Inside Soccer Magazine - Summer 2015

ISSUE #113 SUMMER 2015 WWW.INSIDESOCCERMAGAZINE.CA

CONTENTS

Publisher Emeritus Alfons Rubbens

Publisher/Editor Mark Miller - mark@insidesoccermagazine.ca

Art Director

6

14

Steve Smiley, RGD - steve@insidesoccermagazine.ca

Director of New Business Susan Elliott - susan@insidesoccermagazine.ca

Director of Business Operations and National Accounts Branden Clark - branden@insidesoccermagazine.ca

Marketing and Special Event Coordinator Justin Clark - justin@insidesoccermagazine.ca

22 5 INTERNATIONAL FC CLINICS BRING SOCCER ELITE TO VAUGHAN

BY JOE DUARTE 6 CANADA’S WORLD CUP NOT DISAPPOINTING

BY MARTIN MACMAHON 10 OH CANADA! LOOKING BACK AT THE 2015 FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

BY ARMEN BEDAKIAN 14 ORGANIZING A WORLD CUP

BY OLIVIER TREMBLAY 16 A HIDDEN PARADISE

BY RICHARD BUCCIARELLI

18 WHAT I LEARNED FROM THE 2015 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

BY DAVE KENNY

30 32 SPECIAL NEEDS SOCCER FESTIVAL A HUGE SUCCESS

BY DAVE KENNY 34 TORONTO FC FINDING IDENTITY AND FORM HALFWAY THROUGH 2015 SEASON

BY ARMEN BEDAKIAN 36 MONTREAL IMPACT’S ROAD WOES

BY OLIVIER TREMBLAY 38 VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FLYING HIGH IN WESTERN CONFERENCE

BY MARTIN MACMAHON

Senior Staff Writers Armen Bedakian, Bob Koep, Kris Fernandes

Website Operations Susan Elliott: Marketing and Content Steve Smiley, RGD: Art Direction & Design

Contributing Writers Richard Bucciarelli, Joe Duarte, Doug Boufford, Joelene Huber, Les Jones – Covershots Inc., Dave Kenny, Martin MacMahon, Judy Rauliuk – Covershots Inc., Steven Sandor, Oliver Tremblay

Contributing Photographers Canadian Soccer Association, Les Jones – COVERSHOTS Inc., Dave Laus, Montreal Impact, Shutterstock, Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps

INSIDESOCCER Magazine is published six times per year by INSIDEOUT Publishing and Marketing Services ISM provides authoritative editorial coverage of Canada’s premier soccer community.

Information contained in ISM has been compiled from sources believed to be correct.

ISM cannot be responsible for the accuracy of articles or other editorial matter.

26 WHERE ARE THE GOALS?

BY BOB KOEP

30 PAN AMS DON’T PAN OUT

BY LES JONES, COVERSHOTS INC.

Joe Duarte

40 MUSINGS ON THE WWC 2015

BY LES JONES/DOUG BOUFFORD, COVERSHOTS INC.

22 PARAPAN AM GAMES TORONTO 2015

BY DICK HOWARD

28 U.S. TURFS OUT DEFENDING CHAMPS

BY LES JONES/ JUDY RAULIUK , COVERSHOTS INC.

News Editor

Articles in this magazine are intended to provide information rather than give legal or other professional advice. Articles being submitted for review should be e-mailed to branden@insidesoccer.ca

ON THE COVER

Team Canada’s Kadeisha Buchanen took home the Hyundai Young Player award at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Undeliverable copies, advertising space orders, copy, artwork, proofs, etc., should be sent to: INSIDEOUT Publishing and Marketing Services P.O. Box 151, King City, Ontario L7B 1A5, Tel: 905.833.1973 Website: www.insidesoccermagazine.ca Printed in Canada. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without written permission of the publisher. © Copyright 2015 InsideSOCCER Magazine

4 SUMMER 2015

BY JOE DUARTE

INTERNATIONAL FC CLINICS BRINGS SOCCER ELITE TO VAUGHAN Toronto FC is reaching out to the community in a partnership with Vaughan’s International FC Academy and the community of Vaughan.

Photographs courtesy of Frank Iaizzo

2009 to develop soccer talent within the community of Vaughan. Its programs currently engage more than 300 young players in various programs aimed at age groups as young as 18 months up to 18 years old, in accordance with the OSA’s long-term player development (LTPD). There is also a senior program for adults who wish to remain involved with the game.

For more information on the International FC Academy programs, call (905) 760-1666or visit www.intlfc.com.

International FC Academy is staging soccer clinics for players 6-16 years of age (four in all through the summer and fall of 2015) in an exclusive partnership with TFC at the Vaughan Sportsplex 2.

The program was put together to raise awareness within the Vaughan community about the availability of elite level coaching and youth soccer development in the community. Each clinic revolves around a specific tactical area of soccer, and Toronto FC or TFC II provides a player who is relevant to the instruction theme.

“Our first clinic (held July 26, 2015) was about dribbling and ball mastery and featured TFC II midfielder Luca Uccello,” explains Frank Iaizzo, International FC Athletic Director. “The second one (Aug. 9) was on passing and resolving with TFC midfielder (and U.S. U20 international) Marky Delgado.”

The academy is also working on finalizing TFC player appearances for its remaining two clinics on shooting and finishing (Sept. 20) and attacking and defending (Oct. 18).

Each clinic features a two hour instructional session with International FC Academy coaches and an hour meet & greet with the visiting TFC or TFC II player. The cost is $75 and participants take away a clinic T-shirt and an individual photo.

“We’re also putting the finishing touches on our winter camp that will run in late December,” says Iaizzo. “We haven’t finalized costs yet, but it will again be for players 6-16 and we’re looking at Dec 2729, so it will be a terrific Christmas gift for the young soccer players in the family.”

The International FC Academy is an Ontario Soccer Association Recognized Non-Club Academy (ORNCA) created in

InsideSOCCER 5

Karina LeBlanc and Allysha Chapman embrace after a tough loss to England in the semi’s.

BY MARTIN MCMAHON VANCOUVER, B.C. – Whenever a team is knocked out of a tournament, the inevitable discussion begins – why did this team fail?

BY MARTIN MACMAHON

CANADA’S WORLD CUP NOT

DISAPPOINTING Photographs courtesy of the Canadian Soccer Association/Jay Shaw That same debate is happening after Canada’s defeat in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Women’s World Cup. But just how bad is the situation for coach John Herdman’s team?

Did they have a bad tournament? A so-so tournament? The fact is that the team entered the tournament as the No. 8 team in the world, and was knocked out in the final eight.

And if you speak to head coach John Herdman, he feels his team wasn’t that far off at least a third-place finish. After all, it was England, the team that went on to win the third-place game, that knocked Canada out in a match in which many thought the home side actually was the better side, apart from centre back Lauren Sesselmann’s crucial slip that allowed the English to take the lead – a lead they would never relinquish.

“Our goal is to get on the podium in [the Rio 2016 Olympics],” Herdman told Inside Soccer Magazine following the tournament.

“Anyone watching the England game – were we that far from the team that finished third in the world? I mean, we beat them 1-0 in Hamilton [in a pre-World Cup friendly], outplayed them. In the game at BC Place, if you speak to the non-cynics and majority 6 Summer 2015

of spectators there, Canada outplayed England again.

“But two goals -- a set piece and a mistake -- cost us. We doubled the shots England had; we had more possession than them; we had more attacking quarter entries (and) more crosses. In my opinion, it was a game that Canada could have won, but [England] just finished with a bronze medal. When you look at it, we’re not that far away from hitting the podium. The podium has potential for Canada, even with this crop of players.”

But there does seem to be a void between Canada and some of the more top, technical sides. Even casual observers could see in this tournament that the likes of France, Germany, Japan and the U.S. played a more fluid and penetrating brand of soccer.

In Herdman’s view, Canada’s biggest issue right now is a gap not so much in quality, but in depth. He points to the fact a number of his players had to play through injury or didn’t play a full part in this tournament due to injury, whereas a nation with a deeper pool of elite players may not have had to use athletes in those conditions.

“Are we that close to beating a team like the U.S.A.? Well, the reality is, no,” Herdman said. “I don’t think we are that close. I mean, we drew with them 1-1 in Winnipeg last year. We drew 1-1 with them

just before the World Cup in a friendly match. But when you look at quality-forquality, it takes an unbelievable team performance every single game, and you have to put that out against the U.S. every single game. You can’t drop the standard, which they can do and still win matches.

“So, when you say how far away are you? I think the results will show you, we weren’t that far away from landing a podium spot. But, in terms of producing those players, that if we get an injury – we carried three injuries through that tournament – then you look on your

“Anyone watching the England game – were we that far from the team that finished third in the world? I mean, we beat them 1-0 in Hamilton [in a preWorld Cup friendly], outplayed them.”

John Herdman

roster, and you’re going – we can’t replace that player.”

When asked about where captain Christine Sinclair fit into his plans going into Rio 2016, Herdman said he still very much sees her as a centre forward, and took the opportunity to once again assert his belief that she remains a top player, despite a tournament in which some did question her contributions.

He pointed out that Canada never really played a minnow during the tournament, so Sinclair wasn’t able to rack up big goals like some players – he cited the fact Germany had a chance to take on Thailand as an example.

“Christine actually performed consistently well in this World Cup,” asserted Herdman. “Her shot stats, her turns, her pass completion rate in the opposition half were well above the standards that are required for her position. For her, she’s still in the hunt as a world-class striker. I’m absolutely clear about that. It’s just about the service.”

The injury to Diana Matheson, the player who scored the game winning goal against France in the London 2012 bronze medal game, made things more difficult for Sinclair, claims Herdman.

“If you had a Diana Matheson fit, that was able to play in and around Christine, that changes things,” said Herdman.

“For me, that was the missing jigsaw InsideSOCCER 7

Switzerland vs Canada

piece of Canada’s puzzle, the fact that Matheson, we just couldn’t get her back in time. Without her, I’ve said this before, I’ve always maintained that she’s been Canada’s second-best player behind Sinclair, the most consistent in the time that I’ve been here.”

So, for Rio 2016, it appears the plan is for Matheson and Sinclair to pair up again as the search for more Olympic glory continues.

But Herdman did say a deeper midfield role is likely in Sinclair’s future

by the time the next World Cup comes around in 2019.

“I’d expect to see in her a deep lying midfield role...where she’s spraying the ball around left, right foot, with her great vision and awareness, but isn’t expected to break back lines like she is now,” said Herdman. “Christine showed at this World Cup that she can step up and still be a real goal threat and score goals.”

