how does a rejuvenated canadian program compare to the best in concacaf?easy hire the best coach available ANYWHERE.frank yallop.the regions best striker in tomasz radzinski.ian hume and atiba hutchinson both fifa all stars at the under 20s.dwayne derosario,paul peschosolido(who had a hat trick for sheffield unt last week)jason devos captain of first division contender wigan.the canadian soccer association has also moved all the programs to vancouver(where soccer is played year round).and a 25.000 sss is currently being drawn up in vancouver.canada is the team to beat in concacaf.the us mexico costa rica cant come close to what canada has going right now.world cup 2006 is a lock for canada.
Hahaha. I love that last sentence. Nothing wrong with thinking positively, but think realistically too. The US, Mexico and Costa Rica are no match for Canada? Are you kidding? They did the right thing going out and hiring Yallop but they haven't even played a match under him and you're already declaring them a lock for the World Cup? Good thinking...
With 3 1/2 spots available, and El Salvadore and Honduras out (I think---I may be wrong), Canada does actually stand a pretty good chance of qualifying... All they have to do is beat Jamaica, Costa Rica, and Guatemala. Or 2 of the 3 and a likely crap Asian side However, at the risk of sounding hypocritically Eurosnoblike........well....you know...
Assuming no upsets and Guatemala getting reinstated here is Canada's probable semi final group. Group 2 Costa Rica Guatemala Honduras Canada I wouldn't say Canada is lock to make the hex let alone the world cup.
Yeah, that's right, switch Guatemala and Honduras...And from what I've read, they've already missed deadlines, and it ain't looking likely they'll be reinstated in time...though we'll know more after the current FIFA visit...
greg kerfoot the owner of the whitecaps is behind the 25.000 seat sss hejust sold his company crystal decisions for a billion cash and has the bucks to do it.the city of vancouver has donated the land next to the bus station in chinatown for a buck a year.the canadian national soccer teams have all moved to vancouver since last month in anticipation of the new home,the whitecaps and soccer canada have formed a partnership.also there are a number of world soccer stars looking to finish their playing careers in vancouver,the whitecaps are planning major anouncements in the near future regarding new signings.things are looking real good on the west coast right now.
They remind of the US...a multi-race country...You are bound to find some talented extractions and whatnot...just establish a soccer league and some youth programs or reserves...and DESTROY CURLING!!
The thing is that Canada is a bit of the mystery team, and may be a sleeper. Onstead or Hirschfield are decent keepers. Their frontline is strong with Razinski and DeRo, who is pretty decent and playing for a coach that knows how to use him. Midfield includes DeGuzman whos's playing very well in Germany and Aguiar, a recent starter, from what I've read, at Benefica. Hume may wind up in midfield.Stalteri is a starter with Bremen, and willl play weither midfield or possibly on the backline. Can Hutchinson or Aguiar play D? Decent at keeper with HIrschfield and Onstad. IF so a potential lineup: --------------------Lars/Onstad Stalteri-----DeVos---Hutchison -----LB ------------------------Aguiar --------Hume----------------------Nsaliwa --------------------DeGuzman ---------DeRo/Pesch-------------Radz This is far from a bad team. Three big four league starters. A starter at a strong Portuguese side. A backup Prem player or the lowest GAA in MLS at keeper. Two talented youngsters and English 1st Div starters. Three second division starters as well. There are few other CONCACAF countries that can put out so many European first and second division roster players. But it's still an unproven team, a young team and still not as established as the big three. And if they get injuries, the dropoff really drops. But I think they may be the surprise team, and may well make the WC in the fourth spot.. They also got an unlucky draw. They will have to bring along Hume and Hutchison quickly, because they play in the group of death. The second team in that group is likely the fourth spot contender.
