Well Canada didn't make the World Cup for 2002 but our win in the Gold Cup got us a place in the Confederations Cup. Great Right! Maybe we have a half decent showing and the total structure of footballing changes in our country for the better!! Wrong!! We get thrashed by Japan 3-0. I can't wait to see what Brasil does to us on Saturday. It relly is no wonder that when we have a decent footballer come through our system that they don't want to play for Canada but rather go and play for what ever country their parents are from. Correct me ,Cause I may be wrong, but didn't Hargraves grow up in Canada until he was about 16-17? And is'nt true that in football the skills and technique learned at the young ages (10-13) are the ones that will carry you through? Very frustrating!!! :mad: :mad:

Remember that Canada isn't a footballing nation, the average Canadian is more into sports like Ice Hockey or Baseball or even Basketball.
Football is not the most populair sport in Canada and that doesn't help the national team either, does it.

Originally posted by PhiLLer:
<STRONG>Remember that Canada isn't a footballing nation, the average Canadian is more into sports like Ice Hockey or Baseball or even Basketball.
Football is not the most populair sport in Canada and that doesn't help the national team either, does it.</STRONG>

PhiLLer, I agree to a point that Canada isn't a Footballing nation, PROFESIONALY. But stats show that there are more kids playing Football in Canada than Hockey. I feel that the problems lies where there is nowhere for a player to go after they have finished playing in the recreational leagues, ie. a Premiership of sorts. The best players go overseas to continue, and that is only a handfull of them. If Canada had a Structure similar to the ones in Europe they would be much better off.

Yeah I agree!
So the Canadian goverment have to set up a footballing scheme where talented youngster can develop their skills :)

Well Canada as we all know is very similar to Finland and in Finland we also have this certain sport called ic-hockey which like in Canada is currently more popular than football. It's a shame, but even though ice-hockey is the number one sport (right now) in Finland we still have some quality players like Hyypiä and Litmanen (plus many more).

Kolkka

First off, we don't suck. There's no shame in losing to Japan, and we played a lot better than the 3-0 scoreline suggests.

Our problem is one of intfrastructure - sure we have lots of kids playing football, but in India (just using one example) there are millions of kids playing football and I'm sure there are a few future Ronaldo's there, but the problem is that there are no solid proffessional leagues and coaches to develop the kids - Canada has the same problem. We don't have a domestic league, and the standard of the MLS isn't that great yet.

Another problem we have is that since the best leagues are in Europe it's a real hassle for players who want to go and play in Europe and still play for Canada in CONCACAF. I think that's one of the reasons Owen Hargraves doesn't want to play for Canada - if he does he will miss out on a lot of matches for Bayern and that could hurt his career (Hitzfeld could get mad he missed matches and then bench him). Yet if he plays for England in WC qualifiers the Euro leagues all have breaks so he can play, furthermore if he plays well for England he gets even more exposure. It's cruel but it's true - but at the same time that's why I really respect the European-based Canadian players who DON'T play for the big club teams and yet still turn up for Canada at the risk of their jobs - like Carlo Corrazin who plays for Northhampton (I believe).

I think things will continue to get better in the next 10 or so years as the standard of the MLS increases (I hope Toronto gets a franchise) - and they stop letting the old age pensioners.

If Owen Hargraves and Thomas Radzinsky had of played for Canada against Japan we would have won - especially during that first half when Canada played very well.

Yeah we did get beat up good last nite..... :( :( well anyways....when it comes to soccer in canada everyone has their own countries to cheer for.....like me i was born in brazil so I support brazil...and most canadians would support england or even france cuz that's where their ancestors came from......i wish we had a better soccer team but we don't so we can only hope that things change one day..... :D :D :D

There is too much grace and skill involved in football, and not of the enough red-neck-chop-you-in-the-head-with-a-hockey-stick brutality that seems to have become ingrained in our Canadian sports culture. I think in time though, that soccer (which is growing in popularity on a daily basis in Canada) will become a force in our national athletic scheme for two reasons: 1) Hockey is no longer the sport it once was; having taken my share of stitches and fractures from playing hockey, I don't mind roughing it up, but the game is now almost COMPLETELY about the contact, and not about the skilled players being able to display their talents, leaving people like myself disillusioned with the game and turning to more "pure" sports like soccer. Sure, soccer can be rough, but it's not so extreme that it's practically a joke. 2)Hockey is EXPENSIVE. When I was a kid, you could get outfitted for hockey at a reasonable price; nowadays parents practically have to mortgage their homes just to suit their kids up and register for league play. Soccer, on the other hand, is quite reasonable to get equipped for and to register in a league for. In fact, I know dozens of parents who opted to sign their kids up for indoor soccer instead of hockey for that very reason. Let's just hope we don't turn the beautiful game into the debaucle that we now call hockey. ;)

Originally posted by Ronaldinho Gaucho:
<STRONG>Yeah we did get beat up good last nite..... :( :( well anyways....when it comes to soccer in canada everyone has their own countries to cheer for.....like me i was born in brazil so I support brazil...and most canadians would support england or even france cuz that's where their ancestors came from......</STRONG>
It came from England. And as i said. Canada sucks in football! All they think is watch hockey or our crappy football(american) on tv and play basketball(not bad, Vince rulez)! We are playing soccer more then other sport, but most people forget it when they grow up! Because of poor football games. And games like american football, hockey, basketball and baseball we can watch every day each of them! This sux

I agree with you guys. Football is on the rise every day, but it will remain the same until we put together a structure which will enable players to continue playing as professionals in this country. We need a tier system like they have in europe that way the players will always have somewhere to play. There are probably 30 players in Canada who are talented enough to play for the National team, but how many players are there that aren't that bad that had to stop playing because there was no league in Canada and they weren't good enough for European leagues?