It was always going to be a tough ask for this edition of Canada’s team to win the whole thing, but perhaps it has

achieved a greater goal by inspiring many young girls to get involved with the game. At least that’s the hope Sinclair shared after her team’s elimination.

“I’m proud of [the team],” Sinclair said.

“You look around the stadium tonight and there’s 50-odd thousand people wearing Canada jerseys. Young kids now dream of representing Canada, and we did that. This one stings, but in the grand scheme of things, this tournament was a huge success.”

“Canada’s biggest issue right now is a gap not so much in quality, but in depth. He points to the fact a number of his players had to play through injury or didn’t play a full part in this tournament due to injury.”

8 Summer 2015

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In 2015, the eyes of the soccer-loving world turned to the true north as Canada played host to 23 other nations in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The biggest stars in the women’s game came together in Canada to compete and battle it out for the crown of World Cup champions.

OH CANADA! LOOKING BACK AT THE

2015 FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

BY ARMEN BEDAKIAN

Sophie Schmidt

10 Summer 2015

Photographs courtesy of the Canadian Soccer Association/Jay Shaw Could Christine Sinclair lead Canada to a first World Cup trophy win? Or would their opponents, the likes of the Germans, Japanese or Americans, prove too mighty a foe? It was a question asked of manager John Herdman, who bravely took on the rest of the world with his Canada side.

For most of the supporters in the stands, Team Canada was the team to watch. Christine Sinclair spearheaded a Canadian national team that held with it the hopes of the host nation, and, in a tough Group A, the Canadians opened the tournament in a big, big way.

Squaring off against China in Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium, Canada stepped toe-to-toe against admirable opposition. Scoring chances came at a premium, though, as both teams struggled to open the scoring. As the game wound down, Canada pressed and pressed, and were rewarded for their efforts late in the game with a penalty call in the box. Sinclair stepped up, cool as you like, and smashed it home, giving the Canadians a 1-0 win over China.

With all three points in the bag, Canada’s manager, John Herdman, shifted focus for his side’s next game, against his

native New Zealand. It was a match that would have secured advancement for the Canadians, should they pull off a second victory, but this game ran similar to the first. Canada struggled to score, New Zealand rarely threatened, and the game ended 0-0.

Holland was Canada’s final test in Group A, and Canada’s scoring woes were finally snapped as Ashley Lawrence scored from open play in the 10th minute. Canada held the lead throughout the match, until the 87th minute, when Kirsten Van de Ven found an equalizer, giving Canada another point.

When the dust had finally settled in Group A, Canada sat on top with five points, a historic first for the Canadian women in a World Cup. Now through to the knockout rounds, Canada would face another tough test against Switzerland, a team that had defeated Ecuador 10-1 in the group stages.

Once again, Canada’s scoring woes continued in a dull first half in the Round of 16, but Josée Bélanger put a stop to that quickly into the second half, scoring a goahead goal in the 52nd minute. That goal would prove to be the difference between the two sides as Canada advanced into the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time to meet a familiar foe – England.

Prior to the World Cup, Canada had faced the English in a friendly match, a game the Canadian women won. But

with the eyes of the world on them, the pressure was on and as such, the competition was much fiercer between these two sides. England punished Canada early in the match with an 11th minute goal, and then, three minutes later, the English doubled their lead.

Christine Sinclair scored a goal of her own right before the half-time whistle, but it wasn’t enough, as Canada failed to capitalize on a few good chances and fell 2-1 to England.

It was the end of Canada’s journey, but not the end of what turned out to be a thrilling World Cup adventure. For fans of Canada, this may have been the final chance to potentially see Sinclair earn the World Cup trophy, but there

entire tournament.

Still, there are some worries for a Canadian team that seemed wasteful in its chances and struggled to find the back of the net with consistency and with any sort of danger. What goals Canada did find came from fortunate circumstance, and while Canada looked dangerous at times, most attacks fizzled out before a chance at goal ever really materialized.

Finding forwards that can be more clinical with their chances will be key but another concern was in the lack of energy, at times, from the Canadian team.

The effort was there but it seemed far too easy at times to break down a play with some good physical defending from the opposition. Tactically, Canada struggled

“It was the end of Canada’s journey, but not the end of what turned out to be a thrilling World Cup adventure.

For fans of Canada, this may have been the final chance to potentially see Sinclair earn the World Cup trophy, but there were plenty of positive signs.” were plenty of positive signs. One standout from the Canadian team was defender Kadeisha Buchanan, who was arguably the best central defender in the

to break down teams in meaningful ways but the use of the wings was also a confusing choice, as crosses were rarely sent into the box for those efforts.

InsideSOCCER 11

Sinclair seemed starved of service and players like Jonelle Filigno and Melissa Tancredi never really seemed too comfortable attacking by themselves, either. Tancredi, in particular, missed a few big chances, extending her goalless streak throughout this tournament.

For Canada, there are some positive signs but these issues need to be addressed if future success is to be found.

Still, this fledgling program now looks like one of the top contenders in the world, as growth in the sport continues for the women of Canada. It has been a long path to this point for Canada, and as interest grows in the sport, more and more young girls will take to soccer, too.

In this regard, Canada’s women proved inspirational for those onlookers who embraced their home team in an event that hasn’t often allowed Canada to come together.

Hosting a World Cup meant competing in one, something Canadian soccer fans aren’t too accustomed to on the men’s side. But, for the women, success at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup meant putting in an admirable showing and heading into uncharted territory on the bracket, and they did just that. Still, there was a tournament left to be played, and the frontrunners soon emerged around Canada as the World Cup wound down to a final four.

For the Germans, the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup couldn’t have gotten off on a better foot. In what ended up being an absolute master-class of a performance, the Germans utterly dominated the Ivory Coast, defeating them 10-0. After that, it was a string of positive results all the way to the semifinals, where a meeting with the United States awaited them.

The U.S. had qualified for the knockout stages with little fuss themselves, brushing aside Australia and Nigeria and drawing with Sweden to secure a top spot finish in Group D. But, for the U.S., the road to the semi-finals wasn’t easy; Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan and Hope Solo’s side faced Colombia, then China, each proving themselves worthy opponents.

The U.S. met Germany in the semifinals, and won the match 2-0 to secure a 12 Summer 2015

spot in the World Cup finals.

On the other side of the bracket, Japan was making a lot of noise with some very high quality soccer being put on display.

The Japanese passed with precision and moved with deliberation. They had strong ideas in transition and looked very dangerous on the offense, but never at the expense of its solid defensive shape.

For a neutral observer, the Japanese looked the strongest team of the tournament in the early rounds, and that momentum saw them take on and defeat England in the semi-finals. It would be the Japanese and the Americans in the World Cup final; coincidentally, it would also be a rematch of the 2011 final, which Japan had won.

On July 5, the crowd at Vancouver’s BC Place stadium was packed with U.S. supporters, who had crossed the border to watch and cheer as their side vied for the biggest prize in the game. The U.S. didn’t hold back at all, though, scoring four goals in the first 16 minutes of play, including a hat trick by Carli Lloyd!

The Japanese struck back, twice, before Tobin Heath added a fifth goal,

giving the U.S. a huge 5-2 victory over Japan and a third FIFA World Cup title.

It was a well-deserved victory for the U.S. women, who enjoyed the parades and accolades that come with a World Cup win in the days that followed. For Canadian fans, seeing the U.S. win was a comfort, in a way, as the camaraderie between the two nations is strong. But, seeing the American women hoist the World Cup trophy was also a clear vision of the benchmark that Canada must meet in order to one day do the same.

So, a hearty congratulations to the American women who are now crowned World Cup champions of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup! As Herdman regroups with his squad, he and his players will be looking firmly at the 2019 World Cup, to try once more, to achieve the greatest dream in the world of the beautiful game!

Canada’s Ashley Lawrence faces England’s Steph Houghton

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S IN EFFEC T!

InsideSOCCER Magazine P.O. Box 151 King City, ON L7B 1A5

BY OLIVIER TREMBLAY

Paméla O’Neill, Communications Manager for the Montreal local organising committee, is one of those people who worked backstage to make sure that what you were watching went along smoothly. She sat down with Inside Soccer Magazine, providing facts and anecdotes from behind the scenes at the Women’s World Cup. Two types of people work for a Women’s World Cup local organising committee: those with experience in the soccer world, and those with experience in event organisation.

“One complements the other well,” Ms. O’Neill, formerly a reporter for Québec Soccer, says. “I didn’t necessarily have experience in such events, but you need these people, who understand logistics and operations, to complement the other.”

The Montreal organising committee has two events under its belt: the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Roughly 20 full-time employees –interns bump this number up to 30 – as well as 350 14 Summer 2015

ORGANIZING A WORLD CUP Photographs courtesy of the Canadian Soccer Association

You’ve watched the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. You’ve seen the stadiums, the players, the fields and referees, but there’s so much you haven’t seen. So many things made what you’ve seen possible. volunteers, got their hands dirty for the good of women’s soccer.

Ms. O’Neill was the second employee to be hired into the Montreal committee, in October 2013 – the first was Venue General Manager Francis Millien. By the start of 2014, the committee was made up of a whopping three people.

Organising the 2015 Women’s World

Cup, Ms. O’Neill says, wasn’t so different from organising the previous year’s U-20 version of the competition. FIFA’s demanding standards and criteria didn’t change. But the committee learned one valuable lesson: they had to sell individual tickets earlier.

Fans could buy individual tickets for the U-20 Women’s World Cup starting

on May 8, 2014 – 89 days before the tournament. Individual tickets for the 2015 tournament went on sale on February 26, 2015, a full 100 days prior to kickoff.

“Packages don’t sell as well as individual tickets,” Ms. O’Neill says. “It’s a big investment to make in a single shot, and not everyone’s available for every game in the package. Putting the individual tickets on sale earlier really helped people plan in advance.”

Before the action unfolds on the field, organising the Women’s World Cup just isn’t the most glamourous job in the world: it’s mainly office work. But the pressure is on nonetheless.

“We had this huge poster with all the important deadlines: tickets put on sale on this date, draw on this date, all the big events before the tournament,” Ms. O’Neill says. “Of course, it depends on each department. Everyone’s big rush period didn’t occur at the same time. But we all work together.

“For example, communications, marketing and ticket sales are always working together. But I also have to keep in touch with logistics, because they’re building me a press room. They have to know what I need. Credentials – I need to get reporters in. Security – my rooms have to be secure. They’re all intertwined, one way or another.”

In Montreal, the Olympic Stadium posed a problem. While it may seem mostly unused since Major League Baseball’s Montreal Expos left for Washington in 2004, events do take place regularly. As such, the Montreal committee couldn’t start arranging the stadium before May 25, a mere 15 days before the Spain v. Costa Rica opener.

