Whither Canadian Soccer?

Now that the U-20 FIFA World Cup is over, the post tournament analysis can begin. Once the storm over whether or not young highly paid brats from South America should be free to brawl in public, unhindered by the police, thoughts will surely turn to Canada’s involvement.

For the host nation, there was much to be proud of. Off the pitch the organization was excellent, the stadiums were a marvellous showcase, the attendances record breaking. But on the pitch the performances left much to be desired.

Now of course the knives are out for manager Dale Mitchell, who is now the senior team manager. But can he really shoulder the blame for Canada’s three defeats and inability to score a single goal? He has been accused of scuppering the host team’s chances with his negative tactics. But let’s be realistic, how can Canada compete with the likes of the Czech Republic or Chile, even on their own soil?

Seriously, Canada is not a soccer playing nation in the sense that it can be expected to compete at the top level of the game. Much is made of the fact that soccer has the highest participation rates amongst Canadian children. Great, but where do they go after that?

The squad for the U-20 World cup contained a fair few players scattered around Europe, most playing at a pretty decent level. Then there were players from the universities of Portland and Wisconsin. And a couple of unattached players. Of course there was a strong representation from Toronto FC.

A lot has been made of Toronto FC’s possible impact on the sport in Canada. Well one team is not enough to build on. Looking over the roster you get the feeling that while there is some decent talent in the country, but not in depth. Lose a few players through injury and we’re searching the varsity leagues for replacements.

And such an international set-up is hardly likely to encourage the most talented players to declare for Canada if they also have a connection to another country through their parents, as so many do. Calgary born Owen Hargreaves is the most obvious example of that.

The country needs to build an infrastructure and support a national league, like every other country on earth.Then kids will have something to aim for. Greater efforts will be made to develop talent, which should result in more professional coaching.

Canada did a superb job of hosting the tournament. There is obviously a huge amount of potential interest in the sport here. Let’s see that directed towards building the game at the grass roots level.