Issey Nakajima-Farran, with Canada back in 2010, PHOTO: CANADA SOCCER

So, we shouldn’t be surprised that we weren’t surprised. For the most part, it’s a squad very similar to what we saw through the first phase of World Cup qualifying, which saw Canada eliminate St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis and Puerto Rico.

Of the 22 men named to the roster, only two — teenager Samuel Piette and veteran Issey Nakajima-Farran, who plays in Australia — would be considered eyebrow-raisers.

Piette, at 17, was a major part of Canada’s team at last year’s U-17 World Cup and the recent U-23 squad that came within one game of securing a berth at the London Olympics. He is reportedly close to a deal with Fortuna Dusseldorf, who earlier this week secured its return to the Bundesliga.

“We’ll see how he does,” Hart said during a conference call on Thursday. “He did play well at the under 23s, he passed the ball well, he played positionally well.”

And, as for Nakajima-Farran, Hart said the Calgary native has impressed in the midfield of A-League powerhouse, Brisbane Roar.

“He adds a lot their attack, and he scores goals,” said Hart.

Nakajima-Farran wasn’t part of the national-team set up through the first round of World Cup qualifying. But Hart was also impressed with his versatility. Hart said the Roar uses him as an attacking midfielder behind the strikers, but also out on the wing. And that ability to be a chameleon on the pitch makes him valuable.

The additions of Piette and Nakajima-Farran created two notable casualties: Montreal Impact midfielder Patrice Bernier and Toronto FC’s Terry Dunfield. Hart said he spoke to both players.

The fact that Bernier’s become a depth player for Impact coach Jesse Marsch hindered his chances of playing for Canada.

“He’s a little bit disappointed…” said Hart. “He came off a difficult injury and he has not been playing consistently.”

And, as for Dunfield, Hart said he already has a variety of midfielders who have the same skill sets as the Toronto FC man.

“I didn’t want too many similar players,” he said.

But, Hart allowed that there are still many MLS matches to be played before camp opens in Florida in May (and when MLS players have to report as per FIFA rules). So, if Canadian players get banged up, Hart does have a reserve list of players to draw upon.

After the U.S. friendly, Canada goes to Havana June 8 for a match with Cuba, then hosts Honduras June 12 at BMO Field.

CANADA ROSTER
1- GK- Lars Hirschfeld | NOR / Vålerenga Fotball
2- D- Nik Ledgerwood | GER / SV Wehen Wiesbaden
3- FB- Mike Klukowski | TUR / Manisaspor
4- CB- Kevin McKenna | GER / FC Koln
5- D – Andre Hainault | USA / Houston Dynamo
6- M – Julian de Guzman | CAN / Toronto FC
7- F- Iain Hume | ENG / Preston North End FC
8- M – Will Johnson | USA / Real Salt Lake
9- F- Tosaint Ricketts | ROM / FC Politehnica Timisoara
10- F- Simeon Jackson | ENG / Norwich City FC
11- M- Josh Simpson | SUI / Berner Sport Club Young Boys
13- M- Atiba Hutchinson | NED / PSV Eindhoven
14- M – Dwayne De Rosario | USA / D.C. United
15- CB- David Edgar | ENG / Burnley FC
16- M- Pedro Pacheco | POR / CD Santa Clara
17- F- Olivier Occean | GER / SpVgg Greuther Fürth
18- GK- Milan Borjan | TUR / Sivasspor
19- LB- Ashtone Morgan | CAN / Toronto FC
20- M- Samuel Piette | Unattached / sans club
21- D – Ante Jazic | USA / Chivas USA
22- GK- Kenny Stamatopoulos | SWE / AIK Fotbol
23- M- Issey Nakajima-Farran | AUS / Brisbane Roar FC

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Joe Cannon: Point-blank save on Nick Soolsma

And when we think of the 2011 Voyageurs’ Cup final, we remember the second leg, not the first. The rainout and subsequent replay turned that second leg into a strangely epic affair, and Whitecaps fans still lament losing a second-half 1-0 lead because a downpour at BMO Field aborted the first attempt at playing the game.