“And even then, my media centre opened on June 6, we had training sessions starting on June 8 at the stadium,” Ms. O’Neill says. “We had something like two weeks to get everything – everything!

– done.”

That’s when 15-hour workdays started, too.

“During the tournament, there would be a day here and there when we’d leave at 8pm, and we’d be like ‘Whoa, there’s still daylight!’”

Oh, the heartwarming pregame ceremony at the World Cup. Here are 22 young soccer players, hand in hand with a full international representing her country.

Easy, right? Wrong. These kids get to the stadium six hours in advance and practice the ceremony for up to three hours, until they’ve nailed it perfectly.

This ceremony, Ms. O’Neill says, is the one thing that FIFA puts the most emphasis on.

“It’s what the camera shows the most,” she says. “It’s a matter of image. They’ll start practising about three hours before the game starts. They’ll do it again and again and again and again. They practice until it’s perfect. The flags have to be perfectly placed in a specific position.

The timing has to be perfect, give or take one second.”

“We’re far from that,” she says. “It didn’t affect us at all. People just wanted to come and see a great show, and that’s what they got, regardless of what was happening in Zurich or elsewhere.”

The tournament is over, but the committee’s work isn’t. They must file an event report to FIFA before July 31, when everyone’s contract is up. This may seem hurried, but it’s nothing compared to the report filed after the U-20 Women’s World Cup. “Last year, the packages came on sale early September, so we were trying to sell packages and write a report at the same time [because the final was played on August 24],” Ms. O’Neill says. “It was insane. Now, we’re more relaxed.”

There is, at the very least, the feeling of a job well done. 1,353,506 people attended games all over Canada, which

The 2015 Women’s World Cup didn’t kick off quite trouble-free. A players’ lawsuit challenging FIFA’s ruling that all games would be played on artificial turf, albeit dropped in January, lingered in the discussions. And then, days before the tournament, several FIFA officials were arrested on corruption charges.

Ms. O’Neill insists, however, that the organising committee felt no added pressure stemming from these issues.

FIFA touted as a new total attendance record for one of their competitions – the men’s World Cup aside.

France will host the next edition, in 2019. Ms. O’Neill has a clear idea of what the French must do to top Canada’s organising feats.

“They have to sell even more tickets!”

InsideSOCCER 15

FIT FACTS

A HIDDEN PARADISE On the weekend of June 12th-13th 2015, I visited BY RICHARD BUCCIARELLI Winnipeg, Manitoba, to attend some FIFA Women’s could be interested and qualified for this World Cup matches and also to visit with my friend and position. I was then informed by FIFA this position opening because colleague Vanesa Martinez, who holds a Ph.D. in sports about of my involvement as a FIFA Women’s Instructor and followed a long science and a UEFA “Pro” License in coaching, and Football and detailed interview/selection process is the new Head Coach of the University of Manitoba to become the Head Coach of the University of Manitoba Women’s Soccer Bison’s Women’s Varsity Soccer Team.

Team. There were about 85 candidates Two months ago, I accepted a position as a Regional Scout for the Bison’s Women’s Soccer Team, so for me this trip was not just to watch World Cup matches and catch up with an old friend – it was also arranged so that I could see first-hand what the school and the Women’s Soccer program is all about.

On my first evening in Winnipeg on June 12th, following two very entertaining matches, I sat at a restaurant with Coach Martinez and others from the school. After a long day of touring the school’s top class soccer and athletic facilities, meeting with their coaching and strength and conditioning staff, and of course speaking with Coach Martinez personally, I commented to her that the U of M seemed like an unlikely place for such an impressive soccer program, which I referred to as a “paradise.” After all, Winnipeg is not a city known for producing a lot of elite soccer players, nor, for that matter, is Manitoba as a province.

Coach Martinez acknowledged my point and added, “It’s a hidden paradise.”

In this article, I have interviewed Coach Martinez, in order to introduce this “hidden paradise”, and to shed some light on the numerous positive aspects of the program.

16 Summer 2015

Inside Soccer Magazine: How did you become the Head Coach of the University of Manitoba Bisons Women’s Soccer program?

Vanesa Martinez: The U of M asked the MSA (Manitoba Soccer Association) for help in the recruitment process.

Hector Vergara, who is the MSA Executive Director and a long-time member of the FIFA referees’ committee, asked around in FIFA about potential candidates that

for this position from all over the world and I was the one selected by the University. It took almost 10 months for me and the University to finalize all the required paperwork. When the University brought me down to Winnipeg for an onsite interview I really loved the people, the facilities and the great potential this place has. Thus, I decided to accept the position and my official start date was in August 2013.

ISM: Besides you, what are some of the other strengths of the Women’s Soccer program at U of M? VM: I think our biggest strengths are amazing and talented people (both players and staff ), world-class training facilities and excellent academic programs with some of the most affordable tuition fees in Canada. In terms of our people, we are one of the few soccer programs with an integrated team staff. We are able to offer our players the support of excellent assistant coaches including a goalkeeper coach, strength and conditioning, sports psychology and sports nutrition experts.

We have also been able to recruit talented players from within Canada and abroad and we are able to offer them a great

Richard, Vanessa and Christine

environment to continue their athletic and academic development. Facility wise, we have now some of the most beautiful and modern training facilities in the nation. Our brand new Investors Group Field was one of the game venues for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 and our team will now get the chance to play at least one of our league games at this stadium. This is a magnificent honor for our players, staff and fans. We might be the only University in the World that will be able to offer this great opportunity.

We also have an amazing brand new high performance and recreational facility called Active Living Center, which just opened in February 2015. It is equipped with state of the art training apparatus and technology devices such as heart rate monitors, GPS units, timing gates, among others. Additionally, we are

able to train our athletes all year round by having access to both outdoor and indoor soccer training pitches that allow us to accommodate our team and position-specific training regardless of the weather conditions. Finally, the U of M offers a wide range of high-quality academic programs that our athletes can choose from at a very affordable price compared to other Canadian Universities.

ISM: What are your plans for the future of the Bison Women’s Soccer program?

VM: Our vision is to become one of the top Women’s Soccer programs in Canada. We need to go step by step to achieve this goal. First, we will need to put the hard work, invest the time, dedication and patience that it will take to get there, and then we will be challenged to maintain this status. Year by year our

objective is to obtain a better team record than the previous year. Moreover, each year we also want to continue improving the areas of player recruitment at the provincial, national and international level, program infrastructure and training environment, team culture, team budget, and mentoring of players and team staff volunteers to achieve a comprehensive individual development including athletics, academics and community involvement.

Richard Bucciarelli is the President of Soccer Fitness Inc., and a Regional Scout with the University of Manitoba Bison’s Women’s Varsity Soccer Team. For more information about Richard and Soccer Fitness Inc., visit www.soccerfitness.ca.

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@SoccerFitGols InsideSOCCER 17

COACH DAVE: MY CORNER

FIT FACTS

WHAT I LEARNED FROM THE 2015 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

BY DAVE KENNY

Photographs courtesy of the Canadian Soccer Association/Jay Shaw

The Women’s World Cup has come and gone and the USA has been crowned champion once again. While the American victory may have been expected by some, there were a few moments of surprise and flashes of realization that need to be discussed.

SPIRIT OF THE GAME There was a time that the saying “You play like a Girl!” was an insult. Realization #1: After watching the way the women played at the World Cup this year, I wish more men would “Play like a Girl.”

Those who have read ISM on a regular basis know that my biggest annoyance in soccer is the diving and faking that goes on at all levels in the game. Cristiano Ronaldo, while a great player, drives me crazy with his flopping and begging for fouls. Marta, Christine Sinclair and Megan Rapinoe are great female players.

During the 2015 World Cup each of these women was the target of opposition players, often being kicked, grabbed and pulled, yet somehow they managed to get through all their games with zero dives – combined!

Sitting at my local watering hole watching one of the preliminary matches, I could not help but hear a fellow customer explaining the game to his peers, a table of eight. His elaborate description as to why he does NOT watch soccer caught my attention. He, as the proverbial expert 18 Summer 2015

of soccer at the table, was apparently not watching the World Cup (and in turn, soccer at all) because of all the diving and faking of injuries during the game. He proceeded to articulate the drama and told his table to watch the “first time a player gets “touched”; “She’ll flop to the ground,” he commented. Shortly after his comments, there was a foul in the game, to which I heard his commentary: “Watch this now! Ohhhhh my leg hurts!” Silently watching the same game, I witnessed the two players involved hit the ground.

Neither of them “rolled around injured,” as this self-proclaimed “soccer expert” expected. The players actually helped each other to their feet. No shin grabbing, no wincing, no begging for cards. Wiping the grin off of my face, I turned to my fellow bar-fly and said, “You obviously have never watched women’s soccer before. They don’t dive. I suggest you watch this caliber of women’s soccer more often. It might just change your opinion of the sport.” Smugly, I then returned my attention to the television. ‘Nuff said.

Just because women soccer players

do not “fake fouls” or embellish injuries, does not mean they are not competitive.

They fight for every ball they can, but at the same time, will stop to attend to an opponent who is down. The girls just bring a little more class to the game, something that I wish could be carried over to the men’s game. We punish “unsportsmanlike” behaviour. Maybe we should reward “sportsmanship!”

I should mention that not all teams in the 2015 Women’s World Cup conducted themselves the same way and played without any dives or faking of injuries.

There were a few occasions where I saw players “embellishing,” as FIFA likes to call it. However, from what I saw, these “embellishments” occurred in the games where there was an imbalance of abilities – the blow outs. The Ivory Coast and Thailand teams were two that I noticed that resorted to flopping, hoping to get some reprieve from the officials. I assume the Ivory Coast team has spent a lot of time watching countryman, Didier Drogba, who is one of the best divers to ever play the game. Perhaps Thailand has been watching the highlight reels of Ronaldo.

Generally, in watching the 2015 Women’s World Cup, I was reminded of the spirit in which females play this great game. I first became aware of this spirit twelve years ago when I first started coaching girls. I witnessed very competitive players knock over a player then stop playing to help assist the very

player they took down.

To reflect the classy way the women played the game, I wish FIFA would eliminate the need for teams to run up the score against weaker opponents. I am sure the Swiss really did not enjoy pounding in ten goals against Ecuador, but they were forced to do so because Cameroon had yet to play the weakest team in the division. I would like to see FIFA institute a maximum score to count in calculating goal differential. Some youth tournaments have a maximum count of 5 or 6 goals to prevent teams from getting blown out. (One of my teams competed in a tournament that actually had a “Mercy Rule” and ended the game if any team went down by 5 goals). I have been on both ends of games where scores have been lopsided and it really does not do anybody any good. Why does a developing program like Ecuador need to be “punished” for making the World Cup Finals? They are the team, in fact, that we all, especially FIFA, should be commending for actually qualifying.

