SoccerGive Canada time to play

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The club versus country monster is on the prowl again. For once, this is not a problem of Canada's making. But it is a major problem in North America that needs addressing and fixing.
 
No sooner is the European season underway than it is closing its door for a fortnight. No English Premier League, no La Liga, no Serie A, no Bundesliga until nearly mid-September.
 
You can put away your Manchester United, Juventus, Barcelona, or Bayern Munich scarf. You won't need them in the near future. Instead it's time to break out your flag of choice for the first time since the World Cup.

Euro qualifiers begin
 
Qualifying for the 2012 European Championships is about to commence. As such, most nations begin with a pair of matches with the intent of making a solid start on the road to Poland and Ukraine two years hence.
 
You cannot, however, pack away your Toronto FC gear. Despite a mandate from FIFA clearing the decks from Sept 3-7 to facilitate global international competition, Major League Soccer chooses to ignore the directive.
 
Like the proverbial bull in a china shop, MLS ploughs on relentlessly. No rest and no choice for players wanted by their precious franchises and, at the same time, by their respective nations. When will North America wake up and understand the harm it is inflicting?
 
Disregarding FIFA dates is, at the very least, disrespectful. At the very worst it is holding back international progress across an entire continent. Yet generations of players have been forced to sacrifice club or country and risk losing their place in one team or the other.
 
This is not a new problem. My good friend, and Canadian Soccer Hall of Famer, Bob Iarusci recalls how just such a situation ended not only his international career, but also cost him a chance to play at the World Cup.
 
In 1983, having played for Canada in a pair of exhibitions against Scotland in Vancouver and Edmonton, Iarusci was summoned back to New York. His team, the Cosmos, needed him for League duty on a date that conflicted with the final Canada-Scotland international in Toronto.
 
Iarusci, then 29 years of age, and Canada's starting centre-back, approached team coach Tony Waiters about the issue. Waiters understood the dilemma and released Iarusci from the Canadian camp. Bob was never again selected to play for his country.
 
Three years later, with Waiters still at the helm, Canada played at the World Cup Finals for the only time in this nation's history.
 
Little has changed in the last 30 years. Last week I spoke to current head coach Stephen Hart about his squad for the forthcoming internationals against Peru and Honduras. The roster includes a trio of players from Toronto FC - a team facing an uphill battle to make the MLS playoffs.
 
Indeed five of his 20 players - 25 per cent of the squad - is composed of players currently employed by MLS, all of whom have MLS games scheduled over the international break. The three Canadians from TFC have two MLS games within 24 hours of national duty.
 
MLS is no longer a league where college kids are thrown in the deep end and old men come to retire. The league is evolving into a destination for international players from a host of nations, players who are gradually improving the overall product.

Failure to comply with FIFA's calendar
 
Yet such players are routinely hamstrung when the call of home rolls around. MLS stubbornly continues to dig its heels in over international release dates. A failure to comply with FIFA's calendar not only restricts the players - it makes the League look foolish from a global standpoint.
 
The argument from league headquarters in New York always revolves around time. We all understand why MLS has to be a summer league. If we want a pro league played outside on grass fields there is no alternative. The weather is the sole arbiter and that's that.
 
A regular season spanning 30 weeks, plus the playoffs, could certainly be more smartly, and cost effectively, scheduled. When TFC journey to Los Angeles for a weekend game, have them play Chivas USA the following Tuesday and then onto San Jose before returning home.
 
Mid-summer exhibitions against touring European clubs must be restricted. Granted, the matches are a handsome payday for the clubs but they clutter an already busy schedule with meaningless friendlies. It doesn't happen the other way round, so why do we tolerate it? One word: Money.
 
Ultimately, it is the fans who suffer. If I'm paying to see Canada's national team in Toronto or Montreal, I want to see the best this country has to offer. Don't insult me, or my dollar, by giving me half a team. Give me what I'm paying for, get me engaged, and get me passionate about Team Canada.
 
Everywhere else on the planet there is no choice. Club soccer shuts down to allow the national team to take centre stage. International soccer should be a national celebration, not an irritating sideshow because your local MLS franchise is out of town.  
 
I feel tremendous sympathy towards our Canadian quintet. Dwayne De Rosario, Julian de Guzman, Nana Attakora, Will Johnson and Dejan Jakovic deserve better. So did Bob Iarusci. Please MLS - don't discount FIFA. Embrace world soccer, win some friends and a little respect.

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