Official World Cup 2014 Qualifying Thread (Blame It On RIO)

[d_phaneuf]

what a great shoulder goal

[polak]

Originally Posted by Locke

It amazes me sometimes how countries manage to produce one stellar talent that outshines all the rest.

The Dortmund 3 are really head and shoulders above all of our players.

Poland has been a tending gold mine for a while.

Great game so far.

[polak]

I would just like to note that Canada and Poland have roughly the same population and climate. There is no reason they shouldn't be equal at soccer.

Poland has to divide it's athlete base into two main sports as well as they're also a Volleyball powerhouse, like we are a hockey powerhouse.

Argh. Maybe one day.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Rugby, Tennis, Cricket, Soccer, Football (NFL specifically). Heck, even baseball and basketball are hard sports to make a living in in Canada unless you play for the Blue Jays or Raptors, at which point there is a slim chance you could play for these teams unless team management wants you.

Cricket? Really? I like cricket, but c'mon.

And I'm not counting people who play professionally in North American leagues (and let's face it, the NFL is a North American league, just swing by your local bar on a Sunday) as that makes pretty much zero sense. Being drafted by Miami instead of Toronto means you had to leave the country to pursue your sport? Again, c'mon.

So that leaves us with tennis, which I assume is based on Rusedski in the mid-90's making it a rather odd thing to point at 20 years later, and rugby, which was already conceded.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by polak

I would just like to note that Canada and Poland have roughly the same population and climate. There is no reason they shouldn't be equal at soccer.

Poland has to divide it's athlete base into two main sports as well as they're also a Volleyball powerhouse, like we are a hockey powerhouse.

Argh. Maybe one day.

Poland cares about soccer. Canada does not. There's absolutely no reason they should be equal in soccer. That's the equivalent of saying that Poland should be equal to Canada in hockey.

[polak]

Originally Posted by valo403

Poland cares about soccer. Canada does not. There's absolutely no reason they should be equal in soccer. That's the equivalent of saying that Poland should be equal to Canada in hockey.

Which makes no sense because Canada has more players then Poland according to Fifa. There is obviously love for the sport here.

I think it's a chicken or the egg question. Does the passion come first followed by success or does the success build passion?

Blah.

And it's not equal. Poland has a handful of ice hockey players and like I said, Canada has more soccer players then poland.

I think if this country poured in some funding so that we could maybe give some financial incentive for top players to stay in Canada we could build up some passion and maybe within our lifetimes, see soccer grow into a major sport in this country.

What would a team of all eligable Canadian players look like? If we took all the players that had the potential to play for Canada.

[d_phaneuf]

it's coaching

Europe has the best coaching in the world, Canada does not

Canada has a 30m population with the best hockey coaching in the world, and it shows

[valo403]

Originally Posted by polak

Which makes no sense because Canada has more players then Poland according to Fifa. There is obviously love for the sport here.

I think it's a chicken or the egg question. Does the passion come first followed by success or does the success build passion?

Blah.

And it's not equal. Poland has a handful of ice hockey players and like I said, Canada has more soccer players then poland.

I think if this country poured in some funding so that we could maybe give some financial incentive for top players to stay in Canada we could build up some passion and maybe within our lifetimes, see soccer grow into a major sport in this country.

What would a team of all eligable Canadian players look like? If we took all the players that had the potential to play for Canada.

Participation rates don't mean anything, particularly with soccer. Parents put their kids into soccer because it's cheap and it's relatively safe. That doesn't mean those kids are passionate about soccer, and it certainly doesn't mean they will pursue it at an elite level.

[polak]

Wow Obroniak has a rocket.

[polak]

Originally Posted by valo403

Participation rates don't mean anything, particularly with soccer. Parents put their kids into soccer because it's cheap and it's relatively safe. That doesn't mean those kids are passionate about soccer, and it certainly doesn't mean they will pursue it at an elite level.

This is true.
I guess the only way to change that is for the MLS to grow into an elite league and add another couple teams in Canada...

So depressing.

[GirlySports]

yeah.. participation numbers mean nothing...

this is PROFESSIONAL SPORT!.

Poland puts money into their professional leagues and youth development programs to create professionals.

Canada creates soccer moms.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by polak

Which makes no sense because Canada has more players then Poland according to Fifa. There is obviously love for the sport here.

This sums up the major question for Canadian soccer: How do you convert grassroots participation into success at international and professional levels?

More people play soccer in Canada than hockey. I say this not as a hockey vs. soccer comment, but simply to highlight the massive gap between the grassroots soccer and high-level soccer in Canada. Obviously hockey is a different beast and the relative cost is a huge barrier for many kids to enter, while you can get started in soccer for virtually nothing. Now how do you harness the popularity among kids and youth and turn that into interest, success, etc. at the higher levels?

The MLS being in our three largest cities is obviously going to help in a number of ways (obviously academies are important, and kids can actually go to a high-level match and get excited about it, etc.). But there is still a massive gap.

