Allez Les Rouges - Canada MNT (FM '10)

[theaub]

FM is still awesome

In somewhat related news, Be a GM is broken. So I move here.

I will control the Canadian National teams (Senior, U-23 and U-20), and see if I can take Canada back to the World Cup.

[bhurst99]

Good to see you back with a soccer dynasty.

[theaub]

August 13, 2009

Canada hires Hart as head coach

TORONTO (CP) - After being named the interim head coach of the Canadian Senior Men's National Team back in April, the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) have announced that Stephen Hart will take over the full-time role in an attempt to bring Canada back to its first World Cup since 1986.

The Trinidad-native, who has lived in Halifax since his teen years, has been the MNT's head coach in an interim role on two different occasions. In 2006, Hart stepped in for Frank Yallop, and managed the squad to a third place finish in the 2007 Gold Cup, losing a very controversial match to the Americans in the semi-final.

After Dale Mitchell took over and promptly ran the squad into the ground, picking up a measly two of eighteen points in the recent World Cup qualifying campaign, where Canada finished dead last in a group consisting of Honduras, Jamaica and Mexico.

Hart took over once Mitchell was fired in April, 2009, and managed Canada through the 2009 Gold Cup. The Canucks surprisingly finished first in their group, but got knocked out by Honduras in the quarterfinals. Canada have not played since.

The former T&T international will be expected to attempt to select players who can contribute in Canada's next meaningful international competition, the 2011 Gold Cup. With almost two years until that, the Canucks will be playing many friendlies to allow Hart to get familiar with some of his star players.

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A look at the Canadian MNT

Although Canada has not made a World Cup since 1986, they do have some world class talent on their roster, and if the Canucks can find a way to get it together they will definitely challenge in CONCACAF (North America) competitions.

The vast majority of Canadian players feature overseas, due to the lack of a competitive domestic league in Canada. Rob Friend has scored 25 goals over the past two seasons for Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach, and is the top striker for Canada. Three other forwards feature in the English League system. Iain Hume recovered from a fractured skull to return to play for Barnsley in the Coca-Cola Championship, while Simeon Jackson scored 19 goals last year for League 1 team Gillingham. One of the younger stars for the national team is David Hoilett, who comes off the bench for Blackburn of the English Premier League.

In the midfield, Josh Simpson became one of the first Canadians to sign with a Turkish Elite League team, moving from German squad Kaiserslautern to Manisaspor. He can play all three midfield positions. Atiba Hutchinson is probably the best foreign midfielder in the squad, as he plies his trade for FC Copenhagen in the Danish Premiership. A couple other of Canadians feature in Denmark; winger Issey Nakajima-Farran and midfielder Patrice Bernier. A couple of young Canucks who should feature extensively in the future are 22 year olds Will Johnson and Marcel de Jong. Johnson actually plays for Real Salt Lake, and had the 2008 MLS goal of the season. De Jong plays for Roda JC in the Dutch first division.

The backline is probably Canada's strength, led by Michael Klukowski, who stars for Club Brugge in the Belgian League. He is probably the one player who would start for most CONCACAF teams. Kevin McKenna is also a very strong defender, who plays for FC Koln in the Bundesliga. Canadian captain Paul Stalteri plays alongside Friend at Gladbach. David Edgar was supposed to be a star for Canada, scoring for Newcastle before his 20th birthday, but he has found himself floating along the British football system, although he does still play in the EPL for Burnley.

Canada's goalkeeping was a large question during their quick World Cup campaign, but Lars Hirschfeld should keep some stability intact. Hirschfeld plays for Cottbus in the German Second Divsion, and was impressive during a Champions League run with CFR Cluj a few years ago. It was expected that Asmir Begovic would be next in line, but even though he recently declared his allegiance to Canada on a national radio show, the Bosnian native has declared that he will play for the country of his birth.

There is a lot of young Canadian talent currently moving around Europe and North America. Robert Stillo, Michal Misiwicz, David Monsalve, Josh Waagenar and Adam Street are five young keepers who all have a very realistic shot of playing for Canada in the near future. Nana Attakora starts for Toronto FC, and he and Ethan Gage are two defenders who should be starting for the Canucks soon. Midfielder Jacob Lensky was looked at as one of the next great Canadian footballers, but he quit soccer back in 2008. However, he has returned, and although he showed slight interest in the Czech Republic, has stated that he will play for Canada if he's called*. Jonathan Bourgault and Brandon Bonifacio are two promising central midfielders for the Canadians. Up front, Marcus Haber and Derek Guadet headline a promising group.

