OT: Why does Canada suck at soccer?

[Win One Before I Die]

Pretty crazy that Canada have never had a good soccer player over the years when you just look at numbers. We've seen great hockey players from pretty odd areas and it's nearly impossible to take up hockey in parts of the world.

Canadians just have poor athletes .

Or the good athletes know soccer sucks?

 

[nameless1]

Pretty crazy that Canada have never had a good soccer player over the years when you just look at numbers. We've seen great hockey players from pretty odd areas and it's nearly impossible to take up hockey in parts of the world.

Canadians just have poor athletes .

As others have mentioned...
Owen Hargreaves is a world class player.
He decided to play for England instead.

Other good players...
Such as Jonathan de Guzmán...
And Asmir Begović...
Chose to play for Netherlands...
And Bosnia and Herzegovina...
Respectively.

It is unfortunate...
But because the Canadian team is so bad...
It is hard to attract world-class players.
It is a vicious cycle.

The CSA is a joke.
It does not know how to manage its resources...
As the men and women squad constantly complain of a lack of support...
And funding agencies also express doubt at the organization.

More importantly...
It has no national development plan in place.
They recently touted a plan...
And soccer popularity is on the rise...
But after all these years...
It is hard to trust the CSA anymore...
An organization led by blind men...
Who is proud of almost zero international achievements.
Plus...
Even if the plan comes to fruition...
It will probably be another ten to twenty years...
Before anyone sees the results.

It is just a sad situation.

 

[Edo]

As others have mentioned...
Owen Hargreaves is a world class player.
He decided to play for England instead.

Other good players...
Such as Jonathan de Guzmán...
And Asmir Begović...
Chose to play for Netherlands...
And Bosnia and Herzegovina...
Respectively.

It is unfortunate...
But because the Canadian team is so bad...
It is hard to attract world-class players.
It is a vicious cycle.

The CSA is a joke.
It does not know how to manage its resources...
As the men and women squad constantly complain of a lack of support...
And funding agencies also express doubt at the organization.

More importantly...
It has no national development plan in place.
They recently touted a plan...
And soccer popularity is on the rise...
But after all these years...
It is hard to trust the CSA anymore...
An organization led by blind men...
Who is proud of almost zero international achievements.
Plus...
Even if the plan comes to fruition...
It will probably be another ten to twenty years...
Before anyone sees the results.

It is just a sad situation.

Asmir Begovic is not a Canadian. Thank you very much. And Owen Hargreaves was never a World Class player.

Begovic came to Canada under rough circumstances and it was pretty clear to everybody that he was going to play for Bosnia all along.

 

[nameless1]

Asmir Begovic is not a Canadian. Thank you very much. And Owen Hargreaves was never a World Class player.

Begovic came to Canada under rough circumstances and it was pretty clear to everybody that he was going to play for Bosnia all along.

Your standard for world class is tough.
Hargreaves made the England team...
And he was also voted the best English player for the 2006 World Cup.
That is world class to me.

Begović has Canadian citizenship.
He was a probable case that he will play for Bosnia...
But it was not a slam dunk...
And for a time...
He continued to say he wanted to play for Canada.
It turned out he was being diplomatic...
But there was no reason to doubt him at the time.

 

[ChilliBilly]

Hmmmmm.?.?.?

The reason is simple. Top athletes often excel at a number of sports. they pick the one (or ones) that will be the most rewarding. I have known kids who were having to decide at 12 or 13 which sport (or other activity) they were going to have to choose to concentrate on. Why would you choose soccer if you are good at hockey or football. The elite in sports (and that's the people we are talking about here) are not going to choose a sport that will not pay off. If they choose soccer, they can get a major payday in it. But it won't be playing for team Canada, it will be going to Europe and playing for one of the major leagues.

My daughter was a good soccer player. She was co-captain of a team that won a number of university National championships. One of the top players she had to cover growing up got a full ride scholarship to a major US school. That young lady chose to play for the US in the World Cup.

The point being that top players will not play for Canada if they have a choice. Even the women's side (where Canada is in the top 4 or 5) a person would choose the US where they are pretty much guaranteed a medal or 2.

So a number of factors come in to play.

1 - the elite have to choose which direction often when they are 12 or 13. In this country its not likely to be soccer.

2 - If they are elite, many can choose which country they can play for. As see in other posts, the top soccer players would rather play for a country that can compete in the world cup. those who have a choice simply want to compete in the largest sporting event in the world (other than the summer Olympics) namely the World Cup. They are not going to do that playing soccer for Canada.

3 - To further complicate matters, Canada does not spend much trying to compete in soccer. This just acerbates the problem. You are far more likely to be rewarded if you play one of the TV sports (basketball, football, hockey, baseball or even golf) where the money is.

4 - Facilities. Soccer has the edge on most sports because you can play it anywhere with just a soccer ball. I think we have all played a pickup game where someone has a ball and you use jackets or sports bags or anything to delineate goal posts, and we have all seen pictures of some place in Brazil where the kids are playing soccer anywhere they can. I live near Bellingham, and there is one ice rink in all of Whatcom County. In Canada, if there is a town of 1000 people on the prairies it has an ice rink. Or 2. And there are outdoor facilities as well.