Almost conveniently forgotten was the first leg, which the Whitecaps dominated in terms of possession and chances. But the ‘Caps squandered chance after chance and settled for a 1-1 draw, which set up TFC to take that home leg.

Fast forward to 2012: Again, the Whitecaps get a 1-1 draw at home. A 91st-minute wonder volley from Eric Hassli, which came just minutes after keeper Joe Cannon denied TFC striker Nick Soolsma a vital insurance goal on a point-blank chance, gave the draw a euphoric feel for Vancouver fans.

But, make no mistake: Even though the Whitecaps’ home legs of 2011 and 2012 had different feels — a game of wasted chances vs. a crazy comeback goal — the results were the same. Toronto FC escaped in each instance with a positive result — and a road goal.

After Ryan Johnson’s powerful header gave TFC the lead, it looked for much of the second half that the Reds would be a good bet to score a second. And Cannon did well to deny Soolsma and allow his team to keep breathing.

But the Cannon save and the Hassli goal are lipstick on the proverbial pig. Once again, the Whitecaps hosted TFC in the first leg of a Cup final. And, once again, the Reds leave with the advantage.

After next week’s second leg at BMO Field, no matter who wins, there won’t be much said about Wednesday match at B.C. Place. But, just like 2011, the Whitecaps’ inability to get a good home result has given TFC a glorious chance to win the Cup at home.

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Eric Hassli

With the Vancouver Whitecaps down 1-0, the big Frenchman reached into his bag of magic tricks and pulled out one his finest efforts yet, hitting a powerful volley into the top right corner of Milos Kocic’s goal.

The wonder strike ensures it’s all squared up at one apiece going into next Wednesday’s second leg at BMO Field, after Ryan Johnson fired Toronto into the lead with a 66th minute header from a cross from Julian de Guzman.

“Alain [Rochat] gave me a great ball,” Hassli told reporters following the match. “I practiced yesterday. I killed some birds [with wayward shots] and today was pretty good – lucky too. It’s a good goal.”

Hassli said the goal wasn’t as good as his half-volley MLS Goal of the Year nomination against the Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field, but, important nonetheless.

“We stay alive,” Hassli said. “We have to win now in Toronto. Everybody is disappointed in the locker room. We really need to win in Toronto.”

Given Vancouver’s superior Major League Soccer record in comparison to Toronto, the home side were a bit disappointed in their lacklustre start to the match, according to Whitecaps head coach Martin Rennie.

“It was an exciting cup tie tonight,” Rennie said. “Credit to Toronto. I think they played well. They scored a goal and created a couple of other chances. For us it wasn’t one of our best performances so it’s nice to be in the position we’re in given we didn’t play perhaps as well as we would have liked to.

“So now it’s a one-off game, a final next week in Toronto, which we’re really looking forward to. We know the prize that’s on the line and we’re ready for that game when it comes.”

The visitors felt they were in the driver’s seat with moments to spare until Hassli’s stoppage-time equalizer, but despite the disappointing conclusion, goalscorer Johnson was trying to look on the bright side.

“Playing away from home you don’t expect to win games like these,” Johnson said. “You’re happy with a tie, especially getting the away goal, you have to be happy with that. The way it happens is the way it happens – if we scored in the 90th minute it would be a different attitude. It was one of those things. It was tough giving up the goal the way we did but we have to look at the positive.

“We have a chance to win it at home in front of our fans and that’s very good for us.”

But it could have been quite a different conclusion, had Joe Cannon not come up with a spectacular save six minutes from time on Nick Soolsma, who was left unmarked in the box and nearly converted a Johnson cross to double Toronto’s lead.