However, the biggest contribution to Canadian soccer has been the expansion of Major League Soccer (MLS) up north. With a team firmly entrenched in Toronto, and expansion teams coming to Vancouver and Montreal in the near future, national team talent should slowly trickle back to Canada. TFC currently features Canada's two biggest "name" players, in midfielders Julian De Guzman and Dwayne De Rosario. De Guzman played in La Liga last year, before accepting an offer to become TFC's first designated player. De Rosario came from Houston, where he did not fail to make the playoffs, and is currently leading Toronto FC in scoring. As well, current Canadian goal leader Ali Gerba joined in July, and defenders Jim Brennan and Adrian Serioux also feature in the Canadian National Stadium at BMO Field.

Arguably the most important event over the past 12 months was the recent announcement that grass will be put in place at BMO. Derided by MNT players for not having a natural surface, the Canadians elected to play a crucial World Cup qualifier against Honduras on the grass of Saputo Stadium in Montreal. However, over 75% of the crowd showed up in blue, and Canada's hopes were effectively crushed after a 2-1 home defeat. By contrast, when the Canucks went up against Jamaica in Toronto, there was a decent home field advantage despite the very large Jamaican population that lives in the city.

As such, the hope is that Canada will finally have a national stadium, and as such, more success on the world stage. With a new manager in place, and having the most talent in the country's history at his disposal, supporters will be hoping that the Canadian anthem will be heard in Brazil come 2014.

*Coincidentally, three days after I typed this Lensky decided to go play for the Czechs.

[theaub]

August 30, 2009

Canada squad named for friendlies

Stephen Hart has named a 26 man squad for his first two games as Canadian manager, home friendlies against Haiti and Iceland.

David Edgar, David Hoilett and David Monsalve have all been called up for their first international cap. Toronto FC captain Jim Brennan will be looking to pick up his 50th cap when he appears in a match.

Dwayne De Rosario, who has set a Toronto FC record with 8 goals this year, will feature for the Canucks. Also called up is Simeon Jackson, who has five goals in seven matches with Gillingham this season.

The Haitians, ranked 110th in the world (14th in CONCACAF), were knocked out in the second round of World Cup qualifying back in early 2008. They are led my Yves Desmarets, who plays midfield for Vitoria in the Portuguese Sagares. As well, left back Lesley Fellinga plays for Toronto FC.

Iceland is currently in last place in Group 9 in European World Cup Qualifying. In their last match, they surprisingly tied Slovakia in friendly action. Iceland is led by Eidur Gudjohnsen, who plays in Ligue 1 for AS Monaco FC. Iceland hasn't won since a home match over Macedonia against FYR Macedonia.

Roster
Patrice Bernier l M l FC Nordsjaelland (Denmark)
Jim Brennan l D l Toronto FC (Canada)
Julian De Guzman l M l Toronto FC (Canada)
Marcel de Jong l D/M l Roda JC (Holland)
Dwayne De Rosario l M/F l Toronto FC (Canada)
David Edgar l D l Burnley (England)
Rob Friend l F l Gladbach (Germany)
Ali Gerba l F l Toronto FC (Canada)
Andrew Hainault l D l Houston Dynamo (United States)
Lars Hirschfield l GK l FC Cottbus (Germany)
David Hoilett l M/F l KSV Cercle Brugge (Belgium)
Iain Hume l M/F l Barnsley (England)
Atiba Hutchinson l M l FC Copenhagen (Denmark)
Daniel Imhof l M l VfL Bochum (Germany)
Simeon Jackson l F l Gillingham (England)
Dejan Jakovic l D l D.C. United (United States)
Will Johnson l M l Real Salt Lake (United States)
Michael Klukowski l D l Club Brugge (Belgium)
Kevin McKenna l D l FC Koln (Germany)
David Monsalve l GK l FC Inter Turku (Finland)
Issey Nakajima-Farran l M l AC Horsens (Denmark)
Olivier Occean l F l Lillestrom SK (Norway)
Adrian Serioux l D l Toronto FC (Canada)
Josh Simpson l M/F l Manisaspor (Turkey)
Paul Stalteri l D l Gladbach (Germany)
Greg Sutton l GK l Montreal (Canada)

[theaub]

September 5, 2009

Free-flowing Canada cruises by Haitians

TORONTO (CP) - Dwayne De Rosario and Rob Friend both scored twice as Canada smoked Haiti 4-1 in FIFA friendly action.

