United States Archive

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Herdman on Canada’s women’s team: I am looking for strikers

By
Steven Sandor
– 06/06/2013

John Herdman

John Herdman

Wanted: Strikers. Requirement: Canadian passport or lineage (we’ll help with the passport).

That’s the clear message coming from Canadian women’s national team coach John Herdman. In a conference call with media Thursday, he said the country’s striker shortage is a massive problem.

“If anyone in Canada has players up front, there’s definitely some shirts available,” Herdman said.

Going into the 2015 Women’s World Cup, which will open in exactly two years at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium, Herdman said he has a team that, based on the core of his roster, will have an average age of 31. He said that statistics show that the World Cup champs usually have an average player age of 27 to 28. He needs to bring youth into the team, and he desperately needs to find secondary scoring behind Canada’s all-time leading goal-getter, Christine Sinclair.
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9

As Canada defends against charges of racism, Quebec flouts turban policy

By
Steven Sandor
– 06/04/2013

quebec colourOn Monday, Canadian-American forward Sydney Leroux tweeted and accused Canadian fans of using racial slurs against her. It was later clarified that she wasn’t talking about Sunday’s emotionally-charged women’s friendly at BMO Field between Canada and the United States, but the 2012 Olympic qualifying tournament in Vancouver.

The U.S. Soccer Federation made no complaint in 2012, so Leroux’s accusations of racism in Canada should blow over. Or, should have blown over. But, just hours before Leroux’s tweet, the Quebec Soccer Federation voted to ignore a Canadian Soccer Association directive, which asks its provincial members to allow Sikh headgear on the pitches.

That directive was issued to force Quebec’s hand, as the provincial organization continued to ban turbans, even though they’re allowed in other parts of the country.

So, it’s hard for Canadians to be indignant about racism claims when our second-largest province makes a high-profile decision that makes headlines around the world. Seriously, you Google “turban” and “soccer” and you’ll find pages and pages of links to stories about the Quebec turban ban.

Awesome, in a way that a car crash is awesome.
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2

Herdman “really disappointed” with Canadian women’s loss to the U.S. on home soil

By
Aman Dhanoa
– 06/03/2013

Canada's Desiree Scott, left, tries to challenge American Tobin Heath. PHOTO: CANADA SOCCER/PAUL GIAMOU

Canada’s Desiree Scott, left, tries to challenge American Tobin Heath. PHOTO: CANADA SOCCER/PAUL GIAMOU

The atmosphere was something special; a sold-out BMO Field was the stage for Canada and the United States’ rematch from the London Olympics.

Despite the record turnout the result was once again a losing one for Canada, as the U.S. took over in the second half and utilized its transition game to score three goals in the final 20 minutes to pick apart the Canadian defence, winning 3-0.

Canada managed to neutralize the Americans’ two stars — Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan — in the first half as the U.S. barely created any opportunities. Canada was not able to create much either but, eventually, the U.S. broke Canada down and that left coach John Herdman disappointed.

“The last 30 minutes of the game really caused us a few problems. The U.S. finally got Morgan released and that was the game plan — to keep Morgan and Wambach quiet,” said Herdman.

“We said that the U.S. will hurt us in transition. They score an average three goals against Canada a game throughout our history and did it again today, so I’m really disappointed to be honest.”
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0

Quon explains her decision to swap her U.S. jersey for a Canadian one

By
Aman Dhanoa
– 06/01/2013

Rachel Quon

Rachel Quon

Although Sunday’s “rematch” against the United States is significant in the collective conscious for Canadians, national women’s national team coach John Herdman is looking at the match differently.

Herdman has stated that, despite this being an important match that stirs up emotions from last summer, the ultimate goal is to prepare for the women’s World Cup in 2015, which will be hosted by Canada. As a result, he will utilize a different look to gauge what kind of group he has moving forward and that includes moving younger and newer players into the line-up.

One possible addition to the roster has stirred up interest and questions more than any other – possibly because she is born in the country of its upcoming opponent.

Canada raised some eyebrows by adding U.S.-born-and -raised Rachel Quon to the roster for Sunday’s friendly. She currently plays with the Chicago Red Stars in the National Women’s Soccer League and has represented the U.S. on U-17 and U-20 World Cup teams.

It was announced earlier this week that Quon, 22, has a family connection that allows her to play for Canada — but why did she decide to make this move despite already being a part of best programs in women’s international soccer?
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1

Quon’s stunning switch highlights Canada roster for June 2 BMO friendly

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/22/2013

Rachel Quon

Rachel Quon

For months, Canadian national team coach John Herdman has been lamenting the women’s national team’s lack of wing players, and how he needs to find young players who can bring width to the side.

Enter Rachel Quon. In what has to be described as a surprising, maybe even a shocking switch, the former U.S. national team prospect is changing shirts. Quon, ironically, could be set to make her Canada debut in June 2‘s friendly against the U.S. at BMO Field — pending FIFA approval. On Wednesday, she was named to the roster for that June 2 game.