“It was crazy,” Cannon said. “The ball was on my right side. To be honest, he crossed it, and you looked up and you see a guy wide open and I just tried to make myself big in that situation. He was clean through and by himself, and fortunately for me he put it into my foot. I told myself, even after we went down 1-0, I have to keep us in it. I have to stay focused, because you never know. It’s still a long way from being done. We’re only at half time now.

“I’m glad the game ended the way it did, and I hope we have some momentum going into next week.”

The match sets next Wednesday’s return leg at BMO Field as a real cup final, with national bragging rights and a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League on the line. Toronto has the away goals advantage, but that shouldn’t be a problem, said Cannon.

“Next Wednesday it puts the onus on us – we need to score a goal,” Cannon said. “Ending 0-0 isn’t going to be enough for us. In saying that, we do have 90 minutes to get one. Hopefully we come out and play a smart game plan, kind of like they did tonight, and not open up too early.

“I think we’ve got enough great offensive players to create a lot of things during 90 minutes, so I’m not worried too much at all. But we have to get through Saturday [against the Seattle Sounders in MLS play] and then get our legs rested for Wednesday.

“It’s the biggest game of our year so far, so we’ll be prepared.”

Before Wednesday’s second leg, both teams will play an MLS match on Saturday, with Vancouver hosting Seattle and Toronto FC playing away to D.C. United.

Martin MacMahon is a Vancouver-based soccer writer. Follow him on Twitter: @martinmacmahon

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Shaun Saiko, left, and Antonio Rago at FCE practice Wednesday at Clarke Stadium.

Rago, a local product and fan favourite, was almost an automatic choice in coach Harry Sinkgraven’s starting lineups throughout the 2011 season. So, when Rago began the year on the subs’ bench, it was an eyebrow-raiser of a move.

But, over the last two weeks, Rago has reclaimed his starting spot. Before Rago came in as a started, Edmonton was winless in four league games. Since he came back, the team has won its two NASL matches by an aggregate 5-0 count and showed very well in an Amway Canadian Championship semifinal loss to Vancouver at BC Place — in which Rago set up Yashir Pinto’s goal for the Eddies.

Rago brings the kind of intangibles that you don’t find on a stat sheet. Intensity and an ability to judge when is the right time to go forward, and when he needs to remain at his post.

And, through the process, he said he never allowed himself to get bitter.

“It wasn’t a surprise (being dropped),” said Rago after FCE completed the first of two training sessions at Clarke Stadium, Wednesday. “The coaches came to me and told me that I wasn’t playing at the level that they knew I was capable of. They didn’t feel like I had a good preseason. And, to be honest, they were right. But I am a team player. I don’t sit on the bench cheering against my teammates just because I am not playing.”

But being a good team player didn’t mean that he was at peace with the decision.

“Of course I was frustrated. The most frustrating part was not being able to help the team out. But I tried to remain strong in training, to be positive, knowing that a chance was going to come eventually — and it was up to me to take advantage of it.”

But Rago won’t take any credit for the team’s turnaround since he was reintroduced to the starting XI. He said the team’s success is due to the improved play of 11 players on the pitch, not just one man.

Still, anyone who has watched FCE’s games over the last couple of weeks knows that Rago has been excellent in making runs up the right side, and distributing balls to the midfield. After all, even though FC Edmonton is only in its third year as a club and second season in NASL, Rago goes a long way back with two of the team’s attacking players, Shaun Saiko and Matt Lam. Even though the pair were one year ahead of Rago, they played together at the Edmonton Juventus club since they were kids. Rago said he first played with Lam and Saiko when he was eight years old.

And it looks like Lam and Saiko will be the ones linking the forwards to the strikers for a while — as French attacking midfielder Serisay Barthelemy, who injured his calf in the first leg of the ACC semifinal, is out until June.

And Rago, like the rest of the team, is thankful that management decided to bring the team back to Edmonton to train after Saturday’s win in Atlanta, rather than head right to San Antonio. The Eddies face Canadian Kevin Harmse and the surprising expansion Scorpions on Saturday.

