Canadian Soccer Association Archive

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Hart already dealing with injured players ahead of June WC qualifiers

By
Aman Dhanoa
– 05/10/2012

Simeon Jackson models the special-edition Canada jersey the team will wear for its June 3 centennial friendly against the U.S. So, Canada in blue, and the U.S. in red and white?

With the media room all neatly decorated at BMO Field the obvious focuses of Canadian Soccer Association’s Thursday press conference were its centennial celebrations and the unveiling of its limited-edition heritage kit.

But it didn’t take long for the media to dress down the event and ask the important questions about the men’s national team and its preparation for the World Cup qualifying campaign, which resumes in June.

The first challenge for national team coach Stephen Hart will be to select a provisional roster for a training camp to be held in Florida beginning on May 21. He has been impressed with a number of players, most notably Bundesliga 2. Star Olivier Occean, but he first has to rule out who is unavailable – either by choice or injury.

“There are some injury issues, unfortunately, and we will have a couple of players that cannot be part of the campaign,” said Hart. “Marcel de Jong is out and Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault is out and we’re waiting on some medical reports on two other players.”
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New CSA president Montagliani strikes conciliatory tones

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/08/2012

Victor Montagliani

Victor Montagliani sounded a lot like a man who had just won a political-party nomination.

In his first telephone media conference after being elected president of the Canadian Soccer Association, he spoke about building relationships, about working with the people who had voted against him. Really, it was no different than hearing a new leader reach out to the camps of the other candidates in an effort to bring a political party together after a divisive campaign.

And, of course, there was unbridled optimism: Talk of being able to double the CSA’s operating budget in eight years, about working with the pro clubs, that the reform process is moving along, a promise to do what it takes to make the national teams better.

For those hoping that Montagliani would kick off his presidency with angry ultimatums to the MLS over Canadian-import quotas or some angry words for remnants of the old guard who remain in the CSA, well, that was never going to happen.
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Montagliani elected as CSA’s new president, but process needs to change

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/05/2012

Victor Montagliani

Victor Montagliani, the odds-on favourite going into this weekend’s Canadian Soccer Association elections, got the support he needed at the Annual General Meeting in Ottawa and is the new president.

Montagliani, who got a public show of support from Canada’s alumni players, defeated incumbent Dominique Maestracci and Rob Newman, a reformer who had the support of Canada’s four major pro clubs.

“Governance is not simply about management. It requires leadership, passion and a burning desire to deliver excellent outcomes for the Canadian Soccer Association. Leadership is about service and I am ready to serve the Canadian soccer community,” said Montagliani in a vision statement that was released by the CSA.
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Women’s World Cup host-cities announcement is anticlimactic

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/04/2012

As press conferences go, the announcement of Canada’s 2015 Women’s World Cup host cities was about as anticlimactic as they get.

Edmonton, Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver and Winnipeg were named the host cities for the tournament. What cities will actually get big games (semifinals and final, as well as the Canada matches) will be determined later. Each of the cities will also host games at the 2014 U-20 Women’s World Cup.

Halifax dropped out and Toronto was never interested (that is, city government, not the fans in Canada’s largest city) because it has the Pan Am Games in 2015.

So the six host cities was a done deal. In fact, it was such an obligatory presser that the first question that FIFA president Sepp Blatter fielded from the press gallery was about Brazil 2014. In fact, the press conference handlers had to ask the media to keep the questions to the 2015 WWC.
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Hello, Newman: Four Canadian pro teams endorse their CSA candidate

By
Steven Sandor
– 04/26/2012

Next week, FC Edmonton, the Montreal Impact, Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps will be adversaries in the race for the Voyageurs’ Cup.

But, this week, the three MLS and one NASL side are united. On Thursday, the four clubs issued a joint press release, pledging their support for candidate Rob Newman ahead of the May 5 Canadian Soccer Association presidential election.

Make no mistake. This is unprecedented stuff. In North America, sports teams’ front offices usually work behind the scenes when it comes to political issues and don’t make public pronouncements on their positions. Too many risks, too many bridges that can be burned. But this times is different. And the clubs discussed this before issuing the statement, weighing the pros against the cons.
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Hart doesn’t foresee many changes to Canadian men’s national team lineup

By
Steven Sandor
– 04/12/2012

Stephen Hart

Don’t expect to see national men’s coach Stephen Hart experiment with his roster for Canada’s June 3 friendly against the United States and the subsequent World Cup qualifiers.

