Canada’s coach likes his team’s chances at World Cup
National women’s soccer team bench boss says ‘team is on track’
There is a poignant picture of Christine Sinclair that was captured four years ago, minutes after Canada had been eliminated in the opening round of the 2011 World Cup.
She was sitting on the pitch in Bochum, Germany, misery etched across her face.
That same picture, which summed up all that was wrong with the sport of women’s soccer in Canada at that time, was the same picture that John Herdman showed the team prior to their bronze medal run at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
“I put the picture up and said, ‘Girls, how does that make you feel?’ Within 10 seconds, there wasn’t a dry eye in that dressing room,” the national team head coach recalled on Monday during an address to Edmonton’s Chamber of Commerce.
“One of them had the courage to say, ‘Christine, we’ve been letting you down for 10 years now. Not this time’ ... They made a promise on that day to make her cry again. And they did.”
Those joyous tears have long since evaporated, but 46 days from now, the Canadian women’s team, which has undergone a significant transformation under Herdman, will take centre stage when the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 opens at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium.
Sinclair, one of the top players in the world, will again captain the team.
There is every chance this will be her last appearance on the World Cup stage. She will turn 32 during the tournament, and is 13 years removed from her coming out party in the under-19 tournament that was staged in Edmonton in 2002.
“That woman deserves to go out in style. In her home country,” said Herdman. “I don’t want to see that other picture.
“She may go on to play forever, who knows? But it will come to an end at some point and I think the reality for Christine is that she’ll never get this back again.”
Herdman’s passion for the sport is undeniable, as is his appreciation for Sinclair’s game. He is also convinced that Canada will have a chance to challenge for the coveted cup, particularly if they have the support in the stands.
He’s already said to his players: “If not you, who? If not now, when?”
Canada’s roster will be unveiled next Tuesday, after which there will be preparatory camps in Los Angeles, Mexico and Toronto as well as testing to ensure the players are as fit as possible.
There will also be some friendlies against the Americans, who open in Winnipeg against Australia on June 8.
Canada opens in Edmonton on June 6 against China and if Herdman has his way, there will be 55,000 spectators draped in red — the ‘X’ factor, he called it.
“We said right from the onset that it cannot be the same team that won the bronze medal that’s going to win a World Cup. We have to provoke change whether that’s new players coming in or older players ready to be something different,” he said. “I think the team is on track.
“We recently played the French, who are tipped to the win this World Cup, and weren’t far away. We’re on task. It’s just ticking little boxes now to make sure that we peak when we arrive here.”
As the host country, Canada did not have to go through the qualifying process, but Herdman said the team has been put in enough situations to simulate important matches.
“There are definitely some pros with qualifying, but I think we’ve negated any of the risks by playing meaningful competition in venues where we’ve had packed houses.”
He’s also impressed upon his players to stay on task, to not get drawn into the magnitude of the event. Conversely, he also wants them to embrace this once-in-alifetime opportunity to play a World Cup on home soil. He wants them to see it as an opportunity, not a pressurepacked curse.
“You won’t see us rolling around the pitch. You won’t see us diving in the penalty box. You won’t see us blaming referees and chasing them around the pitch. You’ll see a Canadian performance,” said Herdman.
jireland@edmontonjournal.com Twitter: @jirelandEJ