“Most of the guys were really tired after the game against Atlanta,” said Rago. (It was the Eddies’ third game in six days) “So it was really nice for us to be able to come home and get some rest, to be able to sleep in our own beds rather than a hotel.”

And, as for San Antonio?

“In this league, anybody can beat anybody on any given day,” said Rago.

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Colin Elmes

Late last week, Sportstown B.C. Holdings and Total Soccer Systems Inc. filed their suit in the province’s Supreme Court which asks for an injunction that would prevent the provincial soccer body from continuing its partnership with the Vancouver Whitecaps.

All items reported in the statement of claim have yet to be proven in a court of law.

The TSS Academy, based in Richmond, is a for-proft academy that isn’t allowed to become a full BCSA member. And it is angered that the BCSA entered partnerships with the Whitecaps, which is a for-profit MLS team. The Academy believes that is an unfair barrier to its business. According to TSS, the issue is not the Whitecaps, it’s the BCSA.

Even though the case is a long way from being heard, in the meantime TSS and its lawyers are asking for “a temporary injunction prohibiting the Defendant (the BCSA) from receiving any funding from the Vancouver Whitecaps or from the Province of British Columbia” until the case has been resolved.

The TSS Academy has taken issue with the Electronic Arts BC Soccer Premier League, which is being organized under the banners of the BCSA and the Whitecaps. TSS is claiming that it runs in competition with their business and that the fees received by the new EA league are in excess of operating costs, which make it a for-profit venture. And, TSS feels that parents know that if they want their kids to make provincial teams, they need to play in the EA league. So it feels what it considers to be for-profit venture has been given a competitive advantage over another for-profit venture.

“The arrangements between the Defendant BCSA and the Vancouver Whitecaps to stream players of a high-performance level within one system controlled by them together is damaging to the business of competitive for-profit operations such as those of the Plaintiffs, particularly since the arrangements operate as a competitive advantage for one for-profit business over another.” That comes from the Statement of Claim.

Colin Elmes, technical director of TSS, said “I have no axe to grind with the Whitecaps.” He said that TSS accounts for eight Whitecaps’ season tickets. And he thinks the Whitecaps were well within their rights to ask to partner with the BCSA.

“But the issue is that a non-profit organization, which gets a bulk of its funding from the province, should have had a look at this and said no, this is not a fit for us,” said Elmes,

TSS went to court in 2006 over sanctioning, as it felt it was running into difficulty getting the provincial blessing for its teams to travel outside the province for tournaments. Since 2006, the for-profit academy has existed in what the court documents called an “uneasy peace” with the BCSA.

One of the issues is the district restrictions, which Elmes claims is badly hampering youth soccer in B.C. For most youth teams to be eligible for leagues, they can’t carry more than three out-of-district players. TSS,
Elmes said, brings in around 750 elite youth players, many from outside the Richmond area. That number of out-of-district players allowed moves up when teams get to the U-17 levels and up. But, to Elmes, it means that the long-existing Academies aren’t encouraged to bring together the best of the best — because of eligibility issues which he says that are far more restrictive in B.C. than other provinces.

But, the new EA Premier League has broken away from the territorial restriction model.

The Statement of Claim also states that the BCSA did not allow TSS Academy to place a squad in Washington State’s Puget Sound Premier League, as it needed special dispensation to move across the border. And that’s because it isn’t a full member of the BCSA.

“Such refusal to sanction participation in the Puget Sound Premier League indicates the continued desire and intent of the Defendant BCSA to destroy the business of the Plaintiffs,” reads the Statement of Claim. The TSS claim also suggests that its operations were impacted when it was forbidden access to an elite division of the Surrey Spring League. It also accused the BCSA of emailing those attending the Western Canada Showcase asking if TSS players were properly registered.

“The Vancouver Whitecaps have a showcase event which is supported by the Defendant BCSA, and it appears accordingly that the said Defendant has no difficulty with other non-profit organizations having such events without any issues as to participation.”