In a further example of the great spirit of the game, I must mention Swiss coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg.

The Swiss, making its first World Cup appearance, were ousted by Canada in the Round of 16. Before discussing the game with reporters, the Coach thanked the Canadian people, finding them all to be very friendly and called Canada an “amazing country.” As a proud Canadian, I take pleasure when others say nice things about our people and country. I thought it was a very classy move by the Swiss coach to thank the “locals” before any discussions of the game. Just the type of thing that a Canadian would do!

Finally, I would like to thank Sepp Blatter for staying away from the tournament.

The self-proclaimed “Godfather of Women’s Soccer,” who once suggested women should wear tighter shorts to make the game more attractive, would have loved the glory of presenting the trophy to the champions. The fact that he stayed away allowed the true show to be the game on the field and not the corruption off it. It would have been a circus if he had shown his face in Canada.

TECHNICAL On the technical side of the game, my first observation was that the quality of women’s football was at a higher level than it has ever been. The dedication to training and work that has been put into development of ball skills is obvious. The countries that have, in the past, been considered the elite teams, are still the teams to beat, but the gap between the best and the second level of teams is closing as the second and third tier countries are improving tournament to tournament. The 2015 Women’s World Cup saw eight teams qualifying for their first World Cup (Ivory Coast, Thailand, Switzerland, Netherlands, Spain, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Cameroon) and all but a couple were competitive. I am not sure that the tournament should include teams ranked 48th (Ecuador) and 67th (Ivory Coast) but by expanding the tournament to twenty-four teams, many more countries of the world are exposed to the game and to the opportunity to compete in the future.

On a personal note, I was surprised at the performance of the Netherlands. As a debutant in this event, the skill level was

outstanding and the team was within one goal of the defending champions, Japan.

Given my fondness of the well proven Dutch training methods, I suppose I should have not been so surprised. The Dutch team was a late starter in women’s soccer but are quickly closing the gap, and people around the world are taking note.

I also found it interesting that scoring stars Marta, Wambach and Sinclair each had scored only one goal through the preliminary matches. While the three stars seemed not to be performing at the top of their game, their opponents were much better prepared to defend against the world’s top scorers. (Wambach’s claim that her lack of goals was due to the artificial turf was quite comical indeed!

Give me a break, Wambach. You can’t be professional athlete AND complain about the turf. Wait a second that IS what athletes do! ).

In general, as spectators of the 2015 Women’s World Cup, we saw more twotouch passing and less “kick and run” style of years gone by. There was an attempt to play free flowing football, best illustrated by the Japanese, and less influence was put on the physical side of the game.

Canada is a great example of the change in style. Once a physical, chasing team under coach Even Pellerud, this Canadian team played a much more skilled style under coach John Herdman.

There were a few cases during the tournament that I was disappointed in some technical aspects. Thankfully, the officiating did not become a major focal point of the tournament and related controversies were minimal. In the early games, there were cases where I thought InsideSOCCER 19

referees were a bit out of their comfort zones, and thought the tournament was going to have issues with the quality of officiating. FIFA used all female officials in this tournament and the world’s referees are still developing and improving. With the growth of the women’s game, more refs were needed in a hurry and there were a number of referees who were fasttracked to FIFA status.

As the tournament moved to later rounds and only the top officials were appointed to games, I thought the matches were very well officiated. Even with the advantage of television cameras, replays showed the referee was correct in almost all calls that were made. Overall, the officiating was much improved than in previous tournaments and the enhanced fitness of the officials was obvious.

Goalkeeping is an area that has also made great strides in the women’s game.

There were some fabulous saves made throughout the tournament, Canada’s Erin McLeod making some of the best.

Fewer and fewer goals are being scored over the goalkeepers’ heads and players are doing a much better job at defending the top area of the net. However, until we start growing 6’4” women to use as goalkeepers, the shot to the top of the net will still be a quality attempt on goal.

A high shot tends to make a goalkeeper go after the ball with one hand, in order to deflect it over the bar. There were a number of goals in the World Cup scored where the ball was pushed by the goalkeeper on to the bar and just trickled over the line. Although the one handed saves are spectacular to watch, the goalkeepers who simply back up and reach with two hands are the ones that make more frequent saves. Goalkeepers should always use both hands for saves when possible and use the one handed attempts for desperation saves.

Another technical flaw that I was witness to was a number of keepers diving flat footed from a stationary position. This reduces the amount of lift and distance in the dive. Years ago, I attended a seminar on goalkeeping and the instructing coach had an interesting exercise emphasizing the need to step into the dive. The coach had goalkeepers dive from a stationary position and measured the distance they covered. He then had players step forward with one foot at a 45 degree angle and then dive. The result was more 20 Summer 2015

height and more distance covered. Many goals were scored in the World Cup either just out of reach of the goalkeeper or just deflecting off the fingertips of the player.

With the small adjustment of stepping into the dive, I wonder how many more great saves we would be talking about.

CANADA IS READY This year, the performance of the Canadian team revealed that the women’s soccer program is one of the best in the world. The Canadian team performed well on and off of the field.

The notoriety that many of the Canadian players have with the general public is remarkable. There are individual female players that are better known than the players on the men’s team. The women caught the attention of the people of our great country and proved that Canada will indeed support soccer.

My brother, currently living in the UK, was reliving the television coverage he was watching. According to the UK commentators, Canadians do not really understand the game of football and are only showing up because they know it is a “major event,” and Canada always supports major events. I hate to contradict the British commentators but, quite simply, that is crap! The Canadian people may not have a profound and long-standing history with the game in terms of National team success, but we, as a country, DO know the game.

There are more kids playing soccer in this country, than play hockey with registration expected to reach 1 million in the next few years. That, of course, is a fact our British friends would certainly not expect. The success of the Canadian MLS teams has proven that we CAN support the game of soccer in this country. The women’s team just became the catalyst that brought the country together and gave us all something to rally behind.

A Canadian television audience of 7.5 million watched the quarter final loss to England. Canada has been waiting to cheer for a National team it could be proud of. The women’s team became that team with this World Cup! According to FIFA, the Canada 2015 tournament has set a record attendance for any FIFA event outside of the Men’s World Cups. With 1.3 million total attendance and record Canadian crowd of over 54,000 to watch one of the

Canadian games, I think the Canadian fans have shown what CSA President Victor Montagliani was hoping for - that Canada could support a Men’s World Cup tournament. The CSA will use the attendance numbers in support of its future bid, possibly for the 2026 event.

I don’t want to spoil Victor’s dream, but let’s take a look at the numbers. The attendance numbers are inflated because FIFA policy dictates that double-header attendance is counted for each game.

Where FIFA reported over a million fans attended the first twenty-four games, the actual number was closer to 625,000.

In Germany in 2011, there were a total of 850,000 seats sold, with no double headers and USA’99, with all but two games being double-headers, had an announced 1.2 million spectators. FIFA apparently has done “double-header counting” at all FIFA tournaments in order to have “consistency.” Regardless of FIFA numbers, sold out stadiums proved that Canada supported this World Cup and could indeed support a Men’s World Cup. Considering the greater Toronto area hosted no games, there is another five million people available for ticket sales who were, in essence, shut out of this World Cup. The 2015 World Cup will leave its indelible mark on the Canadian soccer scene. The group of young (and some older) women united a country in support and hope. Never has a women’s sport been discussed so often around water coolers or over beers, or been the main topic on sport talk shows. Christine Sinclair is now the best known Canadian female athlete, and the world saw the future superstar in young defender Kadeisha Buchanan.

She will lead the Women’s team long after Sinclair and others retire. The team itself has established themselves as great role models for future generations of female soccer players and created a whole new interest in female sport. If the men’s program can start to create the same excitement, the future for Canadian soccer will be fantastic!

ATTENTION SOCCER ASSOCIATIONS AND CLUBS Promote your FALL/WINTER soccer programs now!

Material Deadline: September 14th, 2015 Release Date: September 24th, 2015 Contact Branden Clark for more information Email: branden@insidesoccermagazine.ca Telephone: 905.833.1973 InsideSOCCER Magazine P.O. Box 151 King City, ONTARIO L7B 1A5

SPECIAL REDUCE D RATES IN EFFEC T!

WORDS BY DICK HOWARD: FIFA TECHNICAL ADVISOR, AND MEMBER CANADIAN SOCCER HALL OF FAME.

PARAPAN AM GAMES

TORONTO 2015 Photographs courtesy of Bruce Henderson (formerly, Ontario Soccer Association).

A conga line of soccer players on their way to the playing field at the University of Toronto… moments later they were moving with the ball, passing and scoring goals in their 5-a-side game.

Hard to believe that these talented individuals were all blind and visually impaired, until you realize that they were representing Brazil. They must be good – “futebol” is in their DNA! One of the best is a diminutive 27 year old from Bahia, JEFINHO, who had lost his sight at the age 22 Summer 2015

of 7 but was in the national blind team program 7 years later. His opening goal in the Gold medal game against Argentina was a moment of magic – a mazy dribble followed by an unstoppable shot that had the packed crowd in raptures.

SILENCE PLEASE!

Along with near misses and great saves, the spectators were allowed to celebrate the goals, but were asked to remain silent during the course of the game, so that the sighted goalkeepers,

guides and coaches located around the field of play could assist in directing the players. The ball is also equipped with a noise-making device that allows the players to locate it by sound.

“THE PARALYMPIC PELE”

The Boys from Brazil went on to beat a competitive Argentinian team 2-1: an enthralling game that featured fine goalkeeping and individual brilliance on both sides. What was especially impressive was the inter-passing between JEFINHO and teammate RICARDO ALVES using the width of the field and the walls.

Testimony to the many hours of daily practice but then the game for JEFINHO is his life. “From the time I wake up in the morning I want to play with my friends. It is an escape from the problems of vision”.

Poignant words from this remarkable young man who has made his mark in the world of blind football. No wonder he is called the “Paralympic Pele”.

NO FUNDING FOR BLIND SOCCER IN CANADA

Canada did not field a team in the

5-a-side tournament. GOALBALL is the sport of choice for Canadian Blind Sports with both the men’s and women’s National Teams qualifying for Rio next year. The Canadian Soccer Association has the responsibility of fielding a National Team at the Paralympics and at the present time there is no funding for a blind football (soccer) program. Will that

change in the years ahead? Hopefully given that there is some interest in provinces such as Ontario with some recent initiatives implemented by the OSA‘s Matt Greenwood. Greenwood was a busy man at the PARAPAN AM GAMES as the hardworking Chair for the Football Tournaments. Ontario’s Alexis Vaughan also headed up a local group of officials

InsideSOCCER 23

Hall of Famer, Dick Howard, interviewing Jan, one of the players, with a translator and the Secretary-General, IFCPF, Sandy Hermaston, looking on.

in the 7-a-side tournament.

