SoccerLast chance for Canadian glory

Beginning of Story Content

Toronto FC will play Real Esteli in the qualifiers for the CONCACAF Champions League. (Getty Images)

We got short-changed. We might even have got ripped off. We bought the dream but the delivery never showed up. We should have read the small print. This isn't a refrigerator or an automobile. This product doesn't come with a guarantee.
 
This was supposed to be a banner year for Canadian soccer. A second team primed to make a splash in Major League Soccer, a golden generation getting Canada to the U-17 World Cup for the first time in 16 years, and a Women's team which would make us proud at the World Cup in Germany.
 
I am still scratching my head about the Vancouver Whitecaps. A team and a city steeped in soccer history appeared to have ticked all the boxes to make a competitive start on its return to the top tier of the North American game.
  
The club boasts wealthy owners, experienced management, a large and hungry fan base and a sprinkling of very capable players. So why is it the worst team in MLS? It has already fired one head coach but the change has done little to improve results on the field. 
 
Mexico was always going to be an uphill battle. The last time Canada qualified for the U-17 World Cup, Patrice Bernier was in the team. He'll soon be 32 and is still playing - most recently in Denmark, but is considering coming home to rejoin Montreal Impact's dive into MLS next year.
 
Canada's youngsters wrote their own headlines. Quillan Roberts became the first goalkeeper to score in a FIFA competition and snatch a point against England. While two points from three games was no disgrace, it wasn't enough to get Canada into the knockout stages.
 
The biggest no-show of all came on the largest stage. Canada arrived at the Women's World Cup as the number six team in the world and poised to give the big guns a run for their money. The preparation had been meticulous and pre-tournament results had been generally favourable.
 
What followed was a shocking revelation about the state of the Canadian game at the elite level. We, the fans, so desperately wanted to cheer this team and celebrate its success. Christine Sinclair's sublime free kick apart, it gave us nothing in which to rejoice. It has left us without a coach and with a concern about a team which might embarrass itself on home soil in four years time.
 
In Toronto, a clean slate after four barren years. A new identity and style for a franchise whose only consistent feature had been its inconsistency. It would require more time and patience but a bold 4-3-3 blueprint would be worth the wait.
 
We're still waiting. We will be for some time. Six months into the rebuilding process, perhaps the demolition phase is close to completion. A team which has shipped as many goals as it did in the whole of 2010 is not going to make the playoffs.
 
But there is one final chance of Canadian glory. Maybe, just maybe, one team can make an impact on the international stage. The responsibility falls to Toronto FC. The Canadian champions have the opportunity to make a positive statement in 2011.
 
It won't please the Southsiders but this is bigger than club rivalries. This is about putting Canadian soccer on the map. Toronto FC has earned the right to represent its country in the CONCACAF Champions League and it needs to demonstrate it can carry the flag with pride and purpose.
 
Twenty-four teams, including TFC, will begin the journey. Sixteen of them will take part in the group stages. The U.S. and Mexico have four berths; Honduras has three and four other CONCACAF nations have two each. Canada has just a single preliminary round spot to make its mark.
 
The equation is not going to change in the near future. The only way Canada can lobby CONCACAF for a second berth is for its representative to be successful over a sustained period. Bowing out in the group stages leaves the Canadian Soccer Association without a case.
 
Three years ago, Montreal's incredible run to the quarter-finals began against Real Estelí. Now it is Toronto's turn to face the Nicaraguan champions for a place in Group C. True supporters of Canadian soccer will understand the significance of this elimination series.
 
It is time to haul that banner out of the gutter. It has been trampled on time and again this year and is pretty frayed round the edges. Toronto FC is, once again, a work in progress, but right now it is all we have to execute the mission. For the good of the game in this country, the mission must not fail.

Follow Nigel Reed on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/#!/nigel_reed

End of Story Content