To fill in your left-back position, a likely candidate is Ante Jazic, who a regular at that position for Rapid Vienna. There's also Mike Klukowski who plays at the back for Jupiler league side La Louviere in Belgium, and Yallop wants to bring in Metrostars left back Edgar Bartolomeu, who's about to obtain Canadian citizenship. I'm willing to bet all three are better options than Richard Hastings I also think you are more likely to see Nsaliwa on the right side of midfield, as that is where is plays in the Bundesliga 2. Norwich's Jim Brennan is a better bet for the left side, even though he is having trouble cracking the Div.1 leader's starting line-up since coming back from a lengthy injury. Or De Guzman, if Stalteri is moved back into central midfield with the growing number of options at right back - the latest being the addition of AEK Athens regular right-back Stathis Kapos - few Canadian fans have seen him play, but we have to figure he should be good enough for the Canadian squad if he's starting regularly with one of the 3 big clubs in Greece. He makes his debut with Canada tomorrow against Barbados in Yallop's first match as Canadian coach, fielding largely a B squad (though De Rosario will be there). Hutchinson played in that spot you have him in at the U20 World Cup recently, and you might see Yallop try him there with the senior's as well given that we've been leaking goals recently & have quite a few options in midfield. Hutchinson appears to be on his way to Russian club FC Saturn, though the move is not official yet. Other useful Euro-based players include Jason Bent, Kevin McKenna Marc Bircham, Daniel Imhof, Marco Reda, Chris Pozniak, Patrice Bernier & Rob Friend. They are all unlikely to be starters for the upcoming qualifiers but can provide some depth in the event of injuries & suspensions. And if any of the 4 Canucks drafted yesterday my MLS teams can make their squads & get some playing time, I would not be surprised if Yallop takes a look at them. And there are some other promising Euro-based (or A-league) youngsters that could very well also enter the scene before qualifying is over. I think that on paper there's enough talent there, but a key question is whether Yallop will have enough time to mold it altogether, especially with much of the first-choice roster scattered throughout Europe.
Even with their best lineup they still don't have the quality or depth of the US or Mexico. They have a shot at that fourth spot, but it's far from a given. Barring a complete melt down both the US and Mexico should be "locks" to qualify. Yallop has said as much to the Canadian press.
I remember you also have a centra defender who is in China now who used to play in Brazil. I am in Vancouver now for a one month vacation and may end up moving here. I would fully support Canada and Yallop!
Re: Re: canada rising A small point, but even if Mexico & the US are locks for two of the spots, that would still leave Canada with a shot at not just the 4th (half) spot but also the 3rd. I don't think Costa Rica or Honduras has quite the same depth as the US or Mexico and I don't think that their quality is so far out of Canada's league that they would be a lock for the other full spot. That's not mere speculation on my part, as a Canadian team missing a lot more top players than Costa Rica were missing beat them in their most recent meeting (at the Gold Cup) - and without Yallop at the helm, as well.
That's Tony Menezes, who used to play at Botafogo Rio but hasn't been in the national team picture for a year or two. I don't expect to see him in this round of WCQ, unless Frank Yallop can a) find him (something CDN fans have had trouble doing) and b) get him to reproduce his Gold Cup 2000 form. As for Canada's qualification chances, most of us are really only concerned about making it out of our semifinal group at this stage -- if we can overcome 2 of Honduras, Costa Rica and Guatemala (pending their reinstatement), then we have a good shot at the top 4. And don't forget we still have to beat Belize home and away.
If Canada can get out of that semi-final group of death, I really like their chances of at least getting the half spot for finishing fourth in the hex. I think they can do it, I believe Costa Rica is going to have a let down this qualifing cycle, especially now that Sampson is in charge. So if Canada gets out of the group of death, this is how I see the hex shaping up. USA Mexico Honduras Canada Jamaica T & T T & T is the bottom feeder of this group, so that leaves Honduras, Canada, and Jamaica fighting for 1 1/2 spots. But, this is all contingent on Canada being able to get all their European talent released and willing to play in the WC qualifiers, IIRC this has been a problem in the past for them.