But........

Go Canada Go! You f***ing guys win and beat Brazil. i want to watch "fed" cup final!

Originally posted by Dave70:
<STRONG>There is too much grace and skill involved in football, and not of the enough red-neck-chop-you-in-the-head-with-a-hockey-stick brutality that seems to have become ingrained in our Canadian sports culture. I think in time though, that soccer (which is growing in popularity on a daily basis in Canada) will become a force in our national athletic scheme for two reasons: 1) Hockey is no longer the sport it once was; having taken my share of stitches and fractures from playing hockey, I don't mind roughing it up, but the game is now almost COMPLETELY about the contact, and not about the skilled players being able to display their talents, leaving people like myself disillusioned with the game and turning to more "pure" sports like soccer. Sure, soccer can be rough, but it's not so extreme that it's practically a joke. 2)Hockey is EXPENSIVE. When I was a kid, you could get outfitted for hockey at a reasonable price; nowadays parents practically have to mortgage their homes just to suit their kids up and register for league play. Soccer, on the other hand, is quite reasonable to get equipped for and to register in a league for. In fact, I know dozens of parents who opted to sign their kids up for indoor soccer instead of hockey for that very reason. Let's just hope we don't turn the beautiful game into the debaucle that we now call hockey. ;)</STRONG>

LOL yeah hockey rules and so does soccer!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D

well, the situation of canada is similar with those of US, soccer are just not the major game for both country... and as for the case of Finland, they do have a few great player now, hyypia rocks in defence... and jari will be great if he can stay injury free for a whole season...

[ 06-01-2001: Message edited by: Amika ]

Kolkka is great but he missed a penalty in the Dutch Cup that cost PSV the win. =(
I don't mind I am an AJAX supporter. heh

I am surprised USA have such a poor team. They have such a big country but still they just can't produce good players. I think the excuse is that too many people are over-weight in America. heh
QUESTION : How can I get a Finnish Flag next to my name? I see you guys have the dutch flag and Malaysian flags next to your name.

[ 06-01-2001: Message edited by: Jari Litmanen ]

Like I said earlier, there are more kids playing Football than any other sport in Canada (Ontario at least). Another one of the big problems is that we don't get many matches on the tv so the kids dont have much to see (as compared to Hockey). We get the EPL games on Saturday mornings and seire A games on Sundays but for 10-13 yr old kids thats competing with cartoons. Im gonna have to wake up at 4am to see Canada-Brasil. How often do you guys get games on tv?

Jari,
Go to your profile and edit it. There should be a selector there with all the flags

You're not that bad. Japan is becoming an excellent team and have a lot of good players.

I think that they'll give Brazil a hard time and were the first team to reach the semifinals.

Originally posted by simonius:
<STRONG>You're not that bad. Japan is becoming an excellent team and have a lot of good players.

I think that they'll give Brazil a hard time and were the first team to reach the semifinals.</STRONG>

Thanks, but it gets frustrating when you see the programs that other countries have and try to figure out why yours cant be the same.

And also when you have a great talent that came through your system and he doesn't want to play for your country.

[ 06-02-2001: Message edited by: Juventus ]

What player came through your system and doesn't want to play for you? That Radzinski guy??

Originally posted by simonius:
<STRONG>What player came through your system and doesn't want to play for you? That Radzinski guy??</STRONG>

Owen Hargraeves

Originally posted by simonius:
<STRONG>What player came through your system and doesn't want to play for you? That Radzinski guy??</STRONG>
Yeah, it's becuase i think manager pulled him out, becuase of he argued, but Radzinski will play when Canada will be in Europe, next year i think.


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Yes, finally i can post with my old name!! Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

:D :D

Originally posted by Help?:
<STRONG>Originally posted by simonius:
What player came through your system and doesn't want to play for you? That Radzinski guy??</STRONG>
Yeah, it's becuase i think manager pulled him out, becuase of he argued, but Radzinski will play when Canada will be in Europe, next year i think.


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Yes, finally i can post with my old name!! Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

:D :D

I think the guy your refering to is Stalteri, when he flipped deVos the bird. The player I'm refering to that will not be playing for Canada is Hargraeves from Bayern.

Owen Hargreaves is a great young player! I always support players deciding to play for the smaller country if they have dual citizenship, e.g. Weah choosing to play for Liberia instead of France.

Well there you have it, Canada out of the Confederations Cup without as much as a wimper. Tally so far 0 goals in Confederation cup and 1 goal in WC qualifying. How Frustrating!!
What would your countries do about such poor showing??