Hart said, at the senior level, there simply aren’t many players from which to choose.

“Not really, not anyone who has been playing consistently,” said Hart. In fact, the problem for Canada is getting enough players — as Hart pointed to the “scarce” player supply for the national team’s last few games. (Even though, to be fair, when Canada picks from both MLS and European-based players, which it doesn’t do for many friendlies, the supply is there.)

So, expect to see a Canadian squad this summer that’s very similar to the team we saw breeze through the preliminary round of World Cup qualifiers, beating out the Caribbean minnows on its way to this next round. After the U.S. friendly, Canada must then finish top-two in a group that includes Cuba, Honduras and Panama in order to make it to the hex.
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MLS President: It will take time for Canadians to emerge in MLS

By
Steven Sandor
– 03/11/2012

Mark Abbott

MLS President Mark Abbott said that March is an exciting month for Canadian soccer.

Speaking at halftime of Saturday’s Whitecaps-Impact curtain-raiser, Abbott pointed to Wednesday’s CONCACAF Champions League date which saw Toronto FC fans pack the Rogers Centre, the rekindling of the Impact-Whitecaps rivalry and the fact that Montreal has sold more than 40,000 tickets for next week’s Olympic Stadium home opener.

But, a cynic would question the “all-Canadian” nature of the Impact-Whitecaps match. After all, between the starting lineups of both teams, there was only one player who would be eligible for a Canada call-up; Impact midfielder Patrice Bernier.
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Moncton gets its chance to prove the city’s ready for Women’s World Cup

By
Steven Sandor
– 03/08/2012

Peter Montopoli

Moncton will get a chance to show off that it’s ready and able to be a Women’s World Cup host city.

On Thursday, the Canadian Soccer Association announced that Moncton will host a friendly between the Canadian women’s team and China on May 30 at the Stade Moncton Stadium.

“The Canadian Soccer Association is pleased to bring world-class soccer to the East Coast and to stage, on Canadian soil, this important preparatory match for the Women’s National Team on the road to the London 2012 Olympics,” said Canadian Soccer Association General Secretary Peter Montopoli in a release. “We are confident Moncton will prove to be a supportive and enthusiastic home crowd.”
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New refereeing set-up won’t affect Canadian quota for MLS matches

By
Steven Sandor
– 03/07/2012

Major League Soccer’s new refereeing structure will not limit opportunities for Canadian officials.

Nelson Rodriguez, MLS Executive Vice President of Competition, said in a conference call on Wednesday that the formation of the new Professional Referee Organization will not affect the officiating agreement MLS has in place with the Canadian Soccer Association.

The CSA confirmed the agreement stipulates that the percentage of MLS games officiated by Canadians is based on the number of games played in Canada. With Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto all in the league this season, with 17 homes dates each, 51 regular-season MLS games will be played on Canadian soil.

But, that doesn’t mean Canadians have to do matches in Canada and USSF referees only do games in America. For example, USSF ref Baldomero Toledo can do a game at BMO Field, while CSA official David Gantar can do a game in San Jose. The key is that Canadian officials have to be called to do a number of MLS games that reflects the amount of total MLS games played in Canada.

The fact that the Montreal Impact is now on the league schedule has actually created more opportunities for Canadian refs in MLS this season.
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Canadian Player of the month Occean scores again in Germany

By
Steven Sandor
– 03/03/2012

Olivier Occean

Olivier Occean celebrated being named Canadian Player of the Month by helping SpVgg Greuther Furth pad its lead atop the Bundesliga 2.

The Canadian striker scored the opening and winning goal in the 78th minute Saturday, tapping home a cross from teammate Felix Klaus, as SpVgg Greuther Furth defeated MSV Duisburg 2-0.

For Occean, it was his 12th goal of the Bundesliga 2. season and, until the title chasers play later in the weekend, gave his club a four-point advantage at the top of the table.
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