around the defence and inflate completed pass percentage. The same as teams crowing about their possession percentage. With a lot more context it can be helpful. In isolation. Not so much.
Unsurprisingly you miss the point by a very large margin. Or are you trying to claim that Hutchinson is as good as them?