Signs Canadian Soccer is finally turning the corner
A lot of signs this week point to a hopeful future for Canadian soccer, which admittedly has suffered a very disappointing decade both in terms of performance and development.
With that said, there are signs things are turning around. Despite already being eliminated from the 2006 World Cup qualifying, the Under-19 men's team has performed outstanding on the international scene, including reaching the quarterfinals in last year's championships.
Today comes news that potentially the greatest player to emerge from Canada at least in the amount of time I've followed the team, 17 year-old Jaime Peters has signed with Division One leaders Ipswich Town, where he'll join Canadian team captain Jason deVos in their chase for promotion.
Apparently he turned down an offer from biggest club in the world right now Chelsea citing the desire to break into the first team as soon as possible. I'm not sure if I believe they ever offered him a contract, but the fact there are Division One teams like Ipswich and Millwall (home to fellow Canadians Josh Simpson and Adrian Serioux) does show there are people paying attention to him. The fact that he's 17 and Canadian yet commanding such interest is great to see...
The other big story today surrounds news that Canadian international Julian de Guzman is being closely watched by major clubs Deportivo de la Coruña and Tottenham Hotspur. de Guzman, 23, has announced he's leaving current club Hannover 96 at the end of the season to further his career elsewhere, and surely news that he's attracting teams of that caliber already is a good sign that a) he will play a role on a team likely to be in the Champions League or UEFA Cup and b) because he's counted as a non-EU player he'll likely not be used as just another bench player. Although that would be hard to believe given the fact he's been in top form for Hannover in the Bundesliga this season...
Finally, news the men's senior team has been invited to play in Japan's Kirin Cup in May is great news, provided the Canadian Soccer Association decides to accept the invitation. As of now there's concern that North American teams would not have to release their players because the games do not fall within an international window. With that said, I think much like the game next month in Northern Ireland, not to mention the March fixture against Portugal, Canada should be trying to get their team as much experience as possible playing games at the highest level. Their schedule rarely permits much team practise to begin with given the travel demands of Canadians playing overseas so it's important to focus on letting players gain experience through the playing of friendlies.
With that said, there are signs things are turning around. Despite already being eliminated from the 2006 World Cup qualifying, the Under-19 men's team has performed outstanding on the international scene, including reaching the quarterfinals in last year's championships.
Today comes news that potentially the greatest player to emerge from Canada at least in the amount of time I've followed the team, 17 year-old Jaime Peters has signed with Division One leaders Ipswich Town, where he'll join Canadian team captain Jason deVos in their chase for promotion.
Apparently he turned down an offer from biggest club in the world right now Chelsea citing the desire to break into the first team as soon as possible. I'm not sure if I believe they ever offered him a contract, but the fact there are Division One teams like Ipswich and Millwall (home to fellow Canadians Josh Simpson and Adrian Serioux) does show there are people paying attention to him. The fact that he's 17 and Canadian yet commanding such interest is great to see...
The other big story today surrounds news that Canadian international Julian de Guzman is being closely watched by major clubs Deportivo de la Coruña and Tottenham Hotspur. de Guzman, 23, has announced he's leaving current club Hannover 96 at the end of the season to further his career elsewhere, and surely news that he's attracting teams of that caliber already is a good sign that a) he will play a role on a team likely to be in the Champions League or UEFA Cup and b) because he's counted as a non-EU player he'll likely not be used as just another bench player. Although that would be hard to believe given the fact he's been in top form for Hannover in the Bundesliga this season...
Finally, news the men's senior team has been invited to play in Japan's Kirin Cup in May is great news, provided the Canadian Soccer Association decides to accept the invitation. As of now there's concern that North American teams would not have to release their players because the games do not fall within an international window. With that said, I think much like the game next month in Northern Ireland, not to mention the March fixture against Portugal, Canada should be trying to get their team as much experience as possible playing games at the highest level. Their schedule rarely permits much team practise to begin with given the travel demands of Canadians playing overseas so it's important to focus on letting players gain experience through the playing of friendlies.
posted by David at 11:11 p.m.
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