Sweeping generalization warning: Unfortunately soccer is still viewed as a sport that kids play because it is cheap and easy, and also as a sport that they play professionally in far off lands. There's nothing in between for the vast majority of the Canadian public. There are exceptions, as we all are, but we are a pretty small minority.

[polak]

Poland has NO finish!!!

[polak]

I'm starting to think our only hope is for the USA to continue growing its teams international success, which should raise the MLS's status and in turn, grow the sport in Canada.

[d_phaneuf]

oh my Rooney

[polak]

Yeaaaaahh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111

[d_phaneuf]

pathetic defending

pathetic wasted chance by Rooney

[polak]

This is too intense to watch at work

[St. Pats]

Originally Posted by valo403

What other sports would those be? Rugby?

There are certainly some sports in which there are better opportunities overseas, but the 'virtually every sport' stuff is nonsense.

Really? Pretty obvious you don't have kids in sports. Rugby yes is an obvious one as there are zero opportunities here. You can't even play it at university level as it's not a varsity sport on the men's side. Volleyball has professional opportunities in Europe for men and women. Ditto Basketball with either the States or Europe providing the vast majority of chances to play. Almost entirely if we are speaking about the women's game. Pro track opportunities again are in Europe etc. as are badminton, soccer. Heck even snowboarding it's head south of the border to try and get on the Dew Tour or to Europe. Speed skaters are huge stars in Europe/Asia and virtually unknowns here. It goes on and on and on. Making a living at playing sports in Canada? Not likely. Heck even in hockey it's not likely. More likely than not playing in the States or in Europe. Baseball it's south of the border yet again. Golf--yep south/Asia/Europe.

I mean I'm hard pressed to think of any sports that Canadians actually support or where there are opportunities to play professionally. What sports are there in Canada where women can make a living playing professionally? I suppose a handful of curlers? That's half the population done for.

Men. Well if you don't mind holding down another job as well there is the CFL. If they are actually a top football player then it's south of the border they go. Curling again.

Unfortunately this is my world we are talking about. Myself and the myriads of other parents with kids who are wanting to play sports at a high level and aspire to do it professionally. What are we doing? Spending oodles of cash on sending them to the US or Europe or down to Australia etc. so they can have a shot at their dream. Trying to get them scholarships to US college's, trying to get them into academies across the world. Sending them off on trips to play their sport in countries where it's a big deal as compared to the obscure thing it is here(that covers so many sports it's not funny) Trying to give them opportunity and being almost totally unable to keep them here in Canada.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by St. Pats

Really? Pretty obvious you don't have kids in sports. Rugby yes is an obvious one as there are zero opportunities here. You can't even play it at university level as it's not a varsity sport on the men's side. Volleyball has professional opportunities in Europe for men and women. Ditto Basketball with either the States or Europe providing the vast majority of chances to play. Almost entirely if we are speaking about the women's game. Pro track opportunities again are in Europe etc. as are badminton, soccer. Heck even snowboarding it's head south of the border to try and get on the Dew Tour or to Europe. Speed skaters are huge stars in Europe/Asia and virtually unknowns here. It goes on and on and on. Making a living at playing sports in Canada? Not likely. Heck even in hockey it's not likely. More likely than not playing in the States or in Europe. Baseball it's south of the border yet again. Golf--yep south/Asia/Europe.

I mean I'm hard pressed to think of any sports that Canadians actually support or where there are opportunities to play professionally. What sports are there in Canada where women can make a living playing professionally? I suppose a handful of curlers? That's half the population done for.

Men. Well if you don't mind holding down another job as well there is the CFL. If they are actually a top football player then it's south of the border they go. Curling again.

Unfortunately this is my world we are talking about. Myself and the myriads of other parents with kids who are wanting to play sports at a high level and aspire to do it professionally. What are we doing? Spending oodles of cash on sending them to the US or Europe or down to Australia etc. so they can have a shot at their dream. Trying to get them scholarships to US college's, trying to get them into academies across the world. Sending them off on trips to play their sport in countries where it's a big deal as compared to the obscure thing it is here(that covers so many sports it's not funny) Trying to give them opportunity and being almost totally unable to keep them here in Canada.

Newsflash, it's not likely anywhere. And color me stunned that there are more opportunities in the worlds largest nations. Absolutely stunning that a nation of 30 million doesn't have the same professional sports landscape as a nation of 300 million.

And I'm sorry, if you play an obscure sport you're going to have to deal with going places to play it. I have a ton of friends who play hockey in Australia, and guess what, they have to deal with hauling their gear to remote rinks that don't have glass and barely have slush let alone ice, buying up a years supply of sock tape when they head over to Canada on vacation and generally spending a lot of money for less. But guess what? That's how it works when you play a sport that the majority of your country doesn't care about. This attitude that Canada should be accommodating every sport is ridiculous. Do you think people in Thailand bitch about not being able to find a good bobsled track?

What's your solution? Start a Canadian women's basketball league? I mean the WNBA is doing so well, I'm sure Canada could support a league of its own. We should definitely have professional badminton, the masses are just begging for that.