De Rosario, who has 8 goals in 18 appearances for Toronto FC, scored in the 20th and 51st minutes to stake the Canucks out to a 2-0 lead. After Lars Hirschfield was pulled to allow David Monsalve to make his first appearance, Haiti closed the gap with a goal by Dieuphene Thelamour. However, Gladbach's Friend, who has scored in his only league appearance so far this season, scored two goals in the span of three minutes to clinch a victory for Canada.

Along with Monsalve, David Hoilett and David Edgar made their Canada debuts, and all three looked impressive. Canada will take on Iceland on Wednesday.

Scoring
First Half
CAN: Dwayne De Rosario (Klukowski) 20'
Off a throw-in, Klukowski finds De Rosario with a through ball, and he blasts it by the keeper

Second Half
CAN: Dwayne De Rosario 2 (Friend) 51'
Friend lays a pass off for DeRo who fires in a curling shot from just outside the box

HAI: Dieuphene Thelamour (Versailles) 62'
Thelamour's shot from 25 yards evades a diving Monsalve

CAN: Rob Friend (De Rosario) 72'
De Rosario feeds a through ball to Friend who runs 30 yards and slots it past Jean-Zepherin

CAN: Rob Friend 2 (Stalteri) 74'
Stalteri's cross is neatly headed home by Friend

Cards: Paul Stalteri (Y)

Stats
Shots: 17-8 Canada
On Target: 6-4 Canada
Possession: 51-49 Canada
Corners: 9-4 Canada
Fouls: 9-9

Attendance: 12,352

Man of the Match
Dwayne De Rosario had two goals and an assist, and was by far the most dangerous player on the pitch. He had an 8.9 rating after dominating the majority of the match.

Upcoming Matches
September 9th, 2009 - vs Iceland
October 10th, 2009 - at FYR Macedonia
November 18th, 2009 - at Bolivia

[theaub]

September 9, 2009

Canucks shut down Iceland

TORONTO (CP) - Unlike the final scenes of D2, Iceland did not put up much of a fight.

Dwayne De Rosario closed to within one goal of Dale Mitchell's all-time scoring record, and Olivier Occean added the insurance in the 74th minute as Canada upped their winning streak to two matches after beating Iceland 2-0.

Jim Brennan picked up his 50th cap, and the Toronto FC skipper received a standing ovation from a crowd of over 14,000 when he entered early in the 2nd half. Julian De Guzman departed from the match early with an injury, but it does not appear to be serious and he should be back in time for TFC's next crucial match against Chicago.

As for Canada, they will travel to Macedonia for their next match.

Scoring
First Half
CAN: Dwayne De Rosario (Simpson) 44'
Simpson puts a beautiful touch pass on DeRo's foot and he slides it past Arason from close

Second Half
CAN: Olivier Occean (Simpson) 74'
Simpson's cross goes right across the goalmouth and Occean heads it into the top corner

Cards
ICE: Hermann Hreioarsson (Y), Ragnar Sigurosson (Y), Arnar Vioarsson (Y, Y, R)
CAN: Julian De Guzman (Y)

Stats
Shots: 10-9 Iceland
On Target: 3-2 Iceland
Possession: 53-47 Iceland
Corners: 7-5 Iceland
Fouls: 22-10 Iceland

Attendance: 14,093

Man of the Match
Josh Simpson did a great job of threading the needle from the left wing, assisting on both Canadian goals. The 26 year old has two goals and an assist in two matches with Manisaspor of the Turkish League.

Upcoming Matches
October 10, 2009 - at FYR Macedonia
November 18, 2009 - at Bolivia
June 5, 2010 - at Trinidad & Tobago

[theaub]

October 4, 2009

Canada squad named for friendly

TORONTO (CP) - Stephen Hart has named a 26 man squad for a European voyage to Macedonia for a friendly.

Jacob Lensky, Adam Street, Brandon Bonifacio and Nana Attakora will have the opportunity to debut for the national side, and manager Stephen Hart has said they will all feature in Macedonia.

Simeon Jackson, with 11 goals in 12 matches, will likely start up front with Rob Friend, who has played sparingly due to injury, but still has four goals. Josh Simpson has five goals on the young season, while Kevin McKenna and Atiba Hutchinson have two each.

Hart declined to invite certain players who are currently in the MLS playoff race. Adrian Serioux, Jim Brennan and Dejan Jakovic were kept behind to play in games that could decide playoff positions. As well, Lars Hirschfield and Paul Stalteri will miss out due to injury. Greg Sutton will get the start for the Canucks.