Elmes said that he doesn’t see his organization needing to enter teams into traditional youth leagues, “But if I want to form a spring league with some other clubs, I don’t want to have an organization standing in my way.”

To see the Statement of Claim, CLICK HERE.

Coach John Herdman, left, passes on instruction to Melissa Tancredi, middle, and Christina Julien in Foxboro, Mass. ahead of a friendly against Brazil, last March. PHOTO: CANADA SOCCER

Two months to go until London 2012.

It’s the big tournament the Canadian Women’s National Team has been waiting for since the disappointment of last year’s World Cup, in which Big Red crashed out in the group stage with three straight losses to Germany, France and Nigeria.

The team is in the midst of a residency camp being held throughout Metro Vancouver, as head coach John Herdman prepares his charges for the biggest tournament under his tenure since taking over from Carolina Morace in September, 2011.

“It’s huge,” captain Christine Sinclair told The 11 after a training session at North Vancouver’s Kinsmen Stadium Monday evening. “It’s our camp preparing for the Olympics. It’s a unique opportunity for us to be in Vancouver together for two or three months. We’ve got a lot to work on and that’s giving us that chance.”

Part of what the team is working on is changing the attitude toward possession and direct play. In the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying tournament, Canada generally attempted to dictate play against weaker opposition by playing it short.

Herdman is now encouraging his players to play possession football when appropriate – but also not to shirk away from playing a more direct style against superior technical sides.

“You have to mix your style up,” the 36-year-old Geordie said. “We want to be good at being an over, around and through team. We want to be three-dimensional in our play. Even when you watch the USA or Japan, if a team presses them they’ll go long. They’re very good at missing midfield units out, but then they’re very good at once they secure a higher position up the pitch, getting back into possession.

“I think the team we have here is more predisposed to the counterattack,” Herdman continued. “We’ve been working on the possession against the tier-two teams. We look really good – we can control the tempo of games, we can move the ball freely into positions, but against those tier-one teams that are very well organized, it takes a lot more movement and a lot more technique, and I think these players have been working hard in the last three, four months to bridge that gap.”

If counterattacking is a strength of this squad, it’s a good thing for Canada given the quality of opposition the team will face in Group F, where it’ll face World Cup champions Japan and fifth-seeded Sweden. World No. 65 South Africa rounds out the group.

Canada’s tournament begins against Japan on July 25, an occasion the team’s all-time leading scorer is clearly relishing.

“Why not?” said a smiling Sinclair when asked about playing the world champions to kick off the tournament. “Usually in big tournaments the first game is the hardest to get your flow – teams aren’t in rhythm yet. We’d rather play Japan in our group than in the quarters – at least we avoid them.”

Canada’s qualification for the knockout round is more than probable given the top two teams in each group and the top two third-place teams advance, but there is a slight possibility the team’s fate could come down to a matchup against Sweden in the final group game.

“That last game is going to be fantastic,” Herdman said. “It’ll be a real cup final – I think it’ll go right down to that last game. I don’t think South Africa will be a pushover – they might cause an upset – not against Canada – but hopefully against one of them other two teams.

“Everything will go down to that last game. I don’t intend to get beat at St. James Park. This team ain’t gonna get beat in Newcastle – you can take that Sweden game as a given.”
While capturing a medal in London is the target, and a realistic one for the sixth-ranked team in the tournament, the still lingering memories of last year’s World Cup failure mean nothing will be taken for granted.

“We’d love to get on the podium,” Sinclair said. “That’s our ultimate goal, but we have to get out of our group first – and I think we learned that last summer — so right now we’re focused on that.”

Martin MacMahon is a Vancouver-based soccer writer. Follow him on Twitter: @martinmacmahon

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Paul Hamilton

Last week, it was Shaun Saiko getting the Offensive Player of the Week award for his hat trick against Carolina. This week, it’s central defender Paul Hamilton, who was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Week after the Eddies shut out Atlanta 2-0 for their second league win in a row.