THE CHALLENGE OF CP SOCCER

The following morning after the Gold medal 5-a-side game Canada’s lone Paralympic football (soccer) team took to an adjacent field in the Bronze medal game against Venezuela. Football 7-a-side is for players with cerebral palsy (CP) and other neurological disorders including stroke and traumatic brain injury. A scaled down field with smaller goals, an adapted throw in and interestingly, no

JEFINHO in close control.

offside, make it similar in many ways to the 11-a-side game.

The Canadian team had high hopes of a medal in front of a partisan crowd that included many family members who had given great support to the team throughout the tournament. Some had even travelled to England for the CP Football World Championship in June.

THE GROUP GAMES

It had not started off well in the group games with a 3-1 defeat by a strong

Argentinian team that would go on to win a silver medal. Coach Drew Ferguson’s team saved its best performance for the game against eternal rivals, USA. Two fine goals courtesy of the talented Trevor Stiles and 17 year old Sam Charron resulted in a hard fought 2-1 victory.

Unfortunately it came at a price: the loss of Stiles in the first half of the game. The versatile 33 year old had scored 6 goals in the recent World Championship and had started in goal against Argentina.

Ferguson fielded a weakened team for the next game against pre-tournament favourites Brazil and, despite a valiant display of goalkeeping by 33 year old Damien Wojtiw, the eventual Gold medal winners took full advantage of the situation. Wojtiw , a recent addition to the

“From the time I wake up in the morning I want to play with my friends.

It is an escape from the problems of vision.” ~JEFINHO 24 Summer 2015

Goalie Joe “The Cat” Resendes in action. squad ,showed the talent that had placed him in the Ontario provincial program before suffering a traumatic brain injury when he was in his 20’s.

THE RESENDES SHOW

It was a magnificent 14 minutes of goalkeeping by Joe “The Cat” Resendes in the final group game against Venezuela that drew the praise of goalkeeper coach and former National Team player Don Ferguson and his teammates. Making his first appearance for 10 years the 35 year old from Port Moody B.C. made several magnificent saves before being substituted to preserve the 1-1 tie. The young Canadian squad then lost to a more experienced Venezuela in their quest for a bronze medal, despite another fine goal

by Canada’s player of the tournament

Sam Charron* who scored 4 goals in 5 games.

TOKYO?

No Road to Rio for Canada but the future looks bright with the performances of teenagers Charron, Liam Stanley and Nick Heffernan. It is still challenging times for the newly created IFCPF (International Federation of Cerebral palsy Football).

Especially since the IPC governing board has recently decided not to include 7-a-side football in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, “A devastating effect on funding” according to the Canadian President of the IFCPF, Sandy Hermiston, who was a more than interested spectator at the games. She hopes this will change in the future since there is still one spot available!

IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS

Kudos to Drew Ferguson and his assistant coaches Doug Lusk and Don Ferguson, the team staff and the tremendous ongoing support of the CP Football family… as well as the commitment of the squad. Special mention must be made of the tireless work of “Fergy”, the only coach of the team for the past 10 years. The former National Team player and coach “fell in love with the attitude of the players” and is the main reason why there is currently a program for these talented athletes across Canada. *Leading scorer for Canada in the tournament and a graduate of the unique John DeBenedictis “The Last 9 seconds” goal-scoring course held in Ottawa in 2014.

The Canadian bench.

InsideSOCCER 25

When people go to a sporting event they usually are looking for something exciting to happen. In auto racing it may be a crash; in hockey it would be a fight on the ice.

Well in soccer there are no crashes or fights; just goals provide the excitement.

WHERE ARE THE Photographs courtesy of the Canadian Soccer Association/ Jay Shaw

But they are sometimes hard to find.

Particularly in tournament play. The defenses are so good, forwards have problems getting a clear shot on goal.

And then there is always the goalkeeper.

As a result, numerous games end in a goalless draws and often lead to penalty shots to settle the issue.

Of course a penalty shoot-out is an exciting procedure, people sitting on their hands, biting their lips; but generally, a shoot-out is more like a crap shoot and, in the end, doesn’t necessarily reflect something that happened on the field during the past 120 minutes.

The recent Women’s World Cup here in Canada, the Copa America for men played at the same time in Chile and, for that matter, the past three World Cups for men all had the same problem: the meager goal count in the final stages.

Of course someone had to put this evidence to shame, and none other than the United States did just that by putting in a barrage of goals in the final for the women’s World Cup in its 5-2 win over Japan.

Well, you have to leave it to the women to break the ice.

But this is just an exception to the general scoring draught and men haven’t got the message yet.

But exceptions are part of the rule as this was the first final in many years to present a basket full of goals. No final, men or women, in human memory has produced seven goals and perhaps this game gives us hope to see more of the 26 Summer 2015

Erin Mcleod

BY BOB KOEP

GOALS? same in the future.

In the process, the U.S. women put the men to shame as the men have been unable to come up with an equally exciting game in the latter stages of World Cups with the lone exception of Germany’s 7-1 semi-final win over Brazil in last year’s World Cup. In the recent Copa America the final between Chile and Argentina went scoreless over 120 minutes and had to be decided with a shoot-out.

Chile won that one and thus captured its first South American title ever.

For Argentina it was another disappointment, having fought gallantly it went home without a trophy as it did a year earlier when it lost the World Cup final to Germany 1-0 in overtime. On top of it, usually high-scoring Lionel Messi, a multiple World Player of the Year award winner, went through the entire Copa America tournament without scoring a single goal. That says something about the defenses and their assigned targets.

You just double cover an opposing superstar and he won’t find room to aim a shot properly.

Speaking of World Cups for men, goals were also hard to detect. In 2014 Germany and Argentina were 0-0 at full time and in 2010 Spain and The Netherlands were also scoreless at fulltime. No goals at all at full time in two consecutive World Cup finals.

In this summer’s Women’s World Cup (not counting the final), goals got more and more scarce as the tournament progressed.

In the Group stages games are often a bit more open and attackers find the occasional chance to score a goal. The theory is that you may give up a tie or even a loss because there will be another

day for you to come back. Particularly with (in most groups) three out of four group members advancing to the knockout part of the show.

Thus in the Group stage, a total of 107 goals were scored in 36 games, an average of just about three goals per game.

Canada was here one of the misers as it managed to score two goals in three games, one of which came on a penalty shot. But still, that was enough to win the group and advance.

At the other end, powerhouse Germany, rated number One in the world, raced through the early stages scoring 19 goals (mostly against weak opposition) in three games. Then it blasted Sweden 4-1 in the round of 16 and that was it. They barely managed a 1-1 tie with France on a penalty in quarterfinals.

The country bombed out of semifinals (2-0 to the U.S.) and then again failed to score in the third place game against England.

Moving on to the round of 16 things began to tighten up and a total of 19 goals were scored in those eight games, an average of just 2.4 goals per game.

Now the scene moves to quarter finals and only seven goals were counted for an average of 1.75 goals per game.

Still there was no overtime or shoot out as things were settled in regulation time.

Now on to semi-finals with a total of five goals recorded, however three of them were penalty shots and one an own goal. In fact from field play only one shot found its way into the net.

The oddest game in this round was the clash between Japan and England where two penalties, one each, were shown on the scoreboard until, in the very last minute, England’ Laura Basset

managed to put a fabulous shot into her own net to settle the issue.

And speaking of penalties. You and I are able to judge a referee’s call after three or four replays on the screen and we then determine whether the call was justified or not.

A referee has a different problem. He or she must make a call on a split second judgement and then live with it.

After replays, we thought the call against England was iffy as the foul seemed to be just outside the box.

Well I thought maybe the referee has her own doubts and make up for it sometime.

Exactly. Just eight minutes later she whistled another penalty, this time for England and the game was tied again.

This penalty was also of an iffy variety and things had levelled out. Of course this is my own theory.

It happened to materialize but who knows. It says in the rules book a call is to be made in the “opinion of the referee”.

No referee has ever been banned for making a bad or dubious call. Some have been sent home for making really bad calls but changing a call after the game is a no-no. There are no TV replays available for referees and the ever present “in the opinion of the referee” decides all issues.

It would be interesting to know whether the CONCACAF Gold Cup followed the line of fewer goals as the tournament progressed but at the time of writing this event hadn’t been completed.

But the recent European Under-21 championship also saw a final without goals in 120 minutes. Sweden reached the final for the title against Portugal and was the lucky one, winning the shoot-out to take the title.

InsideSOCCER 27

U.S. TURFS OUT DEFENDING CHAMPS Words & Photos by Les Jones/ Judy Rauliuk – COVERSHOTS INC.

It’s not always the case in World Cups but in 2015 the best team won.

The US lost the previous final on a penalty shoot-out to the Japanese and coming so close you’d think they’d build from there. Instead they changed everything - a new coach, new players and new formations.

Pia Sundhage, who took them to two Olympic gold medals, left to coach her native Sweden, replaced briefly by Tom Sermanni. Jill Ellis, continually referred to as the English Jill Ellis, even though she has lived and worked in the States for over 30 years, then was signed to a short-term $200,000 coaching contract.

She had previously coached national US 28 Summer 2015

youth teams but had relatively little time to prepare the senior team for the World Cup - just over twelve months – let alone introduce new players and a new system.

At the tournament, the US were a revelation; in the past, they won through fitness, athleticism, strength, height and power. This time they had everything.

Bringing in Julie Johnston and Morgan Brian among others, varying their systems and working on set-pieces, paid dividends. They won on solid teamwork, a confident and fast-paced attack and just a little verve.

They started slowly, generating

criticism for their defensive and uninspired play. Yet they won their group. They improved throughout the tournament, not conceding a goal in three knock-out games and convincingly beating main rivals Germany in the semi-final.

They were awesome in the final.

Despite having expected starters, Sydney Leroux and Abby Wambach dropped to the bench, they demolished a controlled, cohesive and competent Japanese team 5-2. Despite having slightly more than half the possession, Japan’s precision passing failed to translate into goals.

Carli Lloyd, one of three US players

Carli Lloyd, winner of the Golden Ball Award for MVP criticized by former coach Sundhage as being “challenging to coach”, was given a more attacking role and more freedom.