Roster
Nana Attakora l D l Toronto FC (Canada)
Patrice Bernier l M l FC Nordsjaelland (Denmark)
Brandon Bonifacio l M l SC Cambuur (Holland)
Julian De Guzman l M l Toronto FC (Canada)
Marcel de Jong l D/M l Roda JC (Holland)
Dwayne De Rosario l M/F l Toronto FC (Canada)
David Edgar l D l Burnley (England)
Rob Friend l F l Gladbach (Germany)
Ali Gerba l F l Toronto FC (Canada)
Andrew Hainault l D l Houston Dynamo (United States)
David Hoilett l M/F l KSV Cercle Brugge (Belgium)
Iain Hume l M/F l Barnsley (England)
Atiba Hutchinson l M l FC Copenhagen (Denmark)
Daniel Imhof l M l VfL Bochum (Germany)
Simeon Jackson l F l Gillingham (England)
Dejan Jakovic l D l D.C. United (United States)
Will Johnson l M l Real Salt Lake (United States)
Michael Klukowski l D l Club Brugge (Belgium)
Jacob Lensky l D/M l FC Utrecht (Holland)
Kevin McKenna l D l FC Koln (Germany)
David Monsalve l GK l FC Inter Turku (Finland)
Issey Nakajima-Farran l M l AC Horsens (Denmark)
Olivier Occean l F l Lillestrom SK (Norway)
Jamie Peters l M l Ipswich (England)
Josh Simpson l M/F l Manisaspor (Turkey)
Adam Street l GK l West Ham (England)
Greg Sutton l GK l Montreal (Canada)

[theaub]

October 10, 2009

Late strike sinks Canada

SKOPJE (CP) - Lazio striker Goran Pandev's second goal of the match in the 84th minute led FYR Macedonia to a thrilling 3-2 win over Canada.

The Canadians appeared to have salvaged a result when David Hoilett scored his first international goal on the 75th minute, but Pandev got behind the Canuck defense and fired a wicked shot past a helpless Adam Street to give the Macedonians a victory.

Canada was outplayed by Macedonia, allowing 11 shots on goal. However, both Street and Greg Sutton made several key saves to keep the Canucks in the match. Oka Nikolov was impressive for the Macedonians.

Up next will be Canada's first trip to South American in awhile as Bolivia will welcome them for a friendly in mid-November.

Scoring
First Half
CAN: Simeon Jackson 4'
Friend's shot blocked, but clearance bounces right to Jackson who puts it in

MAC: Goran Pandev (R. Popov) 5'
Popov moves down the flank and fires a perfect cross to Pandev who heads it from 10 yards out

Second Half
MAC: Braga (Pandev) 55'
Sutton doesn't charge out on cross, and Braga is able to slot it into open side

CAN: David Hoilett (McKenna) 75'
Hoilett slams a shot in from 13 yards out to tie match

MAC: Goran Pandev (Sedloski) 84'
Beautiful through ball from Sedloski allows Pandev to blast winner into upper corner

Cards
CAN: None
MAC: None

Stats
Shots: 16-10 Macedonia
On Target: 11-4 Macedonia
Possession: 54-46 Macedonia
Corners: 4-2 Macedonia
Fouls: 14-8 Macedonia

Attendance: 11,178

Man of the Match
Goran Pandev scored two beautiful goals and added an assist, accounting for the majority of the Macedonian offense. Canada wasn't able to stop him all day and they paid for it.

Upcoming Matches
November 18, 2009 - at Bolivia
June 5, 2010 - at Trinidad & Tobago

[theaub]

November 12, 2009

Hirschfeld returns for Canada

TORONTO (CP) - Lars Hirschfeld returns from injury as Canada travels down to Bolivia for a friendly match next Wednesday.

The keeper, who plays for FC Engerie Cottbus in the German League, picked up his 30th cap against Iceland but missed the 3-2 loss to Macedonia with a shoulder injury.

Stephen Hart has also recalled Adrian Serioux and Jim Brennan, who stayed back in what was a failed attempt to get Toronto FC their first playoff berth in club history. The Reds finished with 37 points, good enough for 3rd in the Eastern Conference, but six Western teams had more points than they did which allowed them to crossover.

Andrew Hainault stays back as his Houston Dynamo take on Chivas USA in the Western Conference final. Issey Nakajima-Farran and Paul Stalteri will miss out due to injuries.