In Atlanta, Hamilton played his third game in six days and had a keeper — John Smits — who was making a his professional debut. But, despite fatigue and the new partnership in the back, the Eddies soaked up the pressure early in the second half and were able to press their advantage after the Silverbacks went down to 10 men.

“It’s an honour obviously,” Hamilton said in a release issued by the club. “It’s great to be recognized but on this team it’s all about the group effort. We work hard for each other and we’ll take team success over individual honours any day.”

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Lee Nguyen, before the Whitecaps let him go

Nguyen scored his first two MLS goals and set up another as the New England Revolution beat the Whitecaps 4-1 on Saturday. That effort earned him the most POTW votes from the membership of the North American Soccer Reporters.

Nguyen’s first goal was the product of being in the right place at the right time, as he banged a shot home after a goalmouth scramble. But his second was a thing of beauty, a 25-yard volley after a throw-in. It will be hard to see anyone beating that for Goal of Week.

Nguyen, who played in Vietnam last season, came into MLS via a weighted lottery. The Whitecaps, who had the most balls in the hopper because of their poor league record in 2011, decided to opt in to the draw, knowing that if they won, they’d be ineligible to enter a draw for any other player coming into MLS via the lottery system in 2012. It was a gamble, and the Whitecaps indeed won Nguyen’s rights. But, he didn’t survive training camp.

How The 11 voted: Nguyen. Yes, there’s a caveat to that whole game. The Whitecaps were resting players ahead of Wednesday’s home leg of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship, and the central defence pairing of Alain Rochat and Carlyle Mitchell struggled. Still, the storyline of a player coming back to haunt his old club is too good to ignore. And, we writers are in the business of telling stories… so is it any surprise Nguyen got the votes?

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Bob de Klerk

And, tacked into the body of Toronto FC’s press release was mention of an increased role for Director of Player Development Paul Mariner, who will have more of an on-field presence and work with the strikers.

Brennan will join Jason Bent as men who have coached the Academy but moved up to become assistants with the senior squad.

According to TFC, “In this new role, de Klerk will be responsible for Toronto FC’s technical program, including advance and international scouting, as well as serving as the technical conduit between the First Team and Academy program. He will also assist players transitioning from the Academy into the First Team and support the education of Toronto FC coaches at all levels.”

But it was vital for TFC to get de Klerk away from the bench. His demeanour on the sidelines has become somewhat of a running joke in MLS. He has been dismissed for arguing calls. Last week, after TFC dispatched the Montreal Impact from the Amway Canadian Championship, he and members of the Jesse Marsch’s coaching staff got into an altercation. Referees are human: When they know that a member of TFC’s coaching staff has a penchant for being argumentative, it doesn’t help the Reds’ cause. And, after the Montreal incident, it’s clear that de Klerk needs to be away from the technical area during MLS matches.

Mariner has become the Teflon Don in the TFC mess. While coach and technical director Aron Winter gets the lion’s share of the headlines regarding the Reds’ 0-8-0 start to the season, Mariner gets little or no blame.

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Stefan Vukovic

Vukovic, who led the CSL in scoring last season as a member of TFC Academy, and was in training camp with Toronto FC in 2012, was cut by the club before the start of the regular season. With TFC having no real academy program for players older than 18, there was no place for Vukovic to go if he didn’t get a contract from the big club.

Vukovic was also on the roster of coach Nick Dasovic’s preliminary U-20 squad that held camp late last year.

Vukovic has been with the Impact as a trialist for weeks. But this move gives him a window in which he can prove himself to the club and get the playing time he needs. But, if he doesn’t make it past the three-month mark, where would he go from there?

There are players in NASL who made the jump from CSL to Div.-2 (Kenny Caceros from Capital City FC to FC Edmonton), so that’s not out of the realm of possibility.

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