SoccerNo pain, no gain and other thoughts on Canadian soccer

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The usual expression of anxiety that every player wears before the gruelling test was replaced by an ear-to-ear grin on Dichio, such is the relief he feels knowing he doesn’t have to push himself through the pain barrier once again this year.

While the VO2 max test is excellent for determining a player’s fitness level, it is also a very good indicator of something else: guts.

While every player suffers considerable pain towards the end of the test, some are willing to push themselves through that pain just a little bit more. Call it drive, determination or commitment; it is a quick indicator of which players are willing to suffer for the team.

It is not the be-all and end-all of assessments, and no one earns a berth in the starting line-up during the first week of pre-season. Nevertheless, TFC’s new head coach Preki stood watching, taking it all in.

Make no mistake about it; the players all have to prove themselves to the new coach. There will be no free rides for anyone from Preki, which is exactly how it should be.

Impact, Whitecaps gearing up

While Toronto FC are getting ready for their fourth MLS season, Canada’s two other professional teams are also preparing for seasons of their own.

The Vancouver Whitecaps are entering an exciting period of their history, as they are gearing up for entry to Major League Soccer in 2011. They are quietly going about their business, and they are carefully laying the building blocks for their future success.

The Montreal Impact, on the other hand, are busy making plans of their own.

Believed to be the next major city to be granted a MLS franchise, the Impact need to have another strong season to build momentum towards 2012, when it is likely that they will join MLS.

To that effect, they have re-signed 32 year-old Panamanian striker Roberto Brown.

While Brown might not be playing for the Impact in 2012, what he brings in the short term is a strong, powerful presence up front for Montreal.

Success in the newly formed USSF Division 2, as well as a run in the Canadian Championship will be the two goals for Montreal this year, and Brown will certainly have a big part to play in any success that the Impact have this season.

Hard to pass judgement on Canada

If you’re wondering why I didn’t have much to say about Canada’s recent 1-0 friendly loss to Jamaica, it’s because I don’t like to pass judgment on players or performances unless I actually get to see them for myself.

I listened to the game over the Internet on Jamaican radio, which was an experience, to say the least. The play-by-play announcer sounded like John Barnes hopped up on caffeine, which provided some humour to an otherwise uneventful commentary.

However, after speaking with some of the Canadian players recently, I can tell you that it was no walk in the park - and that includes the training camp that preceded the friendly.

Training was difficult and intense, and that is not just because some of the players are heading into pre-season.

One player told me that it is the first time he can remember a Canadian coach spending so much time working on shape and tactics. He felt that was exactly what the team needs, and I would have to agree with him on that point.

If we are going to be competitive in the ever-improving CONCACAF region, we had better be well drilled. A lack of defensive cohesion was evident in our last failed World Cup qualifying campaign, and apart from assessing talent over the next 12 months, defensive improvement has to be one of Stephen Hart’s main areas of concern.

Being creative and scoring goals might always be a problem for us, but we must be much more solid defensively. It gives us a platform to build on, and if you are hard to beat, you always give yourself a chance of nicking a result against more talented opposition.

That formula served us very well ten years ago when Canada won the Gold Cup, and the same principle applies today.

Canadian women fall short

Speaking of the past, I was disappointed to see our women’s team fail to qualify for the U-20 World Cup recently.

It would be easy to be critical of the team by pointing out that it was only eight years ago that we finished second to the United States in the inaugural FIFA Women’s U-19 World Cup, yet now we have failed to even qualify for the tournament.

It would also appear at first glance that we are going backwards in our development in the women’s game, as other countries are improving very rapidly.

But I think that such criticism is unfair. I didn’t have the chance to see the women play in person, and until I do I will reserve my opinion.

Sometimes you have to take a step back to take two steps forward, and that is exactly why Carolina Morace was brought in to guide the women’s program.

While it was successful for a period of time, abandoning the antiquated kick-and-run style of former women’s coach Even Pellerud was an important mandate for Morace in order for us to reverse our downward spiral in the women’s game.

If that means we have to fail to qualify until we adjust to a more possession-oriented style of play, then so be it.

I will gladly accept some short term pain if it results in long term gain.

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