She came through with a 13 minute hattrick and after a quarter-of-an-hour the game was over. She took the Golden Ball award as MVP. ’Keeper Hope Solo, also singled out, won the Golden Glove award but this was surely based on reputation and more a reflection of the team’s stingy

defence than her own abilities. She had little to do in many of the six games up to the final and indeed, in the final, faced just four shots and let in two!

Abby Wambach started the earlier games but then was used as a late sub.

She scored just once, the winner against Nigeria. Her international career finished with a ten-minute cameo in the final but she left as the all-time top international

goal scorer – men or women – with 183 goals.

She did not appear to pick up any injuries from the turf and indeed, despite an extensive pre-tournament controversy about the playing surface, there were no published complaints by players or coaches about any injuries caused by the artificial grass.

The US were helped by impressive fan support. Canadians may not have wanted the US to succeed but tourism partners sure did. US fans came out in force wherever they played. Colourfully and creatively dressed they brought a vibrancy to the atmosphere, in and outside the stadiums. At the final, they paraded in behind a drummer, chanting their way into the stadium in a frenetic and exuberant procession stretching all the way across the street and as far as the eye could see. It felt as if 50,000 of the 54,000 fans were American.

The US were the 2015 World Cup winners in more ways than one: The best fans, the best coach and the best team.

InsideSOCCER 29

PAN TEAMS DON’T PAN OUT Words & Photos – Les Jones, Judy Rauliuk – Covershots Inc.

SAFETY FIRST! That seems to be Canada’s soccer philosophy at all national team levels, against decent opposition. Solid defence and hope for a breakaway goal. Bring on the day that other teams do that to us.

Pachi the porcupine was the Toronto 2015 Pan Am / Parapan Am Games Mascot.

30 Summer 2015

With father and son, Benito and Antonio Floro, respectively, coaching the men’s teams and John Herdman heavily involved in both women’s teams, consistency is not surprising. Just ineffective.

At all levels, Canada’s teams tend to play for a 0-0 draw - from the opening kick-off. They concentrate on defence and hope for an opening. Late on, they make an effort to attack and begin to look dangerous. They come close but it is always too little, too late with too few, if any, goals How pathetic are all the Canadian teams at scoring? Well, if you take the last 3 games played by each of the men’s national team, the men’s Olympic/Pan Am team, the women’s national team and the women’s Pan Am team they have scored a pitiful 5 goals between the four of them. Five goals in 12 games. Hardly impressive; hardly likely to lead to victory.

And if you ignore the Pan Am win against the Ecuadorian amateurs, the two women’s teams have scored just 8 goals between them in their last 14 games.

Incredibly, they couldn’t score more than one goal in any of those matches. You get the picture?

The Pan-Am Games illustrate the point. While Canada was racking up the medals in most other sports, soccer was one of the few sports to disappoint.

It’s easy to now claim that the Pan-Am Games were just a beneficial warm up for Olympic qualifying or a chance to evaluate possible World Cup team contenders, but in fact it was an unstated but an underlying expectation that Canada would medal. After all, only eight countries participated (the US

couldn’t even be bothered to enter) and the Canadian women were defending champions having beaten Brazil in a penalty shoot-out four years ago. (The best the men have ever achieved is fourth). With players such as Kadeisha Buchanan, Ashley Lawrence, Janine Beckie, Jessie Fleming and Chelsea Stewart, they were expected to contend, despite the youthfulness of the squad and even if teams such as Brazil, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Colombia boasted most of their World Cup rosters.

On the men’s side, the Pan Am age limit was 22 with three overage players allowed. Brazil was the favourite, although Mexico was the defending champion. Canada, featuring six TFC II players and seven others with Canadian pro teams, should have been competitive even without five players from the Gold Cup squad (Kianz Froese, Sam Adekugbe, Jordan Hamilton, Mallan Roberts, Cyle Larin) and the European based Luca Gasparotto, Michael Petrasso and Samuel Piette.

The women came closest to the podium, despite lacking punch – but for a lucky late penalty against Mexico for an unintentional hand ball, they would have finished with four consecutive games without a goal. Part of the problem is lack of ambition; the system seems designed

Brazil was victorious in the women’s final.

Canada’s Chris Mannella to contain rather than to attack.

A problem harder to rectify is lack of ability and lack of composure up front.

When Canada did start playing positive soccer – after going behind against both Colombia and Mexico – they looked half promising. Beckie and Fleming both looked a threat, but most players lacked both presence of mind and finishing ability. Poor decision-making, shots that were mis-hit or well off target, and too many wayward crosses limited genuine opportunities.

Admittedly, the girls are still learning and still developing. Some in the squad were as young as 16 and 17, and they will get better and stronger. Their opponents were often more experienced and physically superior. However, as John Herdman admitted, there are few indications that there are scoring talents

coming through the system.

Most disappointing was 23 year old Boston Breakers forward Nkem Ezurike who, despite her 5’11” height, was outjumped and out-muscled by the much smaller Costa Ricans, and not given another start.

It is telling that while Canada secured the Fair Play Award, they did not have a player make the women’s tournament allstar team.

As for the men, one goal and one point in three games is not good enough.

It is understood that the team is also in a development stage – in transition.

Like the women, they played cautiously initially, becoming more positive and pressing for a win only as the final whistle beckoned. Perhaps they need to show confidence sooner; they caused problems when showing attacking intent, especially Edmonton’s Hanson Boakai.

The first thought wherever they are on the pitch, however, is to pass the ball backwards. And they are very good at it, no doubt helped by having less opposition. Frustratingly, often on a breakaway they would suddenly stop, in the opposition half, even when defenders were still struggling to recover their positions, and the ball would end up back with the Canadian ’keeper. He would then blast it forward where it became a midfield, 50/50 ball. Possession is all well and good but most goals are scored in the penalty area.

While both the men’s and women’s teams disappointed, there were positive spins to Canada’s failing to medal – “a great learning experience for the players” and “a chance to evaluate the youngsters” – but in reality, they underperformed.

And when there are doubts about both the quality of the players and the style of play, the prospects are not encouraging.

Brazil’s teams were the class of the tournament. However, while the women convincingly beat Colombia 4-0 in the final, the men contrived to give up two goals in the final five minutes in the semifinal and went out to Mexico. Uruguay took the title 1-0.

InsideSOCCER 31

The fifth annual Special Needs Soccer Festival hosted by the Fergus-Elora District Soccer (FEDS) club was recently held at Victoria Park in Fergus, Ontario.

SPECIAL NEEDS

SOCCER FESTIVAL A HUGE SUCCESS

BY DAVE KENNY

32 Summer 2015

Created by Pat Espina (formerly President of FEDS) to give the local adult special needs community an opportunity to play soccer, get exercise and socialize in a team environment as part of a sports club, the festival is not only unique in the community, it is the only one of its type in Ontario and Canada.

“We love doing the Festival. It brings so much joy to so many people and to our community” said Espina.

Players were treated to opening ceremonies, which included a parade of athletes accompanied by the renowned Fergus Pipe Band, a photo booth, free prizes, face painting, a balloon artist and food, including cake to celebrate the event. Live music was also featured.

A total of nine teams participated in this year’s event, all from the southern Ontario region.

Ontario Soccer Association President, Ron Smale, was in attendance to pass along his support, as was local council member Steve VanLeeuwen and current FEDS club President, Chris Slack.

FEDS created Special Needs Soccer, as part of its regular program back in 2000. Each year, volunteer coaches and officials provide the local players with uniforms, equipment and the facilities to play the game. The festival has been supported by multi-trade contracting firm Trade-Mark Industrial, the official sponsor of the program, and over 30 other businesses.

“Our sponsors, most of them local, have been wonderful as they have contributed what they can to make the Festival happen,” said Espina. “We are now starting to see the rest of our community join in the festivities. It is difficult to motivate people to come out and see just what a wonderful event this really is.

This is one of our main goals. Get more and more of our community involved in the Festival.”

Espina is quick to point out that the festival also needs the support of the local government.

“Our municipal government of Centre Wellington has been very supportive of this event. Many departments of our government are getting involved including Parks and Recreation, Health Department, Council members, Tourism, St, John Ambulance

“FEDS took the initiative to give this program a chance,” said Espina. “Now we are proud to be the leaders in Ontario and Canada of how this type of program can and should be done.”

and others. They should be commended for their support.”

FEDS is also working with the OSA to expand the program to other areas of the province.

“FEDS took the initiative to give this program a chance,” said Espina. “Now we are proud to be the leaders in Ontario and Canada of how this type of program can and should be done.”

For more information visit FEDS on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/Special.

Needs.Soccer.Fergus.Ontario or check the FEDS website www.fedssoccer.ca

InsideSOCCER 33

TORONTO FC

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS

TORONTO FC FINDING

IDENTITY FORM HALFWAY THROUGH 2015 SEASON AND

BY ARMEN BEDAKIAN

Photographs courtesy of Toronto FC

When Toronto FC first announced the signing of Italian international Sebastian Giovinco, the Atomic Ant was set to join the club at the opening of the summer transfer window in July.

Jozy Altidore 34 Summer 2015

Thankfully, that didn’t happen and Giovinco joined Toronto at the start of the 2015 season. That one move might have saved Toronto FC’s graces this year. With the knowledge of Giovinco’s first arrival date in mind, Toronto fans can look back at the first half of the club’s ninth season in MLS and wonder: what if Giovinco wasn’t here before July?

To say Giovinco has been Toronto FC’s most potent attacking threat is an understatement: the Italian forward has scored eight goals and recorded a team-high seven assists in a single season, all in his first 16 games for his new side. Now, take away those goals and assists and it’s hard to see a world where Toronto FC is still kicking away in the playoff hunt.

At the time of this writing, Toronto FC has played 16 games and sits fifth in the Eastern Conference. That’s about the halfway point of the season, but don’t let a fifth-place spot fool you: Toronto FC is punching well above its weight in this conference.

Every team on either end of Toronto FC has at least one game in hand; most have two or three, and conference leaders D.C. United have five more games than Toronto!

Based on the scheduling of this season, it’s going to be tough to give an accurate assessment of where Toronto FC

sits until the end of the year. Though, it’s not the first challenge the schedule has presented the club this season. Apart from a seven-game road trip to kick off the year, this season’s schedule has also seen Toronto FC struggle to find consistency in its starting roster, due to the Gold Cup smack dab in the middle of the summer.

Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley have been crucial to Toronto FC’s successes this season, as has Canadian duo Jonathan Osorio and Ashtone Morgan. In particular, Morgan has undergone a renaissance season, learning and growing under head coach Greg Vanney, a leftback during his playing days. Morgan’s form has earned him a regular starting role for Toronto FC as well as a return to the Canadian national team.

