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Miller finally gets the chance to coach Canada at home

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/16/2013

8425271426_3164a1677e_zColin Miller thinks back to a time, not even two years ago, when his coaching career was at a low point.

It was late October of 2011 when the Whitecaps made the announcement that Miller, who was an assistant coach with the club, was out of a job. To make matters worse, there was awful news on the home front, as well.

“I lost my job, and then my dad passed away 18 days after he was diagnosed with cancer,” Miller said Thursday. “And I thought to myself, can I take any more kicks in the goolies?”

Fast forward to the present. Miller has his FC Edmonton squad just three points off the top of the NASL table. And he’s beaming with pride after the Canadian Soccer Association confirmed that he’ll be the interim coach of the national side once again. Miller steer the Canadian team for its May 28 friendly against Costa Rica at Commonwealth Stadium. It will mark the sixth time Miller will coach the Canadian senior side. But this will be the first time a Miller-led Canadian team will play on home soil — and, for that fact, Miller is particularly excited.

“It will be a massive game. Costa Rica is getting ready for a World Cup qualifier so I would assume they are bringing their full squad.”
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Pedersen’s name not on list of 40 “potential candidates” for 2015 WWC ref assignments

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/15/2013

The 40 candidates pose with FIFA president Sepp Blatter. PHOTO: FOTONET

The 40 candidates pose with FIFA president Sepp Blatter. PHOTO: FOTONET

On Wednesday, FIFA released the names of 40 referees who are “potential candidates” for inclusion in the 2015 Women’s World Cup.

Canadian referee Carol Anne Chenard’s name is on the list. Norwegian official Christina Pedersen’s name is not.

The 40 officials are in Zurich this week, attending medicals and a seminar that begin the planning stages for the Women’s World Cup, which opens in Edmonton and closes with the final game at Vancouver’s B.C. Place.

“This is an incredibly important seminar,” Sonia Denoncourt, Head of Women’s Referees at FIFA, was quoted in a release. “It is the first real step towards choosing candidates for the Women’s World Cup 2015 in Canada. The event is two-and-a-half years away and we are starting off with a large group of female referees. We’ll be testing them and then selecting the best at the end.”
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The fine lines: Labour law, competitive balance, Canadians and MLS

By
Steven Sandor
– 04/24/2013

D.C. United's Kyle Porter: Canadian player, American club

D.C. United’s Kyle Porter: Canadian player, American club

Just a little over a month ago, The 11 ran the first two parts of a series exploring if, one day, Canadian players could ever be treated as domestic players on the U.S-based MLS teams.

We have looked at the issue from the perspective of Canadian immigration (CLICK HERE) and U.S. immigration (CLICK HERE). Now, in the third part, we ask if it would pass the labour-law sniff test and, if not, why does USL-Pro, the third division of American soccer — allow Canadians to be treated as domestics on its teams’ rosters?

The whole series was spawned after MLS Commissioner Don Garber told TSN’s Jason DeVos during a March 2 First Kick broadcast that MLS would run into labour-law issues if it changed its rules and allowed the 16 U.S.-based teams to recognize Canadians players as “domestic” workers.

The reason the third part has taken so long to complete? I talked to several major law schools in the U.S. and labour-law specialists. I made contact with MLS. But what I underestimated was that, when it came to U.S. labour law, how complex the question was. Over and over, U.S. legal experts told me that the notion of Canadians being treated as domestics on American team rosters would have them venture into a legal grey area. And that meant they didn’t want to go on the record, because there really was no true legal test for the question. In a way, I felt like I had asked Deep Thought the answer to life, the universe and everything, and he replied, “tricky.”
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Two comebacks help Canada to third-place honours at U-17 Championship

By
Steven Sandor
– 04/20/2013

Jordan Haynes

Jordan Haynes

The Canadian team played the third-place match as if it was playing for gold.

Canada scored two dramatic equalizers against Honduras — one at the end of normal time, one at the end of extra time — and then won the penalty shootout 4-2, to take the third-place game at the CONCACAF U-17 Championship.

In a consolation game, and with several lineup changes made ahead of the match in Panama City, it would have been all to easy (and forgivable) for coach Sean Fleming’s teen charges to mail this one in.

But, despite spending most of regulation time down 1-0, Canada got its equalizer four minutes into stoppage time. TFC Academy’s Elias Roubos crossed the ball in for his club-and-country teammate, Jordan Hamilton, to head home.

Having finally clawed back into the game, the Canadians put themselves in a position where another comeback was needed. Sixteen minutes into extra time, Honduras’s Steven Ramos finished with his left foot to give the Central Americans the 2-1 lead.
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Three great moments from three great players: Hall of Famers Helland, Devos and Peschisolido

By
Steven Sandor
– 04/19/2013

Paul Peschisolido in 1997.

Paul Peschisolido in 1997.

When players I’ve covered over the years earn major awards, I don’t think about the stats they’ve accumulated over the courses of their careers. I think about the moments I remember the most vividly, the marks that these athletes made on my brain. It’s what makes sport so special, the connection between athlete and spectator.

And in the end, that’s what we in the sports journalism business are — spectators, albeit spectators who bring laptops to the games.

In the cases of Janine Helland, Jason DeVos and Paul Peschisolido, they were all part of moments that remain fresh in my mind. All three were named as inductees into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame on Friday.