Anyhow - Canada is not going to attract top young athletes into soccer when they are likely to have more attractive choices elsewhere.

 

[arsmaster*]

Asmir Begovic is not a Canadian. Thank you very much. And Owen Hargreaves was never a World Class player.

Begovic came to Canada under rough circumstances and it was pretty clear to everybody that he was going to play for Bosnia all along.

Manchester United and Bayern Munich were Hargreaves teams'.

I'd say he is a lot better than any American ever produced.

 

[Jyrki]

Weather - that's not an excuse. Sweden, Russia and other nordic countries have consistently made the Euros or World Cup.

It's nevertheless a disadvantage for these countries. It doesn't mean the colder weather stops them in their tracks, but sure some kids look elsewhere when they're unable to play soccer in the winter. The main factor isn't necessarily that cold winters keep kids from playing soccer, but that they're more likely to favour other sports.

Geographical constraints - are you talking about distances? Because you can look at Brazil and Russia and see that both teams are doing quite well but have huge distances between cities.

Again, it's not an impediment in itself but it stacks up when you consider the other factors. Moreover, Brazil and Russia are far more populous and their population isn't all concentrated along a 7,000 KM long strip. It does affect the ability to travel to play against better competition at the youth and minor levels.


The biggest factor, really, is that Canadians love many other sports better than soccer while most countries in the world either favour or give their undivided attention to soccer. When it comes to qualifying to a 32-team competition amongst almost two hundred competitors, it adds up.

 

[Cassano]

Asmir Begovic is not a Canadian. Thank you very much. And Owen Hargreaves was never a World Class player.

Begovic came to Canada under rough circumstances and it was pretty clear to everybody that he was going to play for Bosnia all along.

Begovic played for the Canadian U-20 team BTW, so it wasn't all that clear.

 

[Luongos Knob]

Asmir Begovic is not a Canadian. Thank you very much. And Owen Hargreaves was never a World Class player.

Begovic came to Canada under rough circumstances and it was pretty clear to everybody that he was going to play for Bosnia all along.

Then why did he use the canadian system to develop his talents?
Why did he play for canada in canada at the 07 WC?

Oh right, i forgot, it's because he's a slimy ***** traitor backstabbing piece of ****.

 

[Wetcoaster]

We are currently ranked 112th in the world. Why do we suck so much? I don't buy the snow **** there are countries in western Europe that are quite good with similar climate(Switzerland 8th in the world, Sweden 27, etc).

Because we cannot even get the name of the sport right?

It is FOOTBALL.

 

[dwarf]

Canada is a hockey nation. Kids grow up dreaming of winning the Stanley cup.

If we lose to other nations at the Olympics in Hockey its a huge deal..

Soccer/Football? Other nations put that sports first.

 

[How Ya Drouin]

Your standard for world class is tough.
Hargreaves made the England team...
And he was also voted the best English player for the 2006 World Cup.
That is world class to me.

Begović has Canadian citizenship.
He was a probable case that he will play for Bosnia...
But it was not a slam dunk...
And for a time...
He continued to say he wanted to play for Canada.
It turned out he was being diplomatic...
But there was no reason to doubt him at the time.

Begovic also played for Canada's youth teams.

Hargreaves was a world class player, playing for Bayern Munich and Manchester United along with England, but unfortunately injuries ruined him.

 

[carolinacanuck]

the same argument can be made about basketball, NFL football and baseball. only a handful of canadians have ever made splashes in those respective sports.

most of us played soccer cuz it was affordable for our parents and that's about it...a new pair of cleats, league fees and a bucket of oranges every once in awhile.

the end.

 

[Max Quackenbush]

The problem with some of these arguments is that countries like Sweden still excel at soccer regardless of their small populations and the dominance of hockey as their favorite sport.

For me the reason is because the kids are not taught a simple rule at every age at every development level: keep the ball on the turf. All things flow from this as the approach to the game at the moment is akin to telling a hockey player to ice the puck every time they get it or hope that their player can beat icing and get a scoring chance.

Most soccer players from decent countries pass the ball around on the ground and try to maintain possession but in Canada it is one or 2 passes then try to kick it over the head of the last defender, a style we inherited from the english and the scots that still dominate coaching and the CSA in this country.

If CSA simply told the soccer community, filled with volunteer coaches with varying knowledge of how the game is played, that the game should be played on the ground and that their teams should try to maintain possession as a way to defend as well as attack, there would be more better skilled players and less concern about the occasional opportunists that trades their country for filthy lucre.


Instead the CSA is too concerned with issues like whether the Yukon should have as much say in National matters as Ontario and how execs in the CSA are appointed or elected. Imagine if our National body in Hockey (Hockey Canada) was preoccupied with such nonsense how good we would be at this sport.

 

[serge2k]

Because as a nation we largely don't care?

 

[vancityluongo]

Because beyond the U12 level, kids in Canada simply don't care about soccer.

I played at the highest level I had the opportunity to play in being in Northern BC, but that was still an absolute joke. Our coach knew a lot about the game but had to spend most of his time trying to get players to commit to the team over other sports so we could actually field a team. The rest of it was spent trying to find teams to play; the most we could do was informal games against the top teams from nearby cities. There was simply no organization from anyone but volunteering parents.

