The making of a legend

Craig Forrest's first taste of international soccer came at the 1987 World Youth Championship

By John F. Molinaro, CBCSports.ca

Many of soccer's biggest legends first shot to fame at the FIFA World Youth Championship.

Maradona, Dunga, Marco Van Basten, Davor Suker, Luis Figo, Raul, Michael Owen, Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi — they all cut their teeth at this competition before achieving worldwide fame.

Canadians, too, have left their mark on the tournament, including former national team goalkeeper Craig Forrest, considered by many as the greatest soccer player Canada has ever produced.

A teenaged Forrest left his home in B.C. in 1984 for England, where he went on to enjoy a successful 18-year pro career with Ipswich Town, Colchester United, Chelsea and West Ham United. Forrest was one of only a handful of foreign players to play in the Premiership during its inaugural season in 1992-93 (Peter Schmeichel, Eric Cantona and Andrei Kanchelskis were among the others), paving the way for North American players to follow in his footsteps and come to England in the ensuing years.

Craig Forrest helped Canada win the 2000 Gold Cup. (VINCE BUCCI/AFP/Getty Images)

A solid goalkeeper at club level in England, Forrest was a superstar for Canada, becoming the public face of the game in this country. Forrest earned 56 caps, more than any other goalkeeper, for the Canadian national team from 1988-2002, helping the Canadians win the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup, in which he was named tournament MVP.

He was also recently inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame.

But for all his success with Canada's senior team, Forrest received his first taste of international soccer at the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship in Chile.

The passage of time has not dulled his recollections of Chile. Today, Forrest, 39, and retired from the sport for five years, looks back at the 1987 tournament as a key moment in his career.

"I remember it really well. I had been playing in England at that stage in 1987 already for three years with Ipswich Town, so my development was getting better. I could see I was improving, but it was a completely different animal in Chile," Forrest told CBCSports.ca.

"International soccer, playing down in Chile against the likes of Brazil, Nigeria and Italy and the different styles of soccer that I wasn't prepared for, that went a long way in my development and education as a player."

Canada was pooled into a group with Brazil, Italy and Nigeria, and nobody gave them much of a chance of making it out of the first round. But the young Canadians, backed by Forrest, jumped out to a shocking 2-0 halftime lead over the Italians in their opening game.

Canada eventually settled for a 2-2 draw after Italy levelled the score with eight minutes left in regulation.

"I remember our dressing room was panicked at halftime. We were flipping out, including me, and then we let it slip away in the second half," recalled Forrest.

"I think the emotions got to us. I think if it was any other country it would have been fine. But we were facing Italy, and the history they have in the game, and I think some of us didn't believe we were supposed to be there."

Canada was the one that relied on some late-game heroics in its next contest when Billy Domezetis scored in the 88th minute to help the Canadians earn an amazing 2-2 draw with Nigeria.

That result set the table for Canada's last match of the first round against Brazil, a game the Canadians had to win in order to advance. Canada fought bravely, but succumbed in the 82nd minute when Andre Cruz scored to lift the Brazilians to a hard-fought 1-0 win.

"It was a great free kick finish and we ended up going out. But we competed well," Forrest said of the goal that beat him to eliminate Canada.

Between games, Forrest took the time to explore Concepcion, the city where the Canadian team was based during the tournament, even though the team was under strict security restrictions.

"Pinochet was the ruler at the time, so we were instructed not to leave the hotel. There were a lot of demonstrations around the hotel because a lot of people thought it would bring international attention to their plight," Forrest said.

"We weren't supposed to leave the hotel but we snuck out once during the day to walk around the town and it was a huge mistake. We got spotted and we had to go into this shop. We were protected by the shop owner and everybody was outside. We had to get the security from the hotel to come get us and they weren't at all happy."

Twenty years on, the memory that sticks out the most for Forrest was the Chilean people.

"At the hotel where all the teams were staying, the amount of people, all during the day and night in Concepion, were there in the thousands and cheering at any time," Forrest recalled.

"You could just wave at them from the window at 2 o'clock in the morning and thousands of people were hanging around by the hotel. … it's still something that sticks out. It was the closest thing I've ever come to Beatlemania [laughs]."

In the end, though, it's all about the soccer, and the 1987 tournament in Chile holds a special place in Forrest's heart.

"The experience in Chile really put me in good stead for my international career and it was a highlight of my career," admitted Forrest. "Even though I played in England for 18 years, the under-20 tournament and the Gold Cup victory in 2000, without question, are two of the highlights."