Simeon Jackson seems to have worked his way into the Canadian starting lineup, as he continues to score club goals at a frightening pace. The Gillingham man has 17 scores in 19 matches for his side. Atiba Hutchinson has also impressed, leading FC Copenhagen to the group stage of the Champions League, where they are currently in 4th place in Group A.

Bolivia finished 9th in World Cup Qualifying out of the CONMEBOL section, with their biggest win being a 6-1 smashing of Argentina. While most of their team is domestic based, forward Marcelo Moreno has scored thrice for Werder Bremen of the Bundesliga, and Juan Carlos Arce stars in the Brazilian League.

Canada is ranked 69th in the World (6th in CONCACAF), while Bolivia is ranked 61st (9th in CONMEBOL)

Roster
Nana Attakora l D l Toronto FC (Canada)
Patrice Bernier l M l FC Nordsjaelland (Denmark)
Brandon Bonifacio l M l SC Cambuur (Holland)
Jim Brennan l D/M l Toronto FC (Canada)
Julian De Guzman l M l Toronto FC (Canada)
Marcel de Jong l D/M l Roda JC (Holland)
Dwayne De Rosario l M/F l Toronto FC (Canada)
David Edgar l D l Burnley (England)
Rob Friend l F l Gladbach (Germany)
Ali Gerba l F l Toronto FC (Canada)
Lars Hirschfield l GK l FC Cottbus (Germany)
David Hoilett l M/F l KSV Cercle Brugge (Belgium)
Iain Hume l M/F l Barnsley (England)
Atiba Hutchinson l M l FC Copenhagen (Denmark)
Daniel Imhof l M l VfL Bochum (Germany)
Simeon Jackson l F l Gillingham (England)
Dejan Jakovic l D l D.C. United (United States)
Will Johnson l M l Real Salt Lake (United States)
Michael Klukowski l D l Club Brugge (Belgium)
Jacob Lensky l D/M l FC Utrecht (Holland)
Kevin McKenna l D l FC Koln (Germany)
David Monsalve l GK l FC Inter Turku (Finland)
Olivier Occean l F l Lillestrom SK (Norway)
Adrian Serioux l D l Toronto FC (Canada)
Josh Simpson l M/F l Manisaspor (Turkey)
Greg Sutton l GK l Montreal (Canada)

---------------------------------------------

November 15th, 2009TORONTO (CP) - Canadian midfielder Patrice Bernier tore his hamstring during a Danish Premier League match, and will be unable to make the trip to Bolivia. Andrew Hainault, whose Houston team lost to Chivas USA in the MLS Conference Final, will make the trip instead.

[theaub]

November 18, 2009

Canucks fight back in heat

LA PAZ (CP) - Before the Canadian team could even touch the ball, they were down 1-0.

However, Jhasmani Campos's first minute goal was all Bolivia could muster, and in 33 degree heat at Hernando Siles, Ali Gerba's 65th minute strike was enough to give Canada a respectable 1-1 draw with Bolivia.

Bolivia had many chances in the first half, but Lars Hirschfield was very strong, stopping three shots. The Bolivians couldn't even manage a single shot on target in the latter portion of the match, as the Canadians managed the heat very efficiently, and David Hoilett's cross found Gerba's head to earn Canada a result.

There is now a long break for the Canucks, as a lack of FIFA match dates ensures that they won't be playing for almost 7 months, before taking on Trinidad & Tobago from Port of Spain in early June 2010.

In CONCACAF news, the United States, who embarassingly lost to Costa Rica at home in their last qualifying match to move them into the CONCACAF/CONMEBOL playoff, beat Uruguay 4-3 on aggregate to advance to the World Cup. As such, they will be joining Mexico, Costa Rica and Honduras in South Africa 2010.

Scoring
First Half
BOL: Jhasmani Campos (Moreno) 1'
Beautiful ball control from Bolivia, Moreno finds Campos from 6 yards out

Second Half
CAN: Ali Gerba (Hoilett) 65'
The Canadian poacher supreme towers over the Bolivian defender and heads ball low into goal

Cards
CAN: None
BOL: None

Stats
Shots: 12-11 Canada
On Target: 4-4
Possession: 56-44 Canada
Corners: 8-4 Canada
Fouls: 11-9 Canada

Attendance: 27,265

Man of the Match
Jhasmani Campos and Ali Gerba share this after they both scored the only goals for their sides. On the Canadian side, a very impressive performance as well from Rob Friend who was a force up front all night.

Upcoming Matches
June 5, 2010 - at Trinidad & Tobago
September 8, 2010 - vs Honduras