Quon, a fullback, was a standout with Stanford University, a regular for the Chicago Red Stars, played for the Americans at the U-20 World Cup in 2010, and started every game for the U.S. that same year at the CONCACAF U-20 Championships. She has been part of the U.S. national-team program since she was 14. She was born in Illinois. On the surface, you’d find nothing that links her to Canada.

“I am hoping that she can give us that little something different in the fullback position,” said Herdman in a conference call.

The Canadian Soccer Association is now working with FIFA to ensure that Quon is eligible to play. Herdman said that a national coach needs to invite a player to camp before the FIFA process can begin.
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3

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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12

The MLS “domestic” rule: Why allowing more Canadians in wouldn’t run afoul of U.S. Immigration

By
Steven Sandor
– 03/22/2013

americanflagMLS Commissioner Don Garber has gone on the record stating that allowing Canadian players to be recognized as domestic players on the rosters of the 16 U.S.-based teams would cause legal issues south of the border for the league.

The 11 has been working to get legal opinions on the commissioner’s statement. Last week, we offered the Canadian side of the argument (CLICK HERE). Now, to the real meat of the matter — U.S. law and how it affects Canadian workers, and athletes in particular.

And the opinion that The 11 has heard is that — when it comes to U.S. immigration laws — the distinction in roster rules between the three Canadian MLS teams and the 16 American teams are solely the jurisdiction of the league. To break that down? That MLS could change the rules if it wished, and wouldn’t run afoul of U.S. immigration law. (That’s not to say changing the rules wouldn’t open up other legal issues: More on that, later.)
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3

Taking it to the experts: Exploring the Canadian “domestic” question in MLS

By
Steven Sandor
– 03/16/2013

canadianflagMLS has publicly claimed that it can’t change its domestic-player because of labour-law issues in the U.S. Over the next couple of weeks, The 11 will try and steer its readers through labour law, and understand why an American CAN be a domestic player in Canada, but why a Canadian player CAN’T be considered a domestic in the United States.

There have been rising cries from Canadian MLS followers about the roster rules, which require the three Canadian teams to carry domestics outside of the eight designated international slots per team roster. Under MLS rules, those domestics who can be Canadian OR American. (Of those, a Canadian team must carry a minimum of three Canadian citizens or permanent residents). But, in the U.S., a Canadian takes up one of the international slots, and cannot be a domestic.

In a halftime interview during the March 2 First Kick match that saw Toronto FC lose to the Vancouver Whitecaps, MLS Commissioner Don Garber responded to commentator Jason DeVos’s question about the domestic distinctions between the two countries. Why can’t Canadians be “domestic” in the U.S.? Garber’s answer:

“…in the United States, if you are considered an international from a labour perspective, you can’t discriminate between one nationality and another. So we would have a challenge if a Colombian player believed that they were treated differently than a Canadian player.”

Fair enough. And you can’t find anything in the P-1, O-1 or H2B U.S. work visa applications that specifically mention Canadians. But this begs another question — if it’s considered discriminatory for Americans to single out Canadians for preferential treatment, why is it NOT discriminatory for Canadian teams to give that same preferential treatment to Americans?
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0

Ousted from the U-20s: Americans punish Canada’s defensive miscues

By
Gavin Day
– 02/27/2013

Dasovic: Disappointed

For about five minutes in the first half, Canada was in position of getting into the draw for the 2013 FIFA under-20 World Cup.

But after jumping in front, the back-line shut off and turned out a performance that couldn’t handle an American side that capitalized on just about any mistake the Canadians made.

In the end, Canada saw its World Cup dreams dashed with a 4-2 loss to ots most hated rivals Tuesday night in the quarter-final at the 2013 CONCACAF under-20 Championship in Puebla, Mexico.

“We just never got our foot on the ball and tried to play,” said head coach Nick Dasovic. “We kept hitting the long ones and it’s difficult to as a striker that’s playing on his own to fight against two or three guys — and that’s just the way it goes.”
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Dasovic: Canada’s previous wins over Americans mean little ahead of Tuesday’s key U-20 quarter-final

By
Steven Sandor
– 02/25/2013

Nick Dasovic PHOTO: CANADA SOCCER/MEXSPORT

As part of its preparations for the CONCACAF U-20 Championship, coach Nick Dasovic’s Canadian team beat the Americans.

Last year, in Nashville at the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament, the Canadian team beat the Americans, 2-0. Centre back Doneil Henry scored in that game, and midfielder Samuel Piette played 90 minutes.

Both of those players will likely start in Tuesday night’s CONCACAF U-20 quarter-final against the Americans, as the Canadian side has stated that the team has no injury issues and that all players are available. The winner not only goes to the semifinal, but earns a berth in the U-20 World Cup, to be held later this year in Turkey.

So, what will all those recent positive experiences against the Americans means for the Canadians? According to Dasovic, nothing at all.
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