Globe soccer writer Paul James, who played for Canada at the 1986 World Cup, launches our blog, “The World’s Game,” with a four-part series on the state of Canadian soccer.
With the 19th edition of the FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa only a few weeks away, it was encouraging to see our Canadian national team competing against one of the world’s iconic football nations. It gives Canadians a flavour of what international football is all about at a festive time of football celebrations around the globe.
Canada’s game versus Argentina was an excellent match up for our senior men’s national team. The Canadian Soccer Association, with president Domenic Maestracci and general secretary Peter Montopoli at the helm, should be given huge credit for organizing this and other games for our national team in 2010. It is the only way for our men’s team to be more competitive when qualifying begins for World Cup 2014 in the CONCACAF region.
There comes a point when the CSA cannot be blamed for the results of our men’s national team. The game versus Argentina is that point. No amount of CSA change will alter the facts and realities of this particular pairing, which is why it is so important we compete in games like this in the first place. Even hardcore critics do not know where to turn for explanations.
We all want Canada to do well, and when the next World Cup rolls around in Brazil in 2014 Canadians will want to see the Maple Leaf represented. But, as with all things in life, there are no easy routes to success. Cutting corners by playing weak opposition — or not playing at all — gets us nowhere. Playing the global elite once in a while puts issues into perspective and there are great learning curves for all stakeholders within our very modest soccer industry, including Canadian supporters and all of us in the media.
Without playing this game we would still be blinkered into thinking that winning against the likes of Haiti and Guatemala in Gold Cup competitions translates into something that it is not — like the automatic conclusion that we should be qualifying for a World Cup.
So, what do we learn from the 5-0 soccer defeat?
Well, we are an almighty chasm away from Argentina in every technical and tactical department. We lack significant depth, so much so it is frightening. We have no impact players at this level. We cannot play the same style as Argentina — well, we could, but we would lose every time. We are athletically weak and we still have the propensity to make excuses.
Missing Julian de Guzman, Atiba Hutchison, Nana Attakora, and Dejan Jackovic is really irrelevant. After all, if Argentina had Lionel Messi, Diego Milito, and Walter Samuel available, who would have made the greater impact for their country?
Excuses highlight a weakness in our psyche; just like our incessant desire to appease people on important issues instead of being direct and forthright. For example, when we listen to the wrong players or supporters we will hear it’s the field, the coach (albeit not yet with Stephen Hart), the travel, the lack of games or the lack of Canadian support that is to blame. This hinders our progression because in Canada we all too often do not get to the truth of the matter. In fact, we avoid it.
No doubt the reasons given have at times been facts of life, but inconveniences are not insurmountable. The reality is we do not have a hockey mentality in our soccer culture. A player born in Canada will not train anywhere near what a young Argentinean player will on their skills, and the ones who come close to doing so are then coddled too much as stars, which allows weaker mentalities to develop. Toronto FC’s Preki and Vancouver Whitecaps’ Teitur Thordarson have been good for Canadian soccer because they have brought to the surface the inadequacies of Canadian players in general.
As hard as it may be to accept, the truth is our Canadian World Cup squad in 1986 was better prepared physically and tactically, had more balance, and had a much stronger mentality for competing against teams that were significantly more talented. Simply put, Canada’s 1986 team would have performed better against Argentina. They were an unemployed group of athletes who had a great team spirit, an incredibly strong work ethic, and a persistence that allowed them to win or perform well against anybody and in spite of the significant odds stacked against them. We needed to build on this, but we failed to do so.
There are no easy or quick solutions to change the circumstances of our current team losing 5-0 to the South American giants. Increasing our depth will take many years of professional improvement in Canada.
The wheels of change have commenced with Major League Soccer entering our country. It will now assist in Canadian soccer development but it will take time, patience, and some significant leadership from each Canadian MLS franchise.
Our attitude as a small soccer nation has to change as well. Accepting where we are on the global football roundabout is crucial in order for us to move forward.
Which brings us back to the 1986 Canadian World Cup team. If we accept that they were a better group than our current Canadian squad, then what has changed and where have we gone wrong within our soccer industry for a quarter-century?