In the case of Helland, the bio tells us that the University of Alberta grad played for Canada in two World Cups — in 1995 and 1999, and was twice considered for the Female Player of the Year award. But I remember a lot of chilly spring afternoons in 2004, talking with Helland after Aviators’ practices. She was the team’s head coach, and the team was an extension of the optimism about women’s soccer in Alberta after Edmonton nearly sold out Commonwealth Stadium for the 2002 U-19 final.
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Canada scores early, but can’t hang on against Panama in U-17 semi

By
Steven Sandor
– 04/18/2013

CONCAPANAMACanada took the lead before the five-minute mark, but couldn’t hang on in hostile territory.

Ervin Zorrilla’s 81st-minute goal gave Panama a 2-1 win over Canada in a CONCACAF U-17 Championship semifinal in front of a partisan home crowd at the Estadio Rommel Fernandez.

Canada’s goal of making it to the U-17 World Cup was achieved simply bu qualifying for the semifinal, but this crop of kids couldn’t repeat the feat of their predecessors — making it to the final of this tournament, that is.

Moving onto the bumpy grass pitch at the big stadium for the first time in the tournament, Canada actually looked more comfortable through the first 20 minutes than the home team did. And, before the game was five minutes old, the Canadians got a deserved lead. After a nice switch of play to the left wing, Matthew Chow laid in a perfect cross to Marco Bustos to head home.
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Canadians can expect Panamanian gamesmanship, even at the U-17 level

By
Steven Sandor
– 04/15/2013

PHOTO: Canada Soccer/MEXSPORT

PHOTO: Canada Soccer/MEXSPORT

It doesn’t matter if it’s men or boys on the pitch — when Panama is hosting an international soccer match, there’s going to be gamesmanship.

Canada faces the Panamanians in the semifinals of the CONCACAF U-17 championship on Wednesday. And, even though Canada clinched a berth in the U-17 World Cup with the 4-2 quarter-final win over Jamaica, coach Sean Fleming was clear that the team’s goal is to win the confederation championship.

“We let the boys enjoy it for 48 hours,” said Fleming in a conference call on Monday. “And today it’s back to work.”

But it won’t be easy. The semifinals will be staged at the national stadium, on grass — where a large crowd is expected to support the home side. Canada’s group-stage matches and quarter-final match was staged on an unpredictable artificial surface.

Will Canada get the chance to train on grass ahead of the game? No. Fleming said they’ve been allocated a turf field. Funny that no grass fields were available. And that’s a big thing: Anyone who has trained on turf in the heat knows that not only is it harder on the knees, but it reflects the heat in a way that grass doesn’t. If it’s hot outside, it’s even hotter on the turf.
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Canadians rally from two deficits and book their spot in U-17 World Cup

By
Steven Sandor
– 04/14/2013
Gordon_Andrew_D2012www

Andrew Gordon

For the second game in a row, a Canadian team faced adversity on Central American soil, And, unlike so many editions of Canadian national teams we’ve seen before, they rose to the occasion.

Canada fell behind twice to Jamaica in the quarterfinal of the CONCACAF U-17 Championship quarterfinal in Panama. And twice they came back — and then some. Final score, Canada 4, Jamaica 2 — and coach Sean Fleming’s crew wrapped up a spot in this year’s U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

Late last week, Canada fell behind 1-0 to Costa Rica in its final group-stage match, but rallied with a late goal from Hanson Boakai to ensure the end of that match wouldn’t be a nervous one — and clinched the Group B title.

And Canada trailed to Jamaica, too. The quarter-final, the most important game of the tournament for the Canadians as it acted as a single-game World Cup qualifier, didn’t start off well for the boys in red. Jamaican striker Khalil Stewart got behind the backline and converted the chance, just five minutes after the kickoff.
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Canadian U-17s will have to deal with heat, bad turf in key CONCACAF quarter-final

By
Steven Sandor
– 04/12/2013

Sean Fleming

Sean Fleming

Jamaica is a quick team that works hard and has no issue getting stuck in.

But the Canadian U-17 team can’t just prepare for the opponent in their do-or-die CONCACAF U-17 Championship quarter-final match. Already having to wrestle with the heat and the turf in Panama, the Canadians found out the Jamaica match had been moved up. It’s now a late-afternoon/early evening match. And that means Canada and Jamaica could be playing in forecasted temperatures of 33 C — and that’s before the humidity is factored in.

And the old artificial surface, which doesn’t see the ball roll or bounce consistently, amplifies the heat at field level. It reflects heat and shoots it right back at the players.

Still, coach Sean Fleming said his team will not use the conditions as an excuse. They have come down here with one goal: To qualify for the semifinals, which, more importantly, earns Canada a berth at the U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates later in 2013.
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Boakai’s wonder strike steers Canada toward U-17 knockout phase

By
Steven Sandor
– 04/11/2013

Hanson Boakai

Hanson Boakai

The Canadians looked to be set for a nervy finish to their final group-stage match at the CONCACAF U-17 Championships.

Canada went into its final group-stage match Wednesday knowing that all it had to do was not lose to Costa Rica by two goals or more. Do that and the Canadian U-17s would win Group B and get a spot in the elimination rounds. But, after 75 minutes, Canada found itself down 1-0, and had seen another Costa Rican effort strike the woodwork.

And that’s when Hanson Boakai, the teenager who is set to become the NASL’s youngest player, unleashed a wonder strike that put Canada in the safe zone. The FC Edmonton midfielder showed us all why his club’s brain trust deemed him ready for a move to the pros and promoted him to the senior side, even though the midfielder is just 16 years of age. Final score, 1-1. We could all exhale.

Out of nothing, he scored maybe the goal of the tournament so far. Cutting off the right wing, he came across the top corner of the box, then unleashed a curler of a left-footed shot that swung back towards the near post and in.
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