Bleedsblue&white
Well-known member
And to be fair, 8 years is a long time, there could be one or two bright spots we are not really aware of yet.
OT: Soccer thread
- Thread starter Leafovic
- Start date
worm
Well-known member
maybe we can score a goal this time
WellPlayed
Well-known member
I get it. Gotta let the young'ns dare to dream of one day also failing to score on home soil.
MindzEye
Wayward Ditch Pig
It's at this point that I'd like to let people know that Canadian boys are ranked 2nd in the world in basketball.
Which of course has absolutely ****ing nothing to do with the 2026 world cup, but we're not just a hockey nation anymore. We're about to turn into a legit basketball power.
Hopefully one day we'll make the front page on the FIFA rankings. I would be fine with just the front page. If ****ing Montenegro, Iceland, Senegal, etc can have functioning programs that keep them consistently in the top 50, there's no reason we shouldn't be able to pull it off.
Which of course has absolutely ****ing nothing to do with the 2026 world cup, but we're not just a hockey nation anymore. We're about to turn into a legit basketball power.
Hopefully one day we'll make the front page on the FIFA rankings. I would be fine with just the front page. If ****ing Montenegro, Iceland, Senegal, etc can have functioning programs that keep them consistently in the top 50, there's no reason we shouldn't be able to pull it off.
Bleedsblue&white
Well-known member
Its a slow process.
Even though Amateur Soccer is huge in Canada, it won't be until we keep our own, that Canadians start cheering for Canada instead of wherever their parents were born...then maybe we'll get somewhere.
Thing is, Hockey is still King, so the way I remember it was we would lose kids to hockey, either completely, or they wouldn't devote any winter time to soccer because of hockey.
Even though Amateur Soccer is huge in Canada, it won't be until we keep our own, that Canadians start cheering for Canada instead of wherever their parents were born...then maybe we'll get somewhere.
Thing is, Hockey is still King, so the way I remember it was we would lose kids to hockey, either completely, or they wouldn't devote any winter time to soccer because of hockey.
MindzEye
Wayward Ditch Pig
Yeah, the big thing is the defectors. The national team would have looked a ton different over the years had guys like Hargreaves, Begovic, Bunbury, Rochat, De Guzman, etc stuck around.
I wonder if we shouldn't put at least a bit of focus into the Brazilians diaspora? 2nd tier Brazilian kids seem to be popping up on international teams in weird places. It's not a long term solution to the men's national team, but a few solid football refugees added to the national program could help us keep the young talent developed here. All those kids want to is to play meaningful international matches, which Canada has a hard time providing. Bridge that gap with some mercs and maybe we solve the problem.
I wonder if we shouldn't put at least a bit of focus into the Brazilians diaspora? 2nd tier Brazilian kids seem to be popping up on international teams in weird places. It's not a long term solution to the men's national team, but a few solid football refugees added to the national program could help us keep the young talent developed here. All those kids want to is to play meaningful international matches, which Canada has a hard time providing. Bridge that gap with some mercs and maybe we solve the problem.
Bleedsblue&white
Well-known member
It's one of those crappy situations...guys don't want to play for Canada because we have no history and no winning, but if they stuck around, maybe we'd start to develop some winning and history.
true but I hope in 2026, the Italians, Greeks, English, Serbians etc in Canada put away grandpa's flags and cheer for our boys. I remember there was a tournament in the 1980s, might have been u16 or something like that, and there was a game in Toronto. Our team was booed by the crowd when it was playing Italy, not because of bad play, but because Toronto's Italian community came out en masse to cheer for the Azzurri jrs.
WellPlayed
Well-known member
The real question is what is our annoying-Portuguese management plan for 2026? A ban on hair gel and cars with horns? Mass deportation?
Deckie007
Well-known member
only if we can do the same things with the zekes
MindzEye
Wayward Ditch Pig
Yeah, I guess with the expanded tournament format we'll have to put up with Italians in the WC again, won't we?
trujaysfan
Well-known member
A Canadian just made a 30 million euro move to Roma... he represents Italy.
Next guys to target are:
CB - Ricardo Ferreira
CB - Fikayo Tomori
W- Ballou Tabla
M - Stephen Eustáquio
W- Tristan Jumeau
F/W- Ayo Akinola
LB- Cristián Gutiérrez
LB- Zohran Bassong
Altair
Well-known member
You know what Montenegro, Iceland, and Senegal all have in common?
Kids can play soccer all year round. Even in Iceland, they can grab a ball, some buddies and go play soccer on one of icelands heated soccer fields in the middle of december.
The fact that most kids not in organized leagues with access to indoor facilities means that Canadian soccer shuts down 4-5 months a year. It's hard to nurture talent like that.
MindzEye
Wayward Ditch Pig
This is the most enjoyment I can remember getting from a world cup, and it hasn't even started yet, so no.
MindzEye
Wayward Ditch Pig
Does Iceland have as many kids playing soccer in total, as we have kids playing organized soccer with access to indoor facilities?
Altair
Well-known member
No idea. I do know there a one million people registered to play soccer in Canada, how many of those being kids I do not know, how many of those kids having access to good coaching and year round facilities I do not know.
Iceland has one high level coach for every 825 people, and with year round soccer facilities in close proximity to schools.
Canada doesn't have enough year round facilities that kids can use nor is there the coaching to assist the kids that do have access. It's no surprise that Canada can't produce any decent soccer players.