A couple of the best players from my team were offered full scholarships to play for university teams; both declined, because they didn't have the marks to stay in school otherwise, and realized they'd be much better off by staying home and working in the rigs than trying to pursue a dream of professional soccer.

The culture of professional soccer simply does not exist. Kids are hardly inspired by Saturday morning EPL games the way they are by Saturday night HNIC.

 

[RingWraith]

Most of these disadvantages that people are listing are just paltry excuses. Contributing factors? Yes. Enough so to relegate us to the top 50 or maybe top 40 in the rankings. But 112th?!? THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THAT. Absolutely shameful. For a country with Canada's population (not that small relatively), and wealth, it's our greatest athletic shame.

The problems begin at the top, with the CSA as some have noted. Competent leadership and restructuring will catapult Canada's prominence quicker than people think. Interest isn't that small anymore, and is steadily rising. Our multicultural population will ensure a future. But the support has to be there from organizational leadership.

 

[nameless1]

The ranking improved a little bit.
Canada was 114th a month go.
I am pretty sure the CSA is happy about the improvement.
This is them.


This is everyone else.

 

[Wetcoaster]

Canadian kids should be encouraged to ignore that effete "sport" of football and play our national sports of hockey and lacrosse.

National Sports of Canada Act
S.C. 1994, c. 16

Assented to 1994-05-12

An Act to recognize hockey and lacrosse as the national sports of Canada

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

SHORT TITLE

Marginal note:Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the National Sports of Canada Act.

NATIONAL SPORTS OF CANADA

Hockey and lacrosse to be national sports

2. The game commonly known as ice hockey is hereby recognized and declared to be the national winter sport of Canada and the game commonly known as lacrosse is hereby recognized and declared to be the national summer sport of Canada.​

 

[Jyrki21]

The problem with some of these arguments is that countries like Sweden still excel at soccer regardless of their small populations and the dominance of hockey as their favorite sport.

I'm pretty sure the Swedes here will tell you hockey is not the number one sport in Sweden. I believe the only country outside of Canada where hockey is the number one sport to watch is Finland, and even there I don't believe it is the most popular in terms of playing (although it isn't in Canada either).

That is why Canada's obsession with international tournaments, discussing them months in advance, etc., is all the more embarrassing. The media are obsessing about beating the very few countries who even play the game at all, where it's not even the top sport.

Because we cannot even get the name of the sport right?

It is FOOTBALL.

"Soccer" is a term originating in England, as a nickname for association football, and is a very common term in English-speaking countries where other codes of football exist, not just in North America.

 

[Castle1*]

Most of these disadvantages that people are listing are just paltry excuses. Contributing factors? Yes. Enough so to relegate us to the top 50 or maybe top 40 in the rankings. But 112th?!? THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THAT. Absolutely shameful. For a country with Canada's population (not that small relatively), and wealth, it's our greatest athletic shame.

The problems begin at the top, with the CSA as some have noted. Competent leadership and restructuring will catapult Canada's prominence quicker than people think. Interest isn't that small anymore, and is steadily rising. Our multicultural population will ensure a future. But the support has to be there from organizational leadership.

WHAT? Canada has one of the lowest country populations in the world per square kilometre. That means that in lots of parts of the country there are very few teams because of the low population rates and lack of soccer registration.

Totally wrong there. Although soccer/football whatever, registration has increased greatly. My son plays at a high level but both of us love hockey much more and his opportunities to excel in soccer are much more rare than in hockey. More work, alot more, still needs to be done building the sport.

 

[MS]

Asmir Begovic is not a Canadian. Thank you very much. And Owen Hargreaves was never a World Class player.

Begovic came to Canada under rough circumstances and it was pretty clear to everybody that he was going to play for Bosnia all along.

Begovic is pretty definitely a Canadian and has Canadian citizenship.

He played for the Canadian national team in younger age groups, and was called up to the full national team at one point but (stupidly) not inserted into game action.

It was most definitely not 'clear to everybody' that he was playing for Bosnia.

 

[Bubbles]

In my dream scenario, which means it will never happen, is to follow Germany or Iceland's development model. They have excellent direction from top down, and pour massive money into academies, training and coaching.

But this is the equivalent to trying to get Brazil or Italy to be a dominant HOCKEY nation. It's just not in their culture and just like Canada they are completely obsessed with one sport.

 

[thom]

Imagine Iceland a pop.330 000 ahead of canada and almost beat Croaitia there is no exuse the system from top to bottom must be repaired.

 

[Jimson Hogarth*]

This right there is one of the reasons we suck at it. There's an inherent belief that soccer is not a "Canadian" sport, so they don't play, they don't invest in the sport, etc.

Even though the diving myth is completely overblown when compared to other sports, including hockey.

The Australian team is known to be a non-diving, physically tough team. They are ranked 58th in the world and are in another WC.

As for cold weather and hockey playing nations, both Russia and Sweden are top 30 sides.

There aren't many excuses or justifications for Canada's ranking. The problem is Soccer Canada.