Canada's goalkeeper Karina Leblanc makes the second of two saves to beat Brazil in a penalty shootout in the women's soccer final at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara October 27, 2011. REUTERS/Henry RomeroHenry Romero/Reuters
The needle has swung from love, to bewilderment and, now, back to love between Canadian fans and their national women's soccer team, following the shootout gold medal win in the Pan American Games final in Guadalajara.
The win didn't mean an Olympic Games berth – that can come with the qualifying tournament next January in Vancouver. But the redemptive value was huge when Canada's captain and flagbearer, Christine Sinclair, scored the 1-1 tying goal against Brazil on Thursday night in the 88th minute, then veteran goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc stopped a pair of Brazilian forwards as Canada won 4-3 in the shootout.
"That's the best remedy you could find to keep the faith and the confidence," Canadian Olympic Committee president Marcel Aubut said at a Toronto news conference. The quality of resilience stood out for him.
"I think what's happened with the team is incredible, to come back right away after a big disappointment," he said, referring to Canada's early dismissal from the women's World Cup in Germany. Canada scored only a single goal in three preliminary games and went home without a win. High expectations were crushed.
"The biggest thing we can take from [victory] is that everything that happened this summer is done. We are moving forward," LeBlanc said.
"After the World Cup, we needed something to make us believe that we can take this step forward and I think that's what this is. We were knocked down after the World Cup, we fell down, and John [Herdman, the new coach]came in and he said: what do you guys want? We said, 'We want a gold medal.' The message moving forward: you can knock us down, but we'll find a way."
The team ceased playing the kick-and-run, fast-break style it had used under former head coach Even Pellerud in favour of more controlled playmaking under Italian Carolina Morace. Once a passionate player and goal scorer, Morace maintained the team's high level of play even with the overhaul in strategy. Canada ranked sixth going in to the worlds. But ultimately Morace resigned in a power struggle, leaving Canada groping for a coach a year before the London Olympics. Morace was replaced last month by Herdman, an Englishman who had led a New Zealand team to consecutive World Cup appearances. Herdman brought in some new faces on the roster and won his first title for Canada at the Pan Ams.
The Canadian women danced in a circle at centre field while the well-known victory anthem We are the Champions from the band Queen played on the stadium loudspeakers, The Canadian Press reported.
"I can't get used to wearing gold around the neck," Sinclair said. "It's absolutely amazing to be part of this team. We came from behind against Brazil, one of the best teams in the world. Not very often you get to stand on top of the podium, so it feels pretty amazing."
Sinclair had called the Pan Ams Canada's "last chance to get things right before Olympic qualifying. We don't have much time to get on the same page." Herdman said the value of the Pan Am tournament was as a tune-up for regional (CONCACAF) Olympic qualifying.
Olympic qualifying will be tougher than the Pan Am tournament. The Brazilian side, for instance was without Marta, five times the FIFA women's player of the year. The Americans were without veterans Hope Solo and Abby Wambach.
Canada is host of the women's World Cup in 2015.