Goalkeeper Quillan Roberts will also join Canada, too, bringing Toronto FC’s total number of international losses to five.

Which brings us to the main issue of Toronto FC’s season: between U.S. and Canadian national team games, whether they be meaningless friendlies, World Cup qualifiers or the Gold Cup, those four players, so key to Toronto FC’s successes, will end up missing a significant chunk of the season.

Already, Bradley has lamented this issue, saying if he could have one wish, it would be to reduce the number of games he misses due to international scheduling conflicts.

But, Bradley has also now been named the captain of the US National Team, and both he and Altidore are vital to Jürgen Klinsmann’s side. International duty is an honour for players like the aforementioned five.

It’s a conflict that Toronto FC’s brass expected, though, and the club has built its team with these international players in mind. The challenges of this particular obstacle is counteracted by the fact that Toronto FC plays almost all of its games in the second half of the season at BMO Field. It’s a huge advantage for Toronto to capitalize on as the club continues its journey to a first playoff appearance.

That journey has seen the team

of Toronto’s Designated Players and it’s a wonder Toronto FC even managed to sign him as a non-DP in the first place.

Cheyrou is calm in possession, has good passing vision and helps organize both the attacking and defending transitions for his side.

On either end of he and Bradley are Jonathan Osorio and Collen Warner, with Jackson, Robbie Findley, Marky Delgado and Jay Chapman also finding some time here and there. This four-man midfield diamond has seen Toronto FC thrive at times but hasn’t been perfect, either.

However, it is a system that seems to be working when Toronto FC has all its pieces in play.

Much of Toronto FC’s successes halfway through 2015 has come on the form of either Altidore or Giovinco; Toronto FC wins games when one or both find the back of the net or when Giovinco plays provider on the day. But, there are signs of consistency growing within Toronto FC’s team, too, as the system and the chemistry establishes itself into this new team.

Halfway through the season, is it safe to say Sebastian Giovinco Toronto FC is playoff bound? Perhaps. There has never been a season where the belief of that The two have found playing time this end goal has held so strong at this point season due to an injury to Steven Caldwell of the year. But, there’s still another half to early on, that has seen the former captain be played, and as we know all too well, in miss almost every single game so far. football, it only takes a second for things Caldwell’s injury has cast doubt as to his to change.

With Giovinco, Bradley and Altidore, future with the club and with the summer window open, Toronto FC might have and a cast of players built around them, Toronto FC’s ninth season may just be the some difficult decisions to make.

And, while TFC has been linked with best in franchise history. Toronto FC must other defenders, the strongest rumours remain vigilant, be stingy with points and are for midfield reinforcement. Toronto must make BMO Field a fortress once more FC’s midfield has taken a new shape this to earn a coveted first playoff appearance. season, quite literally, with the club opting for a four-man diamond, with Michael Bradley at the top playing as an attacking midfielder.

Behind him sits French midfielder Benoit Cheyrou as the defensive man.

Cheyrou, to put it simply, has also been a revelation. The former Marseilles man has been every bit as important as any undergo a few changes in 2015.

For one, Toronto FC’s back line has seen a pair of new faces establish themselves in the middle: Polish centerback Damien Perquis has been a revelation and has become one of the key pieces to Toronto FC’s starting XI, while Nick Hagglund’s spot has been put under contention from former Seattle Sounders forward Eriq Zavaleta. Hagglund and Zavaleta are both young central defenders who have shown the quality required to start in MLS; Hagglund is a more physical option while Zavaleta offers more tactical and positional awareness.

InsideSOCCER 35

MONTRÉAL IMPACT

FC EDMONTON

MONTREAL IMPACT’S

ROAD WOES Photographs courtesy of the Montreal Impact TORONTO VANCOUVER

BY OLIVIER TREMBLAY FC “It’s hard to win on the road in MLS,” the clichéWHITECAPS goes. For a year and a half,

the Montreal Impact embodied that line. For a year and a half, the Montreal Impact just didn’t win on the road. There are slumps. And then, there’s this.

Six hundred and thirty six days.

That’s how long the Montreal Impact were winless on the road in MLS, until they won 2-1 at Columbus on June 6.

Canadian international Maxim Tissot and Argentinian Andres Romero both scored in the second half, and despite Federico Higuaín scoring for Columbus with seconds left, the Impact held on.

36 Summer 2015

It was a streak that Montreal players and fans couldn’t bear hearing about anymore. With every away game came the same discussion. Would the Impact snap it? Mockery would later make way for cynicism. Would the Impact finallllllly snap it?

In the end, they didn’t win for 25 MLS regular season games. Out of 75 available

points, they picked up seven, losing 18 times. They conceded 46 goals – almost two per game – and scored just 16.

The last time they’d won away from home, they scored four in that one game played on September 8, 2013. The Impact won 4-2 at the New England Revolution, thanks to two Patrice Bernier penalty kick goals and two Marco Di Vaio specials.

(Remember when he’d pick up a pass in front of a defender, switch the ball to his other foot with one touch and finish coolly while the poor defender was still picking himself up?)

If the stats above didn’t convince you that those were different times, consider this: with the win at New England, the Impact jumped to first place in the Eastern Conference.

“That game, it looked like every time we went to goal, we created a chance – a PK or a goal,” Impact captain Patrice Bernier, the only player to have appeared in both games, told ISM. “Those were also the great days of Marco. He didn’t need much to score. That year, we won four games on the road. That’s the only time, in four years, that we won four.”

Last season’s tally of zero wins on

the road steered Montreal to their worst finish since entering MLS: dead last in the Supporters’ Shield standings, they registered 6 wins, 18 losses and 10 draws for 28 measly points. Bernier sees many reasons for their away woes.

“We were a bit unlucky. We lacked concentration at the end of certain games. We conceded set play goals in the 90th minute,” Bernier said.

In Columbus, Montreal did concede a late goal. But that lapse was offset by several other opportunities for the Crew to score that Montreal stymied.

“The difference in Columbus was that even in our weaker moments, we held on,” Bernier said. “They created chances.

[Goalkeeper Evan] Bush made some fine saves and the guys threw themselves in front of shots. Before, we’d concede in such moments. But now, we had a warrior-like mentality.”

For another example of that road mentality, look no further than Montreal’s CONCACAF Champions League run. They weren’t world-beaters in Mexico or Costa Rica, but they went down there with a point to prove and got the result they needed each time. Quick transitions had always been Montreal’s modus operandi, but Champions League turned the strategy into even more of a blueprint for away games. Creating the most memorable moments in club history does that.

In MLS outings, though, the execution had nothing to do with previously heroic defensive performances. Montreal’s first away game after the lost Champions League final was an astonishingly poor performance in Chicago. The Fire won 3-0. It could have been double that.

In Columbus, on the other hand, Montreal attacked with purpose and pragmatism. They only created nine attempts to the Crew’s 20. But they placed six shots on target, two more than their opponents.

“We were very patient,” Bernier said.

“We had a fine defensive attitude, we were alert. We were really sharp. After the first half finished 0-0, we stayed compact and structured, like in our big CONCACAF Champions League moments. The second half, we weren’t trailing as usual.

We exposed them on the counter when they opened up.

“This is the winning recipe for us away from home. We can let the other team have the ball, but we can be really

focused and sharp mentally, as well as organized.”

Along with the 2014 away win conundrum inevitably comes the set plays discussion. Montreal notoriously failed to score on a single dead ball situation (even penalty kicks!) in the 2014 MLS season.

“Those are key moments,” Bernier said.

“When I think of a team like Houston, who maybe score 10 or 15 in one year, and we don’t score one, it’s probably one or two games that you win, or one game where you come from behind and get a draw.”

This season, Montreal have already scored five times on set plays (including three PK goals) in MLS – that’s 25 percent of their goals. But perhaps the turning point came in their 2-0 Champions League semi-final first leg win against Alajuelense.

It wasn’t a particularly well-executed

set play. An opposition defender tipped the ball onto Bakary Soumaré’s ankle, and it bounced in front of Cabrera who took a swing and scored Montreal’s second goal with a weak shot. But Montreal felt their luck turn on that moment.

Since then, the service on set plays has been better. Montreal also count on more aerial threats than last season. Defenders Donny Toia and Laurent Ciman have scored on set plays and the opposition now know to be wary of MTL’s set plays.

“Before, I don’t think they were really worried that we were going to score on set plays,” Bernier said. “Maybe we had one guy, Hassoun [Camara], coming up on set plays, and if they blocked him, there wasn’t really another guy with a hunger for the goal. Now, the danger’s there.”

InsideSOCCER 37

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS

WHITECAPS FLYING HIGH IN WESTERN CONFERENCE

BY MARTIN MACMAHON

Photographs by Bob Frid/Vancouver Whitecaps FC

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Going into this season, there was an expectation that the Vancouver Whitecaps would edge from simply just qualifying for the playoffs, to establishing themselves as more of a force in the Western Conference, as head coach Carl Robinson fully implemented his system.

Head Coach Carl Robinson

38 Summer 2015

At the midway point, it seems that goal is still well on course.

Robinson’s side started strongly and has stayed consistently near the top of the table, jockeying with regional rivals in Seattle and Portland, as well as powerhouse LA Galaxy.

The Galaxy, seemingly perennial slow starters, pulled a similar routine this year, but have picked up steam by midcampaign. With the likes of Designated Player Steven Gerrard joining for the final stretch, that late push is only going to get stronger.

On that issue of Designated Players, Vancouver’s trio has been important and effective. By the 19th game of the season, striker Octavio Rivero led the team in goals scored, while Pedro Morales, who also captains the team from midfield, led the team in assists with four.

In defensive midfield, Matias Laba continues to frustrate the creative forces on opposing teams.

Rivero in particular is what Vancouver has missed since entering MLS – a consistent goalscorer who is fit enough and young enough to play every week and be a consistent threat. He scored five goals in his first six games. He only scored twice in the 13 games that followed, but, in the estimation of Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi, he’s doing enough offthe-ball that the club isn’t overly worried.

“His benefit to the team, I think, is just as significant when he’s not scoring,” insisted Lenarduzzi in an interview with Inside Soccer Magazine. “It’s not that he’s not playing well. He’s holding the ball up for us, he’s creating opportunities for others. He’s been playing well. But any goal scorer will tell you, that they will measure their success by the number of times they put the ball in the back of the net.

“He’s clearly disappointed...there’s no way he was going to continue at the pace he was going at, but he’s got goals in him.

At some point, I will predict he will start scoring regularly again.”

Beyond the trio of Designated Players, this squad has benefited from an impressive supporting cast.

One of the more surprising and central members to this team is Pa-Modou Kah, who joined the team from Portland this offseason. Turning 35 this summer, the former Swedish international has been an almost ever present in the heart of defense for this edition of the Whitecaps.

He earned the early ire of fans after some shaky early appearances, but has become a more steadying force there as the season has moved along.

“Early on, he was settling in, and there were some concerns because he would give the ball away more than he likes and more than we would have liked, and probably more than the fans would have liked,” said Lenarduzzi. “He has settled down and he’s been a very key piece to why we’ve not conceded a lot of goals... it’s clear he still has a lot of soccer left in him.”

And on that point of the team’s

defensive performance, it’s worth touching on the play of goalkeeper David Ousted. As of early July, only Portland goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey and Seattle’s Stefan Frei had recorded more clean sheets than Vancouver’s Danish netminder.

“He’s got better,” Lenarduzzi said of Ousted. “He came halfway through the 2013 season, and when he arrived, you could tell that he had a good pedigree, but he had his ups and downs, as most players do when they transition to MLS from abroad. And then I thought last season, I thought he did similar to what he’s done this season, although perhaps not as much.

“He made some big saves throughout the season, but I don’t think he established the kind of level that he’s now at throughout all of last season. He’s gotten better with each season that’s gone on...he’s wearing the captain’s armband at times this season and there’s good reason for that.”

Lenarduzzi also feels Ousted has developed better ways of communicating his frustrations with his teammates, after initially getting a reputation for unleashing particularly demonstrative outbursts on those who left him exposed.

“When he arrived initially, he was quite vocal and he was quite animated when he wasn’t happy with what players were doing in front of him,” said Lenarduzzi. “I actually think he’s managed that better now too, and picks his moments to pass on the information that he feels will perhaps be beneficial to the player, and he does it in a way that results in not everybody in the stadium knows he’s doing it.

“He’s definitely matured as a ’keeper, and he’s still at a great age, 30 years of age. You look at ’keepers and as long as they’re looking after themselves, they can well into go their 30s and continue to evolve.”

It hasn’t all been roses for the Whitecaps though – many fans had been delighted to see Robinson give 20 year old left back Sam Adekugbe of Calgary some key early starts, but an ankle injury has sidelined the player, meaning central midfielder Russell Teibert has been the only Canadian regularly seeing big minutes.

Pedro Morales

Beyond MLS play, the Whitecaps have CONCACAF Champions League action to look forward to in August.

While Lenarduzzi is clearly excited by that prospect, he admits juggling that and MLS play will pose a challenge.

“The fact that Carl has rotated the squad as much as he has and given younger players a chance will be beneficial, because he’s going to need those players to come in and do a job,” said Lenarduzzi. “He’s got a better idea now of who’s capable of doing that job when the time comes, and those players also have the benefit of having match experience.

“What we’ve done over the first 19 games is given ourselves a chance of success in all of the competitions we’ve been involved in.”

Midfielders Mauro Rosales & Pedro Morales InsideSOCCER 39

MUSINGS ON THE WWC

2015 Words & Photos by Les Jones/ Doug Boufford – COVERSHOTS INC.

1. 2019

France to win WWC 2019. They’ll be at home and play attractive, possession soccer. They outplayed Canada despite losing the bronze medal match at the 2012 Olympics, and outplayed Germany at WWC 2015 before Canadian ref, CarolAnne Chenard, awarded a harsh penalty 40 July/August 2015

for a ‘hand-ball’ leading to a late equalizer.

France then missed a wide-open goal in extra time before losing on penalty kicks.

They are not yet always able to translate superiority into goals, but they have four years to rectify that.

2. U.S.

The US was the favourite, although its

pre-tournament warm up games were not convincing, and the critics came out swinging after a lackluster group performance. However, seven games over a four-week period requires an overall plan and juggling of rosters and tactics. In the end, the US swept away the defending champion Japan with a powerful and exhilarating display.

3. GERMANY

Germany hit ten in their first game and looked awesome in the first half, in the next, against Norway. But they lost their composure and fluidity and swagger when forced to defend. They eventually drew with Even Pellerud’s Norway, barely made it past France in the quarter-finals and succumbed to the US in the semis.

4. THE QUEEN IS DEAD!

A new generation of stars beckons.

Christine Sinclair was barely involved in Canada’s group games, Abby (she put the Wam in Wambach) Wambach was used only as a late sub in the knock- out rounds, and Marta, while still showing her skills and determination, could not dominate as before. Watch out for Ada Hegerberg (Norway), Tang Jiali (China) and Amandine Henry (France), not to mention Canada’s Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence in 2019.

5. GOALKEEPERS

Hope Solo and Nadine Angerer were again both on the short-list for FIFA’s Golden Glove award. Their goals against averages were low but with strong defenses in front of them they had little to do. The goalkeepers for some of the minnows let in more goals but still showed ability in keeping the score down. Dominique Thiamale, the Ivory Coast ’keeper and captain, let in 10 against Germany, for example, but was lauded by the press for preventing more.

6. CANADA

Canada played as if they were in the midst of development. And of course they are. Strong in goal and at the back, an acceptable midfield, no punch up front. Partly the system, partly the quality of the players.

For the 2016 Olympics, replacements are likely needed for Tancredi & Filigno.

However, with the exception of Adriana Leon & midfielder Chelsea Stewart, the earlier generation U20 players are just not coming through. Nichelle Prince, has been injury prone while, based on her Pan Am Games performance, Ezurike will not be the answer.

How much Diana Matheson’s midfield generalship and attacking instinct was missed became apparent in her short cameo in the loss to England. Her first appearance in over a year, after ACL surgery and a broken bone in her foot, the repeat of earlier injuries, showed her in a different class.

England played much the same way as Canada and it could have been Canada collecting bronze. John Herdman rightly, if surprisingly, declared in advance that Canada lacked the skill of other countries.

He hoped to make up for it with fitness, mental preparation, planning, a six months residency and the latest in equipment & technology.

All that couldn’t compensate for lack of height. Chapman was an aggressive & effective attacking full back but expecting her to defend corners & free kicks against

much taller opposition was naive & inexcusable. Through no fault of her own she was totally out jumped for England’s winning second goal. It wasn’t a surprise - in the pre-tournament friendly against England, the 5’3” defender was matched up against 5’11” Jill Scott who continually challenged her in the air.

7. BUCHANAN

Kadeisha Buchanan justified the pretournament hype and took the Hyundai Young Player award. She didn’t look overawed on the pitch - just when being interviewed by the press.

8. ECUADOR

Ecuador, making their debut at the Women’s World Cup, and with all amateur players, provided a few headlines: They conceded 16 goals in their first 2 games then lost just by a solitary goal to the defending champions, Japan. Defender, Angie Ponce scored a hat-trick in one game but two of them were own goals making her the first, and only, player to have scored two own goals in a Women’s World Cup match.

Vanessa Arauz, with just 3 years coaching experience, also set a record.

Aged 26 years, four months, and three days she became the youngest person, InsideSOCCER 41

male or female, to coach in a World Cup, She was younger than a quarter of her Ecuadorian roster, and just two years older than the average age of her entire squad.

9. FANS

The fans were involved and helped make the tournament special with their face paint, banners, patriotic outfits, signs, singing and unbridled enthusiasm. They were loud, colourful & cheerful and made it a family affair, providing entertainment as much as fanatical support.

They provided a wonderful atmo-sphere, generating incredible noise in the enclosed stadiums and best of all generously supported the underdog in neutral games.

10. FIFA

The FIFA delegation, led by VP Issa Hayatou, was booed by the crowd at the trophy presentation. Although the tournament is second only to the World Cup in prestige there was no Blatter, no Secretary General Jerome Valcke, - a consequence of the US corruption investigation. There was also no CONCACAF President Jeremy Webb. He did manage to find $10 million to obtain bail in New York but is banned from leaving the country

11. ATTENDANCE

Apart from staging the highest scoring final, the tournaments set all sorts of viewing records, in person, on line and on TV, although interest outside of North America, Japan, France and England was limited. It was the best attended tournament of all FIFA tournaments excluding the World Cup and the total attendance of 1,353,506 was the highest ever at a Women’s World Cup with an average crowd of 26,029.

42 July/August 2015

Regional records were set. Attendance at the Canada-England quarter final at 54,027 set a record for any national team game – male or female – in Canada.

It was the most-watched Women’s World Cup final by a Canadian audience with some 7.7 million viewers tuned in at some point with four times the audience of the 2011 tournament. 3.2 million Canadians viewed the CanadaEngland quarter-final, a record, while US audiences doubled over 2011.The final was also the most watched soccer game in US history peaking at 30.9 million people and surpassing virtually all US major league finals including the NBA. There were nine billion views on Twitter and nine million mentions on Facebook.

Claims for record attendances however were quickly put in context by the media who pointed out that 52 games were played in 2015 compared to just 32 in 1999 (total attendance 1,194,215) Indeed, average attendance was down from 2011 and earlier tournaments when fewer games were played.

They also pointed out manipulation of the numbers: The attendance at each match of the group stage double-headers was counted, apparently based on the crowd part way through the second, usually more attractive, game.

In addition, the crowd at the opening and at the final was far less than the existing records with 73,680 at the Germany opener four years previously and 90,185 at the 1999 US final.

Canada still holds the world record for lowest ever World Cup attendance, just 250 against Nigeria’s women in 1995.

Montreal was perhaps the most disappointing venue, even France at the Olympic Stadium attracting only 15,518 fans versus South Korea and 24,141 for the

dramatic quarter-final against Germany.

12. GOAL LINE TECHNOLOGY

Hawkeye’s GLT proved its worth in Canada. 8 goal line calls were made by the technology with 6 goals resulting.

13. CEREMONIES

As with the World Cup Draw in Ottawa, money was not invested in the opening or closing ceremonies. They were low key and restrained. Very Canadian.

Stereotypical and inexpensive sums it up.

Essentially they comprised Mounties and a bunch of flag waving volunteers and lesser-known singers. Not in the same league as even the Pan Am games and if the female players want to complain about discrimination this is one area they might be justified – together with the fact that teams had to share the same hotels (including the Americans and Germans who weren’t that keen to meet either before or after their semi-final).

It’s all about revenue, however, income from the World Cup subsidizing all other FIFA tournaments and expenses therefore being restrained. The 32 teams shared a total of $15 million performance money from FIFA with $2 million going to the winners. (The equivalent figure for the men’s World Cup winner is $35 million.)

14. THE GOOD NEWS:

Canada is the ONLY country to reach the quarter-finals of all three FIFA women’s tournaments in the past two years and with Diamond Simpson, Danica Wu and of course Jessie Fleming and Janine Beckie showing promise, in addition to the other newcomers, there remains hope for a medal in Rio.

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